Introduction
The paper is a critical analysis of conflict management skills. The case study used is a conflict between Andy & J concerning some details of an ongoing project being undertaken by an organization they both work for. Andy is the project (manage/team leader) and he is not pleased b the way J has been documenting issues relating to the project as needed.
It has been noted that each and every day people work together and hold varied views, opinion, believes, values among other as a result of a myriad of factors such as social classes, education as well as cultural background.
This scenario has been made even worse by advancement in technology that has resulted to globalization characterized with free flow of capital, goods and services and more importantly free movement of human capital. Thus the world has turned into a global village where people meet, factoring in differences in a number of view, conflict then is bound to happen. Conflict happens between and among people within the same or different and distance geographic locations (Withers & Lewis, 2003).
Conflict refers to a situation where by there are or perceived resistance of principles, thoughts, ideas, needs, beliefs as a results of differences in opinion as well as other issues between people and this can be in terms of economics, politics as well as social sphere. Nonetheless, various mechanisms have been brought forth to curb the scenario and of course turn the issue into a constructive idea, this is what has been termed as conflict resolution.
Conflict although viewed as a negative issue, has some positive aspects for instance, when the conflict is resolved in a creative manner, there are opportunities of people learning as well as new emerging ideas that are key in propelling an organization to greater heights are realized (Eunson, 2007). On the other hand, individual in conflict can suffer from frustration and confusion that can result to very serious implications such as war, fall of an organization among others.
With this scenario, of having the mechanism, it was later realized that something was missing because most of the conflicts being tackled did not yield positive results. This thus called for further actions; conflict management. This, according to Condliffe, 2008 refers to the process by which conflict are identifies and handled in the best way possible through fairness and of course effectively and efficiently so that the desired outcomes are achieved. This calls for a myriad of skills, which thus lays the ground for this paper.
Addressing conflicts
Since we are aware that conflict is an issues that is experienced more often in each at every sphere of human life, it will be rational if some of the ways used to address the problem are brought forth. It is important to note that Andy successfully employed-collaborative strategy in which he engaged J to attain a win-win situation.
Other ways of addressing conflict include; competition is a situation whereby one of the parties pushes for his or her standpoint without minding who it will impact on the other; this is usually a good approach especially if the one asserting the view point have a superior goals and objectives.
Through accommodation, the approach entails surrendering the view points initially held prior to resolving the problem, this gives room to accommodate the other parties usually the best when things seem to have hit a snag and come to a stand still.
Another approach is to avoid the problem. This is done by postponing or paying no attention to the problem at hand. This can be of help in the short-term as one can buy time to properly strategize. On the other hand, when the issue at hand is very serious, this approach can be very detrimental.
Compromising is another way that has been successfully used. In this approach the involved parties bring their burning issues on the table in the face of a third party. It is worth noting that with this kind of mechanism, the ultimate goal is to reach an agreement, hence compromises have to be made-a give and take situation.
Lastly collaboration is where the involved parties strategize towards attaining a mutually satisfying outcome, a win-win situation for both. Although it can be challenging, when communication is open and transparent, trust is build on a solid foundation, this approach yield the most desired results. The major drawback is that it is time consuming.
Four Conflict management skills and its applications
The four conflict management skills identified and discussed herein that were used by Andy include; active listening, ability to manage emotions, collaborative and corporative language, empathy and willingness to reach a win-win situation.
Actively listening
It has been clearly depicted that when all parties involved in conflict resolution talk and talk, there are higher chances of the processes hitting a snag. Therefore, one important skill that has been brought forth as to counter this is active listening (Condliffe, 2008). It is worth noting that this is not only an act of sitting back and hear what the other party is saying but also actively getting indulged so that one gets the ample opportunity to clearly understand, acknowledge and respond to what is being said.
Andy successfully employed this skill, he listened to J while nodding, and this gave him an opportunity to realize that some numbers that did cause the figures not to add up were indeed from Mr. Tan
As suggested by Sims, 2002 when this is done, he not only understood, acknowledged and responded but also listened to the feelings of J. This thus contributed to Andy understanding J’s point of view hence bridging the existing gap between them. It is worth mentioning that after carefully listening, Andy tried to accurately paraphrase what J brought forth. This resulted to J feeling understood and heard.
The only problem with this skill is that people might not be well aware of, as they can be ‘listening’ but formulating their next response or even evaluating how wrong the other party is. When those involved can apply this skill in the most effective manner, like Andy, there are higher chances of attaining the desired outcomes leaving each party satisfied.
Managing emotions
According to Withers & Lewis, 2003 keeping emotion in check while managing conflict is very important as it dictates outcome in conflict resolution. It is worth noting that this is done by first managing your own emotions then those of the other party. Being in a position to establish that one is becoming emotional is of course one necessary step. In the case of Andy and J, the former successfully attained this skill.
From the onset of the discussion, it was apparent that J was emotional when confronted politely by Andy, his response to the question concerning the document showed this, ‘what’s wrong with the documents’? Although Andy was also about to lose his head in terms of emotions, he quickly managed it and transferred the same skill in calming J down by simply telling J that no one was blaming him.
It is also a fact that when individuals let out their emotions especially while resolving a conflict, it helps in diffusing the problem as the individuals get to release off their desperation and steam, this was done by both Andy and J (Condliffe, 2008).
Willingness to reach a win-win situation
It has been argued out that the desire to arrive at a win-win outcome is always the best strategy as it will keep all involved parties on the table (Sims, 2002). It is characterized by higher degree of cooperation and assertiveness. We see Andy engaging J to join their hands and in the long run are able to arrive at a conclusion that both were in agreement. It is worth mention that at the end of the discussion both parties gained from the talks.
It is worth remembering that this skill is suitable in cases where the issues at hand are very complex. This skill employed by Andy successfully did create a positive mutual and warm relationship between him and J. At the end of the discussion, the misunderstanding held upon J was cleared and both resorted to helping each other to fix the mess before Andy submits the report to the general manager.
Collaborative and cooperative language
This is a skill that seemed to be well mastered by Andy; he employed this together with the rest of the skills made his discussion with J a successful. Through the discussion both Andy and J shared information that is factual without hidden agenda. It is evident that Andy capitalized on this skill to building consensus with J leading to arrival of decisions that suited both of them.
Additionally, collaborative and cooperative language brings a sense of empathy, respect and care. Andy’s ability to use accommodating language , ensured that despite the fact that there were differences between him and J, it was eased by the kind of language used hence; a sense of trust is build which is very significant while dealing with conflicts (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2000). Andy used a language that identified himself as well as J into the current situation they were in.
Ways to improve these skills
In my opinion, the four conflict management skills employed by Andy can be improved by a number of way but all summed up by; effective, transparent communication as well as building a mutual relationship between the involved parties in which trust is the word.
Effective and transparent communication is a situation whereby, the individual parties employ use of sharing information, articulating their ideas, views, feelings in a very open manner without hiding anything under the carpet. Additionally, there are other things that need to be avoided in order to make these skills improve (Withers, 2002).
These things include; trying to avoid conflicts, being defensive, forgetting to listen, mind reading or psychoanalysis, over generalization, playing blame game, attacking the others personality and stone walling.
Generally speaking, all conflict management are usually improved by using one or more of other conflict resolution skills such as appropriate body language, appropriate assertiveness, showing empathy, building trust to mention but a few (Kellett, 2007).
Other conflict management skills
Scholars after scholars have carried out a number of studies in the quest of establishing the best conflict management skills and strategies, surprisingly, nearly all did come up with almost similar skills (Eunson, 2007). Apart from the four strategies used by Andy, there are other numerous skills that he used in his discussion with J that contributed to the desired outcome that left both of them satisfied.
These skills include; building trust and a mutual relationship with each other, conciliation, collective bargain, being able to know when it will not work, seeking solutions, practicing assertive communication, reframing, always focus on interest rather than positions, separating people from the existing problem, building consensus in arriving at decisions, develop a culture of positive perception while addressing the problem and showing concern for the other (Withers, 2002).
Conclusion
From the review of conflict management skills employed by Andy, it is evident that conflict is part and parcel of human life. Despite the fact that it has some very serious negative impact, it brings with it some positive things. In the quest of finding mutual agreement, Andy used some skills in conflict management such as active listening, ability to manage emotions, collaborative and corporative language, empathy and willingness to reach a win-win situation, assertive communication among others.
Time and again, there is need to constantly improve how these skills are employed and the case of Andy and J is no exception. In my view this could be attained by effective communication which results to a mutual relationship that is characterized by trust, an ingredient that always dictates how long the agreement arrive at will be realized.
References
Cloke, K. & Goldsmith, J. (2000). Resolving Conflict at Work. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc. Pp 127-205.
Condliffe, P. (2008). Understanding conflict. In Conflict management: A practical guide. Sydney: LexisNexis. Pp. 1-25.
Eunson, B. (2007) Conflict management. Brisbane: John Wiley & Sons. Pp 17-26.
Kellett, P. (2007). Conflict Dialogue. London: Sage Publications. Pp. 143-153.
Kenneth, T. (2001). Introduction to Conflict Management. Palo Alto, California: Davies-Black Publishing. Pp 1-15.
Sims R. (2002). Managing Organizational Behavior. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Pp 345-400.
Smith, K. (2000). Project Management and Teamwork. New York: McGraw-Hill BEST series. Pp 129-.
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Withers, B. & Lewis, K. (2003). Say it, shout it, skip it. New York: AMACOM. Pp. 116-120.