Unit5 - Conflicts - The five stages of conflict process - Two of the most common conflict handling PDF

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The five stages of conflict process - Two of the most common conflict handling styles - My personal experience having and resolving a conflict at work...

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Introduction Workplace conflicts are sometimes inevitable and happen almost on a daily basis, however they should not be ignored because healthy conflicts could bring new ideas, views and perceptions to the team and to the whole organization (Johnson, 2018). In our daily interaction with coworkers, managers and clients or collaborators, dynamic conflicts are unfortunately part of our daily job. While most conflicts are minor and resolved immediately, some may irreversibly damage relationships within the company and even with external people. Why and how do conflicts arise and develop within an organization? What is the right way to handle a conflict?

The five stages of conflict process According to the current literature on organizational behavior, a conflict process can be described with five distinct stages: (1) Potential opposition or incompatibility, (2) Cognition and personalization, (3) Intentions, (4) Behavior and (5) Outcomes (iEduNote, 2019). During the first stage, potential areas of conflict could develop. In particular, communication (e.g. different words connotations, jargon, too much or too little communication), structure (e.g. size and degree of specialization in the tasks assigned to group members) and personal factors (e.g. dominant personality, prejudice and any difference in value systems) (Wilmot, 2000). One or multiple of areas of conflict can lay the foundation for conflict. Cognition and personalization is the second stage, characterized by one or both parties perceiving the situation as a conflict or not. In the typical case, if no one is aware of a conflict, then no conflict exists. With the third stage - Intentions - a decisions to act in a given way is taken by both parties (iEduNote, 2019). Intentions involve people’s perception and emotions and their cause a behavioral shift. Behavior characterizes the way we act, react and communicate (verbally, body language, etc.) with other parties during the conflict (Lulofs, 2000). Furthermore, during the last stage of a conflict – Outcomes – the action-reaction between the conflicting parties results in consequences, which could be constructive and leading to an improvement in a team, or negative and dysfunctional to the team’s performance.

Two of the most common conflict handling styles 1. Collaborating (I win, You win). Both parties intend to solve the problem, aiming to find a solution by cooperating with other parties involved. In this case, communication is key because differences are clarified and accepted, rather than accommodating different points of view (iEduNote, 2019). A collaborative team tends to find a creative solution which will not compromise anybody’s’ satisfaction. Furthermore, by actively collaborating with others, employees can benefit from learning and sharing knowledge and skills with other individuals. A collaborative environment can foster creativity and synergy within the team.

2. Compromising (You bend, I bend). A situation in which each party is willing to give up something. Compromising is about coming up with a resolution that would be acceptable to the parties involved. Thus, one party is willing to sacrifice their own sets of goals as long as the others will do the same (iEduNote, 2019).

My personal experience having and resolving a conflict at work Situation: while working on a big project with a team of six people, the project manager defined priorities and timelines for the whole team and also for each individual. It did not take a long time to realize that my timeline was not realistic because I had several independent tasks and also tasks to perform with other team members. At the same time, other people in the team had fewer personal duties and did not want to compromise on their timeline. Reaction: I had a positive and constructive team meeting with other members of the team. I did my best to keep control of myself, used a normal tone of voice and avoided to become defensive. I started to negotiate with other team members in order to share some of my personal duties and evenly distribute the work-load. Conflict resolution: this conflict was solved through compromising, as I worked more but also other team members had to work a little more, in order to be successful as a team. Moreover, the project manager realized of such unrealistic expectations leading to aggressive timelines and deadlines. In this way, during the second part of the project, more realistic and accommodating timelines were set for all team members.

References: iEduNote. (2019, November 1). 5 stages of conflict process: How it works within organization. iEduNote.com. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.iedunote.com/5-stages-conflictprocess

Johnson, R. (2018, June 29). What causes employee conflict in the workplace? Chron. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/causes-employee-conflict-workplace-21264.html

Lulofs, R. S., & Cahn, D. D. (2000). Conflict – From theory to action (2nd ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

Wilmot, W. W., & Hocker, J. L. (2001). Interpersonal conflict, (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill....