conflict management case study with solution

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Appendix A: Case Studies

List of case studies, case study 1: handling roommate conflicts, case study 2: salary negotiation at college corp, case study 3: oecollaboration, case study 4: the ohio connection, case study 5: uber pays the price, case study 6: diverse teams hold court.

Chapter Reference: Section 2.2 Approaches to Conflict

Whether you have a roommate by choice, by necessity, or through the random selection process of your school’s housing office, it’s important to be able to get along with the person who shares your living space. While having a roommate offers many benefits such as making a new friend, having someone to experience a new situation like college life with, and having someone to split the cost on your own with, there are also challenges. Some common roommate conflicts involve neatness, noise, having guests, sharing possessions, value conflicts, money conflicts, and personality conflicts (Ball State University, 2001). Read the following scenarios and answer the following questions for each one:

• Which conflict management style, from the five discussed, would you use in this situation?
• What are the potential strengths of using this style?
• What are the potential weaknesses of using this style?

Scenario 1: Neatness. Your college dorm has bunk beds, and your roommate takes a lot of time making their bed (the bottom bunk) each morning. They have told you that they don’t want anyone sitting on or sleeping in the bed when they are not in the room. While your roommate is away for the weekend, your friend comes to visit and sits on the bottom bunk bed. You tell your friend what your roommate said, and you try to fix the bed back before your roommate returns to the dorm. When they return, your roommate notices that the bed has been disturbed and confronts you about it.

Scenario 2: Noise and having guests. Your roommate has a job waiting tables and gets home around midnight on Thursday nights. They often brings a couple friends from work home with them. They watch television, listen to music, or play video games and talk and laugh. You have an 8 a.m. class on Friday mornings and are usually asleep when they returns. Last Friday, you talked to your roommate and asked them to keep it down in the future. Tonight, their noise has woken you up and you can’t get back to sleep.

Scenario 3: Sharing possessions. When you go out to eat, you often bring back leftovers to have for lunch the next day during your short break between classes. You didn’t have time to eat breakfast, and you’re really excited about having your leftover pizza for lunch until you get home and see your roommate sitting on the couch eating the last slice.

Scenario 4: Money conflicts. Your roommate got mono and missed two weeks of work last month. Since they have a steady job and you have some savings, you cover their portion of the rent and agree that they will pay your portion next month. The next month comes around and your roommate informs you that they only have enough to pay their half of the rent.

Scenario 5: Value and personality conflicts. You like to go out to clubs and parties and have friends over, but your roommate is much more of an introvert. You’ve tried to get them to come out with you or join the party at your place, but they’d rather study. One day your roommate tells you that they want to break the lease so they can move out early to live with one of their friends. You both signed the lease, so you have to agree or they can’t do it. If you break the lease, you automatically lose your portion of the security deposit

Works Adapted

“ Conflict and Interpersonal Communication ” in Communication in the Real World  by University of Minnesota is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Ball State University. (2001). Roommate conflicts. accessed June 16, 2001, from  http://cms.bsu.edu/CampusLife/CounselingCenter/VirtualSelfHelpLibrary/RoommateIssues.asx.

Chapter Reference:  Section 2.4 Negotiation

Janine just graduated college, she’s ready to head out on her own and get that first job, and she’s through her first interviews. She receives an offer of a $28,000 salary, including benefits from COLLEGE CORP, from an entry-level marketing position that seems like a perfect fit. She is thrown off by the salary they are offering and knows that it is lower than what she was hoping for. Instead of panicking, she takes the advice of her mentor and does a little research to know what the market range for the salary is for her area. She feels better after doing this, knowing that she was correct and the offer is low compared to the market rate. After understanding more about the offer and the rates, she goes back to the HR representative and asks for her preferred rate of $32,500, knowing the minimum that she would accept is $30,000. Instead of going in for her lowest amount, she started higher to be open to negotiations with the company. She also sent a note regarding her expertise that warranted why she asked for that salary. To her happy surprise, the company counter offered at $31,000—and she accepted.

• What key points of Janice’s negotiation led to her success?
• What could have Janice done better to get a better outcome for her salary?

“ Conflict and Negotiations ” in Organizational Behaviour by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

“Good & Bad Salary Negotiations,”  Salary.com , April 19, 2018, https://www.salary.com/articles/good-bad-examples-of-salary-negotiations .

Herner, M. (n.d). 5 things HR wishes you knew about salary negotiation. Payscale.com, accessed October 21, 2018, https://www.payscale.com/salary-negotiation-guide/salary-negotiation-tips-from-hr .

Chapter Reference:  Section 3.2 Creating, Maintaining, and Changing Culture

At OECollaboration, a technology company that develops virtual collaboration software for new companies, Mike Jones is a new manager. One of the biggest challenges he has faced is that the team that he is managing is well established and because he is an outsider, the team members haven’t yet developed trust in him.

Two weeks into his new employment, Mike held a meeting and discussed all of the changes to the remote work agreements as well as implementing new meeting requirements for each employee to have a biweekly meeting scheduled with him to discuss their projects. The team was outraged, they were not excited, and the following days he wasn’t greeted in a friendly way; in addition, his team seemed less engaged when asked to participate in team functions.

Tracy James is also a new manager at OECollaboration who started at the same time as Mike, in a similar situation where she is a new manager of an existing team. Tracy was able to hold a meeting the first day on the job to listen to her team and get to know them. During this meeting she also told the team about herself and her past experiences. Additionally, she held one-on-one meetings to listen to each of her team members to discuss what they were working on and their career goals. After observation and discussion with upper management, she aligned her own team goals closely with the skills and experiences of her new team. She met with the whole team to make changes to a few policies, explaining why they were being changed, and set the strategy for the team moving forward.

Because she got her team involved and learned about them before implementing her new strategy, this was well received. Her team still had questions and concerns, but they felt like they could trust her and that they were included in the changes that were being made.

• What challenges can a new manager encounter when starting to manage an existing team?
• What strategies can a new manager implement to ensure that their new team is engaged with them and open to change and growth?

Adapted Works

“ Organizational Power and Politics ” in Organizational Behaviour by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

Giang, V. (2013, July 31). The 7 types of power that shape the workplace. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/the-7-types-of-power-that-shape-the-workplace-2013-7

Morin, A. (2018, June 25). How to prevent a workplace bully from taking your power. Inc. https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/how-to-prevent-a-workplace-bully-from-taking-your-power.html

Weinstein,  B. (n.d.). 10 tips for dealing with a bully boss,” CIO , accessed October 13, 2018, https://www.cio.com.au/article/198499/10_tips_dealing_bully_boss/.

Chapter Reference:  Section 4.1 Power

Janey worked as an executive assistant to a product manager at her company: Ohio Connection. Overall, she loved her job; she was happy to work with a company that provided great benefits, and she and found enjoyment in her day-to-day work. She had the same product manager boss for years, but last year, her manager left Ohio Connection and retired. Recently her new manager has been treating her unfairly and showcasing bullying behavior.

Yesterday, Janey came into work, and her boss decided to use their power as her manager and her “superior” to demand that she stay late to cover for him, correct reports that he had made mistakes on, and would not pay her overtime. She was going to be late to pick up her son from soccer practice if she stayed late; she told him this, and he was not happy.

Over subsequent days, her boss consistently would make comments about her performance, even though she had always had good remarks on reviews, and created a very negative work environment. The next time she was asked to stay late, she complied for fear of losing her job or having other negative impacts on her job. Janey’s situation was not ideal, but she didn’t feel she had a choice.

• What type of power did Janey’s boss employ to get her to do the things that he wanted her to do?
• What negative consequences are apparent in this situation and other situations where power is not balanced in the workplace?
• What steps should Janey take do to counteract the power struggle that is occurring with her new manager?

Chapter Reference:   Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Uber revolutionized the taxi industry and the way people commute. With the simple mission “to bring transportation—for everyone, everywhere,” today Uber has reached a valuation of around $70 billion and claimed a market share high of almost 90% in 2015. However, in June 2017 Uber experienced a series of bad press regarding an alleged culture of sexual harassment, which is what most experts believe caused their market share to fall to 75%.

In February of 2017 a former software engineer, Susan Fowler, wrote a lengthy post on her website regarding her experience of being harassed by a manager who was not disciplined by human resources for his behavior. In her post, Fowler wrote that Uber’s HR department and members of upper management told her that because it was the man’s first offense, they would only give him a warning. During her meeting with HR about the incident, Fowler was also advised that she should transfer to another department within the organization. According to Fowler, she was ultimately left no choice but to transfer to another department, despite having specific expertise in the department in which she had originally been working.

As her time at the company went on, she began meeting other women who worked for the company who relayed their own stories of harassment. To her surprise, many of the women reported being harassed by the same person who had harassed her. As she noted in her blog, “It became obvious that both HR and management had been lying about this being his ‘first offense.’” Fowler also reported a number of other instances that she identified as sexist and inappropriate within the organization and claims that she was disciplined severely for continuing to speak out. Fowler eventually left Uber after about two years of working for the company, noting that during her time at Uber the percentage of women working there had dropped to 6% of the workforce, down from 25% when she first started.

Following the fallout from Fowler’s lengthy description of the workplace on her website, Uber’s chief executive Travis Kalanick publicly condemned the behavior described by Fowler, calling it “abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in.” But later in March, Uber board member Arianna Huffington claimed that she believed “sexual harassment was not a systemic problem at the company.” Amid pressure from bad media attention and the company’s falling market share, Uber made some changes after an independent investigation resulted in 215 complaints. As a result, 20 employees were fired for reasons ranging from sexual harassment to bullying to retaliation to discrimination, and Kalanick announced that he would hire a chief operating officer to help manage the company. In an effort to provide the leadership team with more diversity, two senior female executives were hired to fill the positions of chief brand officer and senior vice president for leadership and strategy.

Critical Thinking Questions

• Based on Cox’s business case for diversity, what are some positive outcomes that may result in changes to Uber’s leadership team?
• If the case had occurred in Canada, what forms of legislation would have protected Fowler?
• What strategies should have been put in place to help prevent sexual harassment incidents like this from happening in the first place?

“ Diversity in Organizations ” in Organizational Behaviour by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

Della Cava, M. (2017, June 13). Uber has lost market share to Lyft during crisis. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/06/13/uber-market-share-customer-image-hit-string-scandals/102795024/

Fowler, T. (2017, February 19). Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber. https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber.

Lien,  T. (2017, June 6). Uber fires 20 workers after harassment investigation. Los Angeles Times.  http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tn-uber-sexual-harassment-20170606-story.html

Uber (2017, February). Company info. https://www.uber.com/newsroom/company-info/

Chapter Reference:  Section 5.3 Collaboration, Decision-Making and Problem Solving in Groups

Diverse teams have been proven to be better at problem-solving and decision-making for a number of reasons. First, they bring many different perspectives to the table. Second, they rely more on facts and use those facts to substantiate their positions. What is even more interesting is that, according to the Scientific American article “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter,” simply “being around people who are different from us makes more creative, diligent, and harder-working.”

One case in point is the example of jury decision-making, where fact-finding and logical decision-making are of utmost importance. A 2006 study of jury decision-making, led by social psychologist Samuel Sommers of Tufts University, showed that racially diverse groups exchanged a wider range of information during deliberation of a case than all-White groups did. The researcher also conducted mock jury trials with a group of real jurors to show the impact of diversity on jury decision-making.

Interestingly enough, it was the mere presence of diversity on the jury that made jurors consider the facts more, and they had fewer errors recalling the relevant information. The groups even became more willing to discuss the role of race case, when they hadn’t before with an all-White jury. This wasn’t the case because the diverse jury members brought new information to the group—it happened because, according to the author, the mere presence of diversity made people more open-minded and diligent. Given what we discussed on the benefits of diversity, it makes sense. People are more likely to be prepared, to be diligent, and to think logically about something if they know that they will be pushed or tested on it. And who else would push you or test you on something, if not someone who is different from you in perspective, experience, or thinking. “Diversity jolts us into cognitive action in ways that homogeneity simply does not.”

So, the next time you are called for jury duty, or to serve on a board committee, or to make an important decision as part of a team, remember that one way to generate a great discussion and come up with a strong solution is to pull together a diverse team.

• If you don’t have a diverse group of people on your team, how can you ensure that you will have robust discussions and decision-making? What techniques can you use to generate conversations from different perspectives?
• Evaluate your own team at work. Is it a diverse team? How would you rate the quality of decisions generated from that group?

Sources: Adapted from Katherine W. Phillips, “How Diversity Makes Us Smarter,” Scientific American, October 2014, p. 7–8.

“ Critical Thinking Case ” in  Organizational Behaviour by OpenStax is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

Conflict Management Copyright © 2022 by Laura Westmaas, BA, MSc is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Case Study: When Two Leaders on the Senior Team Hate Each Other

by Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden

Summary .   

In this fictional case, the CEO of a sports apparel manufacturer is faced with an ongoing conflict between two of his top executives. Specifically, the head of sales and the CFO are at each other’s throats and the tension is having a ripple effect on their teams and the rest of the organization. The CEO, who tends to avoid conflict himself, is struggling with how to respond. His options include changing the company compensation scheme to encourage better collaboration, firing the two leaders, getting them each a coach, and doing more team building activities.

The feedback in the 360-degree reviews was supposed to be anonymous. But it was crystal clear who’d made the negative comments in the assessment of one executive.

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Must-Have Conflict Management Case Study Examples with Templates and Samples

Ananya Bhaduri

“Avoiding conflict doesn’t make it go away; it just goes away and sharpens its fangs.”- Amy Alkon.

Conflicts often emerge like untamed brushstrokes on a canvas in the vast tapestry of the modern workplace, where diverse personalities and ambitions intertwine. Like skilled artists, adept leaders know conflict management is critical to transforming these chaotic clashes into harmonious masterpieces. Picture a symphony conductor orchestrating a medley of differing notes, rhythmically merging dissonance into a harmonious melody. Workplace conflict management is akin to that conductor, delicately navigating the complexities of human interaction, listening to the various voices and perspectives, and conducting a harmonious resolution. It is the art of understanding, empathy, and communication, allowing teams to transcend discord and embark on a collective journey toward collaboration and success.

Importance of Conflict Management

Conflict management or conflict resolution is essential for fostering productive and harmonious relationships in both personal and professional contexts. It is pivotal in promoting understanding, resolving differences, and facilitating growth and innovation. Effective conflict management enables individuals and groups to navigate disagreements, negotiate compromises and maintain a positive and collaborative atmosphere.

By addressing conflicts constructively, conflicts can be transformed into opportunities for learning and development. Conflict management helps to prevent escalation and destructive outcomes, such as strained relationships, loss of trust, and decreased productivity. It promotes open communication, active listening, end empathy, allowing parties to express their concerns, interests, and needs.

Moreover, conflict management is crucial for promoting diversity and inclusivity. It encourages the exploration of various perspectives and fosters a culture of respect and acceptance. By acknowledging and valuing differences, conflicts can be seen as a means to challenge assumptions, foster creativity, and drive innovation.

In summary, conflict management is of utmost importance. It enables individuals and organizations to handle disagreements and differences constructively, improving relationships, increasing productivity, and creating a more inclusive and resilient environment. 

Suppose you're willing to offer practical training for your team and colleagues regarding conflict management. In that case, you can check our training module, which focuses on workplace conflict and prevention techniques.

Template 1: A Case Study on Conflict Management at Workplace 

Explore the following template that showcases a case study on workplace conflict management. Use this pre-designed template to outline the context of the conflict within your organization. This concise yet comprehensible template enables your workforce to effectively grasp the conflict's background. Get this template now!

Download now

Template 2: A case study on Conflict Management at the Workplace

Use this slide to highlight the decision regarding conflict management in your organization. This template describes the decision taken and the outcome of the decision. This ready-to-use template is column structured. One explains the decisions taken, and the other denotes the outcomes. This format easily attracts customers; you can edit the decisions and outcomes per your requirements.

Template 3: Recommended Conflict Management Solution Template

This content-ready template helps you showcase the recommendations regarding the conflict management solution. It states that the decisions should be based on facts, and there should be proper reasoning when making the decisions. On the other hand, it also mentions using external assessment firms for making such decisions. Lastly, you can formulate workplace behavior rules and regulations to control aggressive employee behavior. Since this template is customizable, you can add more recommendations according to your needs. 

Template 4: Case Study on Employee Dispute at Workplace Template

This PPT Slide allows you to describe the background of the employee dispute in your workplace. Disputes or conflicts can be based on discrimination. In this template, you can highlight the conflict between the employees and what are the issues faced by them. Get this slide now to get started!

Template 5: Conflict with Manager Template

Use this slide to emphasize the background of the conflict involving the manager. This specific slide highlights the conflict stemming from divergent perspectives on a project. Our dedicated experts have designed these templates to be easily editable, enabling you to incorporate the conflict's background according to your specific needs. Access this template from the given link.

Template 6: Conflict Resolution Approach Template

Discover this PPT Template that showcases the conflict resolution approach adopted within your organization. Within this template, the initial resolution articulates a clear and rational rationale for the change in approach. The second resolution emphasizes the significance of mutual agreement through a constructive dialogue between the employee and the manager. You have the flexibility to customize the resolutions based on the conflict background prevalent in your company. The captivating structure and enriching content of this template will undoubtedly captivate your audience. Act now and seize this opportunity!

Template 7: Mediation at Workplace Template

Mediation holds utmost importance in resolving workplace conflicts among employees or teams. To address conflicts within your company, avail yourself of this downloadable template. It provides a platform to outline the background of the conflict comprehensively. The template emphasizes conducting a role play to effectively resolve the conflict, suggesting the involvement of three individuals as volunteers to portray the employees' roles. However, you have the liberty to customize the template to suit your specific requirements. Download this template right away.

Template 8: Outcome of the Decision Template

This template allows you to focus on the Outcome of the decision. It states that the mediation process helps when communication doesn't work. With this template, you can identify the cause of failure and find new ways of working together. Grab this template now!

Template 9: Conflict Resolution Template

Use this PPT Slide to define your actions regarding the resolution of conflict when both of them were part of your team. With the background of the incident, you can act to resolve the conflict. The colorful and rich content can easily attract your customers. Get this template from the given link!

Template 10: Approach and Outcome Template

This template helps you to find the approach and outcomes of conflict resolution in the workplace. It states to review the entire situation first, then the concerned employees and the managers should be interviewed, and lastly, there should be some psychometric tests to assess the personality. This will lead to understanding the persistent stress level of the employees.

Wrapping up

The above ten templates related to workplace conflict management will help you point out, avoid and mitigate workplace conflicts. Do you know these templates are easily customizable? Also, you can use and save these powerpoint graphics in the format of your choice. 

FAQs on Conflict Management

What is a good example of conflict management.

X manages a customer service team. She oversees 16 employees, and it's her first leadership role. She has one team member, Y, with a low customer satisfaction score. In a previous meeting, she told Y she would like her to raise the score, but it's been a month without improvement.

In such cases, X could work to develop her leadership and communication skills by conducting a training session.

What is an example of a conflict case?

X is an accountant for a software production company. He requires all the sales figures each month to create his reports. One of his colleagues on the sales team, Mr. Y, always gives him the figures late, which affects X's report.

What are the five types of conflict management?

Five types of Conflict management includes-accommodating is the situation when the issue is not essential to you as it is to the other person; avoiding involves simply ignoring the issue; compromising is the opportunity to find a middle-ground solution; collaborating is beyond finding the middle ground to finding a solution and competing that involves sticking to your argument.

What are the 5 Cs of conflict management with examples?

The five C's include- carefully listening, considering the situation, having a calm discussion, conscientiously looking at the facts, and cooperatively working together.

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Examples of Conflict in the Workplace - Scenarios & Solutions

Table of Contents

• Scenario 1 — You get off on the wrong foot with a new coworker
• Scenario 2 — Someone sends you urgent requests after hours
• Scenario 3 — Things got awkward between you and your work friend after you got a promotion
• Scenario 4 — Your supervisor is playing favorites, giving preferential treatment and more opportunities to certain team members.

Conflict in the workplace is inevitable.

So how can we set ourselves up to deal with conflict as constructively and professionally as possible?

After all, conflict is a necessary - and healthy - element of all human relationships. The key is to make sure that bottled up emotions and/or uncontrolled outbursts don't lead to toxicity in the workplace.

That's why we hosted an interactive chat with Sharon Ray, a conflict resolution expert with 25+ years of experience in HR.

Watch the Chat

"Anytime you deal with people, you're going to have some sort of disagreement or conflict. Conflict in the workplace is an exercise in persuasion. Being able to problem solve and find the best solution for both sides."

Sharon fielded questions from the PowerToFly community about how to deal with a number of examples of conflict in the workplace.

You get off on the wrong foot with a new coworker.

They ask you for help responding to a customer inquiry, but you refuse to lend a hand because you are working on a tight deadline and don't want to waste time. There has been tension between you two ever since, and now you need their help on a project, but they're not being very responsive.

How do you recover?

Proposed Solution

Go own it! Find an appropriate time to walk up to them and say,"I understand that we got off on the wrong foot. My apologies for that. What I'm trying to resolve is X. Can we have a conversation about that?"

Regardless of who the conflict is with - an employee, your boss, etc., they'll think more highly of you if you demonstrate self-awareness. The conversation may be awkward, but that's better than a tense relationship that could last years all because you got off on the wrong foot.

Key Focus : It's all about how you approach the situation.

Try to maintain respect in the conversation and understand that it does not mean that you're going to love each other at the end of it. At the end of the day you are trying to resolve something so that you can move forward and execute on whatever project or plan you need to deliver.

You're frustrated because your colleague in France keeps messaging you at 5am (your time). They send you seemingly urgent requests when you're sleeping or just waking up, and you're sick of being bombarded with 11 requests before you've even sat down at your desk. You get the vibe they don't like you very much and you don't know how to approach them.

Avoiding confrontation is making your situation worse, not better! Schedule a time to chat with them via phone or video call.

Bring the spirit of collaboration to the table!

Uncover the root of the problem by asking questions - "Is there any particular reason you send me requests before I'm up? Am I responding to you too late?"

Once you understand why they're doing it, you can help them articulate their needs. Maybe they send you 11 messages at 6am because that's right before their lunchtime, and they don't want to forget their questions when they go on break.

Now figure out a solution that works for both of you. Can they send themselves a reminder on Slack to ping you with their questions when you're at your desk? Can you just ignore their messages until you clock in now that you understand they're not time sensitive? Should you schedule a morning check in to go over these requests in real time rather than via message?

Key Focus: Have a candid conversation to ease any tensions long distance can bring.

You got a promotion that your friend at work was also gunning for. Now things are awkward between you two. You definitely want to keep the friendship going, but they aren't even speaking to you outside of team meetings.

Sharon suggests going up to the person and owning it. Tell them that you know it's an uncomfortable situation and that you'd like to continue the relationship. These situations are tough, but radical candor is important - learn more about how to practice it in the workplace here .

Key Focus: Be proactive. Break the ice. Figure out how to work together.

Important Note: Never apologize for your promotion/moving your career forward. Prepare to be content with the other person's decision if they are no longer interested in continuing the friendship.

Tensions are rising in the office as it becomes increasingly clear that your manager is playing favorites. Certain team members consistently receive the most exciting projects, professional development opportunities, and public recognition. While others, including you, are overlooked despite boasting equal or superior performance. This favoritism has led to low morale and a sense of unfairness among the team, which hinders overall productivity and collaboration.

To address this issue, it's important to map specific times when you've noticed this happening to yourself. That way, you can come prepared with examples for the meeting, Having a well-thought-out plan before approaching your manager is key. Begin by requesting a private meeting to discuss your concerns.

In this meeting, be calm and professional. Provide specific examples of instances where favoritism has been observed, focusing on the impact on team morale and performance rather than personal grievances. Emphasize the importance of fairness and equal opportunity in fostering a productive and motivated team.

Depending on the conversation, you might suggest implementing a more transparent and inclusive system for assigning projects and opportunities, with clear, objective criteria for distributing assignments and recognition. In addition, you can suggest regular team meetings where progress, accomplishments, and future opportunities are discussed openly so that everyone is informed and feels included. Encourage your manager to solicit feedback from all team members to ensure everyone's skills and contributions are recognized, and the company distributes development opportunities equally. By fostering a more equitable environment, your team can improve morale, enhance collaboration, and increase productivity.

Don't see your specific scenario listed above? Feel free to check out the full video for more examples of conflict in the workplace scenarios - and solutions!

Here are some highlighted questions from the chat and learn :

• What steps should I be taking to resolve conflicts at work? (4:21)
• What if the company you work for does not have an HR department, Should we expect the owner of the company to be the mediator? If so, are there tools he/she could reference when dealing with this type of situation? (4:29)
• How do I know when to escalate an issue with a coworker? (10:35)
• What are some suggestions to implement when management refuses to address issues of conflict? (10:42)
• I feel like my team is always combating my ideas. How do I address this? (17:47)
• How does one approach a manager who is part of the conflict without being scared to bring up the issue? (17:55)
• As a manager, how can I help my team address conflict better? (29:20)
• Could you please talk about conflict resolution and remote/international teams who may have geographical and cultural differences? (43:08)
• How do you best approach a coworker (same tenure) who's not doing their share of the work, while being respectful/not coming across as a manager/supervisor? (44:48)
• How do you think conflict can be an avenue for innovation? (47:34)

We'll leave you with some parting words from Sharon: "Whatever the scenario, keep in mind that we are human, and will face conflict. How we resolve that conflict is key."

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What Is Conflict Resolution?

Why are conflict resolution skills important, conflict resolution skills examples, conflict resolution skills at work: case studies, how to build conflict resolution skills, conflict resolution skills: the bottom line, how to build conflict resolution skills: case studies and examples.

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Forage puts students first. Our blog articles are written independently by our editorial team. They have not been paid for or sponsored by our partners. See our full  editorial guidelines .

Table of Contents

No one likes conflict. When you disagree with a coworker, it can be awkward at best and lead to job dissatisfaction and even a threat to your position at worst. Conflict resolution skills are crucial to positive work relationships, success, and growth at work. 

But what exactly are conflict resolution skills? How can you cultivate them, even without work experience? We’ll discuss everything you need to know about conflict resolution, why it’s essential, and how to build these critical soft skills — without stepping foot into an office.

Conflict resolution is the ability to end a dispute respectfully in a way that benefits all parties. More simply, it’s the ability to end a disagreement, argument, or even a fight politely and successfully.

In our everyday lives, this can range from something as simple as disagreeing with your friend on what to cook for dinner to something larger like addressing your friend’s feelings when they’re feeling left out of your friend group. In the workplace, conflict ranges from small to big, too; you might disagree with a coworker about how to phrase an email your company is sending, or you might have a more significant conflict about how they acted while working with you on a project. 

Regardless of the situation, conflict resolution skills can help you work through challenges with others to get your work done more efficiently and stress-free. Conflict resolution skills can lead to: 

• Better working relationships: Working with someone you find difficult is no fun. Conflict resolution skills can help you iron out issues so you can work together harmoniously.
• Getting work done more efficiently: When you can resolve conflict with others, work, especially collaborative projects, becomes much more manageable. You don’t need a coworker to be yet another blocker to hitting your team’s goals; instead, work becomes easier when you can collaborate and work together, not against each other.
• Happier work environment: It’s unpleasant to show up to work (in-person or virtually) when you have a conflict with someone. Addressing issues head-on can clear the air and make your work experience more enjoyable.
• Career growth: Conflict resolution skills are valuable soft skills. Being an effective mediator can help you become a more successful and personable employee, someone everyone wants to work with and have on their team.

Client Service

Practice de-escalating conflict as a customer service specialist. Record a call between you and your client and suggest a suitable path forward.

Avg. Time: 3-4 hours

Skills you’ll build: Triage, problem-solving, de-escalation, customer retention, composure

Conflict resolution requires various skills to effectively listen to others, empathize with them, and work together toward a solution. 

Active Listening

Active listening is when you’re not only listening to someone but actively engaging with and processing what they’re saying. It might look like engaged body language (like nodding and eye contact) or asking follow-up questions to clarify or further explore what the other person was saying.

Active listening is vital to conflict resolution. It allows you to truly understand and process what the other person in the conflict is going through. Listening to their perspective and taking it seriously can help you know where they’re coming from and find a solution that considers their feelings, perspectives, and goals. 

Negotiation

Resolving a conflict often means you’ll need to use negotiation skills to get the outcome you’re looking for. The goal is to find a solution that works for both or all parties, which means asking for what you want while trying to find a middle ground. 

Many of us may shy away from conflict because it requires asserting ourselves in sometimes awkward or difficult situations. This is where leadership skills come in. The decision to resolve a conflict requires one person to step up to address the problem — taking ownership, considering multiple perspectives, and developing an action plan. 

Decision-Making

Conflict resolution ends with a decision that benefits all parties. Good decision-making skills can help you assess the facts of the situation and come to a rational conclusion. These skills also come in handy when a conflict seems to drag on forever; people who are good decision-makers are biased toward action and focus on finding a solution rather than continuing to fight.

Communication

Unfortunately, even if you’re in a dispute with a person you really can’t stand, you’ll need to communicate with them to resolve a conflict. Using communication skills to speak or write confidently, clearly, and with empathy can help you find an agreeable solution more efficiently. 

>>MORE: What Are Verbal Communication Skills?

Collaboration

When you’re in a conflict, it can feel like you’re going head-to-head with someone else; however, you must work together to resolve that conflict. Collaboration skills ensure you consider the other person’s perspective, communicate the right information, and work together to determine the best solution.

Now you know what conflict resolution skills are, but how are they actually applied at work?

Connecting on the Outcome

Peter Premenko, founder and president of Phronesis Group, a boutique consultancy focusing on leadership, management, and team culture development, shared a time he wanted to change a company process—but not everyone was on board.

“My team needed to change the way we executed new employee onboarding,” Premenko says. “Our director of recruiting was dead set against the change because our existing program was world-class, and his team relied on it as part of the pitch to come work for our company. My approach with him was to take things up a level to something we did agree on: having the best people doing their best work for our company. This way we were solving a problem we both cared about together, instead of trying to defend my priority and defeat his. It took a little longer than I might have liked, but he eventually saw why the change I wanted to make was important and agreed to it.”

Connecting on why Premenko wanted to make the change allowed the director of recruiting to understand his motivation and realize they shared the same goal. 

Leading With Kindness

Stefan Chekanov, co-founder and CEO of Brosix, a secure instant messenger, shared a stressful moment when his team had been working hard to release new software features, include an AI integration, and redesign the company website. 

“This churn caused a bit of extra tension to start brewing internally, and unproductive, heated discussions rarely lead to anything more than mutual frustration,” Chekanov says.

To resolve the conflict, Chekanov decided to lead with kindness. 

“Whenever I noticed a team member (including myself) becoming increasingly agitated, I set up a private meeting for a genuine heart-to-heart,” he said. “At the end of the day, leading with empathy is how I gently nudge communication in a more constructive, positive direction. You don’t need work experience to be a decent human being, to put it simply.”

Providing Context

I had a conflict with a manager about an article I was working on about the “girlboss.” The main point of my article was that “girlboss” isn’t something to strive to be, but my manager disagreed and asked me to rewrite the piece. She took offense, thinking I wasn’t advocating for women’s advancement in the workplace; I took offense because she thought those were my views!

To resolve the conflict, I realized a vital piece of context was missing. As a Gen Zer, “girlboss” is a term my friends and I use sarcastically and jokingly; however, when the term first came into the cultural context, it was considered empowering. 

>>MORE: Bye-Bye, ‘Bandwidth’ — 50 Examples of Gen Z Jargon at Work

I did more research to show my manager how the conversation around the term had changed and brought concrete examples of how people were using the term now. After providing that context, we were able to edit the piece to add that research and nuance. It led to one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever written — one that was much better than the first draft I’d handed in.

Listening to Everyone’s Ideas

Kimberly Best’s work directly involves conflict resolution; she’s a civil mediator, trained family mediator, certified arbitrator, and owner of Best Conflict Solutions. She worked closely with a health care system with 17 medical offices struggling with employees leaving — the system had an attrition rate of 33%.

With such a company-wide issue, Best sought to understand what leaders and employees had to say. 

“First, I spoke with managers to hear what they experienced and what they proposed as resolutions,” she said. “I then formulated a statistically valid and reliable survey. I included a Likert scale and open-ended questions to get a full picture of management and team experience. Then I met with individuals and heard their stories and ideas. I asked teams to propose their needs and provide solutions.”

After listening to various people, Best used the data to meet with management and brainstorm what they could do differently. 

“Ironically, one primary need was for conflict management training and an effective conflict management system,” she said. “I provided conflict management training to teams and managers.”

After Best both provided training and helped create a system for conflict management processes, attrition at the health care system was 18% the following year.

Soft skills can feel more challenging to build because they’re less tangible than hard skills . For example, it may seem easier to approach learning programming skills , where you can take a coding bootcamp , than to learn how to collaborate better. But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn soft skills — or that you need to be in the workplace to learn them! Here’s what conflict resolution experts recommend if you’re looking to build these soft skills before landing your first role.

Role-Playing

“Participate in role-playing exercises or simulations that mimic workplace conflicts,” says Beth Fries, an organizational leadership professional and doctoral candidate researching readiness skills in diverse corporate sectors. “This can be done in a classroom setting, with friends or mentors, or through online platforms.”

Forage job simulations can help you practice conflict resolution skills without needing a friend or even leaving your home. 

Getting Ready to Join the Workforce

Practice using mediation skills to resolve an internal conflict on your team.

Avg. Time: 4-5 hours

Skills you’ll build: Emotional intelligence, prioritization, time management, self-reflection

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Fortunately (and unfortunately), conflict is often a part of our everyday lives, even if we might not realize it. The next time you argue with a friend or disagree with a family member, take a step back and reflect on how you approached the situation.

“Ask friends, family, or mentors for feedback on handling conflicts in everyday situations,” Fries says. “Use their input to improve your approach.”

Practice the Process

Kristyn Carmichael, professional mediator, family attorney, and certified divorce financial analyst, shares a three-step process for resolving conflict: listen, respond, resolve.

First, use active listening skills as the other person shares their perspective. Carmichael notes it’s essential to identify the “underlying issues rather than positions.”

A position is someone’s feelings about a situation, like “I don’t like working in a group with you.” 

“An interest is the underlying why: the person fears you will overshadow their work or get credit; they’re nervous you won’t put in work due to past experience; they don’t like you because you stole their lunch once (even on accident),” Carmichael says. “We all have underlying interests for what we want. It is important to be an active listener and ask questions, not become defensive or shut the other person down by shifting the conversation to yourself.”

Next, it’s time to respond by addressing the issues the person raised and acknowledging their feelings, even if you disagree with them. 

Using the same scenario of someone not wanting to work in a group with you, Carmichael offers an example response:

“Thank you for sharing with me that you don’t want to be on this project with me because you have heard negative things about my work ethic from others who have worked with me and you don’t think we will get along. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and understand why you may be nervous to work with me.” 

Ultimately, your goal is to find a resolution that benefits everyone. Carmichael recommends brainstorming solutions that work for both parties. Once you’ve decided on one, ensure you have a plan to implement and follow through on the resolution.

Conflict can be scary, and you might try to avoid it. Yet good conflict resolution skills can not only improve your working relationships, but can also lead to career growth and a happier work environment.

“Conflict is not bad; it’s a sign of a problem to solve,” Best says. “The most important thing in conflict resolution is building trust. This is done by listening well, empathy through genuine caring, and providing an environment that is safe to be honest. Safety is achieved through the above and through confidentiality and an environment without blame or judgment. When people feel heard, understood, and validated — the world makes sense through their eyes, and you demonstrate that you can see that — then creativity and problem-solving begin.”

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Negotiation and Conflict Management: Skills, Case Studies, and Techniques

• Conflict Management
• June 28, 2024

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a heated argument or complex negotiation, wondering how it could be resolved peacefully and effectively? Whether it’s in the boardroom or at the family dinner table, negotiation and conflict management skills are crucial tools for navigating human relationships.

Negotiation and conflict management are two dynamic fields that, when blended, offer robust solutions to some of life’s most challenging situations. These practices involve more than just talking through disagreements; they require a deep understanding of human behaviour, strategic communication, and a knack for finding common ground. Mastering conflict management skills can lead to enhanced relationships, more productive workplaces, and even personal growth.

Effective negotiation and dispute resolution require considering the needs and perspectives of the other party and other stakeholders . By understanding different perspectives , one can navigate conflicts more effectively. Additionally, accessing resources like a free special report can provide valuable insights and strategies for successful negotiation and dispute resolution .

This blog will explore the relationship between negotiating and managing conflicts, providing you with the strategies and insights needed to handle disputes effectively in any area of your life. Join us as we dive into a comprehensive guide designed to empower you with practical skills for peaceful resolution and agreement-making.

Understanding Conflict Management

Conflict management is an essential skill in both personal and professional realms, involving the ability to navigate and mitigate disputes effectively. At its core, conflict management is not about avoiding disagreements but rather about addressing them in ways that prevent escalation and foster mutual respect. Here, we explore the foundational aspects of conflict management, offering a deeper understanding of why conflicts occur and how they can be managed constructively within an organization . By learning to negotiate and deal with conflicts through talks and collaborative effort , individuals and teams can build stronger relationships and a more harmonious environment.

Conflict arises from differences in values, goals, needs, or expectations. In the workplace, conflicts emerge from resource allocation, workload distributions, or varying work styles among team members. In personal settings, differences in beliefs and lifestyles can lead to disputes. Effective conflict management not only resolves these issues but also enhances relational dynamics, promoting a culture of cooperation and respect. Involving every person and participants in the conversations helps in reaching a consensus . In a company , ongoing research can provide insights into the best practices for managing conflicts constructively, ultimately fostering a more collaborative and respectful environment.

Common Causes of Conflicts

Explore the key factors that often lead to conflicts in various settings.

Resource constraints: Limited resources can lead to competition among team members, sparking conflicts.

Value and cultural differences: Diverse backgrounds lead to varied perspectives, which can clash without a mutual understanding.

Communication gaps: Misunderstandings and lack of effective communication often escalate into conflicts.

Personality clashes: Differences in personalities and working styles can create friction.

Types of Conflicts

Understand the various types of conflicts that can arise in different situations.

Interpersonal conflicts: Arise from personal disputes among individuals, such as disagreements between co-workers over work styles or between friends over personal values. Two team members argue over the best approach to a project, each believing their method is superior.

Intra-group conflicts: Occur within a group and affect its internal dynamics. These can stem from differing opinions on how a group project should be executed. A project team splinters into factions over the direction of the project, leading to reduced cooperation and strained relationships.

Inter-group conflicts: Involve disputes between different groups or teams, often due to competition for resources or conflicting objectives. Sales and marketing teams clash over resource allocation, each accusing the other of jeopardising the company’s goals.

Organisational conflicts: Stem from structural or operational issues, such as conflicting departmental goals or misaligned incentives. A company’s production and quality assurance departments conflict over production speed versus quality control standards.

Psychological And Emotional Considerations

Emotions play a significant role in conflict scenarios. Stress, fear, and anger can exacerbate conflicts, making resolution more challenging. Emotional intelligence is crucial; it involves understanding and managing one’s own emotions and empathising with others. Training in emotional intelligence can help individuals recognise emotional responses to conflict and approach disputes with a level-headed, empathetic perspective. This emotional skill set is vital for de-escalating conflict and fostering an environment conducive to constructive resolution.

Result Of Effective Conflict Management

Discover the positive outcomes that effective conflict management can achieve.

Improved relationships: Constructive conflict resolution builds trust and understanding among parties, strengthening professional and personal relationships.

Enhanced problem-solving: Open, respectful communication during conflict resolution leads to innovative solutions that may not have been considered in a conflict-free environment.

Increased productivity: Effective conflict resolution removes obstacles that impede progress, leading to greater efficiency and satisfaction in work outcomes.

Greater organisational health: A culture that manages conflicts constructively experiences lower turnover rates, better employee morale, and a more cohesive work environment.

Effective conflict management not only resolves disputes but also transforms potential obstacles into opportunities for growth and collaboration. By embracing these principles and strategies, individuals and organisations can create a more positive, productive, and stable environment equipped to handle the complexities of human interactions.

Understanding Negotiation Skills

Negotiation is an indispensable skill in both professional and personal settings. It plays a critical role in conflict resolution and effective communication. Mastering negotiation skills enables individuals to reach agreements that benefit all parties involved, fostering collaboration and improving relationships. In this section, we explore the essentials of negotiation, including its definition, importance, and the critical skills required for successful outcomes.

Negotiation is when two or more parties with differing needs and goals discuss an issue to find a mutually acceptable solution. It is used across various contexts, from business transactions and labour agreements to resolving familial or interpersonal conflicts. Effective negotiation helps prevent misunderstandings, builds stronger relationships, and leads to better solutions that satisfy all involved parties.

Core Skills For Effective Negotiation

These skills equip individuals to manage disagreements constructively, create value in interactions, and achieve desired outcomes more efficiently.

Problem-solving: Negotiation is a problem-solving process. It requires creativity in finding solutions that are acceptable to all parties. This involves thinking outside the box and being willing to consider alternative solutions that may not have been initially apparent.

Decision-making: Effective negotiation requires timely and decisive decision-making. This involves analysing information, balancing risks and benefits, and making choices that move the negotiation toward a resolution.

Assertiveness: Being assertive means being able to firmly communicate your needs and rights without infringing on the rights of others. However, it’s equally important to remain flexible and open to compromise.

Like any skill, negotiation abilities improve with practice. Regular reflective practices, seeking feedback, and learning from each experience are essential for growth. Attending workshops, reading relevant literature, and getting coaching can also enhance one’s negotiation skills.

Understanding and mastering negotiation skills are essential for anyone looking to navigate the complexities of modern relationships and organisations effectively. 

Core Principles Of Negotiation And Conflict Management

Negotiation and conflict management are different but interconnected disciplines with several core principles essential for effective resolution and agreement-making. These principles form the foundation of strategies designed to navigate disputes, enhance collaboration, and forge lasting agreements.

1. Preparation And Planning

Both negotiation and conflict management require meticulous preparation and planning. This involves understanding the context of the dispute or negotiation, identifying the interests and goals of all parties involved, and anticipating potential challenges. In conflict management, preparation might include gathering facts about the dispute and understanding the emotional landscape of the parties. In negotiation, it involves understanding the negotiation landscape, the stakes involved, and the other party’s objectives. 

As Dwight D. Eisenhower famously said, “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything,” underscoring the importance of the planning process in any strategic scenario. Adequate preparation ensures that you enter negotiations or conflict resolutions with a clear strategy and objectives, improving the likelihood of a favourable outcome.

2. Clear Communication

At the heart of both fields is the necessity for clear, concise, and effective communication. This includes articulating your own needs and viewpoints clearly and listening actively to others. In conflict management, poor communication can escalate misunderstandings into full-blown disputes, while in negotiation, a failure to communicate effectively can result in missed opportunities for agreement. 

A study by the American Management Association highlights that effective communication leads to a 50% reduction in conflict duration, emphasising the efficiency gains from precise interactions. 

Techniques such as active listening, mutual understanding, and assertive communication are vital. These skills help prevent misinterpretations and foster an environment where all parties feel heard and understood, paving the way for effective problem-solving.

3. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is crucial for managing one’s own emotions and understanding the feelings of others in both negotiating and managing conflicts. High emotional intelligence allows individuals to approach negotiations and disputes with empathy, manage stress effectively, and remain calm under pressure. This capability is essential for maintaining a constructive atmosphere during discussions, even when tensions rise. For instance, recognising when emotions might derail a conversation and addressing these emotions can prevent escalation and facilitate a more rational approach to problem-solving.

4. Focus on Interests Rather Than Positions

Both fields emphasise the importance of focusing on interests rather than positions. In conflict management, digging into the underlying interests helps reveal the real issues at stake beyond what is explicitly stated. Similarly, in negotiation, understanding the underlying motivations and needs of all parties allows for creating solutions that can satisfy deeper interests, leading to more durable and acceptable outcomes. 

Nelson Mandela’s negotiations to end apartheid are prime real-life examples of focusing on interests over positions, where he looked beyond the immediate political disputes to the broader need for peace and reconciliation in South Africa. This approach encourages all involved to move beyond their initial demands (positions) to the reasons behind these demands (interests), facilitating a more flexible and creative problem-solving process.

5. Seeking Win-Win Outcomes

The aim in both negotiation and conflict management is often to achieve win-win outcomes where all parties feel they have gained something of value. This principle is about finding integrative solutions that do not merely compromise but optimise the outcomes for all involved. It involves identifying opportunities for synergy and mutual benefit. For example, in a workplace conflict over resource allocation, rather than dividing the resources equally (and perhaps suboptimally), identifying additional resources or alternate ways to enhance efficiency might satisfy all parties more effectively.

6. Respect And Fairness

Studies show that perceptions of fairness in negotiation contribute significantly to the durability of agreements, underscoring the importance of equitable processes. A commitment to respect and fairness is fundamental. This means treating all parties with dignity, ensuring that the process is transparent and the outcomes are fair. 

In both negotiation and conflict resolution, perceived fairness in the process can significantly influence acceptance of the outcome. Ensuring that each party’s views are considered and that the final agreement respects their fundamental interests is crucial for maintaining ongoing relationships and trust. 

Negotiators need a strong knowledge base and an understanding of the legal landscape and the other party’s interests. They can leverage the experience of their community, like colleagues or online forums, to refine their strategy. In some cases, government regulations influence the negotiation, requiring awareness of these frameworks.

7.   Adaptability And Flexibility

Lastly, both negotiation and conflict management require adaptability and flexibility. Being open to changing one’s stance and adapting strategies in response to new information or shifting dynamics is critical. This flexibility can lead to more innovative solutions and improve the agreement’s or resolution’s resilience over time. This flexibility was notably demonstrated in the Cuban Missile Crisis negotiations, where President Kennedy’s ability to offer a reciprocal removal of U.S. missiles from Turkey helped resolve what could have escalated into a catastrophic conflict.

Negotiation vs. Conflict Management

In organisational behaviour and interpersonal dynamics, negotiation and conflict management are often discussed together. While they overlap and interact significantly, it’s crucial to understand their distinctions, as each plays a unique role in how businesses and individuals navigate dispute resolution and achieve objectives. 

Negotiation: The negotiation process is used to resolve disputes by discussing the issues openly and aiming to reach an agreement that benefits all parties involved. It is a subset of conflict resolution focusing on direct communication and compromise to settle differences. Negotiation is often transactional and can be considered a tactical approach aimed at resolving a particular conflict or concluding a specific agreement.

Conflict Management: Conflict management is a broader term that encompasses a range of strategies and processes used to prevent, manage, and resolve conflicts. It includes not only negotiation but also other methods, such as avoidance, accommodation, or even competition, depending on the situation. Conflict management is more strategic and consists of the identification, analysis, and resolution of conflicts within a team or organisation over time.

Objective and Focus

Negotiation Goals: The primary goal of negotiation is to find a solution or reach an agreement that all parties can accept. Negotiators often seek a win-win scenario, where compromises are made to ensure that each party’s fundamental interests are addressed. The focus is on the issue at hand, and the process is generally confined to specific conflicts or deals.

Conflict Management Goals: Conflict management aims to improve interaction patterns and team dynamics to prevent the escalation of conflicts. It focuses not only on resolving disputes specifically but also on creating an environment that reduces the likelihood of conflicts arising in the first place. The ongoing health of relationships and organisational culture is a key concern.

Processes And Techniques

Negotiation Techniques: Negotiation involves techniques such as preparing a bargaining table, understanding the opponent’s needs, active listening, persuasive communication, and sometimes mediation by a third party. It often requires a deep understanding of negotiation tactics and the ability to apply them effectively to sway the outcome favourably.

Conflict Management Techniques: Conflict management may utilise a variety of techniques based on the conflict type and the organisational context. These include setting clear communication protocols, establishing norms for interaction, training team members in emotional intelligence, and designing feedback mechanisms. Conflict management is continuous and proactive, aiming to equip teams with the skills to handle disputes internally before they escalate.

Temporal Nature

Negotiation Duration: Negotiation is generally a shorter-term activity with a clear beginning and end. Once the parties reach an agreement, the negotiation is typically considered complete, although the implementation of agreements might be ongoing.

Conflict Management Duration: Conflict management is an ongoing process. It does not end with resolving a single issue but continues to evolve as the organisation or team grows. Effective conflict management adapts to new challenges and conflicts as they arise, making it a continuous aspect of organisational development.

Outcomes And Evaluation

Negotiation Outcomes: Successful negotiation is measured by the terms of the agreement reached and how well it is implemented. The immediate effectiveness is often visible and tangible, whether in contractual terms or resolved disputes.

Conflict Management Outcomes: The success of conflict management is evaluated over a more extended period and can be seen in the overall reduction in conflict occurrences, improved team cohesion, and enhanced productivity. It involves a more qualitative assessment of team and organisational health.

While negotiation can be an effective tool within conflict management, it does not encompass the entire scope of managing conflicts. Negotiation skills are a part of the toolkit for conflict management, which also requires understanding broader dynamics and developing systems to manage conflicts effectively across an organisation.

Combining Negotiation And Conflict Management

Negotiation and conflict management are complementary skills that, when used together effectively, can resolve disputes and foster a cooperative environment. Understanding when to use negotiation as part of a broader conflict management strategy is crucial for achieving lasting solutions, particularly in complex or sensitive situations. This section explores the strategic integration of negotiation within conflict management, illustrated with real-world case studies and strategies for negotiating with challenging personalities.

When To Use Negotiation To Manage Conflicts

Learn when negotiation is the best approach to resolving conflicts effectively.

Interests are alignable: When the conflicting parties have interests that can potentially be aligned or integrated, negotiation is a suitable method. It allows for the deep exploration of these interests and the discovery of creative solutions that satisfy both sides.

Direct Communication is possible: If the parties are willing to engage directly and openly, negotiation can lead to a more thorough understanding and more durable agreements.

The relationship is valuable: In situations where maintaining or improving the relationship is as important as resolving the conflict itself, negotiation offers a respectful and collaborative approach to conflict resolution.

Disney And Pixar Merger: A Case Study

The merger between Disney and Pixar in 2006 is a classic example of how effective negotiation and conflict management can lead to a successful integration of two companies, each with its own unique culture and creative philosophy. This merger not only combined two entertainment giants but also blended differing corporate cultures and artistic approaches, making the negotiation and subsequent management of potential conflicts crucial for success.

Background And Challenges

Disney, a long-established leader in animated films, was facing creative stagnation and needed a fresh infusion of innovation and creativity. Pixar, known for its cutting-edge animation technology and innovative storytelling, had been a vital partner, but the existing distribution agreement between the two parties was set to expire. The potential renewal of this agreement brought to light various underlying conflicts, including issues of content control, revenue sharing, and operational independence.

Negotiation Strategies Employed

Explore various strategies used to achieve successful negotiation outcomes.

Aligning interests: Central to the negotiation was the alignment of interests. Disney desired continued access to Pixar’s creative power and technological prowess, whereas Pixar sought to retain its artistic independence and control over its projects. Both companies recognised that a successful merger could provide mutual benefits: Disney could revitalise its animation studio with Pixar’s creative input, and Pixar could leverage Disney’s vast distribution network.

Preserving culture and independence: One of the most significant potential conflicts was the fear that Pixar’s unique culture and creative process would be stifled under Disney’s corporate structure. To manage this conflict, Disney negotiated terms that allowed Pixar to retain its independent identity, including its brand, creative process, and operational independence. This assurance was pivotal in mitigating concerns and fostering a cooperative atmosphere.

Leadership roles: Another significant aspect of the negotiation involved leadership roles. Ed Catmull and John Lasseter of Pixar were given control of Disney’s animation division, ensuring that the creative philosophies that had made Pixar successful would permeate Disney’s broader animation efforts. This move was critical in managing potential internal conflicts by aligning leadership goals across both organisations.

Conflict Management Post-Merger

Understand the essential techniques for managing conflicts following a merger.

Integration without assimilation: Post-merger, the challenge was to integrate the companies without diluting Pixar’s successful culture. Disney managed this potential conflict by allowing Pixar to operate as a separate entity, thus preventing the usual post-merger cultural clashes.

Regular communication and collaboration: To further manage conflicts and foster a positive relationship, Disney and Pixar established regular communication channels at all levels of both organisations. This openness prevented misunderstandings and ensured that minor disputes were resolved quickly before escalating.

Shared goals and vision: By continuously aligning on shared goals and reinforcing the vision of collaborative success, both companies managed potential conflicts about the direction of joint projects. They celebrated shared successes, which reinforced the many benefits of the merger and the value of combined efforts.

The Disney-Pixar merger is widely regarded as one of the most successful mergers in entertainment history, primarily due to the effective negotiation and conflict management strategies employed. The merger allowed Disney to reclaim its animation leadership while Pixar continued to produce critically acclaimed films under its own brand.

This case study exemplifies how combining negotiation with conflict management can address potential issues effectively, leading to a partnership that respects autonomy and enhances the strengths of both parties involved. The careful handling of cultural integration, leadership alignment, and preservation of creative independence were critical factors in the enduring success of the Disney-Pixar merger.

The strategic combination of negotiation and conflict management is pivotal in transforming potential adversities into opportunities for growth and collaboration. By prioritising clear communication, respecting cultural differences, and aligning interests, organisations can navigate complex negotiations and manage conflicts with finesse. 

Whether dealing with corporate mergers, team dynamics, or personal relationships, the principles of negotiation and conflict management serve as fundamental tools for fostering a cooperative environment and achieving sustainable resolutions. This comprehensive exploration underscores their indispensable role in modern organisational and personal success, encouraging a proactive rather than reactive approach to conflict and negotiation.

Rishabh Bhandari

Rishabh Bhandari is the Content Strategist at Kapable. Rishabh likes to transform complex ideas into captivating narratives relatable to the target audience. He loves telling stories through his content. He believes that stories have the power to shift mindsets and move mountains. He has 3 years of experience in educational blog writing and copywriting.

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Managing Workplace Conflicts: A Case Study In The City Of Johannesburg

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Article contents

Managing conflict for effective leadership and organizations.

• Dean Tjosvold , Dean Tjosvold Department of Management, Lingnan University
• Alfred S. H. Wong Alfred S. H. Wong Department of Management, Lingnan University
•  and  Nancy Yi Feng Chen Nancy Yi Feng Chen Department of Management, Lingnan University
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190224851.013.240
• Published online: 28 August 2019

Leaders and employees deal with conflict as they collaborate in the everyday life of organizations and as they confront crises. Depending how they manage conflict, they can frustrate employees and provoke customer complaints but also stimulate their relationships and decision-making. The possibilities of constructive conflict are significant and documented, but the challenges to making conflict constructive are significant too. The practice of defining conflict as a win-lose battle has obscured ways of managing conflict constructively. Fortunately, researchers have developed concepts and findings that can help managers and employees manage conflict. A first step is developing a useful, unconfounded definition of conflict. Deutsch proposed that conflict occurs when there are incompatible activities. Team members are in conflict as they argue for different options for a decision.

Deutsch also theorized that how people believe their goals are related very much affects their interaction, specifically their conflict management. They can conclude that their goals are cooperative (positively related), competitive (negatively related), or independent. People with cooperative goals believe that as one of them moves toward attaining goals, that helps others achieve their goals. In competition, people conclude that their goals are negatively related and only one can succeed in the interaction. In independence, one person ‘s success neither benefits nor harms the others’ success. Researchers have found that the nature of the cooperative or competitive relationship between protagonists has a profound impact on their mutual motivation to discuss conflicts constructively. Cooperative and competitive methods of handling conflict have consistent, powerful effects on constructive conflict. Team members with cooperative goals engage in open-minded discussions where they develop and express their opposing positions, including the ideas, reasons, and knowledge they use to support their positions. They also work to understand each other’s perspectives. They are then in a position to combine the best of each other’s ideas and create effective resolutions of conflict that they are both committed to implement. Teams that rely on cooperative, mutual benefit interaction ways of managing conflict and avoid competitive, win-lose ways been found to use conflict to promote high quality decisions, to stimulate learning, and to strengthen their work relationships. What has an impact on constructive conflict is not so much the occurrence, amount, or type of conflict but how leaders and employees approach and handle their conflicts, specifically, the extent to which their discussions are cooperative and open-minded.

• incompatible activities
• mutual benefit conflict
• win–lose conflict
• constructive conflict
• open-minded discussions

Conflict is pervasive and greatly affects leadership and teamwork, the very drivers of organizations (Blake & Mouton, 1964 ; Jehn, 1995 ; Johnson, 2015 ). Conflict is part of the everyday life of organizations in making decisions, handling customer complaints, and managing performance; conflict is also part of dealing with dramatic events such as acquisitions, strikes, and bankruptcies. Conflicts have both constructive and destructive sides. Conflicts can sabotage alliances and relationships, but effectively managed conflict vitalizes partnerships and invigorates interpersonal bonds. Conflict challenges leaders and teammates and engages them in the full range of experiences that organizations offer.

Research on how to manage conflict is critical to understanding relationships and organizations as well as how to make them effective. Leaders and employees must learn to live with conflict; they have to deal with and resolve the many conflicts that threaten to divide them and frustrate joint progress.

We often blame conflict for our frustrations and give it power over us. We think that if we only had less conflict, our lives would be happy and productive. The goal is to be conflict-free, or at least to keep our conflicts minor and forgettable. However, how we approach and handle conflict greatly affects whether it is constructive or destructive. It’s not so much having conflict or how much conflict we have that matters, but what is critical is how we manage our conflict that affects whether it is constructive or destructive.

Constructive conflict occurs when protagonists conclude that the benefits of their conflict management outweigh the costs; they believe that their investments made in handling conflict will pay off (Deutsch, 1973 ). The costs and wasteful investments of destructive conflict are typically well recognized. Angry feelings leave relationships fragmented and joint work stalled; both people and productivity suffer (Averill, 1983 ).

However, conflicts can have very constructive effects, so useful that we may hesitate to call them conflicts. Through discussing opposing ideas in conflict, protagonists can deepen their understanding of their own ideas as they defend their views (Tjosvold, Wong, & Chen, 2014a ). They can also listen to and understand the views of their protagonists; they put themselves in each other’s shoes. They open the possibility of combining the best ideas to create new solutions. In addition to enriching their learning, they can appreciate each other’s feelings, motives, and commitments, making their joint life more personal and richer.

The possibilities of constructive conflict are significant and documented, but the challenges to making conflict constructive are significant too. Managing conflict constructively may sound straightforward, and it can be. But making conflict constructive often tests us intellectually, emotionally, and interpersonally. Managing conflict constructively gives a lot, but it takes a lot.

This article has six sections. Conflict has been defined in confounded ways so that popular stereotypes have interfered with practice and research. The first section defines conflict as incompatible activities that may or may not have opposing goals. Arguing that what has an impact on constructive conflict is not the occurrence or amount of conflict but how we approach and handle conflict, the second section proposes that open-minded discussion and cooperative goals are key conditions to making conflict constructive. The third section reviews research on task and relationship conflict that suggests that these types of conflict can be managed. The fourth section reviews how constructive conflict can strengthen leadership and thereby very much contribute to the relationship between employees and managers. Then research on how conflict can be managed across cultural boundaries is discussed. The sixth and final part suggests how training can strengthen constructive conflict, leadership, and organizations.

Understanding Conflict

Researchers typically have not considered defining conflict critical for understanding it; indeed, they have tended to define conflict by including several notions (Barki & Hartwick, 2004 ; Rahim, 1992 ). However, popular definitions have tended to define conflict in terms of opposing goals and interests. This definition of conflict has greatly frustrated research progress in identifying the many ways conflict can constructively contribute to individual learning and organizational performance. Defining conflict as incompatible actions, we propose, is a much more solid foundation for research than defining conflict as opposing interests.

Conflict as Opposing Interests

Traditionally, conflict is defined in terms of opposing interests involving scarce resources and goal divergence and frustration (e.g., Pondy, 1967 ). Defining conflict as opposing interests is consistent with the prevalent assumption that conflict involves not only differences but is win–lose and reinforces the popular thinking that conflict is typically dealt with harshly and competitively. For many people, conflict is a win–lose battle over goals that they want to win, not lose.

However, defining conflict as opposing interests frustrates effective operations and measures. Conflict is confused with win–lose ways to manage it. For example, the Interpersonal Conflict at Work Scale measures conflict with such items as “people do nasty things to me at work” (Spector & Bruk-Lee, 2008 ). This item measures a competitive, win–lose way to manage conflict, not conflict itself.

The popular assumption that conflict is competitive and a fight over opposing interests underscores the difficulties of measuring conflict with items including the term “conflict” in them. For example, research scales that measure types of conflict, such as task and relationship conflict, typically include the term “conflict.” Including the word conflict is likely to contribute to the common finding that both relationship and task conflicts contribute to team ineffectiveness (De Dreu & Weingart, 2003 ; DeChurch, Mesmer-Magnus, & Doty, 2013 ; Tjosvold, Law, & Sun, 2006 ). Conceptual and operational definitions of conflict should help us appreciate both the constructive as well as the destructive sides of conflict and should avoid confounding conflict with popular confusions and stereotypes.

Conflict as Opposing Activities

Deutsch ( 1973 ) proposes that conflict occurs when there are incompatible activities (Tjosvold et al., 2014a ). Team members are in conflict when they argue for different options for a team decision as they perform actions that interfere with each other’s actions. They express their various reasons for the joint action their team should take. Different parties arguing for their different positions are incompatible actions that block each person from getting their option accepted; they are in conflict.

They may express their views to reflect that they have cooperative goals as well as conflicting activities. They argue for their favored option as they put forth their reasons for this option. They may defend their preferred position vigorously and conduct additional research to support their option. They want team members to consider their proposed option seriously. Their goal with protagonists is a cooperative one, however: they want to make the best decision for the team as a whole.

Alternatively, team members may have opposing goals when they argue for different options; they are in competition as well as in conflict. They argue that their option must be accepted and other options should be rejected. They express their arguments for their favored option in win–lose ways. Only one option can be accepted and it should be theirs.

Expressing one’s view can be done both cooperatively and competitively. Studies indicate that these different ways of expressing one’s options often have dramatic effects on the dynamics and outcomes of conflict (Tjosvold et al., 2014a ).

Approaches to Conflict

This article argues that research on how team members manage and deal with their conflicts very much contributes to understanding and developing constructive conflict. It is not so much the frequency, amount, and type of conflict as it is how team members discuss and work out their conflicts. Cooperative and competitive methods of handling conflict have been found to have consistent, powerful effects on constructive conflict.

Researchers recognize the value of a contingency perspective that holds that managers and employees should have alternative ways to deal with a conflict so that they can select the one most useful and appropriate in their situation (Rahim, 1992 ; Thomas, 1976 ). Pretending that there is no conflict and avoiding discussing conflict are useful in some situations, but generally conflict avoidance is not useful, indeed is often destructive (De Dreu & Van Vianen, 2001 ; Friedman, Chi, & Liu, 2006 ; Liu, Fu, & Liu, 2009 ; Lovelace, Shapiro, & Weingart, 2001 ; Ohbuchi & Atsumi, 2010 ). Without direct discussion and action, conflicts seldom disappear by themselves; they can fester and intensify, becoming more complex and destructive (Bacon & Blyton, 2007 ; Eisenhardt, Kahwajy, & Bourgeois, 1997 ; Nemeth & Owens, 1996 ).

This section argues that studies conducted using different theoretical frameworks together indicate that open-minded discussion between protagonists results in constructive outcomes in many situations (Johnson, 2015 ; Tjosvold et al., 2014a ). In open-minded discussions, protagonists develop and express their opposing positions, including the ideas, reasons, and knowledge they use to support their positions. They also work to understand each other’s perspectives. They are then in a position to combine the best of each other’s ideas and create effective resolutions of conflict that they are both committed to implement.

This section further proposes that cooperative relationships, but not competitive ones, are an effective foundation for open-minded discussion and constructive conflict. These relationships orient protagonists to identify and express their own ideas and proposals. They trust that others will try to understand their ideas and positions accurately (Hempel, Zhang, & Tjosvold, 2009 ). They feel they can rely upon each other to use these views to promote each other’s benefit. Their concerns that others will use their ideas and positions against them are minimized. They recognize that they can all gain from the conflict as each protagonist’s goals are promoted.

Open-Minded Discussion

Open-mindedness is the willingness to actively search for evidence against one’s favored beliefs and ideas and to weigh such evidence impartially and fully (Baker & Sinkula, 1999 ; Cegarra-Navarro & Sánchez-Polo, 2011 ; Mitchell, Nicholas, & Boyle, 2009 ; Sinkula, Baker, & Noordewier, 1997 ). Open-minded discussion occurs when people together seek to understand each other’s ideas and positions, consider each other’s reasoning for these positions impartially, and work to integrate their ideas into mutually acceptable solutions.

In open-minded discussion, protagonists express their own views directly to each other, listen and try to understand each other’s positions and arguments, and work to combine their ideas into new agreements acceptable to all. They are open with their own views, open to those of others, and open to new solutions to resolve the conflict. Evidence indicates that these aspects of openness are reinforcing and together constitute open-minded discussion (Johnson, 2015 ; Tjosvold, 1990a ; Tjosvold, Dann, & Wong, 1992 ; Tjosvold & Halco, 1992 ).

Survey items to measure open-mindedness give a specific understanding of open-mindedness (Chen, Liu, & Tjosvold, 2005 ; Wong, Tjosvold, & Yu, 2005 ). These items include: (a) express our own views directly to each other, (b) listen carefully to each other’s opinions, (c) try to understand each other’s concerns, and (d) work to use each other’s ideas. These items are typically strongly correlated with each other and the scale has high reliability.

Open-mindedness in conflict is inherently interpersonal as people act and react to each other. It takes two to have a conflict and it takes two to manage conflict. One protagonist can make bold, persistent, and skilled actions that encourage an otherwise closed-minded protagonist to discuss conflict open-mindedly. Generally, though, open-mindedness by all protagonists is needed to make conflict constructive. Evidence also suggests that protagonists develop similar levels of open-mindedness; one protagonist’s open-mindedness encourages others to be open (Tjosvold, 1990a ; Tjosvold et al., 1992 ; Tjosvold & Halco, 1992 ). Conflicts are more likely to be constructively managed when protagonists discuss their views directly and integrate them into solutions.

Researchers have used various terms to characterize the nature of discussion that results in constructive outcomes. These terms have their own historical roots, emphasize difference aspects of interaction, and provide various ways to measure and operationalize the interaction. These concepts and their operations help us understand the nature of open-minded discussion.

Open-Mindedness Research

Research conclusions are more fully understood and deserve more confidence when various researchers using different operations and samples develop consistent findings. Conflict researchers have used a variety of terms and operations to investigate open-mindedness. We propose that, although these terms are not identical, their differences should not obscure the considerable agreement among conflict researchers that open-minded discussion contributes to resolving conflicts in many situations. The operations of these terms further suggest the similarity of the concepts to open-minded discussion.

Integrative negotiation research provides indirect support that open-minded discussion is a foundation for developing constructive conflict. This research has examined the conditions that develop the creative process by which bargainers discover superior new options for both parties than those currently under consideration (Follett, 1940 ). Walton and McKersie ( 1965 ) propose that this integration is more likely when protagonists consider several issues simultaneously, consider the issues as problems to be solved, freely exchange accurate and credible information about their interests, avoid win–lose behaviors, and argue their own position unless and until they are convinced otherwise.

Experimental integrative negotiation researchers have argued similarly that problem solving interaction characterized by full information exchange results in mutually beneficial solutions (Pruitt & Carnevale, 1993 ; Pruitt, Carnevale, Ben-Yoav, Nochajski, & Van Slyck, 1983 ; Pruitt & Lewis, 1975 ). The operations to measure this problem solving interaction include asking for valid information, requesting information about the other’s interests, giving truthful information, showing interest in the other bargainer’s welfare, and proposing mutual concessions. Integrated negotiators challenge each other’s original ideas, dig into these positions to identify each other’s underlying interests, endure the uncertainty of not finding a quick solution, and are only satisfied with solutions that promote the interests of all.

De Dreu and colleagues have drawn upon integrative negotiation research to develop the motivated information processing approach (De Dreu, 2007 ; De Dreu, Koole, & Steinel, 2000 ; De Dreu, Nijstad, & van Knippenberg, 2008 ). This research also proposes and measures constructive interaction in conflict in terms of problem solving and information exchange. The extent to which protagonists engage in thorough, systematic processing of information was found to induce them to question perceptions that one protagonist can achieve their interests only to the extent that others cannot achieve their own; challenging this trade-off in turn results in more accurate assessments and more integrative agreements (De Dreu et al., 2000 ).

Conflict management styles researchers propose five alternative approaches to dealing with conflict (Rahim, 1983 , 1995 ; Thomas, 1976 ; Van de Vliert & Kabanoff, 1990 ). Although arguing that all five can be useful in some circumstances, these researchers have concluded that the collaborative conflict management style, at times supplemented with other styles, is constructive under a wide range of conditions (Van de Vliert, Euwema, & Huismans, 1995 ; Van de Vliert, Nauta, Giebels, & Janssen, 1999 ). Research on collaborative conflict management styles and experiments on negotiation support that being open with one’s own views as well as being open to other ideas and integrating them contribute to constructive conflict (Pruitt & Carnevale, 1993 ).

Diverse researchers have found that open-minded discussion contributes to resolving conflicts within and between organizations (Johnson, Johnson, & Tjosvold, 2006 ; Tjosvold, 1985 ). Conflict involves incompatible actions, specifically the intellectual aspects of proposing and reconciling opposing ideas that temporarily disrupt reaching a resolution. Fortunately, research by various scholars supports that open-minded discussion very much contributes to effective conflict management.

Cooperative Relationships for Open-Minded Discussion

When do protagonists discuss their conflicts open-mindedly? Researchers have theorized that the nature of the relationship between protagonists has a profound impact on their mutual motivation to discuss conflicts open-mindedly. Open-minded discussions occur when both participants are motivated to work together to manage their conflicts constructively.

Theory of Cooperation and Competition

Deutsch ( 1948 , 1973 ) theorized that how people believe their goals are related very much affects their interaction and thereby their outcomes. They can conclude that their goals are cooperative (positively related), competitive (negatively related), or independent. People with cooperative goals believe that as one of them moves toward attaining goals, that helps others achieve their goals. In competition, people conclude that their goals are negatively related and only one can succeed in the interaction. In independence, one person’s success neither benefits nor harms the others’ success.

Deutsch ( 1973 ) further proposed that cooperative goals are a useful way to understand when protagonists are able to manage their conflicts constructively. Both survey and experimental studies confirm that with cooperative goals, managers and employees discuss their differences directly and open-mindedly (Alper, Tjosvold, & Law, 1998 ; Poon, Pike, & Tjosvold, 2001 ; Schei & Rognes, 2003 ; Tjosvold, 1988 ). Teams are considered cooperative to the extent that members rate that their goals go together (Alper et al., 1998 ); they are considered competitive to the extent that members rate that they favored their own goals over the goals of others (Alper et al., 1998 ); teams are considered independent to the extent that members rate that one member’s success is unrelated to the success of their teammates (Alper et al., 1998 ). Competitive and independent goals have been found to lead to conflict avoidance or to conflict escalation or both (Alper, Tjosvold, & Law, 2000 ; Tjosvold et al., 2001 ). Protagonists with cooperative goals promote each other’s benefit because doing so is to their own advantage.

Protagonists typically have mixed interdependencies as well as more “pure” cases. Galinsky and Schweitzer ( 2015 ) note that social relationships contain both competitive and cooperative aspects. This co-opetition has been thought to leave protagonists more flexibility in how they manage conflict (Landkammer & Sassenberg, 2016 ).

Antecedents to Open-Mindedness

A key dynamic of having positively related goals of cooperation is that by helping others reach their goals, one also reaches one’s own goals. In cooperation, people promote their own goals and others’ goals simultaneously. Researchers have used other theoretical frameworks to capture this idea of positively related goals where self-interests are mutual in that promoting one’s self-interest promotes the self-interest of the others. Researchers have used the dual concerns and pro-social motivation to capture positively related self-interests.

In dual concerns, theorists have proposed that conflict participants can be committed to promoting others’ interests as well as their own (Thomas, 1976 , 1992 ). Rahim and Bonoma ( 1979 ) and Rahim ( 1983 , 1992 ) built upon Blake and Mouton’s ( 1964 ) managerial grid. Concern for self describes the extent to which people attempt to satisfy their own interests. The second dimension describes the extent to which people want to satisfy the concerns of others (Rahim & Bonoma, 1979 ). High concern for self and high concern for others resemble cooperative goals. Dual concerns occur when protagonists are motivated by their own interests and outcomes: they are willing to assert themselves to get what they want and they are also motivated to promote their partners’ interests and outcomes.

Dean Pruitt and other integrative negotiation researchers have also developed the dual concerns model (Pruitt & Carnevale, 1993 ; Pruitt et al., 1983 ; Pruitt & Rubin, 1986 ). Here protagonists committed to the interests of the other as well as themselves discuss conflict open-mindedly where they are only satisfied with solutions that promote the interests of both.

Motivational and social value orientation theory (Kelley & Schenitzki, 1972 ; McClintock, 1977 ; Messick & McClintock, 1968 ; Van Lange & Kuhlman, 1994 ) also found that preference for both self and other promotes constructive conflict (De Dreu & Van Lange, 1995 ; De Dreu, Weingart, & Kwon, 2000 ). Social motives refer to preferences for outcomes to the self and other: pro-social, pro-self, and competitive negotiators differ in attaching a positive, zero, or negative weight to the other’s outcomes, respectively (De Dreu & Boles, 1998 ; De Dreu & McCusker, 1997 ; Van Lange, 1999 ).

Pro-social protagonists choose options that maximize joint outcomes; protagonists are pro-self if they select options where their own outcomes are higher than the other, and they are classified as competitive if they choose options that maximize the differences between the two, that is, their own outcomes are much better than the other’s outcomes. Pro-social motivation has been found to develop the open-minded exchange of information that results in constructive conflict (De Dreu, Weingart, et al., 2000 ; Nauta, De Dreu, & Van der Vaart, 2002 ).

Researchers have developed the dual concerns model, pro-social and pro-self social motivation, and cooperative goals as theoretical perspectives to understand relationships that promote constructive conflict (De Dreu, Weingart, et al., 2000 ; Deutsch, 1973 ; Pruitt & Rubin, 1986 ; Rahim & Bonoma, 1979 ). This section argues that these different terms obscure fundamental agreement that the commitment to promoting each other’s goals facilitates open-minded discussion.

Managers and employees of course do not always discuss their differences open-mindedly and, according to the contingency perspective, under certain conditions it would be inappropriate and dysfunctional to do so. Commitments to competitive and independent goals are apt to lead to closed-minded discussions with an emphasis on promoting one’s own interests without concern for the ideas and aspirations of the other. Indeed, with competitive goals they are apt to actively frustrate each other’s goals as they understand this is a way of promoting their own.

This article refers to cooperative relationships as underlying open-minded discussion. Previous research has directly tested whether cooperative relationships promote open-mindedness, providing both experimental and survey data (Deutsch, 1973 ). Research has demonstrated both the causal relationship that cooperative goals promote open-mindedness and survey evidence that supports that cooperative relationships support open-minded discussion in a wide variety of organizational situations (Tjosvold et al., 2014a ). In addition, many social psychologists and other social scientists have developed our understanding of cooperation and competition (Deutsch, 1973 ; Deutsch, Coleman, & Marcus, 2011 ).

Conflict Type Research

For more than two decades, organizational researchers have distinguished types of conflict and argued that the type of conflict determines how constructive the conflict is (Jehn, 1997 ; Jehn, Greer, Levine, & Szulanski, 2008 ). Whether the conflict is about getting tasks done or about the quality of relationships between protagonists, conflict type is thought to determine whether conflict is constructive or destructive. Theorizing on the role of conflict types has stimulated considerable research by many investigators.

Research findings on conflict types supports the traditional view that high levels of conflict disrupt teamwork, and refines this idea by indicating that this proposition is especially true when these conflicts are relationship-based. Relationship conflicts, as measured by such items as how much friction, tension, and personality conflict are in the team, have been found to make conflict destructive (Jehn, 1994 ; Jehn et al., 2008 ). Reviews of literature, including several meta-analyses, have consistently found that relationship conflicts correlate with low levels of team productivity (Choi & Sy, 2010 ; De Dreu & Weingart, 2003 ; DeChurch et al., 2013 ).

These results have straightforward practical implications for leaders and team members in reducing relationship conflict. Given the heavy reliance on correlational findings, it can be more cautiously concluded that relationship conflicts are signs of destructive conflict and are unlikely to contribute to constructive conflict. Researchers have, however, sought to identify boundary conditions that minimize the negative impact, and unlock the positive impact, of relationship conflict (Thiel, Harvey, Courtright, & Bradley, 2017 ).

Whereas relationship conflicts disrupt, it has been proposed that conflicts over tasks contribute to group performance (Jehn, 1997 ; Jehn et al., 2008 ). However, findings do not consistently support this theorizing that task conflict strengthens group performance (Choi & Sy, 2010 ; De Dreu & Weingart, 2003 ; DeChurch et al., 2013 ). The inconsistent effects of task conflict indicate that expressing diverse views can be useful but not consistently. It appears that expressing opposing views must be done skillfully to contribute to constructive conflict, but task conflict theory does not directly suggest the conditions under which expressing opposing views contributes to constructive conflict.

Managing Task and Relationship Conflict

Researchers have worked to document the conditions that determine whether task and relationship conflict are constructive or destructive. For example, some evidence suggests that task conflict is apt to be more productive when it is in moderate amounts, is not closely related to relationship conflict, and when the outcomes are financial performance and decision quality rather than overall performance (De Dreu, 2006 ; de Wit, Greer, & Jehn, 2012 ; Farh, Lee, & Farh, 2010 ; Mooney, Holahan, & Amason, 2007 ; Shaw et al., 2011 ).

Several studies show that relationship conflict can hinder teams from capitalizing on the potential positive value of task conflict (de Jong, Song, & Song, 2013 ; de Wit, Jehn, & Scheepers, 2013 ; Shaw et al., 2011 ). Research has found that relationship conflicts encourage a competitive approach to managing conflict by leading people to make forceful demands, overstate their position to get their way, and in other ways treat conflict as a win–lose contest (Tjosvold et al., 2006 ). In contrast, to the extent that protagonists had few relationship conflicts, they resolved their conflicts in ways that supported mutual benefit; specifically, they encouraged a “we are in it together” attitude, sought a solution useful for all members, combined their best ideas, and treated conflict as a mutual problem to solve (de Jong et al., 2013 ; de Wit et al., 2013 ; Shaw et al., 2011 ).

Research suggests that how task and relationship conflicts are discussed, not just the amount of them, affects their constructiveness (DeChurch et al., 2013 ; Maltarich, Kukenberger, Reilly, & Mathieu, 2018 ; Rispens, Greer, Jehn, & Thatcher, 2011 ; Tekleab, Quigley, & Tesluk, 2009 ; Todorova, Bear, & Weingart, 2014 ). Recent studies have found that task conflict can be constructive when discussed open-mindedly and skillfully (Bradley, Klotz, Postlethwaite, & Brown, 2013 ; Chun & Choi, 2014 ; Humphrey, Aime, Cushenbery, Hill, & Fairchild, 2017 ; Jiang, Zhang, & Tjosvold, 2012 ; Tekleab et al., 2009 ). Teams with members with high levels of openness as a personality characteristic were found to have constructive task conflict (Bradley et al., 2013 ; de Jong et al., 2013 ). Overall, evidence indicates that open-minded discussion contributes to making both relationship and task conflict constructive (Gibson & Callister, 2010 ; Lau & Cobb, 2010 ; Tjosvold, 2002 ; Tjosvold & Su, 2007 ; Weingart, Behfar, Bendersky, Todorova, & Jehn, 2015 ).

Conflict Management for Leadership

Leadership has long been considered a key contributor to effective organizations. Much of the power of organizations is that they motivate and coordinate the work of many people; for that to happen, managers must lead employees. Without leadership, employees may fail to face up to difficulties, allow problems to simmer, and just go through the motions. Research indicates that to have effective leadership, managers and employees must make conflict constructive (Chen et al., 2005 ; Chen & Tjosvold, 2007 , 2013 ; Chen, Tjosvold, Huang, & Xu, 2011 ; Hui, Wong, & Tjosvold, 2007 ).

Conflict management research is updating our understanding of what it takes to be an effective leader and how to develop it. Studies indicate that by developing constructive conflict, managers can improve the quality of their leader relationships with employees. Managers can then orient and train employees so that they discuss their various ideas and improve the quality of their decision-making and their overall teamwork. Researchers have demonstrated that leaders can be effective by adopting various leadership styles; recent studies show that constructive conflict is very much needed to make these leadership styles effective.

Conflict for Quality Leadership Relationships

Leadership has long been thought to be “situational” in that the actions effective leaders take depend upon the situation; they monitor the situations and decide upon effective actions in the situation (Stogdill, 1974 ). In addition, though, researchers have found that successful leaders are consistent across many situations in that they develop quality relationships. Considerable research has found that successful leaders have quality relationships (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995 ). It’s not so much that managers have the “right” personal skills and characteristics but that they have high quality relationships with employees that help them influence employees and increase their productivity. With these relationships, leaders are able to engage employees, strengthen their teamwork, and in other ways convince them to contribute effectively to the organization.

Less recognized is that leaders and employees cannot allow frustrations to brew; they need to manage their conflicts to develop quality relationships (Chen & Tjosvold, 2007 ; Chen, Tjosvold, & Su, 2005 ; Tjosvold, Poon, & Yu, 2005 ). An important reason why quality relationships are useful is because they promote constructive conflict that in turn results in employee involvement and performance (Chen & Tjosvold, 2013 ; Tjosvold, Hui, & Law, 1998 ). Otherwise, relationship conflicts are apt to undermine team productivity as they allow frustrations to fester (Chen et al., 2005 ; Chen & Tjosvold, 2007 ; Tjosvold et al., 2005 ). Leaders need to manage their conflicts to reduce relationship conflicts and develop and maintain quality relationships.

Conflict for Making Decisions

Leaders have traditionally been thought to make tough decisions and then use their power to implement them. But this is a misleading notion. Studies by diverse researchers have documented the contribution of conflict to making decisions (Amason, 1996 ; Anderson, 1983 ; Cosier, 1978 ; George, 1974 ; Gruenfeld, 1995 ; Mason & Mitroff, 1981 ; Mitchell et al., 2009 ; Peterson & Nemeth, 1996 ; Salas, Rosen, & DiazGranados, 2010 ; Schweiger, Sandberg, & Ragan, 1986 ; Somech, Desivilya, & Lidgoster, 2009 ; Tetlock, Armor, & Peterson, 1994 ; Tjosvold, Wedley, & Field, 1986 ; Wong, Ormiston, & Tetlock, 2011 ). Through conflict, conventional thinking is challenged, threats and opportunities identified, and new solutions forged. Discussing opposing views has been found to give teams the confidence to take calculated risks where they also are prepared to recover from their mistakes; with this preparation, they innovate (Tjosvold & Yu, 2007 ). Even in a crisis, leaders are typically more effective when they seek out diverse views (Tjosvold, 1984 , 1990b ). Rather than making tough decisions alone, effective leaders are oriented toward promoting the conditions and relationships for open-minded discussion of opposing views among colleagues and employees. They develop constructive conflict that helps employees make and implement decisions as a team.

Conflict to Implement Leadership Styles

Researchers have argued that managers can be effective by adopting leadership styles such as transformational, servant, and productivity and people values (Eisenbeiss, van Knippenberg, & Boerner, 2008 ; Xu & Thomas, 2011 ). Less appreciated is that these styles are effective by promoting constructive conflict. Recent studies have demonstrated that to be successful in applying these styles, leaders develop constructive conflict.

Transformational leaders are expected to stimulate superior performance by appealing to employees’ higher aspirations (Bass, 2006 ). For example, they were found highly motivated not by unilaterally directing employees but by helping them manage their conflicts cooperatively and constructively (Zhang, Cao, & Tjosvold, 2011 ). This constructive conflict in turn resulted in high team performance in a sample of independent business groups. In a related study, government officials who exercised transformational leadership promoted cooperative conflict management that in turn resulted in strong government–business partnerships (Wong, Wei, & Tjosvold, 2014 ).

Leaders who value people and productivity have long been thought to be effective leaders, but the dynamics by which these values have beneficial effects have only recently been documented. In a study of international joint ventures (Wong, Wei, Yang, & Tjosvold, 2017 ), results support the idea that productivity and participation values strengthen the partners’ beliefs that their goals are cooperatively related, which in turn reduces free riding and promotes performance; in contrast, competitive goals appear to promote free riding and obstruct joint performance. The results have practical implications by showing that developing cooperative goals can strengthen the benefits of productivity and participation values.

Working in diverse organizations in India, team leaders indicated their people and productivity values and team members rated their open-minded discussion and their effectiveness and performance (Bhatnagar & Tjosvold, 2012 ). Structural equation analysis suggested that productivity values promoted open-minded discussion and thereby team effectiveness and productivity. Productivity-oriented team leaders challenge their teams to make high quality decisions and induce them to discuss issues open-mindedly, which in turn helps teams be effective (Bhatnagar & Tjosvold, 2012 ).

Servant leaders, as they emphasize service to others, team consensus, and the personal development of individuals, have been thought to lay the groundwork for cooperative conflict management in customer service teams (Wong, Liu, & Tjosvold, 2015 ). This constructive conflict helps team members resolve issues and in other ways effectively coordinate with each other; this coordination in turn helps these teams serve their customers. Findings indicate that to the extent that they have servant leaders, teams are able to discuss their disagreements, frustrations, and difficulties directly and work out solutions for the benefit of the team and its customers. These results provide support that improving the capacity to discuss opposing views open-mindedly can be a useful means for servant leaders to enhance teamwork and customer service in China and perhaps in other countries as well.

Ethical leaders want to act justly themselves but they also want employees to be committed to ethical principles and to act morally (Eisenbeiss, 2012 ; Mayer, Aquino, Greenbaum, & Kuenzi, 2012 ). A recent study indicates that effective ethical leaders and their employees engage in open-minded, cooperative conflict management where they express their ideas, work to understand each other, integrate their ideas, and apply their resolutions. Through this constructive conflict management, they work out arrangements that help them act effectively and morally in their situation as they also develop trusting, high quality relationships with each other. Ethical leaders and their employees were found to avoid competitive conflict involving trying to impose one’s own ideas and resolutions on others. Results also confirm that effective leaders develop high quality relationships that help them influence employees as well as to be open and influenced by them (Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995 ).

Researchers have identified a number of styles that have been shown to help leaders be effective. Although they are developed from diverse leadership theories, studies have found that constructive conflict, in particular cooperative open-minded discussion, is an important mediator of successful implementation of these leadership styles, whether they be transformational leadership, valuing people and productivity, servant, or ethical leadership. Managers can use different leadership styles to encourage constructive conflict that empowers them to lead effectively.

Cultural Differences

Theories of conflict management that can be applied in diverse cultures are increasingly relevant. In the global marketplace, many managers and employees must handle conflicts that cross cultural boundaries. Team members increasingly have diverse cultural backgrounds, even when all operations are in one country. Many managers have to work with suppliers and customers who are from other cultures and live in other countries. Research has shown that open-mindedness and cooperative relationships develop constructive conflict in organizations even when protagonists are from both Western and Eastern cultures (Chen, Tjosvold, & Pan, 2010 ; Tjosvold, Wu, & Chen, 2010 ; Tjosvold, Wong, & Chen, 2014a ).

Research on conflict management has developed our understanding of the impact of cultural values, in particular collectivism and individualism. Western cultures have traditionally been thought to support open discussion of conflict consistent with their emphasis on individuals with their rights and proclivity to express their views. Eastern cultures have been considered collectivist where there is deference to their groups and leaders. Some studies support this traditional thinking. People from the West have indicated more preference for open handling of conflict, whereas those from the East prefer reticence (Kirkbride, Tang, & Westwood, 1991 ).

However, research suggests that this reasoning needs updating. Recent studies indicate that collectivist values induce open-minded discussion whereas individualistic values promote conflict avoidance. Collectivist values have been found in experiments to strengthen cooperative relationships that in turn promote open-minded discussion between individuals from collectivist and individualistic cultures (Chen et al., 2010 ; Tjosvold, Wu, et al., 2010 ; Tjosvold, Wong, & Chen, 2014a ). Collectivist culture team members were found to believe their goals are cooperative and that they are expected to work effectively with each other, and they sought to and actually understood opposing arguments and combined ideas for integrated decisions.

Studies confirm that cooperative and competitive approaches to managing conflict, although developed from theory in the West, apply to organizations in collectivist China as well (Chen et al., 2011 ). Indeed, findings challenge stereotypes that Chinese culture and leadership are highly conflict-negative. Chinese people are not rigidly committed to conflict avoidance but have been found to manage conflict cooperatively and openly. Chinese collectivism, social face, and other values can be applied in ways that aid direct, open, cooperative conflict management (Tjosvold, Wong, & Chen, 2014b ).

Cooperative conflict management can also guide the strengthening of cross-cultural interaction. Bond ( 2003 ) and Smith ( 2003 ) argue that cross-cultural researchers, in addition to the tradition of documenting cultural value differences, should study the relationship and interaction between culturally diverse people to identify how they work together effectively. Recent studies show that diverse people can work together when they manage their conflicts cooperatively (Chen et al., 2010 ; Chen & Tjosvold, 2007 , 2008 ; Chen, Tjosvold, & Wu, 2008 ).

While the “genotype” (the underlying conceptual structure of the theory of cooperation and competition) appears to be similar, the “phenotypes” (how the theory is manifested in particular situations) often are not (Lewin, 1938 ). In particular, the actions that develop cooperative goals and communicate an attempt to discuss conflicts open-mindedly may be quite different in China than in North America, as may the general levels of cooperative goals and conflict. However, diverse people can use research to develop a common understanding and platform for how they can manage conflict cooperatively and productively (Tjosvold & Leung, 2003 ).

Training Teams

Employees, managers, and executives are more effective when they manage important conflicts open-mindedly and cooperatively. Research suggests that, when they study cooperative, open-minded conflict, plan how to approach their own conflicts, and reflect on their experiences, managers and employees are more effective at managing conflict and more productive (Lu, Tjosvold, & Shi, 2010 ; Tjosvold et al., 2014a ).

A software company in Beijing used a cooperative team workshop and two months of follow-up of team feedback and reflection to develop open-minded conflict management (Lu et al., 2010 ). More than 150 employees from all the teams in the company participated in the workshop and the follow-up activities.

They had already organized cooperative teams to work on projects and satisfy customers. At the workshop, these groups studied the theory and reviewed the research in order to appreciate the value for them and their organization of strengthening cooperative, open-minded approaches to managing their conflicts. They decided that they wanted to improve their conflict management. They met regularly to assess their current level of cooperative conflict and developed plans for managing their conflicts more constructively. They practiced in their teams, met regularly to assess their current level of cooperative conflict, and developed plans for managing their conflicts more constructively. They reflected on their experience managing conflict within and between teams with consultants, and developed concrete ways to improve their conflict management.

Findings confirmed that open-minded discussion and cooperative relationships are a valuable basis upon which teams can strengthen their conflict management, collaboration among teams, and contributions to their organization. The training was found to heighten cooperative goals, develop open-minded discussion of conflicts, foster creativity within and between cultures, and produce higher group confidence and productivity.

Human resource personnel can apply conflict management findings by initiating professional development teams for managers and employees (Tjosvold & Tjosvold, 2015 ). They realize that becoming more effective requires the encouragement, feedback, and support of others. In these teams, managers and employees study cooperative, open-minded conflict management, reflect on their current experiences, and develop concrete ways to strengthen and practice conflict management skills. They remember not to expect perfection but to focus on reflecting on their experiences to improve.

Managers and employees confront a great variety of conflicts. With persistent pressures for them to rely on each other’s resources and to work together as a team, they are likely to encounter increasingly difficult conflicts that spread across organizational and national boundaries. Yet they are expected to resolve them quickly. Theory and research such as that referred to in this article helps to focus our efforts to manage even our complex conflicts constructively. We have learned from research that we can profitably strengthen our cooperative relationships and discuss our conflicts open-mindedly. Our conflicts will not disappear, but we can engage our partners so that we manage our conflicts and work together to get things done.

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5 Strategies for Conflict Resolution in the Workplace

• 07 Sep 2023

Any scenario in which you live, work, and collaborate with others is susceptible to conflict. Because workplaces are made up of employees with different backgrounds, personalities, opinions, and daily lives, discord is bound to occur. To navigate it, it’s crucial to understand why it arises and your options for resolving it.

Common reasons for workplace conflict include:

• Misunderstandings or poor communication skills
• Differing opinions, viewpoints, or personalities
• Biases or stereotypes
• Variations in learning or processing styles
• Perceptions of unfairness

Although conflict is common, many don’t feel comfortable handling it—especially with colleagues. As a business leader, you’ll likely clash with other managers and need to help your team work through disputes.

Here’s why conflict resolution is important and five strategies for approaching it.

Access your free e-book today.

Why Is Addressing Workplace Conflict Important?

Pretending conflict doesn’t exist doesn’t make it go away. Ignoring issues can lead to missed deadlines, festering resentment, and unsuccessful initiatives.

Yet, according to coaching and training firm Bravely , 53 percent of employees handle “toxic” situations by avoiding them. Worse still, averting a difficult conversation can cost an organization $7,500 and more than seven workdays.

That adds up quickly: American businesses lose $359 billion yearly due to the impact of unresolved conflict.

As a leader, you have a responsibility to foster healthy conflict resolution and create a safe, productive work environment for employees.

“Some rights, such as the right to safe working conditions or the right against sexual harassment, are fundamental to the employment relationship,” says Harvard Business School Professor Nien-hê Hsieh in the course Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability . “These rights are things that employees should be entitled to no matter what. They’re often written into the law, but even when they aren’t, they’re central to the ethical treatment of others, which involves respecting the inherent dignity and intrinsic worth of each individual.”

Effectively resolving disputes as they arise benefits your employees’ well-being and your company’s financial health. The first step is learning about five conflict resolution strategies at your disposal.

Related: How to Navigate Difficult Conversations with Employees

While there are several approaches to conflict, some can be more effective than others. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Model —developed by Dr. Kenneth W. Thomas and Dr. Ralph H. Kilmann—outlines five strategies for conflict resolution:

• Accommodating
• Compromising
• Collaborating

These fall on a graph, with assertiveness on the y-axis and cooperativeness on the x-axis. In the Thomas-Kilmann model, “assertiveness” refers to the extent to which you try to reach your own goal, and “cooperativeness” is the extent to which you try to satisfy the other party’s goal.

Alternatively, you can think of these axis labels as the “importance of my goal” and the “importance of this relationship.” If your assertiveness is high, you aim to achieve your own goal. If your cooperativeness is high, you strive to help the other person reach theirs to maintain the relationship.

Here’s a breakdown of the five strategies and when to use each.

1. Avoiding

Avoiding is a strategy best suited for situations in which the relationship’s importance and goal are both low.

While you’re unlikely to encounter these scenarios at work, they may occur in daily life. For instance, imagine you’re on a public bus and the passenger next to you is loudly playing music. You’ll likely never bump into that person again, and your goal of a pleasant bus ride isn’t extremely pressing. Avoiding conflict by ignoring the music is a valid option.

In workplace conflicts—where your goals are typically important and you care about maintaining a lasting relationship with colleagues—avoidance can be detrimental.

Remember: Some situations require avoiding conflict, but you’re unlikely to encounter them in the workplace.

2. Competing

Competing is another strategy that, while not often suited for workplace conflict, can be useful in some situations.

This conflict style is for scenarios in which you place high importance on your goal and low importance on your relationships with others. It’s high in assertiveness and low in cooperation.

You may choose a competing style in a crisis. For instance, if someone is unconscious and people are arguing about what to do, asserting yourself and taking charge can help the person get medical attention quicker.

You can also use it when standing up for yourself and in instances where you feel unsafe. In those cases, asserting yourself and reaching safety is more critical than your relationships with others.

When using a competing style in situations where your relationships do matter (for instance, with a colleague), you risk impeding trust—along with collaboration, creativity, and productivity.

3. Accommodating

The third conflict resolution strategy is accommodation, in which you acquiesce to the other party’s needs. Use accommodating in instances where the relationship matters more than your goal.

For example, if you pitch an idea for a future project in a meeting, and one of your colleagues says they believe it will have a negative impact, you could resolve the conflict by rescinding your original thought.

This is useful if the other person is angry or hostile or you don’t have a strong opinion on the matter. It immediately deescalates conflict by removing your goal from the equation.

While accommodation has its place within organizational settings, question whether you use it to avoid conflict. If someone disagrees with you, simply acquiescing can snuff out opportunities for innovation and creative problem-solving .

As a leader, notice whether your employees frequently fall back on accommodation. If the setting is safe, encouraging healthy debate can lead to greater collaboration.

Related: How to Create a Culture of Ethics and Accountability in the Workplace

4. Compromising

Compromising is a conflict resolution strategy in which you and the other party willingly forfeit some of your needs to reach an agreement. It’s known as a “lose-lose” strategy, since neither of you achieve your full goal.

This strategy works well when your care for your goal and the relationship are both moderate. You value the relationship, but not so much that you abandon your goal, like in accommodation.

For example, maybe you and a peer express interest in leading an upcoming project. You could compromise by co-leading it or deciding one of you leads this one and the other the next one.

Compromising requires big-picture thinking and swallowing your pride, knowing you won’t get all your needs fulfilled. The benefits are that you and the other party value your relationship and make sacrifices to reach a mutually beneficial resolution.

5. Collaborating

Where compromise is a lose-lose strategy, collaboration is a win-win. In instances of collaboration, your goal and the relationship are equally important, motivating both you and the other party to work together to find an outcome that meets all needs.

An example of a situation where collaboration is necessary is if one of your employees isn’t performing well in their role—to the point that they’re negatively impacting the business. While maintaining a strong, positive relationship is important, so is finding a solution to their poor performance. Framing the conflict as a collaboration can open doors to help each other discover its cause and what you can do to improve performance and the business’s health.

Collaboration is ideal for most workplace conflicts. Goals are important, but so is maintaining positive relationships with co-workers. Promote collaboration whenever possible to find creative solutions to problems . If you can’t generate a win-win idea, you can always fall back on compromise.

Considering Your Responsibilities as a Leader

As a leader, not only must you address your own conflicts but help your employees work through theirs. When doing so, remember your responsibilities to your employees—whether ethical, legal, or economic.

Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability groups your ethical responsibilities to employees into five categories:

• Well-being: What’s ultimately good for the person
• Rights: Entitlement to receive certain treatment
• Duties: A moral obligation to behave in a specific way
• Best practices: Aspirational standards not required by law or cultural norms
• Fairness: Impartial and just treatment

In the course, Hsieh outlines three types of fairness you can use when helping employees solve conflicts:

• Legitimate expectations: Employees reasonably expect certain practices or behaviors to continue based on experiences with the organization and explicit promises.
• Procedural fairness: Managers must resolve issues impartially and consistently.
• Distributive fairness: Your company equitably allocates opportunities, benefits, and burdens.

Particularly with procedural fairness, ensure you don’t take sides when mediating conflict. Treat both parties equally, allowing them time to speak and share their perspectives. Guide your team toward collaboration or compromise, and work toward a solution that achieves the goal while maintaining—and even strengthening—relationships.

Are you interested in learning how to navigate difficult decisions as a leader? Explore Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability —one of our online leadership and management courses —and download our free guide to becoming a more effective leader.

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Conflict Management Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Home >> Management Case Studies >> Conflict Management

The type of conflict in the given situation is Intragroup Conflict. The intragroup conflict is the conflict which arises amongst the individuals within a team. The misunderstandings and incompatibilities are the sources of Intragroup Conflict though conflicts can be helpful in generating new ideas or taking decisions . Sometimes, the degree of conflicts disturbs the collaboration among the members; therefore, the management should take serious actions in order to get the conflict settled.

The International English Training School had half of the employees from different countries and half of the employees were Chinese. The staff structure of the school was half foreigners and half of the school was Chinese. The reason for which the conflict occurred was that the HR Management of the school believed that the foreign employees were the best promotion for the school. Due to this believe, HR paid them high salaries and offered them vacations, so that they keep working for the school. This behavior of HR made the Chinese employees feel disappointed and demotivated. They had the feeling that HR was ignoring their needs and giving an upper hand to the foreigners, which made them feel quite low.

It was continued due to the reason that HR was not taking any initiative for solving the conflict between Foreigners and Chinese. The main reason for the conflict was the difference between salaries and benefits of Foreigners and Chinese. HR manager was not taking initiatives for bringing the Chinese on the same level of Foreigners. The conflict could have been settled if the Chinese were given same prestige like Foreigners.

The conflict style that the parties were using was Avoiding Conflict Style. This was because the conflict between Foreigners, and Chinese was being avoided by the management and hence, the conflict was making the situation worse as the Chinese employees were demotivated due to the differences. It can be more elaborated with the help of an example; manager avoids the conflicts with employees as the manager knows that if he indulges in conflict with the employees then the work environment would be disturbed.

Recommendation

The approach for International English Training School will be that, first of all the staff of the school would be treated equally in terms of salaries and benefits. This is very important to treat the employees equally, regardless of their nationalities. Half of the staff included Foreigners and there was a need of keeping them interested in the school as the school was based on English training. The foreigners usually have a bunch of opportunities. So to keep them interested in the job, school was paying them high salary and benefits. The approach will be that the school will pay Foreigners same salaries like Chinese, but they will be given benefits like vacations and bonuses. These benefits will be given so that foreigners can be kept interested in their jobs, but their salaries will be equal to the Chinese in order to avoid conflicts. Moreover, workshops should be conducted by the school for training the Chinese employees, so that the standard like foreigners can be maintained.

The parties were not using this approach; the approach suggested will be effective as the approach looks forward to eliminate the reasons which are causing conflicts. The Chinese were wrongly treated in terms of salaries and benefit, which was resulting in the conflicts. The approach will benefit the school and its staff as well.......................

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