Question

Review the four stages of the conflict process. Do all persons involved in conflicts experience all four stages of conflict? Why or why not? How does the conflict process affect the quality of the conflict resolution?

Answer 1

conflict process deals with five steps that help alleviate friction, disagreement, problems or fighting. The five steps are:

potential opposition or incompatibility
cognition and personalization
intentions
behavior
outcomes

Let's take a look at Violet's situation with Eric to see how she utilizes the conflict process to solve her organizational issue.

Potential Opposition

The first stage of the conflict process is called potential opposition or incompatibility. In this stage, there are potential areas of conflict that could develop, and they consist of communication, structure and personal variables. For Violet, all three areas of incompatibility exist, so it's not surprising that she has multiple issues with Eric.

Eric does not listen very well and always misinterprets what Violet says during her daily meetings. For example, she might say that employees have to be friendlier to customers, but Eric takes that to mean that it is okay for him to talk to them about problems with the store and his personal life. The structure of the store is also a cause of conflict because Violet has over 25 employees to manage weekly. She does not have the time to follow Eric around and ensure that he does not upset customers. In addition, Eric's personal variables lean towards conflict. He enjoys drama and is always ready to complain or fight with Violet over hours, tasks or customer service. The next step deals with the recognition of the fact that there is a conflict.

Cognition and Personalization

When one of the factors mentioned in the potential opposition stage actually materializes as a conflict, then stage two occurs based on cognition and personalization. During this stage, the perception of conflict arises between the parties. For example, Violet realized that Eric's numerous issues have caused a drop in sales of 15%. She is cognizant of the fact that Eric is the one responsible and that she needs to fix this issue. In order for personalization to occur, the parties must feel that there is conflict via stress, anger or frustration, resulting in emotional involvement. Once conflict arises, individuals must make a decision on how to handle the problem.

Intentions

The third stage is regarding intentions, or decisions to take action in a certain way. Violet does have a multitude of choices in how she can handle the conflict.

Conflict resolution is only a five-step process:

Step 1: Identify the source of the conflict. The more information you have about the cause of the conflict, the more easily you can help to resolve it. To get the information you need, use a series of questions to identify the cause, like, “When did you feel upset?” “Do you see a relationship between that and this incident?” “How did this incident begin?”

As a manager or supervisor, you need to give both parties the chance to share their side of the story. It will give you a better understanding of the situation, as well as demonstrate your impartiality. As you listen to each disputant, say, “I see” or “uh huh” to acknowledge the information and encourage them to continue to open up to you.

Step 2: Look beyond the incident. Often, it is not the situation but the perspective on the situation that causes anger to fester and ultimately leads to a shouting match or other visible—and disruptive—evidence of a conflict.

The source of the conflict might be a minor problem that occurred months before, but the level of stress has grown to the point where the two parties have begun attacking each other personally instead of addressing the real problem. In the calm of your office, you can get them to look beyond the triggering incident to see the real cause. Once again, probing questions will help, like, “What do you think happened here?” or “When do you think the problem between you first arose?”

Step 3: Request solutions. After getting each party’s viewpoint on the conflict, the next step is to get each to identify how the situation could be changed. Again, question the parties to solicit their ideas: “How can you make things better between you?”

As mediator, you have to be an active listener, aware of every verbal nuance, as well as a good reader of body language.

Just listen. You want to get the disputants to stop fighting and start cooperating, and that means steering the discussion away from finger pointing and toward ways of resolving the conflict.

Step 4: Identify solutions both disputants can support. You are listening for the most acceptable course of action. Point out the merits of various ideas, not only from each other’s perspective, but in terms of the benefits to the organization. (For instance, you might point to the need for greater cooperation and collaboration to effectively address team issues and departmental problems.)

Step 5: Agreement. The mediator needs to get the two parties to shake hands and agree to one of the alternatives identified in Step 4. Some mediators go as far as to write up a contract in which actions and time frames are specified. However, it might be sufficient to meet with the individuals and have them answer these questions: “What action plans will you both put in place to prevent conflicts from arising in the future?” and “What will you do if problems arise in the future?”