Question

Using relevant ideas and concepts from the texts, write a 1500 word essay that explains how learning about conflict management can help improve professional relationships in the workplace. Reading list 1. Gardiner, J and Barefoot, B., 2019. Step by step – Chapter 5 p. 145-151 2. Thompson, N., 2015. People skills – Chapter 19 p. 162-171 3. Bratton, J., 2016. Introduction to work and organisational behaviour - Chapter 10 p. 275-276 4. Cross, C. and Carbery, R., 2016. Organisational behaviour: an introduction –– Chapter 9 p. 219-227

Answer 1

From the background of the theories and concepts from the chapters, conflict management can help to improve professional relationships in the workplace or the organization. A positive connection between the conflict and how to manage the conflicts in the organization. Conflict management is the method or process of limiting the negative aspects of the conflict while it increasing the positive aspects of the conflict in the workplace. The aim of the conflict management is to boost or enhance the learning, development of managing the situations, and group outcomes, it includes the effectiveness, efficiency, or performance in an organizational setting.

Conflict Management and the Workplace

The conflict between individuals or human resource conflicts is crucial for the organization in terms of management stability, efficiency, and overall employee-management relationships. In simple terms, with so many different dimensions, experiences, and perspectives, an individual tends to see or capture the thoughts and information’s from the world in many different ways. This means one reacts in their own multiple ways to different situations at the workplace, affecting the core relationships one has with those around the team. The kind of diversity with experience, knowledge, and thought is a very good thing, but it can sometimes directly lead to misunderstanding, confusion, and conflict between the people, especially the human resources in the workplace. Some conflict can be positive in nature, such as the healthy amount of competition or work-sharing between team members to reach the goals. But on the negative conflict, like bullying, teasing, or serious personality clashes between the two, can cause harm among the individuals and undermine the team working. There are certain factors on how conflict arises and how to make it helpful if they are managed.

Reasons for the Conflicts and Sources

A conflict can occur across a wide spectrum of the behavior, attitudes ranging from a simple argument, personality clash to more on the serious types of unfair treatment like discrimination, bullying, and harassment. The major sources are connected to the workplace and the activities like poor performance, theft, drug or drinking problem, excessive personal use of emails, timekeeping imbalance, poor attendance, discriminatory behaviors, harassments, unacceptable languages, differences in personality styles, poor personal hygiene, and as simple as taking credit for other people’s work. The sources are starting from high scale implication to low scale sources are the reason for the conflicts.

Conflict Management

The conflict management can be directly approached using a large variety of techniques, tools, and different styles. While these styles may differ in nature, and every method utilizes the same or selected management skills. To successfully manage conflict, one needs to expertise each of these skills and learn the accurate time to exercise or implement each one. Below are some of the core knowledge, skills, and characteristics that need to adapt or consider if the management personnel want to effectively manage workplace conflicts.

The steps involved in conflict management are:

(a) Active listening: This is a helpful skill used by many salespeople, counselors, to better connect them personally with customers, or other end people during a presentation or pitch. However, it is just as a useful or helpful skill or technique when one trying to manage, expertise, and resolve the conflicts. It helps to focus the other side of the customer or the employee or co-worker for better listening and demonstrate the accurate part of the conversation.

(b) Emotional intelligence: The emotional intelligence explains the ability to read, capture, and understand others' emotions, as well as the emotions of co-workers especially. These are important conflict management tools because it helps to prevent escalation and effectively interpret the opposition’s emotions, easier to communicate without provoking the co-person. If one can eliminate the frustration, pressure, and anger from the conflict part, people will be more likely to concentrate on compromising by controlling the emotions.

(c) Patience: The conflicts are rarely simple to overcome. Usually, people don’t like to be irregular, wrong and this often holds their stance on certain problems until they’re right in the result or proven wrong. If one looking to resolve or balance the conflict, it’s crucial to keep in thought that the issue may not be easily solved right away, or even if the solution is obvious.

(d) Positivity: Being stable or positive with your skills or the conflict management advancement is a great way to keep the things progress and moving forward. The conflicts are full of short-term issues, roadblocks, and one needs to be willing to overcome the issue or want to come to the right resolution. Having the right attitude towards accepting or dealing with the conflict can become a catalyst for co-participants who may be wearier of the interaction.

(e) Open communication: The conflicts direct the case or create a relationship between the participants in a direction with no resolution of the problem. This relationship has to lasts forever and needs to be cultured or nurtured for the conflict to remain solved. The communication is effective and efficient to deal with the situation.

Conflict Resolution Skills to Improve Professional Relations

Conflict resolution is an important process in which two, three, or more parties work towards a solution to an issue or a dispute. The issue that negatively affects one party or multiple parties and it has escalated to the point where it requires to be addressed in another platform or level. The participants are then required or mandated to work closely to produce a common agreement or point that resolves the core issue. The skills required or added up for the conflict management team or personnel have:

(a) Don’t ever jump or try to be in defense spot at first.
(b) Don’t try to raise the voice or point fingers and stay positive.
(c) Give time and space to explain the reason themselves, and actively listen.
(d) Use the ‘I’ statements in the entire conversations.
(e) Main a calm tone in the conversations and use emotional intelligence.
(f) Always show the willingness and collaboration attitude to the issue.
(g) Don’t take the issues or conversations personally, and don’t talk from behind.
(h) Ensure to pay attention to the non-verbal communication in handling conflict.
(i) Stay focus on prioritizing to resolving the conflict over being right.
(j) Act at the right spot and know when to apologize or forgive.
(k) Always remember the importance of the relationships and consider the conflict as a small roadblock.

Conclusion

The workplace conflict is a continuous process or inevitable when employees of various backgrounds, cultures, and different work styles are collaborated under one roof, or brought together for a common vision, shared business purpose. The conflict must be managed, controlled, focused, and resolved. This has to examine the causes, implications, and effects of the workplace conflict and the major reasons why any employers should act to address the conflict. In the organization, the scope for conflict management training is essential and many big corporations implemented it for managing workplace relationships.