Communication Conflicts

 

 

Conflict is an inevitable part of human relationships. Depending on how it is approached and managed, conflict can be either constructive or destructive. Conflict arises when people disagree over something perceived as important. We live in communities and families with people who may not see things as we do. Conflicts occur on a daily basis, sometimes as small disputes, sometimes as violent battles. I will discuss some reasons why conflict occurs, conflict management, roles of personality types in conflict management, ethics and workplace conflicts, and forgiveness. I will share an explanation of the topic and how this can be applied in professional and personal settings.

 

 

Why Does Conflict Occur?

We each respond to conflicts based on our own particular personality and cultural background. People have different motivations, beliefs, values and goals. Two people can perceive and interpret the same situation very differently. Two people may speak the same language, but when a disagreement arises, one may discover the other responds to the same situation very differently. The way others respond to conflict may confuse or offend us. Problems and conflicts are natural in our daily work, and the key is finding the right way to overcome them and continue working productively. One tool is to work to overcome our own perceptions and prejudices, so we can see the other person’s viewpoint.

 

Conflict Management

Conflicts have the potential to benefit a team. In a successfully handled conflict relationships, mutual understanding and respect increase. Participants become aware and are able to cope with challenges. Conflict can promote beneficial change and adaptation. It enhances personal and psychological development.  Morale improves as the team overcomes conflict. It breaks the culture of silence. Unresolved conflict is a major source of stress and a waste of time.  It drains team energy that needs to be conserved for the work. Factions are created, productivity goes down, people fail to show up, and a sense of discouragement grows in the team. Creative energy is diverted and drained. An important issue always merits mediation (Stogdill, 1989).

 

Role of Personality Types in Conflict Management

Any successful team consists of a mix of personality types. A team in which everyone has the same personality type, is more likely to experience conflict between its members. When a problem arises in the team, everyone is more likely to try and take the same role in solving it. People communicate their thoughts, ideas, knowledge and fears differently in conflict situations.  Managers and team members should know and understand these different styles of communication to avert conflicts over perceptions of someone’s actions or words. Team-building exercises before field deployment help people to get to know each other and understand how their colleagues communicate. Empathy for another viewpoint greatly aids in prevention and resolution of conflict (Ivancevich, Konopaske, Matteson, 2007).

 

 

Ethics and Workplace Conflicts

Codes of conduct or business ethics exist to guide the expected behavior of honorable employees, but much of their origination occurred for the same reason as policies. Some employees conducted themselves in ways that are unacceptable to the business. In today’s workplace, potential charges of unfair treatment, discrimination, favoritism, and hostile work environment replace much management discretion. The many suffer for the few and sometimes, the best employees get caught in the equal treatment trap.

 

Forgiveness

At first, conflict and forgiveness seem at different ends of the spectrum. Conflict is the struggle between people who have opposing views, opposite goals, conflicting values, and inappropriate communication. Conflict does not necessarily mean that hatred and condemnation are involved, although both can be. But rather, most conflict and estrangements occur over misunderstandings and different points of view. According to Can and Abigail (2011) forgiveness can be defined as process of cognition that involves permitting the revengeful feelings go off and the wish to get revenge.

Conflict resolutions should be seen as works in progress. Make it a point to ask the other person from time to time how things are going. Something unexpected might have come up or some aspect of the problem may have been overlooked. Your decisions should be seen as open to revision, as long as the revisions are agreed upon mutually.

 

 

 

References

 

 

Cahn, D.D., & Abigail, R.A. (2007). Managing conflict through communication (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN:  978-0-205-68556-1

 

Ivancevich, J., Konopaske, R., Matteson, M. (2007). Organizational Behavior and Management. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

 

Stogdill, R. M.(1989). Stogdill's Handbook of Leadership: A Survey of Theory and Research. Bass, B. (ed.) New York: Free Press.