Conflict Management

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Re : Conflict Management

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Workplace violence is the number one cause of death for women , and the second highest cause for men . Management must intervene , and the most effective means of intervention is through training in conflict resolution . Managers are likely to spend 20 percent of their time dealing with employee conflicts , from disagreements about the job itself to personality conflicts

Conflict increases with increased levels of hierarchy , more workers and the standardization of jobs The word conflict ' has a negative connotation , but isn

't always a bad thing . It pushes managers to analyze their goals , it forces employees to communicate , and sometimes it can lead to creative solutions . Sometimes , it will result in high-quality decision making that would otherwise be impossible . One such conflict led to the formation of Saturn (automotive . In this regard , it can lead people to step out of their usual way of thinking . One study showed that high-quality decisions occurred in 45 percent of situations where the subordinates resisted . Creative solutions only occurred in 18 percent of cases where resistance was weak or non-existant . Therefore , conflict brings out the best in employee 's thinking

There are three popular definitions of conflict : 1 ) the actions of one person or organization is in direct opposition to the actions of another 2 ) the conditions or goals of individuals are incompatible 3 a struggle over values and scarce resources in which opponents seek to neutralize their rivals . There are four axioms that are relevant to communication : 1 ) conflict involves at least two parties , and can only be generated or resolved through communication 2 ) It develops from perceived mutually exclusive goals , and the important thing to remember is that they are perceived to be mutually exclusive 3 ) Conflict involves different value systems , especially with employees who are in vastly different positions 4 ) conflict will only terminate when each side is convinced that it has one or lost

The strategies most commonly employed in conflict resolution are accommodation , problem solving , avoidance , compromise , and force Accomodation requires the managers to look at everyone 's needs in to everyone . Often , he must give in to ideas that conflict with his own needs or goals . Problem solving evaluates each point of view in to come to a solution while taking in everyone 's opinions Avoidance tends to sound like a negative idea , but it can include ignoring the grumblings of negative comments , or a manager who changes the subject when the tone of a discussion becomes threatening . This is typically used in large bureaucracies that have conflicting policies One might hear It 's not my fault , it 's just the company policy ' when this technique is used . Forcing is used when a manager must accomplish his goals without consideration of others ' opinions and or feelings . It is the number one conflict resolution technique used by managers . It should not be mistaken with a long-term solution . Compromise , which is similar to negotiating , is used when (1 ) management does...