Conflict Resolution Techniques Sample Paper
While conflicts are inevitable in any workplace, how they are handled determines their effect on an organization. To guide in conflict resolution, there are five major conflict resolution skills that should be considered. Depending on the nature of the conflict, parties involved should choose the best method to establish peace and reconciliation. The five major conflict resolution skills are avoiding, competing, accommodating, collaborating, and compromising.
First, avoiding involves withdrawing from a conflict or ignoring the fact that it exists. Conflicting parties choose this method when the reward of resolution is less than the discomfort caused by confrontation (Jit et al, 2016). Avoiding is beneficial to the facilitator but may not be worth it as people may be withholding important ideas that could add value to the conversation. However, it can be quite an effective tool when a cool-down period is required for either of the parties.
One of the major benefits of avoiding therefore is giving people time to calm down and possibly consider other perspectives that may be important in solving the conflict (Jit et al, 2016). However, caution should be observed not to use avoidance excessively as it may make conflicts worse.
Second, competing involves a lack of consideration of other people’s viewpoints and using all means possible to win. The method uses the assumption of winning and letting the other party lose and hence does not permit different perspectives into the resolution process (Jit et al, 2016). Competing is best suited for sports or when companies are contesting over the market but it is not applicable when solving problems within a group. The advantage is that the style solves disputes quickly as there is no room for disagreements or discussions. However, while it offers short-term rewards, competing can harm one’s business as relationships are in most cases broken.
Third, accommodating skills simply entail putting the other party’s concern before your own and letting them get their way. Accommodating is often used when one person does not care about the issues discussed compared to the other party (Gilin et al, 2015). It is also used when one feels like he/she is in the wrong or if prolonging the conflict is not worth the outcome. The method is therefore for maintaining the peace than it is for winning. While one may seem weak, accommodating is essential as it allows one to move on to more important issues. Nevertheless, as much as small issues may be handled easily, accommodating will not work in important or larger issues.
The fourth skill is collaborating which involves listening to the other party’s side, discussing an agreement goal, and ensuring an understanding from all parties. Collaborating skill thus requires a lot of consideration and great courage. Notably, for collaboration to work, both parties should be assertive and cooperative (Gilin et al, 2015). The main aim is to have a shared solution that each party is willing to support.
The parties thus sit down and negotiate the conflict in a bid to establish a win-win situation that leaves everyone satisfied. Due to the attempt to ensure that each party is satisfied, collaborating may take a lot of time than any other conflict resolution strategy. The skill is however beneficial as it leaves everyone satisfied and maintains harmony.
Finally, compromising technique seeks to find resolution by conceding due to the failure to agree on some concepts of the solution. Considerations and courage are required as parties try to look for common ground (Jit et al, 2016). Sometimes, compromising can lead to a lose-lose situation as parties give up on some things to focus on larger issues. The strategy is usually used to save time or when a solution is just required whether perfect or not. The benefit is that both parties are accommodated and can actually set the stage for collaboration in the future. The downside however is that none of the parties leaves completely happy.
References
- Gilin Oore, D., Leiter, M. P., & LeBlanc, D. E. (2015). Individual and organizational factors promoting successful responses to workplace conflict. Canadian Psychology/psychologie canadienne, 56(3), 301. https://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000032
- Jit, R., Sharma, C. S., & Kawatra, M. (2016). Servant leadership and conflict resolution: A qualitative study. International Journal of Conflict Management. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCMA-12-2015-0086/full/html