Conflict Management Strategies
Read this chapter, which defines conflict, describes various conflict styles, and offers effective conflict management strategies. Try to answer some of the exercise questions at the bottom of each section.
What Is Conflict?
Learning Objectives
- Define conflict.
- Identify five subjects of conflict in groups.
- Acknowledge four major dangers of group conflict.
My athletes are always willing to accept my advice as long as it doesn't conflict with their views.
- Lou Holtz (college and professional football coach)
Most people probably regard conflict as something to avoid, or at least not something we go looking for. Still, we'd all agree that it's a familiar, perennial, and powerful part of human interaction. For these reasons, we need to know what it is, how to identify it, what it may deal with, and what damage it may cause if it isn't handled wisely.
Definitions of Conflict
Hocker
& Wilmot (2001) defined
conflict as an expressed struggle between interdependent parties over
goals which they perceive as incompatible or resources which they
perceive to be insufficient. Let's examine the ingredients in their
definition.
First of all, conflict must be expressed. If two
members of a group dislike each other or disagree with each other's
viewpoints but never show those sentiments, there's no conflict.
Second,
conflict takes place between or among parties who are interdependent -
that is, who need each other to accomplish something. If they can get
what they want without each other, they may differ in how they do so,
but they won't come into conflict.
Finally, conflict involves
clashes over what people want or over the means for them to achieve it.
Party A wants X, whereas party B wants Y. If they either can't both have
what they want at all, or they can't each have what they want to the
degree that they would prefer to, conflict will arise.
When it
came to Lou Holtz and the players on his football teams, it's obvious
that Holtz's views of who should take the field and what plays should be
run were not always the same as his players'. In a football game it's
possible to attempt a pass or to execute a run, for instance, but not
both on the same play. In this kind of situation, conflict is inevitable
and is probably going to be constant.
Consider the case,
likewise, of a small group assigned to complete a project in a biology
class. One student in the group, Robin, may be a political science major
with a new baby at home to attend to. Robin may be taking the course as
an elective and want to devote as little time as possible to the
project so as to be able to spend family time. Another member of the
group, Terry, may be on the pre-med track and feel strong curiosity
about the topic of the presentation. If Terry is determined to create a
product which earns a high grade and helps get the professor's
recommendation for a summer research internship, then Robin and Terry
will experience conflict over how, when, or how hard to work on their
project.
As
any conflict takes shape, each person brings a combination of
perceptions, emotions, and behavior to bear on it. This combination will
evolve and change with time, depending on how people interact with each
other and with the forces in their environment.
We can't stop
perceiving things in our surroundings. How we perceive others - whether
positively or negatively - influences both how we feel about them and
how we behave toward them, and vice versa. The perceptions we experience
of ourselves and of others affect our emotional states, which in turn
create new perceptions in those around us.
At the beginning of
the biology course we just mentioned, Robin may perceive Terry as
intelligent and as someone who can pull most of the weight in their
class project. Robin may compliment and praise Terry at this point, and
Terry may glow with the satisfaction of being appreciated. Their mutual
perceptions are then positive, and their emotional state is favorable.
When
the first deadline in the project comes along and the portion of the
group's work assigned to Robin turns out to be mediocre, however, things
will probably change. Terry is apt to start perceiving Robin as a
laggard and as a threat to Terry's own ambitions for the class and
beyond. Robin, meanwhile, may feel angry and resist Terry's pressure to
put more energy into the remainder of their assigned work.
Subjects of Conflict
Beyond
the setting of the biology class we've described, group conflicts may
deal with many topics, needs, and elements. Marylin Kelly identified the
following five subjects of conflict:
First, there are conflicts
of substance. These conflicts, which relate to questions about what
choices to make in a given situation, rest on differing views of the
facts. If Terry thinks the biology assignment requires an annotated
bibliography but Robin believes a simple list of readings will suffice,
they're in a conflict of substance. Another term for this kind of
conflict is "intrinsic conflict".
Conflicts of value are those in
which various parties either hold totally different values or rank the
same values in a significantly different order. The famous sociologist
Milton Rokeach, for instance, found that
freedom and equality constitute values in the four major political
systems of the past 100 years - communism, fascism, socialism, and
capitalism. What differentiated the systems, however, was the degree to
which proponents of each system ranked those two key values. According
to Rokeach's analysis, socialism holds both values highly; fascism holds
them in low regard; communism values equality over freedom, and
capitalism values freedom over equality. As we all know, conflict among
proponents of these four political systems preoccupied people and
governments for the better part of the twentieth century.
Conflicts
of process arise when people differ over how to reach goals or pursue
values which they share. How closely should they stick to rules and
timelines, for instance, and when should they let their hair down and
simply brainstorm new ideas? What about when multiple topics and
challenges are intertwined; how and when should the group deal with each
one? Another term for these disputes is "task conflicts".
Conflicts
of misperceived differences come up when people interpret each other's
actions or emotions erroneously. You can probably think of several times
in your life when you first thought you disagreed with other people but
later found out that you'd just misunderstood something they said and
that you actually shared a perspective with them. Or perhaps you
attributed a different motive to them than what really underlay their
actions. One misconception about conflict, however, is that it always
arises from misunderstandings. This isn't the case, however. Robert
Doolittle noted that "some of the
most serious conflicts occur among individuals and groups who understand
each other very well but who strongly disagree".
The first four
kinds of conflict may interact with each other over time, either
reinforcing or weakening each other's impact. They may also ebb and flow
according to the topics and conditions a group confronts. Even if
they're dealt with well, however, further emotional and personal kinds
of conflict can occur in a group. Relationship conflicts, also known as
personality clashes, often involve people's egos and sense of
self-worth. Relationship conflicts tend to be particularly difficult to
cope with, since they frequently aren't admitted for what they are. Many
times, they arise in a struggle for superiority or status.
Dangers of Conflict
As
we'll see later in this chapter, conflict is a normal component of
group interaction and can actually be beneficial if it is identified
accurately and controlled properly. It can also be dangerous, however,
in several major ways. Galanes & Adams identified three such ways.
The first danger is that
individual group members may feel bad. Even when everyone's intentions
are good and they intend to be constructively critical, people who
receive negative comments about their ideas or behavior may take those
comments personally. If the people feel demeaned or mistreated, their
level of trust in other members will probably dwindle.
The second
danger is an outgrowth of the first. It is that the cohesiveness of the
group can be diminished if its members have to nurse hurt feelings that
have arisen through conflict. At the very least, someone who has to
wonder whether he or she has the respect of someone else in the group
may spend time mulling that question which could otherwise be used to
contribute to the group's work.
The third danger is that conflict
can actually split a group apart. Although inertia can sustain a group
for long periods of time if no threats or disruptions occur, intense
conflict can cause members to decide to invest their energy somewhere
else. Relationship conflicts, in particular, may lead to all kinds of
unhelpful behavior: rumor-mongering; power plays; backing out on
promises; playing favorites; ignoring problems or appeals for help;
insulting others; innuendo; backstabbing; or dismissing suggestions
without considering them seriously. You're probably aware of at least a
few groups and organizations whose origins were encouraging but which
eventually disintegrated because of internal conflict.
A fourth
danger is that conflict can deteriorate into physical violence. Some
people in the heat of a conflict may forget this saying, which has been
attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: "The right to swing my fist
ends where the other man's nose begins".
In 1997, the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported that more
than one million workplace assaults occurred in the United States
annually. More recent statistics from the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration suggest that twice that
many workers may be subject to violence each year; that 506 workplace
homicides were committed in 2010; and that homicide is the leading cause
of death for women in American workplaces.
Key Takeaway
- Conflict, which is a struggle over goals or resources, may take many forms and lead to several kinds of harm if it is not skillfully dealt with.
Exercises
- Find news on line of a conflict which
erupted into violence. What factors in the situation do you feel
contributed to that outcome?
- Tell a fellow student about a values
conflict you've experienced in a group. Describe how you concluded that
the conflict dealt with values. Did the group make the same
determination at the time?
- Identify a personality clash you
believe you have observed in a group. Write 4-6 pieces of advice you
think might have helped each party to that conflict.
- If a
conflict has been brought about by a combination of incompatible goals
and insufficient resources, what do you believe will happen if one of
the two causes is eliminated? Give an example which substantiates your
viewpoint.