{"id":101298,"date":"2013-08-20T08:56:37","date_gmt":"2013-08-20T12:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=101298"},"modified":"2013-08-20T08:56:37","modified_gmt":"2013-08-20T12:56:37","slug":"business-and-life-conflict-management-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/columns\/business-life\/business-and-life-conflict-management-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"BUSINESS AND LIFE: Conflict management strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_83298\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-83298\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-83298\" alt=\"Dr. Valda Henry\" src=\"http:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/valda-henry.jpg\" width=\"160\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/valda-henry.jpg 160w, https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/valda-henry-100x150.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-83298\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Valda Henry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Last week we looked at the nature and causes of conflict, this week we focus on Conflict Management Strategies.\u00a0 How do we resolve and manage conflict so that i) we do not destroy people\u2019s ability to work together effectively or ii) we are able to restore harmony between persons and the organisation?<\/p>\n<p>A study by Eisenhardt et al (1997) found that teams with minimal interpersonal conflict were able to separate substantive issues from those based on personalities.\u00a0 They disagreed on substantive issues but still got along with each other.<\/p>\n<p>Eisenhardt et al suggest six steps for resolving and managing conflict:<\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Focus on the Facts \u2013 focus on the issues at hand and not the personalities.\u00a0 This is why it is important to provide accurate, meaningful data to all persons concerned at the same time so they are playing on a level field.\u00a0 You may recall that lack of information or access to different information or information at different times are key sources of conflict.<\/p>\n<p>2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Multiply the Alternatives \u2013 The more options provided, the more rigorous the debate, but also the greater the opportunity for employees to work together and contribute to the solution.\u00a0 The employees then feel that they are being heard and this may reduce interpersonal conflicts.<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Create Common Goals \u2013Common goals or vision provide a reason for staff to work together.\u00a0 The focus on and commitment to the attainment of the goals or vision often help to keep interpersonal differences at bay.\u00a0 This does not mean that there will be no disagreements however people remain focused on the big picture and goals to be achieved.<\/p>\n<p>4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Use Humour \u2013 The old adage \u201claughter is the best medicine\u201d is applicable here.\u00a0 Sometimes conflict arises because we take ourselves too seriously.\u00a0 We need to lighten up a bit, see the homour in the situation and have fun working.\u00a0 Eisenhardt et al argue that humour works as a defense mechanism to protect people from the stressful and threatening situations that commonly arise in the course of making strategic decisions.\u00a0 Humour, they also argue can blunt the threatening edge of negative information and move persons into a collaborative rather than competitive frame.<\/p>\n<p>5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Balance the Power Structure \u2013 The research by Eisenhardt et al found that interpersonal conflict was more common and more intense in situations of highly autocratic as well as weal leadership.\u00a0 Less conflict existed where the power structure was balanced, where the CEO was definitely the leader but the other members of the management team exercised power within their departments and \/or areas of expertise.\u00a0 There was also less conflict where leaders were deemed to be fair, even when people disagreed with the decision.<\/p>\n<p>6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Seek Consensus with Qualifications &#8211; This means that when there is a conflict, one tries to resolve the issue by reaching consensus.\u00a0 If however, this fails the most senior person(s) makes the decision.\u00a0 This often leads to less conflict for people generally tend to accept the decision, for they believe the decision-making process was transparent and fair.\u00a0 Eisenhardt et al caution, \u201cPeople usually associate consensus with harmony but we found the opposite: teams that insisted on resolving substantive conflict by forcing consensus tended to display the most interpersonal conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Conflict is not only inevitable, it is necessary, however, as much as possible we should try to avoid interpersonal conflicts and stick to the issues.\u00a0 Conflict provides us with more choices, deeper understanding of issues and greater clarity.\u00a0 All of this can lead to greater productivity and enhanced profitability.<\/p>\n<p>Until we meet again, May the Lord Continue to Keep Us in the Palm of His Hands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week we looked at the nature and causes of conflict, this week we focus on Conflict Management Strategies.\u00a0 How do we resolve and manage conflict so that i) we do not destroy people\u2019s ability to work together effectively or&#8230;","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-life"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>BUSINESS AND LIFE: Conflict management strategies  - Dominica News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/columns\/business-life\/business-and-life-conflict-management-strategies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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