Conflict Resolution - Managing Workplace Conflict
It goes by many names -- conflict prevention, conflict resolution, conflict management, the names go
on. These terms were all created to combat a similar problem.
For the most part, people who deal with these issues all agree
with the same principle:
Conflict resolution at an early stage is less costly and more
manageable than trying to deal with its repercussions later.
First, let's discuss the types of conflicts we have observed in
our years of experience working with organizations.
We have observed 3 major types of workplace conflict:
Task Conflict
Task conflict arises among members of work teams and
specifically affects the goals and tasks they are striving to
achieve. Differences in vision, intentions and quality
expectations often lead to task conflict. Employee relationships
may initially appear to survive task conflict but an important
project may not. It is essential to channel task conflict so
that these differences become collaborative and improve the way
the team thinks about accomplishing current and future tasks.
Process Conflict
This form of conflict centers around the steps or methods used
by a team to reach a goal. One person might like to plan 100
steps ahead while another might like to dive in head first.
These differences in process can lead to communication breakdown
and ultimately conflict. But, like task conflict, process
conflict can be useful, if managed correctly. Healthy
differences in process often will lead to an IMPROVED way of
achieving goals.
Relationship Conflict
Often misunderstood, relationship conflict undermines and tears
at the fabric of a team's ability to achieve goals effectively,
efficiently and profitably. Relationship conflict penetrates all
aspects of an organization. When people in a workplace fail to
communicate effectively, entire work teams or even an entire
organization will suffer. This type of conflict will quickly
consume all the attention and energy of an organization, leaving
little time to accomplish profitable tasks.
What can you do to bring conflict to a reasonable resolution?
And how can it be beneficial to everyone involved? The goal is
to increase the benefits achieved from encouraging task and
process conflict while at the same time reducing, managing and
understanding the negative effects of relationship conflict.
The benefits of effective conflict resolution are great:
*Improve organizational decision making
*Inspire employees to articulate and clarify their ideas and
positions
*Stimulate innovation, creativity and forward thinking
*Improve individual and group performance
If no resolution is sought for conflict the affects are
often devastating:
*Job stress and burnout rises which typically increases
absenteeism and turnover
*Distrust and suspicion develops often creating an "us versus
them" culture
*Job satisfaction and performance falters
*Employee loyalty and commitment declines