Causes of Workplace Conflict

It is crucial to determine the causes of conflict before implementing strategies to manage a workplace conflict (McKibben 2017). The changes in the workplace were caused when the management committee of SFD or struggle for development organization proposed the disbandment of the committee and establishment of an executive director’s position. Some of the board members were not supportive of the proposal and wanted Elsa to be offered the position of executive director. The proposal was produced during a board meeting and most of the members including Elsa were not aware of the proposal. This situation is an example of a conflict that arises due to poor communication in the workplace (Budacia 2016). Elsa was a member of the management committee and being a member, she should have been informed about the structural changes that were being planned. Elsa perceived the proposal as a demotion to her position and was not in favor of the idea of reporting under another member of the Board. This is an instance of conflict arising due to a threat to status. Elsa’s position in the organization would be threatened if Fred was appointed as the executive director. Since her position in the organization was under a threat, she planned to resign if the proposal was approved and implemented. Organizational changes can also cause conflicts in the workplace. Changes in organizational structure can change the position, job, or status of the member leading to a change in the relationships and job responsibilities between the members in a team, leading to conflicts. Concerning this, the board members who were in support of Elsa stopped attending further meetings and the interpersonal relationships were also strained. In a similar context, another cause of conflict that can be identified is resistance to change (Place 2019). People often get habituated by the environment they have been working in as they are familiar with the environment and easy to follow. The structural change in the organization might come with a fear of the unexpected which people generally try to avoid. Changes can become stressful for the workers that might give rise to conflicts among the members of a committee. Elsa was not ready to accept the changes that might occur if the proposal was implemented. Therefore, a situation of conflict was created between the board members. Differences in skills can also be a cause of conflict. Ali and Amira were of the belief that Elsa lacked the skills of managing and supervising a large staff base. Conflicts can arise when members with high skills have to work with members that do not possess skills at par with the other members.

Outcomes of Workplace Conflict

The conflict arose between the team members due to various reasons stated in the previous Answer. Conflicts can lead to a reduction in team cohesion and the ability of the team to work together (Osborn 2020). Loss of team cohesion leads to poor coordination in tasks that are interdependent between team members. Another outcome of the conflict includes upsetting the involved parties in the short run. The board members who supported Elsa were not satisfied with the decision of the managing committee of SFD and two of them did not continue to participate in further Board meetings. This also strained the interpersonal relationship between the team members. The change to be implemented was time-consuming as the proposal was put under the decision-making process. The Board members could not directly convey that they were opposed to the proposal which lead them to stall the decision-making process. The time that was being invested in the long discussion of the proposed organizational structure to be implemented could have been used to achieve the organizational goals that would ensure fruitful outcomes. This would mean a loss of productivity and the members would lose focus away from achieving their goals (Isa 2015). The conflict also caused emotional stress to Elsa as she feared that the new organizational structure if implemented, would be a threat to her position and mean a demotion. This could be damage to her reputation and dissatisfaction. Elsa threatening to resign from the organization can be treated as an employee turnover which is one of the possible outcomes of conflicts in an organization (Brookins 2019). Elsa was a core member of the managing committee and was holding an important position in the organization. Hence, her resignation would be detrimental to the organization. Her resignation would mean new members have to be recruited by the organization which would take more time and resources to be invested. The cohesive team was split into two factions among which, one was in support of Elsa and the other was in support of Fred for the position of ED.

Conflicts that arise in a workplace are inevitable as a number of people work together and differences in opinion are probable to arise among the members. However, effectively resolving those conflicts is crucial due to the negative effects that conflicts have on the functioning of the members in a group. Effective resolution and conflict management can also help to combat stressful situations that might negatively impact the mental health of the members.

Effective Strategies for Managing Workplace Conflict

There are five different styles or strategies of conflict management that can be used to manage workplace conflicts and restore the cooperative environment in the organization. These strategies include collaborating type, compromising type, avoiding type, competing type, and accommodating type (Ayoko 2016). In collaborating type of conflict management, the parties involves come together and confront the differences in opinions and work together to resolve the conflict by coming up with a solution that would benefit both the parties (Madalina 2016). In compromising style, the involved parties articulate a middle path and try to resolve the conflict leading to a partial loss incurred on both the ends of the involved parties. The avoiding style of conflict management as the name suggests includes the withdrawal of one of the involved parties from the conflict by staying silent. In a competing style, the parties force their opinion on each other without thinking about the benefits of the opponent party (Fiori 2021). Finally, the accommodating style is used when none of the parties come up front to solve the conflict and one of the parties involved comes up and proposes a resolution. This can act as a catalyst to break the uncomfortable environment that gets created.

In the given case, the withdrawal of the two of the Board members who were in support of Elsa demonstrates the avoiding style of conflict resolution. They stopped participating in the board meetings which shows that these members decided to stay quiet and followed the avoiding style. Elsa on the other hand was trying to implement the competing style of conflict management by threatening to resign if the structural change proposal was approved. There were differences created among the board members and to reconcile them, Ali and Amira decided to appoint an outsider in place of Fred for the position which demonstrates the compromising style of conflict management. Appointing an employee who is neither a member of the board nor a member of the management committee can resolve the conflict as no one will be at loss. Here, deciding to appoint Fred as the ED had threatened Elsa’s position, and the board members wanting to appoint Elsa for the position was not viewed as a correct decision as Ali and Amira believed Elsa lacked the necessary skills for the position. Hence, an outsider would have been a perfect choice for the position which would have been an appropriate measure to resolve the ongoing conflict.

There are three members in the group and the chosen style for each member is collaborating style of conflict management. In collaborating style, the members decide to agree on a mutually beneficial strategy to resolve any conflicts that might arise while working as a team. The members decide on a choice of activities and a win-win situation is created that benefits all the involved members in the team. This minimizes the negative feelings among the members and resolves conflicts to give the optimum outcome. Collaborating style is believed to build mutual trust and helps to maintain a positive relationship among the group members (Lazier 2017). However, a major con of the strategy is that it consumes a huge amount of time and energy of the members involved.

My result from the quiz was collaborating style. I believe that the best possible way to solve any conflict is by collaborating as it benefits the involved members mutually. For instance, when we were having our team discussions on the assignment, one of the members was not agreeing with the other members and was opposing whatever we were discussing. I managed to put forward certain questions that helped all the members reach an agreement and the best possible strategy was decided.

My result was collaborating style too. Collaborating style is time-consuming as it takes a lot of energy for the members to come to an agreement that all the members agree to and ensure that the decision taken benefits all the involved members. During the group discussion, tasks were being divided among the involved members. Some of the members were not agreeing with the tasks they were allocated. Hence, I decided to raise certain questions and dares that all the members agreed to take, and finally, a mutual agreement was reached where the members were allocated the tasks they could handle with expertise. Everyone on the team was satisfied and the conflict was resolved.

The result from the quiz that I received was collaborating style similar to the other members. I feel collaborating style is the best strategy to resolve conflicts as it enhances mutual trust among the involved members in the team and reduces negative feelings. Collaboration helps the members to work together and articulate strategies that would benefit all of the members and no one will harbor negative feelings for the other members. One instance I faced recently during the group discussions was the division of work among the members. I was appointed the leader of the team to be the main spokesperson for them and convey all the agreed-upon discussions to the mentor. One of the members was not happy with the elected leader and wanted to quit the team. It was difficult at that point to lose a member as the task we were working on was extremely crucial. I came up with a plan after talking to the member that the team should work in pairs and everyone would be working equally hard. I offered him to be my partner on the team and we would be working together and managing the team equally. The member agreed to the decision and we worked together extremely well.

References

Ayoko, Oluremi Bolanle. “Workplace conflict and willingness to cooperate: The importance of apology and forgiveness.” International Journal of Conflict Management (2016).

Brookins, Miranda. “The Effects Of Conflict Within An Organization”. Small Business – Chron.Com. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-conflict-within-organization-164.html (2019).

Budacia, Elisabeta Andreea. “Conflict–The Source Of Progress Or Regress In Modern Organizations?.” Romanian Economic and Business Review (2016).

Fiori, Christine. 2021. “Competing Conflict Management Style: Advantages, Disadvantages, Examples”. MT Copeland. https://mtcopeland.com/blog/what-is-the-competing-conflict-management-style-and-when-should-you-use-it/.

Isa, Ahmed Adamu. “Conflicts in organizations: causes and consequences.” Journal of Educational Policy and Entrepreneurial Research (JEPER) 2, no. 11 (2015): 54-59.

Lazier, Meghan. 2017. “Design And Conflict: Do You Know Your Conflict Style?”. Digital.Gov. https://digital.gov/2017/09/18/design-conflict-do-you-know-your-conflict-style/#:~:text=Style%3A%20The%20collaborative%20style%20sees,key%20for%20a%20healthy%20team.

McKibben, Laurie. “Conflict management: importance and implications.” British Journal of Nursing 26, no. 2 (2017): 100-103.

Momanyi, Deborah Kemunto, and Dennis Juma. “The influence of conflict management strategies on employee satisfaction: A case study of KCB Bank Kenya limited, head office.” International Academic Journal of Human Resource and Business Administration 2, no. 2 (2016): 130-144.

Osborn, Kerry. 2020. “9.2: The Impact Of Interpersonal Conflict On Team Performance”. Social Sci Libretexts. https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Courses/College_of_the_Canyons/COMS_120%3A_Small_Group_Communication_(Osborn)/09%3A_Managing_Conflict_in_Teams/9.02%3A_The_Impact_of_Interpersonal_Conflict_on_Team_Performance#:~:text=Negative%20Consequences%20of%20Team%20Conflict,-While%20sometimes%20conflict&text=Discord%20caused%20by%20enmity%20between,a%20team’s%20goals%20at%20risk.

Place, Tom. “6 Common Causes Of Workplace Conflict And How To Avoid Them”. Vital-Learning.Com. https://www.vital-learning.com/blog/causes-of-workplace-conflict (2019).