Conflict and

Conflict
Resolution
Conflict
 A clash between individuals arising out of a difference
in thought process, attitudes, understanding,
interests, requirements and even sometimes
perceptions

 Conflict resolution: the informal or formal

process that two or more parties use to find a
peaceful solution to their dispute
What triggers conflicts?
Communication problems
Organizational structure
Role disputes
Lack of resources
Misunderstandings
Lack of professional commitment
Phases of a conflict
1.Prelude to conflict
2.Triggering Event
3.Initiation Phase
4.Differentiation Phase
5.Resolution Phase
Conflict resolution
approaches
Win-win Approach

 is about changing the conflict from adversarial attack and defence, to co-operation.

 It is a powerful shift of attitude that alters the whole course of communication.

 One person consistently applying a joint problem-solving approach can make the difference.

 You, will probably be that person - redirecting the course of the conflict. Therefore, the first person you

have to convince is yourself.

Creative response
Problems or challenges

 It is about turning problems into possibilities.

 Consciously choosing to see what can be done, rather than staying

with how terrible it all is.

 It is affirming that you will choose to extract the best form the

situation.
Empathy
 The tasks of active listening

 Empathy is about rapport and openness between people. When it is absent, people are less

likely to consider your needs and feelings.

 The best way to build empathy is to help the other person feel that they are understood. That

means being an active listener. There are three specific listening activities relevant to different
situations
i. Information
ii. Affirmation
iii. Inflammation
Appropriate assertiveness
4. When to use "I" statements

 The essence of Appropriate Assertiveness is being able to state your case without arousing the defences

of the other person.

 The secret of success lies in saying how it is for you rather than what they should or shouldn't do. "the

way I see it...", attached to your assertive statement, helps. A skilled "I" statement goes even further.
 When you want to state your point of view helpfully, the "I" statement formula can be useful. An "I"
statement says how it is on my side, how I see it.
Cooperative power
Responding to resistance from others

 When faced with a statement that has potential to create conflict, ask open

questions to reframe resistance.

 Explore the difficulties and then re-direct discussion to focus on positive

possibilities
Managing emotions
Handling yourself
 Don't indulge
 Don't deny
 Create richer relationships
Mapping the conflict
 Define briefly the issue, the problem area, or conflict in neutral terms that all would agree on and

that doesn't invite a "yes/no" answer e.g. "Filing" not "Should Sal do filing?" Alongside Who: write
down the name of each important person or group.

 Write down each person's or group's needs. What motivates him/her?

 Write down each person's or group's fears, concerns, or anxieties.

 Be prepared to change the statement of the issue, as your understanding of it evolves through

discussion or to draw up other maps of related issues that arise. You may need more space for
writing all the significant needs and fears than the table below allows.
Conflict management
strategies
Accommodating
Avoiding
Collaborating
Compromising
Competing
Accommodating
 The accommodating strategy essentially entails giving the opposing side what
it wants.
 The use of accommodation often occurs when one of the parties wishes to keep
the peace or perceives the issue as minor.
 For example, a business that requires formal dress may institute a "casual
Friday" policy as a low-stakes means of keeping the peace with the rank and
file.
 Employees who use accommodation as a primary conflict management
strategy, however, may keep track and develop resentment.
Avoiding
 The avoidance strategy seeks to put off conflict indefinitely.
 By delaying or ignoring the conflict, the avoider hopes the problem
resolves itself without a confrontation.
 Those who actively avoid conflict frequently have low esteem or hold a
position of low power.
 In some circumstances, avoiding can serve as a profitable conflict
management strategy, such as after the dismissal of a popular but
unproductive employee.
 The hiring of a more productive replacement for the position soothes
much of the conflict.
Collaborating
 Collaboration works by integrating ideas set out by multiple
people.
 The object is to find a creative solution acceptable to everyone.
 Collaboration, though useful, calls for a significant time
commitment not appropriate to all conflicts.
 For example, a business owner should work collaboratively with
the manager to establish policies, but collaborative decision-
making regarding office supplies wastes time better spent on
other activities.
Compromising
 The compromising strategy typically calls for both sides of a
conflict to give up elements of their position in order to
establish an acceptable, if not agreeable, solution.
 This strategy prevails most often in conflicts where the
parties hold approximately equivalent power.
 Business owners frequently employ compromise during
contract negotiations with other businesses when each party
stands to lose something valuable, such as a customer or
necessary service.
Competing
 Operates as a zero-sum game, in which one side wins and other
loses.
 Highly assertive personalities often fall back on competition as a
conflict management strategy.
 The competitive strategy works best in a limited number of
conflicts, such as emergency situations.
 In general, business owners benefit from holding the competitive
strategy in reserve for crisis situations and decisions that generate
ill-will, such as pay cuts or layoffs.