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Conflict simply refers to a form of disagreement which occurs when an individual or group of people differ significantly as a result of power, values, and practices, among other aspects that matter to them. As it would be observed, conflict is inescapable where two or more people come together, whether at home or in places of work.
The modern society is culturally diverse and multifaceted, and for that reason, the working environment comprises of people from diverse backgrounds who come together for a common purpose (Deutsch & Coleman, 2000). Conflict in all scenarios occurs for various reasons, such as different knowledge, lack of resources, poor communication, misunderstanding, perceived oppression, incompatible values, and varied expectations, among other factors.
In most cases, peoples’ expectations in regard with these factors are not realized or met and that results into conflicts. Whenever it occurs, conflict brings serious consequences to the parties involved. Some of the negative implications associated with conflict include, but are not limited to, lack of motivation among employees, slowed or lowered productivity, and spoiled relationships.
Rather than hoping conflict will go away by itself, this paper tries to identify some of the reasons why disagreements tend to occur and how to deal with them successfully in a team environment. In order to address the components of conflict better, this paper explores a conflict that took place in my organization sometime back.
Conflict Example
I work as an administrative supervisor for the U.S. Marine Corps. Disagreements are common with the Marines, as with other professionals, and in my area of responsibility, I encounter many forms of internal conflicts either between individuals and individuals or individuals and departments. One of the most serious cases of conflict I had to deal with recently was caused by internal circumstances, and it involved a high-ranking officer and his subordinates.
In this case, it was alleged that the officer who is in the rank of a sergeant applied rigidity upon his subordinates. As a result, there were many complaints from most privates and other low-ranking officers who claimed that matters within the unit overseen by this particular officer were becoming more questionable everyday following his strict leadership style.
The sergeant was the kind who can neither listen nor take advice, especially if this came from the people under him. In this regard, the subordinates, who believed that they had a role to play in the decision-making process of the organization, thought that their rights were being violated by the sergeant. In this regard, the subordinates started showing resistance to the officer in manners that were more open and this would trigger a conflict between them and the officer in question.
Source and Level of the Conflict
Obviously, there is a starting point for every conflict that arises and in almost all cases this starts with something or someone violating peoples’ boundaries, or area of interest in life (Baack, 2012). The source of this particular conflict was organizational because it involved a leader and his subordinates in the workplace.
More importantly, it was in a role conflict level, since it involved differences in role definition or responsibility. While the officer tried his best to ensure that his command was felt throughout his area of command, the subordinates thought that he was overstepping on them, and in that case, he only succeeded at dividing them rather than keeping them in harmony, just what was expected of him as a supervisor.
The subordinates felt that the management approaches used by the leader were violating their comfort in the organization, and they would consider it a form of harassment extended to them by the officer, something which they could not take any longer.
Resolution of the Conflict
This conflict had reached a bad stage and had started interfering with the normal operations of the organization since a lot of time was spend addressing disputes arising between the leader and the subordinates. These disputes were characterized by regular arguments and threats. When it was apparent that the parties involved in this conflict could do nothing to end their differences, it was clear that immediate intervention was needed to help them resolve their issues.
As the administrative supervisor, I had a direct role to play in addressing this conflict, where I would assist in resolving it using the most appropriate procedures before it erupted to something worse. In this regard, I decided to use a win-win approach where the interests of both parties would be considered equally and get solved through collaborative means. In this case, my first step was to collect relevant information from the parties involved to confirm the source and the level of the conflict.
Being aware of the source and the level of the conflict, it was easy for me to address the issue effectively using the most reasonable approaches. I made every effort that was possible to understand the concerns of the parties involved in the conflict, and this would give me an insight on the approaches to use to approach the matter.
I also had to look keenly beyond the matter to identify how far the conflict the conflict had come and the point it has reached, probing questions from both parties where possible. Some of the questions that I asked the parties would be when the problem started and the best ways that they thought could be used to go about the issue.
This helped me to understand the take of each side as the matter was concerned, and as a result, I was able to draw the right decisions and conclusions on the conflict. I was able to come up with a solution that was supported by both disputants by pointing out that the organization was important than any individual and that it was everybody’s responsibility to ensure that they played their part of the game well for its success and for the benefit of the society.
Conflict outcomes
In this regard, I emphasized that there was a need to a greater cooperation to effectively address people’s interests in a team environment. These developments were sealed in a peace covenant that was marked by a shake of hands between the sergeant and his subordinates where both parties agreed to work together towards resolving the departmental problems that could bring negative effects to the organization.
There are various outcomes that would reasonably occur as a result of a fruitful resolution (Humphreys, 2005). For example, this particular resolution helped to reduce tension between the sergeant and his subordinates since there were no more disagreements on leadership or responsibilities.
This resolution also helped to motivate both the officer and his subordinates, thus leading to improved performance at work. More importantly, this resolution would enhance a mutual understanding that served as a basis for a more open work relationship between the two parties.
References
Baack, D. (2012). Organizational behavior. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Deutsch, M., & Coleman, P. (2000). The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Humphreys, M. (2005). Natural resources, conflict, and conflict resolution uncovering the mechanisms. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 49(4), 508-537.
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