Resolving Organizational Conflict- Identifying Causes, Strategies, and Outcomes

Resolving Organizational Conflict- Identifying Causes, Strategies, and Outcomes

Factors Responsible for Causing the Conflict

Conflicts can arise in any team, but the diversity of the leadership team magnifies the conflict. The team comprises 4 Caucasian women, 2 African Americans comprising of one woman and a man, and a Hispanic woman. One of the factors that could be contributing to the conflict in this team revolves around communication. First, given the team’s diversity, there is a high likelihood of misinterpretation of the tone and intent of some statements (Hocker & Wilmot, 2018). Some cultures are comfortable with directness, but in others, subtle communication is preferred (Hocker & Wilmot, 2018). For instance, Caucasians are direct in their speech, whereas Hispanics and African Americans are more indirect in their communication. To that end, four Caucasian team members may be considered rude by the rest of the team.

Moreover, the cultural differences among leadership team members exacerbate the conflicts. For instance, since the leadership team actively participates in the organization’s decision-making processes, cultural diversity may lead to conflict due to differing strategies for decision-making. Based on Hofstede’s multicultural insights, African American and Hispanic members prefer collective group input in decision-making, whereas Caucasians prefer autonomy and individual success. These differences may have exacerbated organizational conflict as the Caucasian team members were likely seen to be self-centered.

Also, work values and norms may have contributed to the conflicts. Some elements pertinent to work values include hierarchy, punctuality, and work-life balance (Hocker & Wilmot, 2018). Since the leadership team collaborates on various matters, they may have encountered conflicting culture-specific work values that exacerbated the conflict. For instance, Caucasians are strict adherents of punctuality, whereas African Americans do not necessarily adhere to strict timelines, and this may have exacerbated the conflict.

Impact of Leadership Conflict to the rest of the Organization

Conflict among top organizational leaders leads to decreased morale and engagement among the rest of the organizational employees’ Conflicts at the highest levels may cause anxiety and unease amongst personnel across the firm (Melletus & Agbo, 2020). When personnel see their management in dispute, they lose confidence and trust in the company’s strategy and management. That may result in low motivation and apathy among the staff (Melletus & Agbo, 2020). The fact that top leaders’ disputes are no longer a secret exacerbates the situation. To that end, employees may find a hard time taking instructions from the very people who cannot successfully deal with conflicts among themselves.

The conflict at the top also hampers the productivity of the rest of the team. The personnel’s attention might veer away from their job and toward the drama playing out among senior executives (Melletus & Agbo, 2020). This distraction might result in diminished productivity and performance levels throughout the business. Personnel may also be afraid to take the initiative or make choices for fear of becoming entangled in the disagreement. Further followers at the organization cannot make vital decisions because they may be deemed to be taking sides with one of the conflicting parties at the top. Given employees’ fear of job loss, they gradually withdraw their efforts, which negatively affects productivity.

Conflict Resolution Style

Collaboration

The collaboration technique involves working hand in hand to develop an acceptable compromise. It necessitates transparent communication, deep listening, and an open mind to consider many viewpoints (Coleman et al., 2014). Collaborating seeks to meet the needs of all parties involved, which frequently leads to innovative remedies.

In a collaborative dispute resolution technique, ideas are expressed verbally, and members of the team are sensitive to each other, embracing and affected by the views of others. They have less difficulty talking with or comprehending people. Defining competing interests as a joint challenge to be solved via a cooperative approach makes it easier to recognize each other’s legitimate objectives and the need to find a solution that meets the requirements of all involved (Coleman et al., 2014). Collaborative conflict resolution typically limits rather than broadens the spectrum of competing interests. Attempts to influence others are often focused on persuasive practices.

According to Coleman et al. (2014), cooperative groups demonstrate synergy of effort, distribution of labor, a focus on goal completion, orderliness in conversation, and high productivity. The strategy also entails acknowledging and valuing each other by being attentive to everyone’s needs. As the capacities of others are increased, so are one’s own, meaning that the strategy promotes uniformity of interests.

Conflict Negotiation and Resolution Strategies

Firstly, the company ought to allocate resources to diversity training. Cultural competence encompasses a wide range of group orientations, including those related to race, gender, ethnic affiliation, sexual orientation, and job category (Katz & Flynn, 2013). It is a fundamental principle that is upheld by diversity training. Successful implementation of diversity training will start with a rigorous selection and orientation process. The process should be designed in a way that reflects the organization’s community. Subsequently, the development of an inclusive and respectful culture through managerial flexibility and training is the first step in identifying competencies (Katz & Flynn, 2013). Once implemented, diversity training will foster harmony among the leaders who come from a diverse cultural background and prevent future discord.

Also, opening communication channels and adopting communication training on interpersonal relationship skills would aid in dispute resolution. Conflict resolution, thoughtful and engaged listening, and multi-functional role awareness should be the primary focus of communication training (Katz & Flynn, 2013). The organization ought to track its internal and external environments through interactions, politics, and laws, and create tailored training programs to address any possible conflict situations. A communication training regimen should be required for all staff, including follow-up touch points. Instead of waiting for another discord to arise within the firm, the team will anticipate prospective challenges and create personnel conflict resolution training initiatives, including communication training.

Other conflict resolution strategies that would help include mediation and negotiation. To begin with, the leadership team should try to negotiate among themselves and reach a compromise. If that fails, then a neutral third party should be invited to help the team reach an agreeable compromise. Notably, this is a short-term strategy that will only ease current tensions. However, diversity training, opening communication channels, and communication training will alleviate the conflict fully and prevent future recurrence.

Outcomes

Implementing the above conflict resolution and negotiation strategies will create an inclusive and positive environment, where employees respectfully address one another. As noted earlier, one of the primary causes of conflict in the organization is cultural differences manifested through communication, power relations, and work ethics. Once the conflict resolution strategies are implemented, the organization will create an environment where conflicts are addressed constructively, and people speak with each other with respect regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, and social status. Another possible outcome is that the teams will focus on the common objectives if a conflict arises. As mentioned above, collaboration leads to individual interests in a conflict being defined as a joint problem.

 References

Coleman, P. T., Deutsch, M., & Marcus, E. C. (2014). The handbook of conflict resolution: theory and practice. Jossey-Bass.

Hocker, J. L., & Wilmot, W. W. (2018). Interpersonal conflict (10th ed.). Mcgraw-Hill Education.

Katz, N. H., & Flynn, L. T. (2013). Understanding Conflict Management Systems and Strategies in the Workplace: A Pilot Study. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 30(4), 393–410. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21070

Melletus, U., & Agbo. (2020). Effects of Conflict Management on Organizational Performance (A Study of Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State) HP. JHSS, 20(6), 2020. https://www.hummingbirdpubng.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/HUJHSS_VOL20_NO6_JUNE2020_-

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Develop a 3-4 page plan to identify the causes of organizational conflict, explain how conflict affects an organization, and select a conflict resolution style to use. Explain conflict negotiation strategies and determine the likely outcomes.

Resolving Organizational Conflict- Identifying Causes, Strategies, and Outcomes

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Introduction
Disagreements occur because we have differences in opinions, values, and goals. Solutions to disagreements require negotiation skills. While negotiating, the parties involved have to “generate options, brainstorm ideas, give and take, and attempt to get their mutual goals met” (Hocker & Wilmot, 2014, p. 249).