Conflict management in an organization

A conflict is a serious disagreement, a radical way to resolve a contradiction between people. According to the American Management Association, modern managers spend up to 24% of their time on this.

Pretending that conflict does not exist in an organization or prohibiting it is dangerous to productivity. There is a risk that then employees will hide differences in opinions, get used to acting secretly, and begin to engage in corporate games instead of solving their problems.

It will be more effective to accept that this phenomenon exists and learn to benefit from it, manage disagreements, and direct them in a productive direction. Finally, conflict can be used to increase motivation and stimulate employee interest.

Determine the stage of the conflict

Any conflict from its appearance to its extinction goes through four stages:

The emergence of a conflict.

At this point, employees begin to have a negative attitude towards something, usually some kind of management situation. The conflict arises implicitly, employees do not show their feelings, do not put forward demands - usually at this stage they are not formulated. The problem is manifested by unfriendly behavior.

Formation.

Employees are divided into several groups that differ in their different attitudes towards a certain management situation - so-called consolidation occurs depending on their desires, that is, everyone has a negative attitude towards the situation, and the requirements are different.

Peak of the conflict.

The parties go into open confrontation. The so-called enemy behavior model appears - when people try not to achieve something, but harm and prevent each other from achieving what they want.

Fading.

The conflict ends some time after the peak, when functional or even dysfunctional (non-productive) consequences occur.

The author of the article “Basics of Conflict Management in an Organization,” Anton Spatar, notes that if a manager can enter into a conflict at the initial stage, the problem will be resolved in 92% of cases. During the lifting phase, during the reaction of the other side - in 46% of cases. If you pay attention to the conflict at the moment of its peak, then it will no longer be possible to manage it.

You cannot wait for the peak of the conflict unless you have analyzed the situation and are confident of its favorable resolution. In other cases, the manager must either eliminate the cause of disagreement at the beginning of its appearance, or intervene at the moment of the reaction of the other party. Do not lead the situation to war between the parties.

2.6. Personality methods of behavior management

Behavioral management is a system of measures for the formation of principles and norms of behavior of people in an organization, which allows you to achieve your goals within a certain time frame at reasonable costs. The organization, in accordance with its goals, strategy, organizational structure, specific features of its activities, selects specialists for specific roles, to perform specific functions and obtain the required results, for which it receives a certain reward. A person who has an idea of himself and his capabilities, taking into account his goals, enters into a relationship with an organization, striving to take a certain place in it, perform a certain job and receive a reward. The individual expects from the organization: a place in the social structure, specific interesting work, the desired reward.

Don't try to get involved in the conflict

Conflictology expert and author of the book “The Magic of Conflict” Thomas Cram believes that one of the key mistakes of participants in any conflict is to perceive disagreement as a kind of competition that needs to be won.

A popular managerial mistake is to try to immediately figure out which side is right and which is wrong. So you indirectly take someone’s side and begin to participate in this competition.

Instead, you should try to first extinguish the conflict itself. For example, convey to the participants that it is not necessary to perceive each other as enemies or as competitors. You can look for a compromise that will suit both sides.

Or the best option is to offer, together with the conflicting parties, to study the situation that led to the disagreement. And try to look at it more broadly, as if to find some kind of third opinion that contradicts the positions of both sides. It is unlikely that the conflict will be resolved as a result, but at the same time you will extinguish the intensity of passions in the team, direct the energy of the conflict participants in a productive direction, and at the same time you will not be involved in disagreements.

See also: How to Succeed in Business Communications

How to use employees to manage and prevent conflicts?

When introducing innovations, you need to involve all employees in discussing them, listen to criticism and suggestions, and also make the necessary corrections.

It is necessary to correctly divide powers between employees. Senior management determines the register of necessary activities and develops alternative methods for carrying them out. This is relevant when:

conducting research,
creating a new enterprise policy,
creating marketing strategies.

Changes should only be implemented by senior management. In this way, the legitimate authority uses its powers to implement changes. A unilateral policy means that only the higher-ups identify problems, and then they set the course for the work of all lower-level employees.
It is also allowed to delegate one’s own powers when management delegates them to lower-level employees. In this case, they must prove their loyalty to the company.

Such approaches make it possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of organizational conflicts or direct them in a constructive direction.

Learn to participate in conflicts

A manager is not always an arbiter or administrator in the conflicts of his subordinates; sometimes he has to act as an actor. To effectively participate in conflicts, learn to act according to a given algorithm and maintain composure. Use advice from the American Management Association:

Start by identifying the root cause of the conflict. It is important to understand that your subordinates may voice some complaints, but in reality worry about something else. Moreover, this will not necessarily be manipulation - sometimes people themselves, out of emotion, cannot figure out what outrages them.
Determine what is important to you in the conflict. If it's a dispute, consider the consequences of losing it. If there are complaints, think about what will happen if you respond to them. What happens if you simply ignore your opponent’s words? Questions like these, asked to yourself, will help you focus on the rational perception of information and remove emotions.
Find out why the other party is in conflict. What does he want to achieve through disagreement?
Assess the situation in which you are in conflict. What is happening now, do you have enough arguments for conversation? What state are you in: angry, calm, don’t you care? Maybe you should take a break because your opponent is too emotional?
Conduct the dialogue professionally. Avoid generalizations and statements like “always” and “never.”
Develop your conflict management strategy. Find out more about your opponent in terms of his personality and behavior. Think about how your dialogue should be structured. Make sure you are focused on action and not on emotions.
Formulate the desired outcome and possible compromises. Decide for yourself what you can tolerate and what you definitely disagree with.

Having worked out all the nuances, start a conversation and keep your emotions under control, analyze your opponent’s state and move towards your goal. A similar conflict management algorithm should be used in a situation where you act as a conflict moderator.

Peer review task

You have just learned about the types of intrapersonal conflict and its characteristics. Now we propose to apply the acquired knowledge in practice.

Just below you will find a video that presents three examples of intrapersonal conflict. Your task is to watch this video and give a brief description of each example, based on the information you just learned.

This is a peer review assignment, so you will need to check 2 other people's work first and then upload yours. When checking other people's work, you need to evaluate how correctly, in your opinion, the type of conflict is defined and how deeply the analysis is carried out.

Statistics Full screen

Most likely, you were able to identify relatively accurately what types of internal conflict are presented in the video. However, another important feature of intrapersonal conflict is that it can be characterized by both positive and negative consequences, i.e. the conflict itself can be constructive or destructive.

Create a suitable environment for conflict resolution

It is better to deal with conflicts in a specially designated place. And not right away - let the participants cool down a little so that they evaluate what is happening not only with emotions.

Find a neutral place where you can meet with the parties involved. It is better if this is a personal meeting rather than communication via instant messengers and video conferences.
Set rules: Let people know how long the meeting will last, how it will be structured. Such restrictions will help the parties to the conflict communicate more productively and rationally, and not turn to emotions.
Before negotiations, try to talk with each participant in the conflict separately. Find out what rational and emotional reasons led to the disagreement.

Decide in advance what you want from the meeting as a moderator. For example, for the parties to come to a compromise, one of the parties to the conflict realizes he was wrong, or there is some other goal. To do this, prepare, collect information, and work out your behavior strategy.

Get rid of the root causes of conflict

There are several common causes of conflict. Try to ensure that your organization has as few such factors as possible.

Low team spirit. The closer people in a team are to each other, the fewer interpersonal conflicts arise. And the more motivated employees are to work. Analyze the morale of the team, carry out activities to improve team spirit.
Loss of authority. It is important that you, as a leader, are respected. Keep your word and control your emotions. Develop soft skills that will help you better understand your subordinates. If the team is united around a respected leader, there will be fewer conflicts.
Low productivity, efficiency and motivation of employees. Conflicts are usually caused by people dissatisfied with their work - try to monitor the effectiveness of each employee and help subordinates analyze the results of their work. Give employees more feedback.
Missed deadlines and problems with projects. Constant stress leads to disagreements. One way to reduce pressure on your team is to be realistic about project deadlines and set them in excess.

Don't look for someone to blame, look for a reason

Conflict moderators should focus not on finding someone to blame, but should go to a higher level - focus on finding out the causes of the conflict.

If you need to discuss the mistake of a specific person, then this can be done without accusations. For example, talk about the process during which the error occurred - find out whether the person had all the necessary information, which prevented him from doing everything correctly right away. Maybe the cause of the error lies in external factors?

After the discussion, you can ask the parties to the conflict what needs to be done to avoid mistakes in the future? And what needs to be done to avoid conflict?

2.1. Intrapersonal methods

Intrapersonal methods of conflict management consist in the ability to correctly organize one’s own behavior, express one’s point of view so that it does not cause a negative reaction or a psychological need to defend oneself from others. For example, when you come to work in the morning, you find that someone has moved everything on your desk. You want this to not happen again, but you also don’t want to ruin your relationship with your employees. You state, “When papers move around on my desk, it really bothers me. I would like to find everything in the future as I leave it before I go." By being clear about why those around you are irritated by these actions, you help them understand you, and when you speak up without attacking them, this reaction can encourage others to change their behavior.