Resolving the Conflict by Utilizing the Conflict Management Styles - Essay Example

Running Header: Essay Analysis Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code & Name: Date of Submission: Introduction The conflict that I will describe here happened in a small organization after my friend had assisted that organization in developing a computer program. As I learned from Jeong (2010) solving conflicts eliminates the occurrence of destructive conflicts and enables the involved parties to improve their relationship towards each other. Therefore, this essay will show how I was able to utilize the conflict management theories in order to solve the conflict. Conflicts arise because of the fact that the involved parties have a strong attachment and loyalty on what they believe (Banner, 1995). Therefore, I utilized the knowledge that I had learned that transforming the viewpoint of the involved parties can assist in solving the conflict. The equity theory of handling conflicts enabled me to come up with a solution that eventually settled the conflict. In this essay I have also explored my conflict management styles which enabled me to realize the areas that I need to improve. In resolving a conflict there is need to diagnose the problem and change the emotions of the participants in order to gain a deeper understanding of the conflict. The Conflict I decided to accompany my friend to a small organization where he had been called to assist in developing a computer program. He told me of his excitement of getting an opportunity to develop a program and earn some money which would assist him to settle his father’s medical expenses. The opportunity came as a surprise to him given that he had not yet graduated and he had little experience in developing organizational programs. However, he was afraid that the organization would not pay him in accordance to his services and this would greatly inconvenience his father. He had been informed by his classmates that small organizations paid way below the expected minimum amount. When my friend inspected the program requirement he realized that it was a difficult task and a complicated one. The operations manager informed him that he was also aware that the program was complicated and for that reason he would ensure that my friend was paid a higher amount of money above the expected amount. He told us that he would personally go and inform the finance manager about the agreement. I later realized that the operations manager had no authority to negotiate on matters relating to payments made by the organization. The finance manager was the only one authorized to handle issues relating to finances. When my friend completed developing the program, the operations manager decided to go and oversee another project that was being undertaken by the organization in another location. The operations manager had not informed the finance manager about the agreement they had arrived in with my friend. The finance manager stated that he was the one who held the authority on the amount that the organization would pay. He stated that the organization policy prohibited him from paying what my friend was demanding and this caused a conflict. Moreover, given that my friend had little experience, the finance manager in told that the organization provisions did not allow him even to pay my friend the normal amount paid to other experienced programmers. I realized that the finance manager was that sought of a person who adheres to the organization policies strictly. Moreover, it was clear that he did not want anyone to challenge his authority. He explained to us that the organization provisions did not allow the operations manager to discuss any financial matters relating to the organization. In addition, the finance manager stated that the amount my friend was demanding could not be immediately obtained in the organization petty cash. If he had prior knowledge about the amount that my friend was promised, he would have planned with the bank in order to withdraw the additional amount. My friend was extremely angry with what we were informed. I also felt angry because it was obvious that my friend would not manage to settle the hospital bills. I tried to convince the finance manager but he seemed irritated with my decision to support my friend. The finance manager emphasized his decision to me stating that he was following the company policies. It was impossible for me to determine whether the agreement would be settled even if I had personally witnessed the operations manager promising to keep it. Analysis Lucy (2009) argues that for a conflict to be resolved the existing antecedent conditions must fast be resolved. In the conflict it was clear that there was an imbalance of power. A mediator must create power balance between the parties involved in a conflict in order to increase the probability of resolving the conflict (yanoov, 1997). When one party exercises power the other shows determination by generating resistance. The capacity to resolve a conflict is based on the ability to find a power balance between the conflicting parties (Jeong, 2010). Power imbalance leads to uncooperativeness hence hindering equitable solutions. During the conflict the finance manager wanted to show us that he was the one in authority. He wanted us to realize that he was the one to decide what would be paid to my friend. His actions really angered me but I had to remain calm in order to effectively think what to do. One should avoiding unproductive confrontations and concentrate on thinking on the possible solutions to solve the conflict (Schellenburg, 1996) According to Cloke and Goldsmith (2011) in order to effectively resolve a conflict, a mediator must reframe the emotions of the involved parties. Shaping the emotions of the participants facilitates communication and enables the participant to express themselves towards arriving at a solution. Sandole (1993) notes that for communication to be affected the participants must change their psychological emotions. For a conflict to be resolved the participants must interact in order to resolve their differences. These makes it possible for the participants’ to understand each other point of view During the conflict my friend became extremely angry so was the case with the finance manager. I was also angry but I tried to remain calm in order to try and find a solution to the problem. I had learned that intense emotions tend to create a distraction towards coming up with a solution. A conflict can be handled through collaborating, avoiding, accommodating, compromising or competing. Kelly (2009) advocates the use of any of the five strategies in order to arrive at a solution to the conflict. A mediator must observe the behavior of the participants’ so as to appropriately determine which strategy will fit them all (Richardson, 1995). The fact that I had supported my friend during the conflict meant that the financial manager saw me as a competitor. It seemed as if I was partnering with my friend to compete with him in order to defeat his stand. To change this situation and resolve the conflict, I had to change from being a partner and become a mediator. Handling conflict requires the mediator to diagnose the conflict in order to obtain a deeper meaning of the issue under conflict (Rahim, 2010). Diagnosing the conflict enables the mediator to identify the source of the conflict and identify the various styles for dealing with the situation. The main cause of the conflict was the finance manager refusal to pay what has been agreed between my friend and the operations manager. To him, we appeared as if we were testing his authority in the organization. On our side, we acted as if it was him who caused the conflict by failing to pay the amount previously agreed with the operations manager. We failed to understand why he would fail to pay the money given that the task was already completed. The financial manager was required to adhere to the policies of the organization. My friend hoped that when he received the money he would assist in settling his father hospital bills. The cause of the conflict was because the operations manager had over jumped his authority in deciding what my friend was to be paid. This meant that the finance manager had to show us that he was the one who held the power over financial matters. Ladd (2007) states that in a conflict there is need to identify the common ground before identifying the differences. A common ground enables the conflicting parties to identify their similarities before discussing about their disputes. I realized that we had to search for our common ground. The financial manager had opposed the payments because he was not involved during the agreement. The conflict had risen because the operations manager had engaged himself in issues that he was not authorized to handle. In order to identify the common ground, I asked the finance manager whose role it was to determine the amount to be paid to my friend. My aim was to engage the finance manager in order to arrive at a compromising ground whereby the manager would have moderate concern for himself and moderate concern towards my friend (Nair, 2008). Compromise indicates the interest to arrive at a commonly acceptable solution (Montes, Rodriguez and Serrano, 2012) Through the equity management theory I was able to analyze the conflict (Collins, 2008). The equity theory enabled me to recognize how our argument with the financial manager created the conflict. Equity involves pursuing what is fair and just. My opinion was that the financial manger was not just in failing to pay my friend the amount that was agreed given that he had already completed developing the program. The financial manager explained to us that getting the amount that my friend was demanding involved going through a procedure. He told us that the organization policies required the manager to authorize him to withdraw the amount that my friend was demanding from the organization bank account. Collins (2008) argues that conflicts can also arise as people search for justice in procedures. I didn’t understand why there would be procedures in paying my friend given that the organization had decided to hire him for his services. I had focused so much on my friends needs without considering the financial manager point of view. I admitted to the financial manager that my search for justice made me fail in analyzing the situation effectively. However, with this view I realized that we would find a solution. The financial manager did not reject to pay my friend the amount that was agreed. The problem on his side was that he was not consulted during the agreement. Moreover, the finance manager admitted that our behavior of acting as if we were challenging his lawful authority offended him. His only concern was that the amount that my friend was demanding was not readily available. In order to reach at an agreement, I talked with the finance manger and I told him I understood about the company policies and how they inconvenienced his job. I told him how my friend would suffer if he did not receive the money. In addition, I informed him about how my friend’s father depended on him in order to settle the hospital bills. I concluded by telling him that he should be just to my friend given that the task he had performed was difficult and complicated. With the information the finance manager admitted that he had some money that could be used to totally settle the amount that was agreed. Using Conflict Management Rational negotiators analyze themselves after solving a conflict so as to determine how effective they were in the process (Montes, Rodriguez and Serrano, 2012). With this knowledge in mind, I decided to utilize the Goldstein survey scale (1999) in order to evaluate myself. I was able to achieve a score of 60 on the on the emotional expression subscale. This high score enabled me to realize that I am the sought of a person driven by his emotions. This indicated that I should try to control my emotions while dealing with others. I was able to score 42 in relation to the avoidance subscale. This explains why I confronted the finance manager in the conflict. I always fight for what is fair and just in order to ensure that equity prevails. My failure to understand the finance manager point of view made me realize that I had poor listening skills. Benson (2010) holds the opinion that mindful and active listening is essential in managing and solving a conflict. Moreover, I was able to realize that I have poor accommodating skills. I completely failed to see any sense with what the finance manager was saying. I felt as if he was trying to show us his authority and this motivated me not to accommodate his views. However, I was able to realize that I had to collaborate with the financial manager in order to settle the conflict. In my opinion the finance manager was angry because the operations manager acted without his authority. He wanted us to recognize that he was the one who controlled all the financial matters in the organization. This is a clear indication that they had poor relationship between themselves. Moreover, the fact that the money could only be obtained after a process meant that the organization was suffering from process conflicts (Nair, 2008). On our side, we completely relied on the operations manager. His failure to inform the finance manager indicated that he had little concern towards my friend. I was able to act as a mediator in resolving the conflict by utilizing the conflict management styles. I realized that the only way I could effectively solve the conflict was by accommodating the views of the finance manager. Accommodating style is used to calm down individuals with high emotional in a conflict situation (Rout and Omiko2007). This improved the relationship among ourselves and motivated him to also accommodate our views. Having accommodated each other, we were able to collaborate with him in arriving at the solution. Rout and Omiko (2007) note that the accommodating style is suitable when one wants to ‘kill the enemy with kindness.’ The result was that my friend ended up receiving the amount that he had been promised. My discussion with the finance manager enabled me to explain to him what was fair and just. I was able to effectively utilize the equity theory (Collins, 2008) to express my view of the conflict. I told the finance manager ‘I can understand the organizational policies but the program has already been developed’. I was trying to collaborate with the finance manager and at the same time to explain to him what was just. The finance manager ended up settling the conflict by paying the amount previously agreed with the operations manager. Conclusions The conflict that I have described enabled me to successfully act as a mediator. Although I was angry with the finance manager I realized the need to accommodate his views in order to resolve the conflict. The finance manager had an obligation to adhere to the organizational policies. In my understanding, the finance manager wanted us to recognize his powers in the organization and this led to the emergence of the conflict. From the conflict, I was able to realize that I need to improve my listening skills as well as to improve my accommodating skills. By analyzing the conflict I was able to identify the issues that led to the conflict. Through accommodation and collaboration I was able to resolve the conflict and hence avoid negative implications that could have developed. References Banner, D. (1995). Conflict Resolution: A Recontextualization, Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, 16 (1), 31-34. Benson, R. (2010). Inclusive Recreation, Leeds, Human Kinetics. Collins, S. (2008). Managing Conflict and Workplace Relationships. Mason, South-Western Cengage Learning Cloke, K., & Goldsmith, J. (2011). Resolving Conflicts at Work Place. San-Francisco, John Wiley and sons. Jeong, H. (2010). Conflict Management and Resolution. Oxon, Routledge. Kelly, P. (2010). Assentials for Nursing, Leadership & Management, New York, Delmar Cengage learning. Ladd, P. (2007). Relationships and Patterns of Conflict Resolution. Maryland, University Press of America. Montes, C., Rodriguez, D., & Serano, G.(2012). Effective Choice of Conflict Management Styles, Journal of Conflict Management, 23(1), 6-18. Nair, N.(2008). Towards understanding the Role of Emotions in a Conflict: A Review and Future Directions, International Journal of Conflict Management, 19 (4), 359-381. Rahim, A. (2010). Managing Conflicts in Organizations. New Jersey, Transaction Publishers. Richardson, J. (1995). Avoidance as an Active Mode of Conflict Resolution, Team Performance Management, 1 (4), 19-25. Rout, E., & Nelson Omiko. (2007). Conflict Management, New Delhi, Prentice-Hall. Sandole, D. (1993).Conflict Resolution Theory and practice. Manchester, Manchester University Press. Schellenberg, J. (1996). Conflict Resolution. New York, State University of New York Press. Read More