Organizational Behavior - Essay Example

Organizational Behavior Introduction Conflict management is an important component of organizational behavior. Ideally, conflicts are a common occurrence in organizations and knowing how to deal with them is central to the success of an organization. Wherever structure is the cause of dysfunctional conflicts in an organization, then undertaking a structural change would be the most probable means of resolving the conflict (Turkalj, Fosic, & Dujak 510). In this paper I will consider some of the available theories on conflict management and how they can be used effectively to resolve conflicts in the workplace. An example of an organizational conflict that I witnessed was in a company that I worked part time during the last summer. In this organization, Faith, the chief engineer in charge of new product development brought a list of items to George, the procurement officer for purchase. However, George failed to sanction the purchase claiming that the products were too expensive and did not meet the cost cutting threshold that had been imposed by the organization. However, faith believed that George did not have trust in her abilities and hence the reason why he was constantly fighting her anytime a new spare needed to be purchased. To resolve this conflict, the business unit vice president ordered the two to report to the same executive who would evaluate the purchase orders in terms of cost-effectiveness and quality. This change of structure aligned the hitherto incompatible goals. In the case of the conflict between George and Faith, it was resolved by altering the organizational structure to fit the two parties. However, I have realized that in most cases most of the organizational conflict happens in teams. Wherever such conflict happens, the easiest solution would be to change the group composition. However, there are other times when the conflict is as a result of varying styles and values among team members. Naturally, when that occurs, the first thing that comes to the leaders mind is to replace the team members that do not agree with the styles or preferences of the teams. Over the years, I have observed that removing some people from the team may not always be possible since their skills might be needed or there might not be an available replacement for them. In the event that this happens, the most sensible way to mitigate such conflict is through focusing the team’s attention on a common enemy such as the competition. When people or even departments are taught on how to focus their attention on the enemies facing them instead of dwelling on internal conflicts, working together becomes easier. For this to be possible, there is need to carefully study the group dynamics to be able to find out what drives the team. Personally, I believe that each member of a tea is important and hence the need to look for ways to work together as a team despite the prevalent differences. If I were in a team that had conflicts, I would recommend that the members take a vote and then the idea that has majority of the votes would be voted. Although this strategy would work in some cases, I know it would bring challenges at one point especially if the same members typically kept on winning. However, I would not let this approach take precedence over negotiation. In most cases, there is a very rare chance that one side can completely be right and the other side completely wrong. For this reason, there is need for a problem solving approach, where the team members in conflict are asked to concentrate on the problem instead of each other for the sole purpose of uncovering the root cause of the problem. Conflict handling styles Over the years that I have been studying organizational conflict, I have realized that there are various ways that people handle conflict arising in groups. To begin with, there is a certain group that solves conflict by use of what is popularly known as the avoidance style. Individuals who assume this style of dealing with conflict result to evading the problem and denying its existence. They are more apt to postponing any decisions they believe will bring about a conflict. Although conflict avoidance might not be a major problem if the situation is trivial, it becomes a major problem when people find it hard to confront significant issues for fear of conflicts or because they believe they are unable to handle the other party’s reactions. Another method that I have seen in people when it comes to solving conflicts is what I call the accommodating style, which is method that is usually cooperative and unassertive. This means that the individual always gives in to what the other party desires even if it means giving up the individuals ambitions. These are people who place higher value for relationships and hold the belief that disagreeing with an idea would hurt the other party. Although this might be ideal in instances where an issue is not important to an individual, if it is used repeatedly it leads to the neglect of personal interests and well-being. The other style which I believe is ideal in solving conflicts is compromise. This represents a middle-ground style in which such individuals are able to convey their own concerns but at the same time they consider the objectives and goals of the other party. In this form of style, each individual sacrifices something that is of some value to them. As opposed to compromise, the competition style is one where an individual believes in attaining their goals or getting their solutions adopted irrespective of what others say or feel about it. This style believes in getting what one wants regardless of whether the other party is happy or not. The last style and which I believe is the best is the collaborating style, which is a form of style that assumes both boldness and collaboration. Unlike the other styles of conflict resolution, people using this strategy argue for their position, supporting it with truths and validations while listening to what the other party has to offer. In this way, this approach highlights the concept of problem solving and integration of each others objectives. Like all the other aspects of organizational behavior, there is no right way when it comes to dealing with conflict since most of the time it will depend with the nature of the conflict. In most cases, people have a dominant style that they tend to apply in nearly all the situations and this explains why in most cases conflicts in organizations persist. Ideally, conflicts are unavoidable in an organization since they are comprised of individuals who have varying ideologies and styles. However, conflicts can be resolved successfully and to the benefit of the organization. Work Cited Turkalj, Zeljko, Fosic, Ivana, & Dujak, Davor. Conflict Management in Organizations. Interdisciplinary Management Research 4, 2008. 505-515. Read More