Conflict Style and Analysis - Admission/Application Essay Example

Introduction Analysis of one’s conflict management style is vital in understanding an individual’s behavior in various circumstances, particularly those involving clashes of interests. Conflicts can be resolved in different ways and conflict management style analysis allows an individual to examine their deportment as they endeavor to settle disputes. Conflicts are best managed rationally in order to resolve disagreements and they help in building strong relationships with peers and others around. This paper will explore my behavior from various aspects so as to draw greater meaning from the results of my conflict assessment. Finally, this paper will seek to identify ways of handing conflicts well along with specific strategies that can employed when faced with situations of clashing interests. The Conflict Assessment provided with valuable insights into my behavior and conflict management style. The findings allowed me to gain a greater understanding on my conflict management style from the perspective of individuals I regularly interact with. The scores in each environment – non-home and family environment – were consistent and demonstrated that avoidance is a dominant conflict management style. There were other dominant styles in each environment but they differed with the setting. My personal analysis revealed that avoidance, compromise, accommodation, and collaboration were my dominant styles while competition was the secondary style. In the work environment, avoidance, compromise, collaboration, and competition were the dominant style while accommodation was the secondary style. In the family environment, however, the results were consistent with my personal analysis indicating that my style is different in the family space and workspace. This lack of consistency prompted attempts for improvements for a more aligned conflict management style at both home and the workplace. Research The Conflict Assessment assignment provided the basis of primary research and the stage of data collection. After I completed my own assessment of personal conflict management style, I asked my supervisor and my cousin to fill out the form. I chose to be evaluated by my supervisor and cousin due to the fact that I have closely worked and interacted with these two individuals on a fairly regular basis which is why they know me fairly well. Also, the two individuals are credible enough to have provided a legitimate response that appropriately reflects my conflict management styles in the different settings. Below is the chart which has been constructed in order to display the results of the assessment in a precise and organized manner: Analysis Avoidance Competition Compromise Accommodation Collaboration Self-analysis 21 11 18 19 20 a) Family member analysis 21 11 18 19 20 b) Workmate analysis 17 14 15 12 14 Average 16.67 12 17 16.67 18 The chart provides a clean and organized representation of the findings of the assessment however it is not much visually pleasing. In order to display the trends in a more appropriate way, a line diagram has been drawn to show the placement of the various conflict management styles relative to each other. These allow a graphic visualization of the scores as well as their deflections throughout the evaluators as well as the different settings. From the figure below, it can be seen that the line for self analysis is not visible. Actually, due to identical scores for both self analysis and family member analysis, the line seems to have coincided thereby hiding the line for self analysis. The line called average displays the average score for the three assessment scores thereby showing the mean score obtained from conflict assessment. The following description details out my use of the various conflicts management styles. Avoidance: The analysis from everyone including myself, my cousin, and my supervisor revealed that I employ the avoidance style when dealing with conflicts. Findings from Brewer, Mitchell, and Weber (2002) also suggest that women are generally high on the avoidance style, which necessitates an improvement in my conflict management style as leaving conflicts unsettled can harbor negative feelings and can further tense the situation. Avoidance is, thus, both uncooperative and unassertive and can deepen the hostility rather than resolving it. Competition: The scores reveal that I am more competitive in the work environment than I am at home or during my interaction with my family members. This is reasonable as one is likely to face competition in the workplace due to colleague relationships however increased competition is also one of the causes of workplace conflicts (O’Rourke and Collins, 2008). Competition is generally regarded as an aggressive style with little value for relationship building thereby being less productive and satisfying in the long term, particularly in workplaces. Compromise: Consistent with the findings for competition, the scores show a higher level of compromise at home than in the workplace. In the workplace, since competition is high, compromise is automatically low where both attributes are implicitly negatively proportional. Although my compromise is high at home, it is low in the work environment thereby complementing my competitive attitude. Accommodation: Again, accommodation is high with family members and in the home environment than in the work environment showing a consistent behavior. Accommodation, as opposed to competition, implies that the individual is willing to accommodate the other individual rather than being aggressive. The results showed that I am more eager to accommodate family members than colleagues or other work mates. Accommodation helps in building strong relationships through acceptance of others’ needs over oneself. Lower accommodation at workplace implies that I prefer to override my own needs over others demonstrating a slightly negative attitude that needs improvement. Collaboration: The collaboration score shows a reasonable willingness to collaborate with others when conflicts are faced. Cooperation is a key component of the collaborative conflict resolution style where both party’s needs are recognized in order to reach a solution that is acceptable by both and thus benefits both parties. Analysis The findings suggest that I need great improvements in my conflict management style, particularly in the workplace to avoid getting into conflicts or resolving them well. Scores from the overall analysis showed that avoidance is a dominant management style, which is generally non-productive in terms of resolving conflicts well. Furthermore, competition scores showed the need for improvements as it is also a lead cause of workplace conflicts. So, a reduction in competitive behavior along with more appreciation of compromise and accommodation in the workplace can create a positive environment and help reduce clashes. The analysis at the home environment is quite satisfactory as it reveals a more cooperative conflict management style where the needs of both parties are considered so that clash of interest is minimal. In order to mitigate the competitive attitude in the workplace and to inculcate more positivity and cooperation, styles including accommodation must be enhanced in the workplace. Conclusion The conflict resolution assessment allowed a meaning conclusion to be drawn from the evaluation. Avoidance and competition remain to be dominant conflict management styles which need improvements. Particularly, in the workplace, a more cooperative, collaborative, and non-aggressive style should be employed to prevent hurting workplace relationships because it is unconstructive in the long run hurting not only professional productivity but also the chances of working cohesively in groups. Many organizations have moved to more collaborative and cooperative working groups which necessitate an improvement in the conflict resolution style to more cooperative in order to work well to obtain company goals and objectives. Because cooperation is best for resolving conflicts avoidance should be mitigated and conflicts must be dealt with rationality rather than leaving it unresolved. Overall, the assessment provided with some helpful insights into dealing with conflicts more appropriately. References Brewer, N., Mitchell, P., & Weber, N. (2002). Gender role, organizational status, and conflict management styles. International Journal Of Conflict Management, 13(1), 78--94. O’Rourke, J. & Collins, S. (2008). Managing conflict and workplace relationships (1st ed.). Australia: Mason, Ohio. Read More