Conflict Management

I used to have a coworker who has this huge attitude problem...I mean HUGE. He just seems to clash with everyone else-- our boss, his fellow workers, and believe me, even with the poor maintenance guy! There never seems a week that passes that he doesn't have a row with anyone in the building. That may be a little exaggerating but if you knew him, you'd totally understand what I mean.

If you've met a person like that, just think that he's not all bad. We should avoid focusing on people's faults and take time to appraise all their good attributes. It is never good to hold grudges against coworkers, as this creates an unhealthy atmosphere around the workplace. Always try to look at other's good side even if how bad they sometimes seem.

When tension arises around the workplace, due to management problems and other factors, one thing you should not do is to try to shun the conflict in hope that it would just disappear. This does not happen, trust me. It should be resolved in a diplomatic way. Unresolved conflicts are just that-- unresolved. Even if you try to block it out every single day, it would still be hanging around like some ghost, bidding its time to surface. The best thing to do is to sort out the issue all at once, if possible.

If I remember it correctly, conflict is one basic element of short story writing. Conflict as a literary tool can be defined as an obstacle or problem that is needed to be resolved by the protagonist or main character of a short story. Conflict can be internal or external. A conflict of conscience is one favorite theme in short story writing. A character may found himself in a dilemma where he is forced to choose between right and wrong. Moral or psychological conflict is very effective in appealing to the introspective sense of the readers.

On the other hand, the conflicts being portrayed in short stories are just based on real situations. For instance, making an investment decision can be a conflict between bogus investment opportunities and real investment opportunities. Sometimes, it is hard for the investor to decide especially if he does not hold credible information.

The best way of handling conflict in making investment decisions or any decisions related to business ventures is to have an access to the best and updated source of information. An investor or entrepreneur should base his decisions on facts and careful analysis. He will have an edge.

The economy can be viewed in the classical concept of struggle among the different social classes. In a corporate setting, for example, this class struggle is exemplified by the seemingly conflicting interests of between the labor force and the business investor sector. The main objective of the business investor sector is profit. Achieving optimal profit requires maximizing the business resources such as labor resource, financial resource, and infrastructural resource. In this process, some issues and conflict may rise between the investors and the labor force. Admittedly, the labor force is the most important aspect of business operation and productivity. Ironically, the labor force is sometimes treated as expendable.

The conflict between the labor sector and investors usually revolve around the issues of wages, labor policies, working conditions, and unfair practices. The labor sector’s main strategy of resisting unfair labor practices and demanding benefits is organizing labor unions. A labor union is a legal organization that can act as the advocate in asserting the rights of the labor force. Investor-labor conflicts are commonly addressed through government labor arbitration. Conflict management in the business setting is a process of dialogues and legal procedures.

I think everyone would agree with me when I say that conflict is truly unavoidable. It's something that we all deal with everyday. Conflict is always present when there is interaction. We even experience conflict with ourselves. There's the emotional conflict or mental conflict. It's just something that we all have to deal with. Some people deal with conflict in negative ways. It's always good to deal with conflict in moderation and patience.

Sometimes, we don't notice it, but we're already experiencing conflict. There are many signs that we already have a conflict situation. According to studies, conflict begins with our actions. Poor communication is a sure sign that you're already building up conflict. It's because you cannot anymore express the emotions that is building up inside of you. You have got to open up and get rid of your poor communication skills. You don't want to be that lovable loser guy that no one takes seriously, would you? You're having difficulties expressing the conflict that's arising from you.

Another sign is when you're seeking power. This just doesn't happen in the work place. Many people tend to crave power too much. They see it as the only way to be on top; it's actually a sign of insecurity. If you have the tendency to always be dissatisfied with everything, then you're building up conflict. Another is the lack of openness. You can never deal with conflict positively, so you tend to cave in. If you think you're going through these emotions, you have to know the root of your problem to avoid conflict with the people around you.

You can never avoid conflict, whether it's with yourself or with other people. You can never force your own beliefs or your own perceptions on another person, thus, having your own opinion may lead to a conflicting situation. Conflict doesn't have to be negative or bad. Conflicts can be constructive if you know how to manage it well. Conflicts can arise in any aspect of your life. You can experience conflict situations at work, in school, with friends and families, and even in normal dating situations!

The first thing to do to avoid mishandling your conflict issues is to sit down and analyze the cause. This way, you can identify the reason why you're in that position, and what the main cause of the conflict is. You can actually pinpoint the root of your conflict issues, if you understand yourself very well. So, understanding and open-mindedness plays a big role with conflict management. The next thing that you should do is to assess yourself. Can you make the situation better? How should you handle your conflict situation? What are the things that you should do and you can do to make things better? If you've already answered this, it's time to make room for compromise and options. If you think that you can do something about the situation, compromise. If you think that there are other parties involved and there are other ways, make room for options. It all depends on you and what you think is best for the conflict situation, at hand. Of course, let's not forget that conflict management involves your feelings and emotions. Don't let your emotions get in the way of managing conflict. Remember, negative emotions only heighten the conflict. Also, conflict management leads to a healthier life because you would know how to ditch the stressful part of your daily life.

In the high pressure environment of the season, it's not unusual for work conflicts to arise. Meeting deadlines, presenting to clients, group discussions, overtimes, you will encounter a lot of problems with these works and usually with your officemates. So what should you do?

First, you have to keep your expectations realistic. After assigning some work to an officemate, don't expect him/her to give it to you in 10 minutes. Give them time and give yourself time too. Next, you should always remind yourself that no one is perfect in your office. Your several officemates have never been perfect and nobody is. Not even you or your boss. Another must-do is don't be too hard on them and don't be too hard on yourself. Show them that you appreciate what they do and that they are helping you. Remember that all of you are working for one goal, may it be a target sales or a project.

Some people make that a lot of people, don't respond to criticism well. It sometimes makes them resentful or even downright mad. But as a manager you have the unenviable position of giving your staff a good talking-to when they need to be talked to.

When giving out criticism, keep your emotions in check. An angry mouth is one fraught with unintentional harm or unnecessary words. Focus on the wrongdoing, not on the wrongdoer. You're talking to them to correct them, not berate them.

Don't give out criticism in public. This will only embarrass your employees and foster resentment towards you, the manager.

In giving out criticism, be sure that you remain calm and collected, are in a private place and having a good sense of humor isn't going to hurt.

While we all want to live and lead healthier and more productive lives, at one time or another we eventually get sick. Sometimes we get too sick to even work, while some of us force ourselves to work even when we are sick. Now that is a dangerous practice. We all want to work to earn money, but it's just counterproductive to work while sick, as a sick worker can infect other healthy workers and this can lead to large losses at work.

As a manager, you should send a worker who is sick home immediately. There's no need to risk your other staff in getting sick as well. Give your sick worker some sick leave, so that they can rest and recuperate at home. It’s the right thing to do.

As a manager, you are also, on some level, expected to be a leader. A managerial position is a leadership position as well. You, as a manager, are given an increased set of powers and a matching case of responsibilities as well.

From here, you can choose to go two ways: You can lead by fear, or you can lead with respect.

Leading with fear is easier, but in the end, not as productive and doesn't help anyone but your own ego. People will do what you ask, but their hearts will not be in it, as they are afraid to do too much or too little. You will only get mediocrity out of it.

Being respected is by far harder, but the results can be outstanding. Respecting the capabilities of an individual can motivate them into doing more than what they usually do, in order to prove themselves to you, the company and themselves. Earning respect may take some time, but it will be worth it.

So, you're a big man now, eh, Mr. Manager? Just because you're a manager, you can just ignore your buddies from the rank and file and schmooze up to the higher-ups, is that it? Well, that's wrong.

It's always important to know where you came from. Remember, you came from the rank and file yourself, before you became a manager. Don't try to get in the good graces of important people, but instead enjoy the company of the normal employees. You owe it to them.

Acting big will actually reveal that you are a small man. Being humble is its own reward. Working smoothly with your staff will make everything easier for everyone.

The trouble with being a manager is that an individual promoted to being one will, consciously or subconsciously, impose limits on what they can/cannot do. This is wrong.

Limits do just that, limit you. To be truly an exceptional manager, limits should be exceeded. Doing more than what you are expected to do, innovating when conformity is of the norm, is what makes the leaders stand out from the followers. Limits were made to be exceeded. This is what a good manager does, and what a leader is expected to do.

In any business, even the best ones, setbacks can and do happen. Disasters, economic recessions and political events can take their toll on the most successful of companies.

In case of these events, don't let them faze you. Don't go running around like a headless chicken or hide your head in the sand like an ostrich (figuratively, now. They don't really do it.) in a blind panic. Deal with it.

The best way to deal with setbacks is to prevent or at the very least, prepare your staff in the event of one. Information is power. Learn all about the factors that can affect you and your company, your clients and your suppliers. Forewarned is forarmed, as they say.

Uh-oh.

There's been a mix-up at the office. This is a major issue, and everybody's compromised. Even the one whose fault it is, although you don't know who that person is. Everybody's demanding blood or somebody's head. But nobody will admit to anything. As a manager, what should you do?

The right thing. And that is to start working on fixing the problem, not waste time and effort on a witch hunt that will cost you and your office valuable resources. You're in this project together as a team, and it's time to work as a team.

Being more productive is better than running around like headless chickens trying to pin the blame on somebody.

In any group, be it between intimate friends or professional co-workers, conflict is sure to happen. While it can be beneficial at times, conflict often breeds anger, grudges and uneasiness, which can be disastrous for a working group. As a manager, you should be expected to deal with such situations effectively.

When in a conflict, you must analyze the situation. Learn why the conflict is happening. Differences in opinion, behavior and methods often lead into conflict. Learning the cause is the first step to solving it.

Next, a manager must then decide on a course of action. This is perhaps one of the most difficult parts of this process. Many options are available, but only one is a "win-win" situation. These are: Collaboration, the best option, and by which each side is benefited by the result; Compromise, in which one side gives in to the other, but not totally to their disadvantage; Competition, in which both sides struggle towards a common goal, but competing against each other; Accommodation, in which one side gives in to the other at a great disadvantage to the side that relents; and finally Avoidance, in which both sides leave the matter unsettled and unresolved.

Upon deciding a course of action, a manager must then begin negotiations. These must be done with the greater good in mind, rather than a petty desire for power and influence in a potentially trivial matter. A good manager will see to it that whatever terms that are agreed upon are enforced; a bad manager will simply be glad to have the situation quiet down on its own, without his intervention.

There is always room for conflict in all kinds of work places. Conflict allows people to figure out the problems, give their share in finding solutions and help everyone benefit from the results of agreements. However, we cannot confuse conflict with discomfort. Conflict is healthy for as long as it is managed well.

Some of the best ways to manage conflict are to conduct trainings on interpersonal communications, to hold meetings so the workers and management are updated about the status of the programs, to get reports on employees' status (e.g. accomplishments, suggestions and plans) and to build rapport with the employees by coordinating extracurricular programs or one-on-one discussions.

There are many reasons why people experience conflicts in the workplace. But conflicts should open the doors for harmonious relationships, not further complication of the problem.