CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Team-Building exercise for Conflict Resolution

Team Building Exercise towards Conflict Resolution

Team building in a multicultural environment

Building a team of people from different cultural backgrounds presents a variety of challenges. So, too, is the requirement for effective performance and appropriate professional behaviours in an international context equally challenging. The requirement to participate in multicultural workgroups in international settings is increasing, and requires assessment and support for the development of appropriate competencies. A 32-page interpretive report additionally provides textual and pictorial descriptions of each dimension, detailed summaries of high and low scores, and a cultural competency action planner. Separate group profiles and reports can also be generated to indicate overall team strengths and areas for development.

Feedback by the accredited consultant is usually given by telephone, and involves an in-depth discussion of the individual's report in relation to the opportunities and challenges of his or her present or future international or multicultural role and responsibilities. The purpose is to identify three or four dimensions which would benefit from better, greater and more frequent energy, emphasis and attention. The feedback enables the subsequent production of a personal development plan (Symonette, 2007).

Healthy Conflict

As one can witness from the graph mentioned above, it is clear that in the midst of creating a healthy team, healthy conflict must prevail for the purpose and objective of understanding and comprehending the true essence of work, thus delivering effective and outstanding performance. This failure to build trust is damaging because it leads to a fear of conflict. Teams that lack trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered and passionate debates. Instead, they resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments. They are unable to 'discuss the undiscussable'.

Contrary to the notion that teams waste time and energy arguing; those that smooth over or avoid die real issues doom themselves to revisiting them again and again without successful resolution. The team knows when this is happening and they will know that die team is simply not working. One of the most natural responses of a leader is to try to protect members from harmful conflict by intervening or allowing issues to be escalated too readily. This prevents members developing their own conflict management skills and thus diminishes the very things that need to be brought out into the open.

Therefore it is vital that leaders show restraint when their people engage in conflict and allow resolution to occur as naturally as possible. A leader's ability to model appropriate conflict behaviour is essential - by avoiding or clumsily intervening, a team leader will simply encourage this dysfunction to derive. By engaging in productive conflict, a team can more readily buy into a decision knowing that they have heard, and benefited from, everyone's ideas.

Multi Culture: Ally or Obstacle towards effective team development?

The beliefs, vision, objectives and business approaches and practices underpinning a company's strategy towards team development may be compatible with its culture or they may not. When they are, the culture becomes a valuable ally in strategy implementation and ...