EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

Conflict Management

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Models and Frameworks2

Conflict Approaches3

Conflict Intervention5

Leadership and Intervention7

Mediation8

Facilitation9

Dialogue11

Conclusion11

References13

Bibliography14

Conflict Management

Introduction

What do we mean when we talk about conflict? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the Latin origin of conflict—conflictus—means a striking together with force, implying discord, disagreement, or friction among members, as words, emotions, and actions “strike together.” There are many useful definitions of conflict. It is often described as occurring when the actions or beliefs of one or more members of one group are “unacceptable” to—and therefore resisted by—one or more members of the other group.

Contemporary definitions—useful in the context of leadership and group conflict—focus on expressed struggles between interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce resources, or interference from others in achieving their goals. This definition underscores the critical role of perception in that the resolution of conflict will depend on perceptual changes in one or more of the parties regarding their differences. It also underscores that the parties involved are connected in some important way.

Not all disagreements become full-fledged conflicts. However, conflict is a likely outcome when competition emerges over scarce resources; parties use threatening, contentious influence over each other; or there is an abuse of power. Its processes are remarkably predictable and follow similar patterns. Conflict begins with misperceptions or attributions of the other interdependent party followed by a commitment—usually to different positions—on how to proceed. When both parties demonstrate evidence of aggression—often in the form of hostility, sarcasm, or scape-goating—parties feel justified that people who harm them deserve to be harmed in return. Coalitions then form against each other. As the conflict escalates, the parties get trapped by it and end up spending far too much time, energy, and resources on it. Without an intervention, the escalation will become destructive.

Models and Frameworks

The inevitability of conflict is one thing we can depend on. Although conflict can help groups, communities, and societies change, left unresolved it is likely to have negative consequences. Conflict seems scary to most of us. Fortunately, professionals in the field of conflict analysis and resolution have generated a number of general and diverse frameworks to help us understand the relationships of different aspects of conflict. Many of these frameworks focus only on the analysis of the conflict. Some consider only the causes of the conflict. Some suggest ways to intervene. Some of the most useful are presented here, reflecting the breadth of the field. Most of these models begin with the presence of conflict (interdependent parties perceiving incompatible goals, scarce resources, or interference from others in achieving their goals). Some models attend to latent conflict, where perceptions of incompatible goals may not yet exist, but the differences in structures and power are so great that conflict is likely to result soon (common in community or class-based conflicts).

The circle of conflict identifies five types of conflicts, each determined by their causes: data, relationships, interests, structures, or values. Data disputes emerge when there is lack of information, misinformation, misinterpretation of information, or disagreement as to the relevancy of the ...