Ways of Managing Conflict

Nobody can deny the fact that conflict is an inescapable part of any organization. It is mainly because of the different preferences, thinking, etc. of the workers working in the organizations. It is almost impossible to remove or avoid conflicts in organizations.

Even the organizations with a perfect management team face conflicts. Then what to do? In this article, we will look at the various means and techniques of managing conflict in organizations.

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What is Conflict Management?

Conflict has various sources. Moreover, a conflict can be between very different groups in the organizations. It can happen between two workers, worker and management, and worker and customer. In all cases, the manager should try his level best to avoid the conflict.

But if it arises, then he/she must try to manage it as soon as possible so that the production does not hamper. He must try to find out the negative as well as the positive aspects of the conflict.

Techniques of Managing Conflict

• Positive Perspective
• Grievance Procedure
• Get to the Cause
• Equal Chance of Speaking

1. Positive Perspective

Nobody can deny the fact that conflict, in general, is a negative term. But that is not the complete story. It has a positive side also. It completely depends upon the level of the manager and how he/she sees the conflict.

One of the best ways to manage conflict in the organization is to think about it as a naturally occurring aspect.

It provides them with a positive approach towards the conflict. It can prove to be very helpful for many organizations if the manager tries to handle it properly. Conflict can help the small scale companies to a great extent.

It becomes the basis of learning and provides the ground for innovation and up-gradation.

2. Grievance Procedure

It is generally seen that the workers are not very good at expressing their feelings in front of the management. There are chances that inner feelings may lead to a big level of conflicts in the organization.

So, during managing conflict, the management should build a systematic division in the organization which enables workers to express their feelings freely with the managers.

An atmosphere should be built where workers should think that there is someone who will definitely listen to them and understand their feelings. This way a lot of conflicts can be managed.

Read more about Interpersonal Skills, Listening Skills, and Emotional Intelligence here

Conflicts have a lot of effects. But one should not forget that every problem has a root cause. In order to solve or avoid the effects of the problem, one should try to look at the deep causes of the conflict or the problem.

In this way of managing conflict, the management looks at the sources of the conflict and tries to implement action course for the rectification of the problem.

4. Equal Chance of Speaking

During a conflict is brought to the management, the managers try to listen to the parties in order to solve the issue. But most of the times, the managers fail to give equal voice to all the parties to the conflict.

It is mainly because of the level of authority and the level of power in the hands of one of the parties. In such a case, instead of managing the conflict, the conflict starts to increase.

Moreover, through this way of managing conflict, the manager will be able to build a great level of trust among the workers towards the company.

 Questions on Managing Conflict

Q. How ‘Resolution Participation’ can help in overcoming or managing the conflict in the organization?

Ans. Resolution Participation means involving all the parties or the workers during a resolution is provided to a conflict. This is completely similar to the concept of ‘Management by Objectives’.

It states that all the workers are an internal element of the organization and cannot be neglected during the important decision making, like Objective Formation as well as conflict resolution.

This way they can manage the conflicts as well as build trust among the workforce.