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Prepared by: "Optimanage.com"

Resolving Conflicts in Organizations

There are five (5) approaches or styles used by organizations to resolve conflicts arising between entities (individuals or groups) within them. These styles are:

Following are some characteristics of each style or strategy of conflict resolution:
Avoidance:

• Rationale:
  • Managers may want to avoid dealing with the problem, thinking that the problem will "go away".
• Strength
  • Enables managers to avoid spending time and effort on problems that may solve themselves.
• Weakness:
  • It does not address the real causes of a problem. Managers may ignore issues that could be vital to the organization.

Smoothing:

• Rationale:
  • Managers may want to spread harmony in the organization.
• Strength
  • Harmony between co-workers enhances good relations within the organization.
• Weakness:
  • It does not deal with the underlying causes of a problem.
  • It gives the appearance of solving the problem.

Dominance (Power Intervention):

• Rationale:
  • Managers want a quick resolution of the problem.
  • They may also want to keep the existing power structure.
• Strength
  • Quick resolution of the conflict.
• Weakness:
  • This style does not address the real causes of the problem.
  • The problem may not be resolved.
  • It may create bad feelings between a boss and his employees.

Compromise:

• Rationale:
  • To satisfy a portion of each of the parties involved in the conflict.
• Strength
  • Each party in the conflict receives a part of their demands (partial win).
• Weakness:
  • It does not address the real causes of problem.
  • None of the conflicting parties gets satisfaction.

Confrontation:

• Rationale:
  • To get to the root cause of the conflict.
• Strength
  • Management deals with the causes of the conflict.
  • It arrives at a workable solution that forces all involved to reconcile their demands with the realities.
• Weakness:
  • If it is not address and managed properly it will create bad feelings.
  • Managers may get too involved with the details and roots of the problem and fail to solve it./LI>

References:
(1) Patrick J. Montana and Bruce H. Charnov, “Management”, Business Review Books, Fourth Edition, Baron’s (2008), p: 376.



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