Conflict management strategies have become an important part of the business and it is the job HR department to solve the conflicts among different employees. Conflicts do arise even if you want them not to.
These disturbances, when arise, may not be of much concern to the others except the feuding individuals, but by the time, when situations fuel them up, they can also become a great danger to your brand. Although, they can’t be avoided but can be better dealt with with the help of proper application of conflict management strategies.
Conflict Management Strategies
- Avoiding
If the conflict is on a smaller scale or there are chances that the confrontation will just market the things worse they currently are, then avoiding the conflict is the best way to deal with such disturbance for it can let the situations cool down with the passage of time. Not just this, you can also make use of the strategy to borrow some more time to gather extra information about the reason as well as the solution to the conflict.
Well! This runner also works when you are on a busy schedule and don’t find enough time in dealing with such smaller problems. If you see that your chances of success in the dispute are a lot lower because of getting in a conflict with a higher power staff member or the clash is with someone who is near your heart, then it’s better to let others help solve the conflict.
Even though, trying to avoid confronting a conflict can also worsen the situations than they currently are especially if the conflict is about the well
- Competing
Sometimes, circumstances force you to use power to achieve what you want and that’s when objectives are a priority higher than the relations. This gives rise to the “I win, you lose” situations but that’s okay with you since you know that you’re right and you have to be, for if you aren’t then you are going to be in trouble either sooner or later.
Moreover, this strategy seems to be the perfect choice for you if you have to take an important decision and that too in a short period of time but the other individual is not ready to surrender, so you are left with no other choice. Furthermore, the technique is useful also if you belong to lower power staff but still know how to fight for your rights and don’t want the kind of person from which others take advantage.
Although by such conflict management strategies, you can win for the time being but not for much longer because the opponents will surely get furious and this can lead to the escalation of the conflict.
- Accommodating
In some cases, letting your feuding partner win is much better if the issue is not of that much concern as compared to that of your opponent. Moreover, it lets the situations to improve not just for you but also for your business because you are focusing on a common purpose while keeping personal differences aside.
This method is also useful when you realize in some way that you are wrong or you want the person to learn by the mistakes made by him. Well! You do get credit for what you do. Moreover, This “I lose, you win” technique promotes harmony and saves those fragile relationships which are important for you than your objectives.
Such conflict management strategies may take the relationships towards improvement but it’s not just your goal that you lose but the effectiveness of your ideas in the minds of other team members. This means that for some time, you won’t be able to gather much attention to your thoughts and ideas.
- Compromising
One of the most useful as well as powerful conflict management strategies that can take the cooperation between the team members above the level that it is currently at since it helps each of the conflicting individuals achieve their goals while being ready to lose something in return. For the purpose, a common objective is targeted and opponents are convinced that losing something little is a lot better than losing all that you have.
This strategy proves to be the relation savior when the conflict is among two individuals with the same authority and power and both have the same intensive thoughts towards achieving their goals. The strategy is ideal for cases where the goals of moderate importance.
Although, this plan of action keeps long-term benefits and goals at stake while making it a lot tougher to move ahead with this approach especially if the initial demands are difficult to cover up.
- Collaborating
In rare cases, thinking beyond what’s on the screen can lead to more creative solutions which can help towards the creation of a stabilized working environment in which both of the opponents work in perfect cooperation to help each other to achieve their goals. This also keeps relationships safe from aftershocks of the conflicts.
The satisfaction of both parties leads to higher trust, even than before the conflict arose. One of the most interesting aspects of such conflict management strategies is that even if something goes wrong, you won’t be alone to be blamed since you were sharing the responsibility with someone.
This newly created solution can also be an answer to the conflicts of others, so share it with and all of the credit will be for both of you. This solution can bring change to other staff members’ thoughts and can transform the ideas of animosity and hard feelings for each other to the willingness of devising that ultimate solution.
Even as “I win, you win” condition, both of you still have to give something and that’s your precious time. Well! Energy is also participated in the process but is of less worth as compared to the time consumed. This technique makes you feel open to the others while some of your worse won’t let this opportunity go away like this. They will surely try to play some trick with you and your feuding opponent or that trick can also be played by your opponent, so always be aware of your surroundings.
Hello everyone! This is Richard Daniels, a full-time passionate researcher & blogger. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. He loves to write about economics, e-commerce, and business-related topics for students to assist them in their studies. That's the sole purpose of Business Study Notes.
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