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Write an essay that addresses the following questions based on your Conflict Management Style:

•What is your primary conflict management style? (Collaborating)

Explain. In what types of conflict is your primary style likely to be appropriate? In what types of conflict situations is it likely to be dysfunctional?

•What is your least preferred style? (Competing)

What types of conflict situations are best handled by your least preferred style?

•What steps can you take to increase your use of your least preferred style in situations where it would be most beneficial, and decrease the use of the preferred style when it is likely to be dysfunctional?

•Based on your results, explain how you could improve your conflict management behaviors and under what conditions.

. Based on your results, explain how improving your conflict management behaviors might translate into actual behaviors at the workplace, and what might be the results of such an improvement.

•Include the actual Conflict-Management Style Survey results in an Appendix section of your paper. (Listed below)

APA format which includes an introduction, subheading and conclusion. Don’t forget the appendix!!

ALL references must be complete and in APA format

Required Reading

Communication

We begin this module by building a foundation of knowledge about interpersonal communication. After all, communication is needed for effective group activities and group work. In gaining this foundation, we will refer to Wikipedia for a “quick and dirty” overview of the topic. (Caution: Wikipedia is an unacceptable source for academic papers because it is a publicly edited site with information that can be incomplete, biased, or incorrect. However, to get a quick introduction to a topic, it can be a good place to start.)

Models of communication. (2015) Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Models_of_communication

Never discount the value of trust in strengthening communication and improving work relationships with others. One way to build trust is to maximize what we know about ourselves and wish to share with others.

Conversely, we want to minimize aspects of ourselves we are not aware of but are readily apparent to others (our “blindspots”). This is accomplished through a combination of self-disclosure and feedback.

Communication Skills You Can’t Do Groups and Teams

The structure of organizations is rapidly changing and more than ever work is being done in teams. But teams are more than just a collection of individuals working on a single project. Team workers need a set of skills that exceeds those of individual workers to allow them to collaborate effectively. Often, employers do not train employees in these skills so it is a rare thing when teams live up to their potential. This is particularly true of teams in the United States, where the culture is highly individualistic.

To get an overview of this topic, view this PowerPoint presentation on Group Dynamics and Conflict.

Most of us think about trust in teams as growing over time and with experience being with another team member. However, swift trust stems from an initial assumption of trust which is confirmed, or disconfirmed, over time. In this sense it is conditional and must be verified by the actions of team members. Read this blog about the factors that contribute to swift trust and how leaders can create it:

Swift trust—why some teams don’t storm (2011). In Management Pocketbooks. Retrieved from https://managementpocketbooks.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/swift-trustwhy-some-teams-dont-storm/

Here is an interesting example of organizational theory being used to solve practical business problems. This report is designed to help its analysts avoid group decision-making biases such as groupthink, polarization or “risky shift,” overconfidence, or composition bias.

The practical application of theory demonstrated in this source may be helpful to you in preparing your assignment.

Mottola, G. & Utkus, S. (2009). Group decision-making: Implications for investment committees. Vanguard Investment Counseling and Research. Retrieved from http://agb.org/sites/agb.org/files/u16/Vanguard%206.pdf

Conflict Management

When working with groups, conflict is inevitable. Although conflict is often viewed as negative, this is not always true. As we learned in the earlier PowerPoint presentation, well-managed conflict can increase team performance and result in better output. One trick is to learn the differences between healthy and destructive types of conflict. Read the following for more information:

Issues Teams Face: Managing Conflict (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/54195_Chapter_7.pdf
Now that you can recognize the difference between good and bad conflict, take a few minutes to read about some techniques that can help you manage conflict between people at work (or even at home!) and keep situations from spiraling out of control:

Segal, J & Smith, M. (2012). Conflict resolution skills: Building the skills that can turn conflicts into opportunities. Helpguide.org. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eq8_conflict_resolution.htm

Conflict Management Styles

Competing/Controlling is assertive and uncooperative – an individual pursues his or her own concerns at the other person’s expense. This is a power-oriented mode, in which one uses whatever power seems appropriate to win one’s own position – one’s ability to argue, one’s rank, economic sanctions. Competing might mean “standing up for your rights,” defending a position which you believe is correct, or simply trying to win.

Accommodating is unassertive and cooperative – the opposite of competing. When accommodating, an individual neglects his or her own concerns to satisfy the concerns of the other person; there is an element of self-sacrifice in this mode. Accommodating might take the form of selfless generosity or charity, obeying another person’s order when one would prefer not to, or yielding to another’s point of view.

Avoiding is unassertive and uncooperative – the individual does not immediately pursue his own concerns or those of the other person. He or she does not address the conflict. Avoiding might take the form of diplomatically sidestepping an issue, postponing an issue until a better time, or simply withdrawing from a threatening situation.

Collaborating is both assertive and cooperative – the opposite of avoiding. Collaborating involves an attempt to work with the other person to find some solution which fully satisfies the concerns of both persons. It means digging into an issue to identify the underlying concerns of the two individuals and to find an alternative which meets both sets of concerns. Collaborating between two persons might take the form of exploring a disagreement to learn from each other’s insights, concluding to resolve some condition which would otherwise have them competing for resources, or confronting and trying to find a creative solution to an interpersonal problem.

Compromising is intermediate in both assertiveness and cooperativeness. The object is to find some expedient, mutually acceptable solution which partially satisfies both parties. It falls on a middle ground between competing an accommodating. Compromising gives up more than competing but less than accommodating. Likewise, it addresses an issue more directly than avoiding, but doesn’t explore it in as much depth as collaborating. Compromising might mean splitting the difference, exchanging concessions, or seeking a quick middle-ground position.

The Leadership Center At Washington State University D:My DocumentsWebsitesleadlibraryresourcesRESOURCESConflict ResolutionConflict-Management Style.doc
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Concern for personal goals
Concern for
Compromiser – 2 (Mini-win/mini-lose) *Score:____________ • Negotiated goal orientation • Negotiated relationships orientation
Accommodator – 3 (Yield-lose/win) *Score:____________ • Low goal orientation • High relationships orientation
Collaborator – 1 (Win/win) *Score:____________ • High goal orientation • High relationships orientation
Avoider – 5 (Leave-lose/win) *Score:___________ • Low goal orientation • Low relationships orientation
Controller – 4 (Win/lose) *Score:____________ • High goal orientation • Low relationships orientation
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

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