Managing Conflict

Depending on the expected outcome managers can manage conflict in either of these ways:

(a) Encouraging Conflict

Where conflict is likely to lead to increased performance and motivation then management can encourage conflict through competition, through contests or by publicizing results and performance.

(b) Preventing Conflict

Some cases require that conflict be prevented in the first instance e.g. cases where departments are arguing over use of resources.
Rules and procedures can be used to govern how issues are to be resolved.

(c) Resolving Conflict

Conflicts will always occur in organizations and management must devise ways of resolving them. The following are a few ways in which management can resolve conflicts.

i.    Avoidance — ignoring the problem and hoping that it will go away. Strategy works if the conflict is minimal.

ii.   Smoothing — similar to avoidance, but here the manager acknowledges the existence of the conflict while developing its importance.

iii.   Compromise — Involves reaching a point of agreement between what each of the conflicting parties wants.The conflicting parties meet half way so to speak—each gives up a bit of its demand.It works okay so long as none of the parties feels cheated afterwards.

iv.   Confrontation -     The direct way of addressing the conflict and working together to resolve it—also called problem solving—as there is open exchange of information. The best method of resolving a conflict should result in a no win no lose situation. If one party feels cheated then the likelihood of additional conflict is very high.

Where conflict is between the organization and the individual mainly because the goals of the organization are at variance with individual goals management can deal with the conflict through the following ways:

(a)    Use of a blend — amounts to administration by objectives cater for both organization and individual goals.

(b)    A fusion — a personalizing process where individuals pursue their own goals so as to seek fulfilment and self-actualization.

(c)    Socializing — the organization tends to get people to devote their efforts to pursuit of organizational goals.

(d)   Integration — management comes up with an agreeable "mix" (individuals are given a chance to come up with their own goals and ways of achieving them.)