Conflict Management (Essay Sample)

Name:
Tutor:
Course:
Date:
Conflict Management
Conflicts are often inevitable in places of work where the presence of people from different backgrounds and persuasions means that divergent perspectives of doing things are bound to come into play. Members of a firm’s workforce may show opposition to changes introduced by the management especially in situations where they are required to adjust their working schedules or adapt new technologies. Conflicts may also be fuelled by gender and racial disparities which influence individuals in the workplace to do things in ways that are self- serving. As a result, change management has to be initiated through effective negotiations to ensure that people understand whatever their firms deem necessary for their continued success and the reason why affairs need to be carried out differently. It should therefore be ensured that negotiations are conducted well to ensure that any pursuits meant to entrench change do not result in further conflicts.
Maiese (Para. 1) makes it clear that negotiations should only be geared towards working out a solution to the problem faced. She also argues that effective negotiation should ensure that any goals being worked upon have positively independent and this can be attained by tying them together so that any efforts made by one team enhance the chances of the other teams in the organization of realizing their objectives. I find Maiese’s arguments useful for change management since she provides an effective framework through which disputants may come to terms and solve any conflicts that may otherwise ruin their cooperation. It is thereby apparent that conflict management calls for effective leadership where managers have the attributes required to convince their subordinates. In most firms, negotiations are only resorted to in situations where employees tend to conflict with one another on matters regarding skill application or whenever they do not agree with the changes brought about in their firms. Whenever there are opposing factions in the workplace whereby the people relied upon by an organization find it difficult to work together, managers may intervene by establishing the problem at hand, conceptualize ways in which a good rapport may be initiated and then use the most fitting approach to settle differences as argued by Maiese (Para. 5).
Integrative bargaining involves the establishment of a joint value by identifying the interests held by all involved parties (Spangler, Para. 2). Firms should always ensure that the outcome of any conflict management mediation is satisfying to everyone. It is clear that leaders normally have to choose between distributive and integrative negotiation techniques depending on the ...