2.3 Conflict Styles
People approach conflict in a variety of ways. To explain this theory, Blake and Mouton created a table that explained the five types of conflict style; avoidance, accommodating, competing, collaborating and compromising (CPP Global, 2008). Understanding your employee’s conflict style will better prepare you when organizing your conflict resolution strategy.
• Avoidance- “I lose, you lose” Employee declines to engage in conflict at all, leaving unresolved issues (CPP Global, 2008).
• Accommodation- “I lose, you win” Employee gives into others to quickly resolve conflict; keeping a peaceful environment. This can cause long term issues as resentment for unfulfilled personal goals (CPP Global, 2008).
• Competition- “I win,
…show more content…
Working with different cultures has a unique set of benefits and challenges. With the global workforce becoming more culturally diversified, learning acceptance is critical. The benefits to a multicultural work environment are a wide variation of perspectives, concepts, and strengths, leading to innovation and efficiency (Greenberg, 2009). In your facility, having local nationals present to assist in communicating with our Italian customers and vendors is invaluable. However, the challenges accompanying cultural diversity include frequent misunderstandings and communication breakdown due to inability to comprehend language and cultural behaviors. In these environments, change and integration is a challenge (Greenberg, 2009). These factors breed personnel impatience, conflict and ineffectiveness, all issues prevalent at your …show more content…
Mediation is when a neutral individual uses a specific skills to resolve issues within the workplace. A mediator can be external, coming from an outside agency, or internal, someone that is working within your business organization (Podro, & Suff, 2003). While communication and team building skills should always be the first approach used in conflict resolution, mediation is essential if conflict is still prevalent. Time is of importance when dealing with conflict as mediation yields the best results with conflict is still in its early phases, before feelings of resentment set in. You should consider mediation as a solution because of its time efficiency and lasting conflict management skills. Quick problem resolution is one of the main benefits of mediation along with inspiring effective communication, identifying behavioral patterns, uncovering deeper seeded issues and teaching employees the skills to manage conflict in the future (Podro, & Suff, 2003). A study conducted by The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service showed that businesses that used mediation when resolving conflict saw an 80% improvement in work relationships and 49% said conflicts were completely resolved (Podro, & Suff,