Conflict Resolution in Work Teams
The process of building a team is no easy task. It requires a lot of commitment, cooperation and communication from all those involved.
Everyone in the team should be sharing a common goal and everyone should contribute equally to the team’s efforts.
Conflicts are inevitable in work teams, but are not something
that have to prevent the team from growing and accomplishing it’s goals. Setting
up a solid team structure and negotiating and mediating all disputes will
increase chances of success in work teams.
About work teams
The implementing of work teams is surfacing more often and becoming more
prominent in various organizations. Corporations have discovered the
effectiveness of work teams and how they can resolve problems such as moral
issues, performance issues and many others. (Capozzoli 1999) There are many
factors which can prevent the teams from achieving there goals and many issues
will surface and have to be delt with in order to have a successful team
environment.
Socialization is a very important part of team success. This is the stage when team members learn what is required of them to be a part of the team. The socialization of members is typically broken down into stages. There are typically three stages which include, the anticipation stage, the accommodation stage and the acceptance phase. (Capozzoli, T.K. 1995)
The anticipation stage occurs first and is prior to a person even joining the team. In this stage future members will think about what may be expected of them when they join the team. They can start preparing for the team and think how they will be able to contribute.
The next phase is the accommodation stage. This is where team members become involved with the team on a daily basis. Members will be contributing on a day-to-day basis. At this stage it will become clear to members of the team what is expected of them. Members will learn what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior in the team.
The final stage of
socialization is the acceptance stage. In this stage members are taking
responsibility for their roles on the team. At this stage team members will feel
that they are a part of the group and that they are contributing to the teams
success. (Bowditch, J. L., Buono, A. F. 1997)
Why are there conflicts in teams?
Conflict can arise from numerous sources within a team setting and generally
falls into three categories: communication factors, structural factors and
personal factors. The first category is Communication. Poor listening skills,
ignoring team members, wrongful interpretation and lack of sharing information
are all a part of this barrier. These can lead to many misunderstandings.
The second category is structural factors, which does not play much of a role with a college work team, as it does in a business. Regardless, disagreements that occur include the size of the organization, levels of participation and reward systems.
Finally, personal factors include problems that occur with an
individual’s self-esteem, their personal goals, values and needs. All of these
differences can pose a challenge for the team as a whole. It may be difficult to
get everyone in the team working together and contributing equally. (Capozzoli
1999) Communications are the key to success. A team must understand conflicts
unpredictability and its impact on individuals and the team as a whole. These
conflicts must be resolved and dealt with before the team falls apart.
Pros and Cons of Conflict
Conflict does not always become destructive. It can lead to a variety of ideas
and give team members an interest in dealing with problems. It can give
individuals the opportunity to develop their communication skills and express
their personal thoughts to their team members. If you look at it from this
perspective, it can be considered a positive thing.
Conflict becomes negative
when it is left to escalate to the point where people begin to feel defeated and
a combative climate of distrust and suspicion develops. Nelson cautions that
negative conflict can destroy a team quickly, and often arises from poor
planning. He offers the list of high potential areas from which negative
conflict issues commonly arise both in the workplace and in college:
· Administration Procedures: If the team lacks good groundwork for what it’s
doing, its members will not be able to coordinate their work.
· People Resources: If the team does not have enough resources to do the job, it
is inevitable that some will carry too heavy a load. Resentment, often
unexpressed, may build, so it is crucial that team leaders ensure adequate
resources.
· Cost overruns (work place mainly): Often inevitable, cost overruns become a
problem when proper measures are not taken. The whole team should know early on
when cost becomes a problem so additional funding can be sought by the team.
This way the problem can be resolved before it grows into a problem for
management.
· Schedules: The schedule is highly consequential to the team’s project and
should be highly visible. All members should be willing to work together to help
each other meet their deadlines.
· Responsibilities: Each team member must know what areas are assigned and who
is accountable for them.
· Wish Lists: Stick to the project at hand and avoid being sidetracked into
trying to fit other things into it. Wait and do the other things you would like
to do after successful completion of the original project.
(Bowditch, J. L., Buono, A. F. 1997).
Team members can and should attempt to avoid negative conflict from occurring.
Being aware of the potential for negative conflict to occur and taking the
necessary steps to ensure good planning will help. (Esquivel, M.A. & Kleiner,
B.H. 1997)
Identify strengths/weaknesses
What will be one person’s weakness will possibly be another team member’s
strengths. It is important early on to have each team member identify for the
group what their skills are. Team members should identify the areas in which
they will be the most effective and what areas they will be of least assistance.
Some team members will be better at proof reading while others will be better at
organizing and structuring the projects.
Those team members who are visual
learns should be assigned the visual task, such as creating tables, charts and
other visuals. A very important part of a team is having everyone contribute
equally. If one person is given a higher workload then their teammates, a sure
conflict will develop. Team will need to lay out what is to be completed and
from there distribute it equally to all members of the group.
Scheduling conflicts
People lead many different lives and have many different responsibilities, so it
is not always easy for teams to coordinate a meeting. What is a good time for
one member may be the busiest time of day for another. Thanks to modern
technology team meeting are more easily possible. Do to advances in technology
and the Internet, teams are able to met up at any time and any place in either a
chat room or on a message board.
Studies have found increased participation in
computer-supported groups. (Nelson, M 1995) During computer discussions, team
members felt more comfortable presenting their ideas and views during computer
discussions than during the traditional meeting sessions. The convenience is a
big advantage as well. With just a click of the mouse a team can be off and
running exchanging ideas and planning for upcoming projects. Scheduling conflict
need to be ironed out early on in the beginning stages of forming a team. A team
cannot function unless all members are available to meet.
Lack of equal participation
In order to prevent non-equal participation teams need to come together early on
and come to an agreement about participation. If it still becomes an issue there
are several ways to go about resolving the lack of participation between
members. Team members need to communicate with those they feel are not doing
their part. Members need to injure about was they perceive as a lack of
participation. It is very possible that the one who is not participating is not
aware that everyone else in the groups feels this way. Finding out what each
member of the group is feeling is the best way to start before approaching a
member who is not participating. If it is determined that a member does not want
to give equal participation, the group still needs to go on. I
Understanding and overcoming differences
The most important thing to remember when addressing a team conflict is the way
in which it is handed is critical. You want to be able to manage the conflict in
an effective manner in a way that you solve the problems but keep the group
together at the same time. It would be of no advantage to the group if you chose
the wrong approach to resolve conflicts and in turn break up the group. Teamwork
is not something that can be demanded. It is a fragile structure which needs to
be handled delicately so as not to dissolve the group.
The key to successful
group projects is encouragement of an open, frank dialogue among all
participants. Once people feel as though they are able freely available to
express their viewpoints without undue criticism or condemnation, a free-flowing
environment will materialize. This kind of atmosphere is most conducive to
productive work-product creation. Tribulations may crop up, but they can be
dealt with in a professional, adult manner. (Porter J.D., Shelia 2003).
After correctly identifying what specific problems have arisen in the group
environment, the next step is eradicating, to the extent possible, subject
problems. Several methods of resolution may be employed to varying degrees of
success. The importance of appropriately classifying the difficulties the team
is experiencing cannot be understated. Different problems may require
fundamentally different responses.
Conflict Resolution
One method of conflict resolution is collaboration. This least-confrontational
technique attempts to solve the problem by including everyone’s thoughts. After
synthesizing each team member’s ideas, the best parts are selected to form the
whole. Cooperative efforts made by the team can produce a solid result. This
system is appropriate for groups containing especially delicate members and/or
those with an inflated sense of self-worth. Perhaps the most effective method of
conflict resolution is compromise.
The first—and possibly most—important part of
compromising is the realization that each person will have to relinquish
something for the greater good. Once they can move beyond that, the rest is
fairly simple. Even though limited satisfaction may result from seeing some of
your work disregarded, a positive end-result should make up for a bruised ego.
(Nelson, M 1995)
While others may entertain certain measures of conflict resolution such as
avoidance or accommodation, those can prove ineffective and may actually cause
larger problems down the line. By ignoring the predicament, it does a disservice
to the views that have been stifled and the potentially positive contribution
that may otherwise have been included in the project.
Another method of solving
disagreements is re-shuffling the team members. By altering the construction, a
more agreeable stance might be agreed upon. With different people assigned to
new tasks, fresh ideas may emerge and the conflict may resolve of its own
volition. Even if that does not exclusively answer the quandary, reorganization
may tamper down some of the previous problems enough that productive work can
now be done. (Porter J.D., Shelia 2003).
Disagreement amongst team members does not necessarily have to represent a
problem. In fact, a divergence of viewpoints can be celebrated as being a
valuable asset to the ultimate goal of the team. Groups, while sometimes born of
necessity, may also be created specifically for the purpose of encouraging a
more creative, diverse project through the input of several unique viewpoints.
Conflict resolution inside a learning team is paramount to its success. Serious
disagreement among team members can severely impact the group’s work or even
grind operations to a halt. Teams may try and prevent disruptions from even
arising while working together, but inevitably, when people from different
backgrounds with diverse viewpoints merge, there will be some measure of
disagreement. In order for the team to be effective, a reasonable solution to
conflicts that may arise must be employed.
Varying circumstances necessitate any one of a multitude of approaches. When the best process is applied, the problem can be discarded and the important work of the team can progress. Through the understanding and acceptance of the value of each team member, internal conflicts may be resolved in an expedient, efficient manner that will strengthen, rather than weaken, the group’s mission.
