chapter 4 conflict resolution techniques
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ME3101 / ME3102Mechanical Systems DesignChapter 4Conflict Resolution Techniques
What is conflict?All men have an instinct for conflict: at least, all healthy men
--Hillare Belloc--
Characteristics of conflict
•Conflict occurs when people disagree on something•Conflict is inevitable when people work in groups•Conflict can result in advances, or set the team back
Thus..Learn how to manage conflicts!!
Team conflicts
Managing team conflicts can be hard due to the following:
1. The sheer number of people
2. Lack of ground rules3. Personal bias4. Poor communication5. Digressions
We wil l start by fi nding your
confl ict resolut ion style…
Conflict Resolution Styles
There are 5 primary styles of conflict resolution:
1. The Turtle: Avoidance2. The Teddy Bear:
Accomdating3. The Shark: Competition4. The Fox:
Compromise5. The Owl:
Collaboration
The turtleCharacteristics:
•Manages conflicts by avoiding it.
•In times of stress, a turtle withdraws from it, or retreats.
•Believes that it is impossible to resolve a conflict
Advantages:
•It is better to let trivial matters slide than magnify it
•When resolution achieves little
•When others can resolve the conflict better than you can
Disdvantages:
•Inability to achieve self –satisfaction•Conflicts remains unresolved•Sense of helplessness
The Teddy BearCharacteristics:
•Values the interpersonal relationship more than the issue at hand
•Wants to be well liked by others
Advantages:•Minimal loss of social credits
•Lesser loss of time when faced with time constraints
•More well received by other people
Disdvantages:•May not be the style to achieve the best results
•Very difficult to achieve personal goals
•Might result in unsatisfactory working relationships
The SharkCharacteristics:
•Strong wish to achieve personal goals
•Values goals more than personal relationships
•Tends to be highly aggressive
Advantages:
•Best used in situations where unpopular but critical decisions have to be made
•Cuts down on time losses, thus ideal in situations when faced with time constraintsDisdvantages:
•Builds resentment
•Others members might feel undervalued
•Loss of social credits
The FoxCharacteristics:•Meets the other party halfway to end in a win some, lose some situation
•Goals and social relationships are equally important
•Time consuming style
•Willingness to give up on less important points
Advantages:
•Both parties attain strategic goals while forgoing the less important ones
Disdvantages:
•Often is a time-consuming process to achieve a decision whereby both parties can meet half-way
•Loss of lesser concerns might build some resentment.
The OwlCharacteristics:
•Believes that collaboration is the best way to achieve goals, together
•Solutions are agreeable to all
•All perspectives and grounds are coveredAdvantages:
•Little or no build up of resentment
•Very comprehensive solutions can be arrived at
•True learning can be achieved through sharing
Disadvantages:
•Extremely time consuming style
•Almost impossible when faced with a time constraint
Avoid committing these!
ContemptUnhealthy criticism
Defensiveness
Stonewalling
ContemptSymptoms:
•Verbal attacks on a person aimed to devalue self worth
•Sarcasm
•Facial expressions such as eye rolling
Solutions:
•Do not make snap judgments about a person’s character; Address the behavior instead.
•Think positive! Most often, if you think a person is bad, you will perceive his actions negatively.
Unhealthy CriticismSymptoms:
•Unconstructive statements such as “You ever think about others!”
•Statements designed to make another person feel bad without offering resolution
Solutions:
•Deliver statements with tact
•Used I statements rather than You statements. (Eg. I feel ignored when you do that)
•Never deliver criticisms in public
•Be constructive! After-all, you’re trying to help your team mates become better
…not all criticisms are bad. Only unhealthy ones are
DefensivenessSymptoms:
•A tendency believing that he/she is a victim , and making excuses for own behavior
•A reluctance to accept blame and responds to criticisms negativelySolutions:
•Take it easy! Try to understand from the other party’s perspective, and respond accordingly.
•Understand that the other person is trying to help, and make an effort to reach and understanding with each other.
•Recognize that the project is as equally important to your team as it is to you, and that he/she has a right to partake in the decision making
StonewallingSymptoms:
•A behavior whereby the person retreats/becomes absent from the conversation
•Actions such as breaking eye contact, not responding verbally or even physically leavingSolutions:
•Most people stonewall when they are emotionally overwhelmed. Take a break to let the negativity tide over.
•Re-approach the issue again differently with more tact. As you do not expect different results using the same method.
In conclusion
•Establish:• Ground rules of engagement
with each other and to the project
• Realistic expectations of each other
•Practice:• Respect for team members• Good conversational
techniques• Good body language
Understand that everyone is different. But you want the same thing!!!