Conflict Management Style Research 2022

Running head: CONFLICT MANAGEMNET
Conflict Management style
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Organisational conflicts are an inevitable part of any business activity. No matter how
well-trained the employees are, or how much effort the management puts in devising smooth
internal communication there are still instances where a conflict is bound to arise. However
the main issues are how the employees can maintain certain decency even during the conflict
which does not make the work environment toxic or negative.
Personally undergoing the continuing professional development (CPD) course on
conflict management, it has helped me understand the certain core reasons behind why
conflicts arise at first place how it get intensified and finally what are the basic easy steps one
needs to follow to stay positive and productive at work minimising conflicts all around. The
main focus of resolving any conflict lies in understanding the perspective of each of the
individual present in the scenario. As according to Belbin’s Theory of team role model, every
individual working in a team have a special characteristics of his own which indeed defines
the way he intends to communicate with other team members and progress of the team as a
whole (Meslec and Curşeu, 2015). This very style of conflict management which has
established on a thorough research of nine long years which was particularly build on team
building and team effectiveness with a multi-method technique combining personality,
critical thinking inventories, and observational methods suggested the nine different team role
or the characters different team member possess in themselves which are, : Plant (PL),
Resource Investigator (RI), Co-ordinator (CO), Shaper (SH), Monitor, Evaluator (ME),
Teamworker (TW), Implementer (IMP), Completer-Finisher (CF) and Specialist (SP)
(Okulewicz, 2016.). The main concept of this conflict resolution model is to ascertain one
key fact that every individual is different from one another. For instance the Team Worker
(TW) is extrovert and loyal towards his team members, possesses qualities of being co-
operative and mild but might turn indecisive in crunch situation while on the other hand
Plant(PL) are more dominant yet creative but might appear too occupied to communicate

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effectively with the team. Hence his primary concern was to establish the notion that each
individual is different in the perspective and approach hence forming a team and working
together effectively requires this analysis.
There were also significant lectures on how one’s thinking can help prevent in
creating complex situation within an organisation. During the CPD one significant learning
that I underwent was how exactly to use De Bono’s Six Thinking Hat concept for resolving
organisational conflicts which I would be reflecting upon as the answer the questions below.
1) During my CPD we were often engaged in skits and small plays where we had to
utilise our learning on the varied conflict management styles to gradually identify
which is our personal style of conflict resolution. Hence in such a scenario I
realised that my personal style of conflict resolution stands to be an
accommodating one (Saeed, et al. 2014). Accommodating style of conflict
resolution comes with its own perks which according to Belbin’s theory of
conflict resolution comes under the Obliging style of conflict resolution which
depicts a low concern for self and how concern for the other party involved in a
conflict (Chan, Sit and Lau, 2014) this style again comes with its own advantages
and disadvantages and hence needs special consideration while been implemented.
2) The core strength of my personals style of conflict resolution is that it does not
leave a room for further disagreement but surrendering to the needs of others
without any rational reasoning is obviously wrong. It does not merely resolve a
conflict but often leads to personal dissatisfaction in the individuals who chose to
lose to the others involved in the conflict. It demeans ones morals (Zhang, Chen
and Sun, 2015.) and is obviously not a good choice to make which I gradually
realised in my CPD on conflict resolution. It is a lose-win solution which does not

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benefit all the concerned parties involved in a conflict hence should not be
necessarily applied
3) My personal style of conflict resolution has developed with the leanings I
underwent during my CPD I understood that my conflict resolution style is not
beneficial as it does not yield a win-win solution for all the concerned parties,
hence I learnt to apply the collaborative style which is also known as the
integrating style and is very beneficial in resolving team conflicts (Cerni, Curtis
and Colmar, 2014). In the previous group presentation with the staffs I did realise
that there was a strong dissatisfaction building between the staffs of the
organisation which might be due to extreme work pressure or miscommunication
within the organisation which required a deeper research and analysis. However I
also felt that the step taken by the event’s team to organise a day out for all the
members was quite innovative and impressive. However while conducting a team
meeting with all the three members of the event committee that is Aoibhinn, Aoife
and Adam I realised that there was serious lack of coordination and confidence
among the team members. Because when Aoibhinn asked who would do the
necessary research regarding the statistic of how many staffs would be travelling,
their dietary needs, all the reservations and other minute works related to the
travel Aoife without any further discussion completely took it all on herself and
said she will managed it all singlehandedly. This was the very first mistake which
was the root cause of all the following conflicts and trouble. If Aoife would have
shown an assertive approach to collaborate with all the other team mates and
carry out the responsibility then she could have easily safe herself from being
overburdened with all the work pressure. Moreover the other two team mates
could have also applied the team role theory to assess that Aoife does possess a

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dominant and introvert approach towards handling her work and could have easily
approached Aoife on the very first place to express their feelings regarding her
taking the whole workload singlehandedly on herself. Such instant and
straightforward communication at both ends could have easily helped in resolving
the chances of further conflicts and dissatisfaction among the team mates (Folse,
2018) Moreover during my CPD course on Conflict management I was taught to
utilised the Six Thinking Hats approach (De Bono, 2017) as professed by the de
Bono Group and during the staff meeting I did mention it to the employees how
this method is quite useful in aspect of judging one’s own thoughts and helping to
understand the thoughts of others.
4) There is no doubt about the fact that being collaborate and integrating in one’s
approach is bound to bring in better team management and understanding among
the team mates. The integrating or collaborate style will not only help in bringing
in more harmony among the team mates but with the Six Thinking Hat approach t
will also be beneficial in understanding how an individual works, why he thinks in
such an approach and helps the team altogether build a considerate outlook
towards each other (Aithal, 2017). Hence the basic advantage of using a
collaborative style of conflict management would have definitely helped
Aoibhinn, Aoeife and Adam to resolve the problem within themselves and not
involve any higher management authority. If Aoibhinn and Adam would have
switched their thinking and wore the yellow at which according to the De Bono
Group suggest more optimising and understanding rather than rationalism then
they could have approached Aoeife directly asking her what troubles she is facing
rather than informing about her incompetency to the Managing Director. Again on
the other hand if Aoeife could have been more understanding in her approach and

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would have better communicated with the team to express her personal problems
and divided the work load. Thus she could have wore the red hat which according
to the six thinking hats approach suggests one to be more expressive in sharing
one’s fears and feelings openly (Chun and Choi, 2014). Thus altogether a more
considerate approach towards the whole situation from both ends could have
easily helped in solving the crisis.
5) My CPD on conflict management was an extremely helpful in resolving issues
related to understanding of how exactly conflicts arise and what are the persistent
reasons behind it getting more complicated. It was also helpful in realising how
each individual is responsible towards managing a conflict situation. How people
working in an organisation more necessarily need to be understanding of each
other’s perspective to help stabilise a crisis situation. The primary understanding
was that a good and strategic communication between all individuals working as a
team can help resolve multiple complexities which otherwise turn negative and
more critical when reported as a complaint. Moreover from my personal learning
experience I could improve my style of conflict resolution from being
accommodative to a more assertive and rational style of resolving it which would
bring a win-win solution for all the concerned parties involved in the conflict or
crisis situation (Tjosvold, 2014). I even realised the importance of understanding
the perspective of the other person if one truly wants to work in harmony which
empathises on the six thinking hat approach which primarily suggest how we can
and we should change hats of different colours which are actually our thinking
process to understand the perspective of the other person and altogether maintain a
flexible attitude towards work and life

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6) Applying the skills of conflict management requires judicious thinking approach
and conscious efforts towards deriving a win-win solution for all the concerned
members. My personal learning through my CPD in conflict management will
necessarily equip me to perform better in the organization by helping other team
mates realise what actually is the concern and how it can be dealt judiciously
rather than creating unnecessary complex and conflict. My CPD program has not
only provided me with the necessary theoretical knowledge but has even helped
me understand its practical implication. Hence my conflict management skills
specially within the organisation I am associated with will primary surround
around following few basic and conscious steps like:
 Active listening
 Implying patience while dealing with a critical situation
 Showing emotional intelligence in any crisis situation
 Avoiding biasness towards a certain person or an idea
 Imbibing positivity in everyday working of the organisation
 Establishing grounds for open and strategic communication between the
organisational staffs (Tjosvold Wong. and Feng Chen, 2014.)
 Always aiming at a win-win solution rather than a win-lose solution
Thus the practical implementation of all these techniques with the theoretical
knowledge of conflict resolution and team work it would be easier for me to help employees
boost their morals, use the team role model of Belbin to understand what actually analyse
why Aoief could not express her circumstances to her other team mates, it will help me
advice Aoibhinn and Adam to necessarily not approach the higher management directly
rather try to confront the person involved directly and in a more understanding manner rather
build the confidence so that Aoife feels comfortable in sharing her problems and altogether

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boost her moral. My learning will also help me guide and suggest the high management like
the managing director to not involve the names of the employees while confronting a
situation if it is not making any difference. Rather he should try to confront Aoife in a more
humane manner and act extremely supportive and encoring to help her boost her moral. It
will also help me suggest Aoife to not be so rigid in her expression and thoughts and bring a
more collaborative and integrating approach in her working, express and communicate
openly to avoid the creation of such misunderstandings. Altogether my knowledge and
expertise will help my organisation’s team mates to work in a more collaborate manner,
lessen unnecessary work pressure, maintain a positive work environment and altogether work
towards personal and professional development.

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Bibliography:
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