Reflection on Conflict Management and Interpersonal Skills in Business

This essay is a student's reflection on their learning experience in a business communication course, focusing on conflict management and interpersonal skills. The student discusses their experiences working in groups, encountering conflicts, and applying conflict resolution techniques. They emphasize the importance of teamwork, communication, and interpersonal skills in a business environment. The reflection also covers the use of verbal and nonverbal cues, feedback strategies, and cultural considerations in communication. The student concludes by highlighting the value of conflict management styles and interpersonal skills in future professional interactions, acknowledging the potential for positive outcomes from effectively managed conflicts. Desklib provides more resources for students.

Communication in business
Reflection
Student’s Name:
Institution:

Throughout the course of communication in business I pursued this year, which involve
units on conflict management and interpersonal skills, I have attained multiple goals that I once
thought were unachievable. I have developed not only as a student but also as an individual.
During my encounter with these topics on Communication in Business, I have garnered
necessary skills, confidence and knowledge that is expected in the real world of business. I learnt
that conflict management and interpersonal skills play a vital to role in the success of a company.
I have observed through my personal experience the impact of lack of conflict resolution and
poor interpersonal skills to individuals and the organization. Therefore, I will need to apply the
techniques provided in class for the rest of my career.
During the progress of my course, we were assigned groups and I got the chance to work
with four different members. I was aware that conflicts are often experienced in every
organization on a daily basis and I was likely to experience similar thing (Center for Creative,
2013). Although, it is not easy to avoid, the fact remains that it is probable to solve them. Basing
on my personal encounter, I believe that a sign of a conflict should be detected before it
overthrows the relationship between people in a working environment. Moreover, I pinpointed
the fact that, to accomplish assigned tasks in an organization demands teamwork, alliance and
originality among employees (Terason, 2018). What’s more, I realized that lack of teamwork
might lead to a disagreement because differing personality traits.
On our respective groups, we were expected to do an assignment on climate change in
Brazil. I found myself in a situation where some group members did not participate at all while
other argued on who was good enough to make the presentation in class. I discovered that the
task was too complicated especially when the weather was quite unpredictable and we could not
come up with enough facts to supports our findings. This was as a result of my failure to inform

other group members about the right procedures we were supposed to use while carrying out our
research. We had limited resources, lack of teamwork and poor communication that made it
more complicated to carry out the task. Having observed the process of conflict resolution, I
steadily understood the major styles employed during a conflict resolution. A company succeed
if conflicts are detected and resolved in an appropriate manner (Gallicano, 2013). The overall
manager employs their interpersonal skills to put a disagreement to an end (Benitez, Medina &
Munduate ,2018). I was able to assemble my group members and partitioned the task equally so
that each member had a part to research on. I actually observed positive response and better
communication among them during the presentation day.
However, I felt disappointed to note that for the limited time were assigned, some group
members accomplished no reasonable work because of lack of confidence, teamwork and poor
communication. All things considered, I realized that it stands out that many people who are
involved in a disagreement seek for support from other people (Hennessy,2017). I was
dissatisfied that I did not detect the mistake earlier. After, directing the group members to
perform various tasks, I was happy to learn that I had done a relevant job. From this experience, I
realized that communication between the employees and the management is essential (Turnley,
2011). Also, I witnessed the negative results that are associated with lack of teamwork, poor
communication and limited resources both in workplace and among the students.
I will be participating in similar group works in future. As a result, I will strive to
resolve conflicts among the leaders and my coworkers using the methods that I experience
during the course. For instance, the use of various conflict management styles or stages (Spaho,
2013) They include, dominance, integration, compromise, avoiding and cooperativeness. I will

be in a position to evaluate the conflict management strategies to refine my relationship with
other employees and the management. I was disappointed to learn that most managers can
literally refuse to attend to the subordinates in cases of disagreements. Significantly, I believe
that in order to resolve a conflict, it is important to seek for forgives from others whenever there
is a misunderstanding (Munduate et al ,2018). Furthermore, I need to apply mediation strategy
in cases of more complicated conflicts.
During class presentation on climate change in Brazil, I was accepted among the group
members to generate ideas that were useful to make the presentation successful. However, I
received an opposition from other group members who did not agree with me on some things. I
got myself in a situation where I was struggling to prove my skills to the group members. The
only thing I thought of during that time was to listen keenly to the opinions of group members
before generating my own. At this point, listening to the opinions of other people provided me
with confidence during communication of my opinions because I was able to learn from others
general matters that I was not even aware of (Piper, 2017). Importantly, I was able to absorb
information on developing issues on climate change which made me develop my opinions more
effectively. Having this in mind, (Center for Creative, 2013) agrees that listening enable
individuals to make relevant decisions and resolve their problems. From my personal point of
view, when I was paying attention to my teammates earned me acceptance since people view
listening to being polite and compassionate.
Proofing to my teammates that I had all it took to participate in the presentation, seemed
like a victory to me. I felt empowered because it felt good to address other group members with
relevant information on how we were supposed to work together. In this case, I experienced a

reduction in workload and I was able to interact with others. Another key concept to remember is
the skills that are required in organizations to provide a conducive phenomenon for
communication (Vagnoni, Lewis, Tajadura-Jiménez & Cardini, 2018). I was able to integrate
both verbal and nonverbal cues to improve my person wellness that garnered me confidence
while interacting with my fellow colleagues. I realized that Strategies that are efficient to
employ in a working environment include the use of appropriate eye contact, body movement
and posture. For me, an organization that creates tranquil environment fosters interpersonal
relationships among employees.
I have seen through my personal encounter the impacts of poor listening skills and
inappropriate body language. As a result, the use of relevant questions used by individuals in a
company should be appropriate for a given situation. I now believe that the lesson taught on
interpersonal skills are designed to make appropriate to prepare one for positive interaction with
other people at work and at school. Rather, I was able to see that communication plays a
significant role in establishing personal relationship (Dabke, 2015). In order to reflect on the
relevant situation, I discovered that people tend to use various questions to obtain information
from others.
However, I noted that most people tend to use irrelevant questions which lead to conflict.
I became aware that most people employ straight forward probe while questioning a person. I
have been observing individual as they provide feedback to advice or criticize the opinions of
others (Snell, 2016). When other group members had provided their findings on climate change
in Brazil, I got the chance to give my feedback. Considering a working environment, I
discovered that feedback is effective if it formal and accurate. The feedback I provided to the

team was based on the behavioral changes and provided solution to problems (Hynes, 2012).
Nonetheless, I noticed people who tend to provide unfair feedback that attacks the personality
traits of individuals rather than the behavior. I agree that if a feedback do not provide solution to
a given problem, it is ineffective and should be avoided.
Because I will be interacting with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, I will ensure
that I employ various interpersonal skills at work. In most cases, verbal and nonverbal
communication contradicts depend on the diversity of the culture. I believe before employing
any form of body language, a person should be aware of the norms governing a particular
community. I have taken into account that head movements and facial expressions is suppressed
by cultural, emotional and social status of an individual (Račková, 2015). I will also establish a
personal distance because people tend to value distance at work.
I will be conscious in my dressing code at work because it sends various ideas to people.
similarly, eye contact differs across communities hence creating a misunderstanding in working
environment. Tonal variations during a conversation might distort the message (Piper, 2017). I
realized that the Pitch of men is lower than that of women hence can convey different meanings.
Likewise, clothing can send a different message to people. In general, I agree that the
surrounding of a company plays a significant role in promoting interpersonal skills among
individuals.
In future, I will be in a position to employs relevant interpersonal skills at work and
employ relevant conflict management strategies at work. I believe that it is critical to learn
conflicting management styles that are used during conflict resolution. The basic skills on
interpersonal relationships will come in handy during my interaction with people from divers e

communities. Before, I thought that conflicts were associated with negative results but is now
clear that positive results can be achieved. For me, effective response not only addresses the
behavior of an individual but also provide solution to a given problem. Dressing code and
personal space should be given more attention. From here, I will be able to embrace diverse
cultural believes that dictate the code of conduct among individuals.

Reference
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