Conflict Management in the Workplace: A Personal Reflection Essay

This essay, written for a BUS 1070 Human Relations course, explores a student's personal experience with workplace conflict. The essay begins with a description of a challenging situation involving a boss and his wife, highlighting the emotional toll and the need for conflict management. The student then applies the awareness wheel to analyze the conflict and the associated feelings. The core of the essay focuses on conflict management strategies, drawing on the textbook and other sources to identify and implement effective techniques. The student describes how they managed their emotions, sought information, and attempted to resolve the conflict. The essay concludes with a summary of the conflict and a reflection on the importance of patience and effective conflict management in the workplace. The essay also cites sources using APA style.

Running Head: MANAGING A PERSONAL CONFLICT
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Student Name
Institution Name
Managing a personal conflict

MANAGING A PERSONAL CONFLICT
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Conflict Management
Two years ago, I was given an opportunity to work in a hotel industry by a close friend of
mine. His father was the proprietor of the hotel as he is one of the richest business tycoons in my
home town. His son did a good job recommending me to work as the cashier but little did I know
that the soon to be my boss had a hidden agenda towards me. He was polygamous in nature and I
had heard a lot of rumors from the past of how he took advantage of the young girls he hired. To
make the matters worse, I realized that his fourth wife was my age mate and she was insecure of
the young ladies working with her husband.
Things started falling amiss when he proposed to marry me and promised me a good life
since he was rich and he could give me everything I desired. I put him off by reminding him that
he was old enough to be my grandfather. I even referred to him as a homopithecus so that he
would stay away from me but he didn’t. It wasn’t long before his youngest wife knew about it
and that is where the conflict started. She felt that I was threat for her marriage. She started
threatening me that she could use witchcraft against my family and me. It was at this point that I
sensed danger but I had to maintain my job without causing any harm to anyone. I knew I had to
do something to calm things down.
I thought of quitting my job but then I knew I would lose my salary since the salaries
were released at end month and it was in the middle of the month. I decided to use the conflict
management tips according to Marketing et al (2019) and McDaniel (2011). First and
foremost, I had to come up with a way of managing emotions so that I would not overreact no
matter what I was accused of (Sogunro, 2012). I knew if I stayed positive, everything would be
fine at the end therefore I kept myself busy with watching movies so that I won’t concentrate on

MANAGING A PERSONAL CONFLICT
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what people said about me. I chose to ignore all rumors or anyone who would provoke me and it
really worked. I managed to control my emotions no matter how much it hurt me.
Secondly, I used another tip of getting more information especially on where the source
of the rumor was. I got to the bottom of the issue and tried to calm everyone down. I even tried
buying lunch to some of my biggest enemies and befriend them so that they would stop
spreading baseless stories (Robbins & Hunsake, 2011). It was also worked but I had to make a
decision of quitting my job.
In conclusion, conflict management is an important aspect especially when dealing with
personal matters at work place. Patient is the key to solving a conflict peacefully.

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References
Marketing, D., Coaching, L., Development, T., Articles, B., Reviews, B., & Links, A. et
al. (2019). Pinch Model of Conflict - Primary Goals. Retrieved from
http://primarygoals.com/teams/diagrams/pinch-model/
McDaniel, C. L. (2011). Removing space and time: Tips for managing the virtual workplace. In
Virtual Communities: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools and Applications (pp. 2275-2285).
IGI Global.
Robbins, S. P., & Hunsaker, P. L. (2011). Training in interpersonal skills: Tips for managing
people at work. Pearson Higher Ed.
Sogunro, O. A. (2012). Stress in school administration: Coping tips for principals. Journal of
School Leadership, 22(3), 664-700.