Managing Team Conflict - Business Decision Making - ثاني ثانوي

Lesson 2 Chapter 7 www.ien.edu.sa Managing Team Conflict The final characteristic of the team process is conflict. It can arise among mem- bers within a team or between one team and another. Conflict refers to an antagonistic interaction in which one party attempts to block the intentions or goals of another. Whenever people work together in teams, some conflict is inevitable. Bringing conflicts into the open and effectively resolving them is one of the team leader's most challenging yet most important jobs. Effective conflict management has a positive impact on team cohesiveness and performance. DEFINITION Conflict: An antagonistic interaction in which one party attempts to block the intentions or goals of another. QUICK TIP In general, research sug- gests that task conflict can be beneficial because it leads to better decision making and problem solving. 2-1 Types of Conflict Two basic types of conflict that occur in teams are task conflict and relationship conflict. 1. Task Conflict Task conflict refers to disagreements among people about the goals to be achieved or the content of the tasks to be performed. Two shop supervisors might disagree over whether to replace a valve or let it run despite the unusual noise that it is making. Alternatively, two members of a top manage- ment team might disagree about whether to acquire a company or enter into a joint venture as a way to expand globally. 2. Relationship Conflict Relationship conflict refers to interpersonal incompatibility that creates tension and personal animosity among people. For example, in one team at a company that manufactures and sells upscale children's furniture, team members found their differing perspectives and working styles to be a signif- icant source of conflict during crunch times. Relationship conflict is typically associated with negative consequences for team effectiveness. 208 7 Chapter رة ا Ministry of Education 2024-1446 Business Decision Making S1 S2 S3.indb 208 30/06/2023 14:28

How can these two employees manage conflict effectively? DEFINITIONS Task conflict: Conflict that results from disagreements about the goals to be achieved or the content of the tasks to be performed. Relationship conflict: Conflict that results from interpersonal incompatibility that creates tension and personal animosity among people. QUICK TIP Be aware that the lack of nonverbal cues in virtual interactions can lead to more misunderstandings. 2-2 Causes of Conflict Several factors can lead to conflict. One of the primary causes is competition over resources, such as money, information, or supplies. When individuals or teams must compete for scarce or declining resources, conflict is almost inevita- ble. In addition, conflict often occurs simply because people are pursuing differ- ing goals. Goal differences are natural in organizations. Targets of individual salespeople may put them in conflict with one another or with the sales manager. Moreover, the sales department's goals might conflict with those of manufacturing, and so forth. Conflict may also arise from communication breakdowns. Poor communication can occur in any team, but virtual and global teams are particularly prone to communication breakdowns. Trust issues can be a major source of conflict in virtual teams if members feel that they are being left out of important communi- cation interactions. 2-3 Styles of Handling Conflict Teams, as well as individuals, develop specific styles for dealing with conflict based on the desire to satisfy their own concern versus the other party's concern. وزارة التعليم Ministry of Education 2024-1446 Business Decision Making S1 S2 S3.indb 209 Managing Teams to Support Decisions in Organizations. 209 30/06/2023 14:28

210 7 Chapter رة ا Ministry of Education 2024-1446 Business Decision Making S1 S2 S3.indb 210 A model that describes five styles of handling conflict is shown in Figure 7-4. The two major dimensions are the extent to which an individual is assertive versus unassertive and cooperative versus uncooperative in their approach to conflict: 1. Dominating style The dominating style (my way) reflects assertiveness to get one's own way and should be used when quick, decisive action is vital on important issues or unpopular actions, such as during emergencies or urgent cost-cutting requirements. 2. Compromising style The compromising style (halfway) reflects a moderate amount of both asser- tiveness and cooperativeness. It is appropriate when the goals on both sides are equally important, when opponents have equal power and both sides want to split the difference, or when people need to arrive at temporary or expedient solutions under time pressure. 3. Accommodating style The accommodating style (your way) reflects a high degree of cooperative- ness, which works best when people realize that they are wrong, when an issue is more important to others than to oneself, when building social cred- its for use in later discussions, and when maintaining harmony is especially important. 4. Collaborating style The collaborating style (our way) reflects a high degree of both assertiveness and cooperativeness. The collaborating style enables both parties to win, although it may require substantial bargaining and negotiation. The collabo- rating style is important when both sets of concerns are too important to be compromised, when insights from different people need to be merged into an overall solution, and when the commitment of both sides is needed for a consensus. 5. Avoiding style The avoiding style (no way) reflects neither assertiveness nor cooperativeness. It is appropriate when an issue is trivial, when there is no chance of winning, when a delay to gather more information is needed, or when a disruption would be costly. 30/06/2023 14:28

YOU TRY IT FIGURE 7-4: A model of styles for handling conflict Assertive Dominating (my way) Assertiveness Avoiding (no way) Unassertive Uncooperative Compromising (half way) Collaborating (our way) Accommodating (your way) Cooperativeness Cooperative Imagine a situation in your life when conflict has arisen among your friends. Perhaps you wanted to play a different game or disagreed over how best to solve a particular problem. Consider each of the five styles for handling conflict described in this lesson and see how they could have been applied to solving the problem. Explain which method you think would have been most effective and why. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Which of the following is not one of the key causes of conflict? a. people pursuing different goals b. competition over resources. c. communication breakdowns d. team members sharing unified goals 2. A style for handling conflict that reflects a high degree of coop- وزارة التعليم Ministry of Education 2024-1446 Business Decision Making S1 S2 S3.indb 211 erativeness is known as: a. avoiding style b. compromising style c. dominating style d. collaborating style Managing Teams to Support Decisions in Organizations. 211 30/06/2023 14:28