Conflict Management in the Workplace

The recent case of an airline pilot slapping his co-pilot in an international flight prompting the latter to leave the controls and walk out of the cockpit thereby endangering flight safety, should put workplace conflict firmly in center stage. That the co-pilot walked out twice and had to be cajoled by the cabin-crew to take back the controls indicates the degree to which she must have been aggrieved. The DGCA has promptly suspended the license of the pilot and the co-pilot has been suspended by the airline.

The airline and the regulatory body are proceeding with their inquiries and administrative procedures and actions to be taken in such instances. The airline HR team is as much to blame as the pilots for letting such a situation come to pass. We in the HR profession need to remind ourselves that there will be conflicts in the workplace and we need to keep ourselves ahead in the game if we are to manage the human resource of our organization effectively.

Recognizing the symptoms of a malady are as important as the malady itself for effective treatment. While branding workplace conflict as a ‘malady’ may not be entirely right, it does affect productivity if not addressed promptly. In this case some newspapers also reported that the pilot and the co-pilot were live-in partners. Well then, was it a ‘lover’s spat’? The HR should have taken cognizance of their status and made sure that either they got along well or were not rostered together.

While this is a rare case, workplace conflicts are fairly common and we experience them almost every day.

Conflict can manifest itself in various ways and varying severity. The cause largely includes differences between personality styles, values, expectations and goals. When conflict grows to a point where a supervisor needs to get involved, the situation has possibly reached a critical point.

Categorizing Causes of Conflict

The first step towards effective conflict management is to identify the root causes of conflict. According to psychologists Art Bell and Brett Hart, the eight common causes of conflict in the workplace are:

a.       Conflicting resources. People often have to share resources. We must develop empathy and team spirit to avoid getting into a conflict over sharing resources. The manager can step in and lay down priorities if required.

b.       Conflicting styles. Each one of us has a different working style. Key to contributing to a healthy office atmosphere is to understand each other’s style and as long as the organizational goals are being met, do not bother about it.

c.        Conflicting perceptions. All of us have our own world-view. We may perceive events in the workplace differently. The key to avoiding a conflict due to different perceptions is to have an effective communication system where everyone is kept informed so that independent interpretations are minimized and gossip should be dealt with severely.

d.       Conflicting goals. Very often we may be given conflicting targets. One manager may demand top quality while the other would insist on cost control. The operations guy would want to run the machines, the maintenance team would want to shut down and carry out preventive maintenance. It is best to talk to both of them, assess the impact on productivity and take a call.

e.       Conflicting pressures. Conflicting pressures are similar to conflicting goals; the only difference is that conflicting pressures usually involve urgent tasks, while conflicting goals typically involve projects with longer timelines. If you feel that team members are experiencing conflict because of clashing short-term objectives, reschedule tasks and deadlines to relieve the pressure

f.        Conflicting roles. There are many instances when as managers we have to assign tasks to a person beyond his normal role and responsibilities. This may cause a conflict in his mind as well as in the mind of the person whose responsibility it should have been. Communicate clearly with your team and explain why the task has been assigned to a different person. It will help immensely in maintaining a cordial atmosphere.

g.       Different personal values. As managers we have to respect the ethical values of each individual and avoid assigning tasks which are in conflict with a person’s personal values.

h.       Unpredictable policies. Office policies should be clearly defined so as to bring in consistency in dealing with various situations or issues. Unpredictable policies are bound to hinder proactive behavior of staff when faced with new situations.

Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is the process of resolving a dispute or a conflict by meeting at least some of each side’s needs and addressing their interests. Conflict resolution sometimes requires both a power-based and an interest-based approach, such as the simultaneous use of authority and attempt at negotiation to reconcile each party’s interests.

There are several conflict resolution models. But the most commonly practiced is the Thomas-Kilmann resolution model. It is based on two factors, Assertiveness and Cooperativeness. While Assertiveness is about teams being opposite each other in a conflict situation, Cooperativeness is about both teams working towards a common goal in the same situation.

The 5-methods described in the Thomas-Kilmann Model are: -

a.       Avoiding.

b.       Accommodating

c.        Compromising

d.       Competing

e.       Collaborating

Assertiveness

·         Competing                                                                                     * Collaborating

                                                          *Compromising

·         Avoiding                                                                              * Accommodating

                                                                                                       Cooperativeness

The diagram above indicates that conflict resolution through Collaboration is high on both Cooperativeness and Assertiveness. Its outcome is not a zero-sum game like would be the case in Avoiding or Competing. Accommodating is passive in nature and Compromising may not yield the best results for the organization.

As managers we are required to adopt all these styles at different points in time in different situations. Having said that, in all workplace conflicts, ‘organizational interest’ is invariably the constantly affected party. And, therefore, it should take priority in all resolutions. Within an organization, it is imperative that the team members be proactive in identifying and resolving conflict situations before they reach the critical stage. Non-resolution shall invariably result in poor work quality, communication problems and exit of valuable human resource besides loss of business.