According to Katz and Flynn, culture’s “impact on the organization and its members is profound.” (Katz, 2013, p. 398) They also add that “closely related to the role of organizational culture in influencing conflict dynamics are the critical variables of leadership style.” (Katz, 2013, p. 398) As depicted in this organization whose members comprise of African-Americans, a Hispanic, and Caucasians, it is evident that it is culturally diverse. As these members mix, they could become frustrated due to communication breakdown or when their social styles fail to become compatible with the organization’s culture (Walden, 2014) .
The fact that the organization’s director is a woman could also result to conflict as the only man on the team may fail to take orders from her because of her gender. Conflict in this organization may have probably been contributed by prejudice where members have bias and stereotype to gender, race and ethnic groups. This is made clear where Katz and Flynn say, “employee differences and employee desire for more participation in decision making also heighten tensions in the workplace.” (Katz, 2013, p. 397) . The poor communication system has also been cited to be a cause of organizational conflict. According to Katz and Flynn, “conflicts are rooted in differing communication styles, lack of communication between management and employees, interpersonal disagreements, and a lack of effective conflict management training and systems.” (Katz, 2013, p. 401)
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Conflict can lead to decreased productivity in this organization, Dijkstraa et al., say that, “workplace conflict is considered to be one of the most potent stressors in working life. (Dijkstra, 2011, p. 169) Since the organization spends much time dealing with conflict within, it means members take time away from focusing on the primary goals they are tasked to achieve (Hocker, 2018) . As a result, the organization will lose revenue and access to crucial resources.
Research by Katz and Flynn notes that unresolved conflict is a representation of one of the most significant costs in many organizations. (Katz, 2013, p. 399) . Therefore, it is essential to get effective conflict resolution strategies that will contain the conflict situation in this organization. Some of the strategies to resolve conflict in this organization include collaboration and negotiation. This is because a study by Ruth Gaunt outlines “the important role of intergroup contact.” (Gaunt, 2011, p. 1353) Besides the organization should be provided with contact training which will create a culture of respect. All these will be aimed at quelling conflict among executive members and mitigate the power struggle that may arise in the organization.
One of the effective strategies to mitigate conflict in this organization is through intergroup contact. This strategy is essential in reducing bias that might arise due to race or gender among the members. Intergroup contact could operate through reducing adverse affective reactions by ties that are positively affective (Gaunt, 2011, p. 1343) . Under optimal conditions, communication between groups can reduce intergroup bias effectively. For communication to be successful, four essential conditions should be considered. These conditions, according to Ruth Gaunt, include intergroup cooperation; equal status in the contact state of affairs; common objectives; and support of the system, law, or norm. (Gaunt, 2011, p. 1342)
Indeed, problem-solving is the best solving management strategy. Thus, it is crucial to apply right negotiation strategies during conflict resolution in this organization. Having high concern for personal outcomes is essential. (Dijkstra, 2011, p. 170) . This is because reacting actively minimizes frustrations by being dependent on one issue. Building a good relationship with members of the organization is also a negotiation strategy that will prove beneficial, more at handling diversity that is manifested in the organization. This was evident in Ruth Gaunt research which showed that “relationships between perceived conflicts can be mediated by variables (Gaunt, 2011, p. 1350) . It is essential to consider the interest of each member separately to be familiar with individual problems when at the negotiation table. Above all, it is prudent to respect the diversity of each member as this is a negotiation strategy that will be viable in achieving bargaining success.
The outcome of these negotiation strategies is positive. This is because some of these strategies are compatible with someone with experience which will in turn help promote productive exchange at empathetic level (Deutsch, 2011) . The collaboration strategy which focuses on achieving teamwork and cooperation will be critical to enhancing trust while reducing defensiveness which has the potential to make relationships within the organization better. The compromising strategy will work best as members of the organization will learn the importance of gaining and losing something. As a conflict resolution strategy, self-regulation will help this organization as the members have explicit cognition about their challenges. This will be crucial for them to self-regulate effectively hence help them cope with conflict thereby enabling them to pursue a common goal for the organization (Deutsch, 2011, p. 296) . These strategies will prove more effective upon reviewing and evaluation of ideal strategies for resolving conflict in that organization.
Conclusion
Without a doubt, conflict can derail an organization from achieving some of its goals. This, therefore, calls for organizations to seek assistance in resolving conflict before matters get worse. It is essential to identify some of the factors responsible for causing friction in this organization. Some of the factors identified included diversity which is contributed mainly by race and ethnicity. Some of the negotiation styles to be used include mediation and collaboration. In addition to this, building good relationship comprise the ideal negotiation styles picked. It is with this that an evaluation of these prove crucial and are favorable to the attainment resolution not only in this organization but any other organization that experiences conflict
References
Hocker, J., & Wilmot, W. (2014). Interpersonal conflict (9th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Walden, A. L., Javdani, S., & Allen, N. E. (2014). ENGAGING CONFLICT: SUPPORTING POWER‐SHARING THROUGH CONSTRUCTIVE CONFLICT RESOLUTION. Journal of Community Psychology , 42 (7), 854-868.
Katz, N. H., & Flynn, L. T. (2013). Understanding conflict management systems and strategies in the workplace: A pilot study Conflict Resolution Quarterly , 30 (4), 393-410.
Dijkstra, M. T., Beersma, B., & Evers, A. (2011). Reducing conflict-related employee strain: The benefits of an internal locus of control and a problem-solving conflict management strategy. Work & Stress , 25 (2), 167-184.
Gaunt, R. (2011). Effects of intergroup conflict and social contact on prejudice: The mediating role of stereotypes and evaluations. Journal of Applied Social Psychology , 41 (6), 1340-1355.
Deutsch, M., Coleman, P. T., & Marcus, E. C. (Eds.). (2011). the handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice . John Wiley & Sons.
Hocker, J. L., & Wilmot, W. W. (2018). Interpersonal conflict (10th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
