Conflict situations are common occurrences within organizations due to misunderstandings within the workforce. The employees are drawn from different cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds resulting into differences in views, practices, and opinions. However, some conflict situations are brought about by the struggle for limited resources, disparities in compensation systems and distrust between the employees among other factors. When conflicts are not effectively resolved, one or more of the affected parties may resort to settle the dispute through legal means. It is therefore important for organizations to manage or fully resolve conflict situations to avoid court cases.
Similarly, Jesus was faced with numerous conflict situations among his disciples. During such times, he decided to resolve the issues to avoid tension and discord within His team. Furthermore, negative working relations would affect the team’s goal of spreading the gospel. Currently, leaders can emulate Jesus’s example to settle disputes within organizations and avoid expensive lawsuits and third-party interventions.
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When selecting his team, Jesus drew his disciples from different backgrounds. For instance, Mathew was a tax collector, James was a tradesman while Thomas was a fisherman. On the other hand, Simon belonged to the Zealots religious sect. Furthermore, they were drawn from different geographical locations like Bethsaida and Canaan among other areas. These differences led to mixed feelings towards each other. Some of the disciples felt that they were superior to the others due to their backgrounds and therefore greater than the rest.
Consequently, the team experienced conflict situations where there were misunderstandings about who was the greatest. In the book of Mark 9:33-35, Jesus resolved a similar dispute among the disciples. The first action that Jesus took was to accept that there was conflict within his team and decided to address it. Overton & Lowry (2013), observed that the first step to conflict management is the decision on whether to address the disputed issue or ignore it. Currently, organizations also experience conflicts between their employees. Therefore, managers should develop skills that will assist them to identify conflict situations that require their intervention. While some conflicts may be minor and have little or no impact on an organization, some may have a significant impact on the operation and achievement of the organization’s goals. Some issues can also be amicably resolved by the concerned parties while others require the intervention of the management team. They should only intervene in conflict situations that will threaten the well-being and growth of the organization and employees.
The dispute between Jesus’s disciples occurred as they were walking from Galilee to Capernaum. However, he did not react to this issue during the time but waited until they reached their destination and went indoors. For conflict resolution to be effective, it is important for the mediator to ensure that the resolution meeting takes place in a neutral and private venue (Peterson, 2017). When resolution meetings are held in public venues, the concerned parties read malice in the mediator’s intentions and therefore do not fully and willingly participate in the process. At times, they may feel that the mediator’s intention was to embarrass them as opposed to solving the dispute. For instance, managers can decide to hold mediation meetings in the organization boardroom as opposed to an office belonging to one of the concerned parties.
The next step that Jesus took was to call his disciples for a meeting to resolve the dispute. He demonstrated his authority and influence over the disciples through the absence of resistance towards this move. The disciples were convinced that the meeting was important and they all attended. According to Spaho (2013), effective communication is a prerequisite requirement for maintaining human relations and achieving good business performance. Managers should ensure that employees understand the structure, policies, and guidelines of the organization to prevent actions that threaten the organization’s well-being. The employees will be able to identify the leadership hierarchy within the organization and consequently follow the proper channels when carrying different activities.
Furthermore, the management team needs to utilize downward communication during the conflict resolution process. The management team should be charged with the responsibility of convening conflict resolution meeting. This will ensure that the affected parties will attend the meeting as they view the managers as neutral parties. Additionally, the employees will seek to respect the managers’ authority and therefore avoid displaying acts of disobedience. The organization’s policies and guidelines will also enable the employees to identify how they should behave under different circumstances.
The mediation process can only be successful when managers encourage the affected parties to provide feedback regarding the messages that they are receiving and sending (Madalina, 2015). To achieve this, managers should ask questions and listen to the respondents’ requests. This can only be achieved when all the concerned parties are physically present during the meeting. Jesus called all his disciples together for a meeting as opposed to using a mediator who would carry the message from one party to the other. Currently, some organizations have adopted technologies that enable them to communicate despite occupying different physical locations. However, managers should ensure that all the affected parties are present during the mediation meeting. Where one or more of the members cannot be physically present due to various reasons, the meeting should be postponed to a suitable date when all of them will be available. They should encourage face to face interaction to observe the employees’ non-verbal messages and facial expressions that can convey their feelings towards the subject matter.
Furthermore, the employees can instantly express their feelings and reactions towards the other parties’ views and ideas. Madalina (2015), further observed that face to face communication eliminates the risks of misunderstanding. The parties can seek for clarification and more information when issues that they do not understand are discussed.
When the disciples were gathered for the meeting, Jesus asked them to tell Him the reason behind their argument. He sought to listen to the disciples’ side of the story despite having the details regarding the dispute. Cahn & Abigail (2014), stated that it is important for mediators to listen to the affected parties’ stories regarding the dispute before making any decision. Moreover, mediators can identify the factors that result in conflicts between the concerned parties by listening to them. Additionally, he/she can understand the different views and opinions of the affected party’s point of view. Managers should, therefore, ensure that when they call for the mediation meetings, they should present an opportunity for all the concerned parties to express themselves to give credibility to the mediation process.
Spaho (2013), further observed that organizations should encourage upward communication to enhance the communication process from the employees to the management team. Through this process, the employees develop a sense of belonging and loyalty towards the organization. To them, they will view that their complaints, views and even ideas have been taken into consideration during the decision making process. This will ensure the mediation process is successful as the concerned parties will be able to accept the final decision. Additionally, from this information, organizations may develop new policies and regulations that will prevent similar conflict situations from occurring in the future.
When Jesus asked the disciples the reasons behind their argument, they did not respond. He did not insist on getting a response from them but instead decided to provide a solution to the disputed issue. During conflict situations, leaders are required to respond in different manners depending on the issue at hand. Some of these responses include avoiding resolving the conflict issue, accommodating the issue to maintain harmony and creating a compromise between the conflicting parties (Overton & Lowry, 2013). In this case, Jesus decided to accommodate the disciples dissenting views and instead proposed a solution that would create peace and harmony between them. Managers should, therefore, make decisions on how to react to the different conflict situations within the organization. The decisions that they make should promote the well-being of all the employees and enhance positive work relations that promote the achievement of the organization’s goals. Moreover, they should not use their position of authority to force the employees to give responses when they are not willing to open up.
Jesus proposed to the disciples that one needs to place himself/ herself last to become a leader. Furthermore, one needs to become a servant of all. In his solution, Jesus uses simple language and explanation to express his views regarding the subject matter. According to Madalina (2015), managers should use simple and concise language during conflict meetings. They should use words that are common within the industry to avoid misinterpretations and misunderstandings among the employees. Additionally, they should provide examples that the employees can easily relate to as they occur within their work setting. In some cases, message misinterpretations can lead to worsening of the conflict situation as opposed to solving it.
The disciples did not provide further arguments regarding who was greater as Jesus offered a neutral solution to their problem. He did not favor any of them, but instead, he explained to them how they could become leaders. Madalina (2015), stated that conflict resolution meetings should take into account the views and opinions presented by all the parties during the decision-making process. When faced with employee conflict situations, the managers should ensure that the final decision does appear to favor only one of the affected parties. The diverse views should be consolidated to develop an intervention strategy that prevents either of the parties from feeling aggrieved.
On the other hand, managers should adopt the positive effects of conflict situations. During the mediation process, managers can identify gaps that need to be addressed to improve the organization’s operations and efficiency. Some of the positive consequences include initiation of necessary social change, expression of creative ideas and innovations, making quality decisions and enhancing group cohesion (Spaho, 2013).
In conclusion, conflict situations are normal occurrences within organizations as a result of differences between the employees. However, it is important for the managers to manage or fully resolve these conflicts to avoid negative consequences such as court cases. The managers can emulate the actions that Jesus undertook to resolve the conflicts that occurred between his disciples. Furthermore, the managers can be able to adopt the communication strategies that promote conflict resolution as opposed to making the situation worse. For instance, they should ensure that the conflicting parties clearly understand the message the message that is being passed across to avoid misinterpretations and misunderstandings. On the other hand, the should be able to understand the positive results of conflict situations and implement the necessary changes to enhance organization growth and development.
References
Cahn, D., & Abigail, R. (2014). Managing Conflict through Communication . Pearson Education, Inc
Madalina, O. (2015). Conflict Management, a new challenge. Procedia Economics and Finance , 39 (2016), 807-814
Peterson, D. (2017). A Step-By-Step Guide to Resolving Conflicts Peacefully, ThoughtCo. Retrieved from www.thoughtco.com/steps-conflict-resolution-31710 Accessed 20th September, 2018
Spaho, K. (2013). Organizational Communication and Conflict Management
Overton, A., & Lowrt, A. (2013). Conflict Management: Difficult Conversations with Difficult People. Clinics in Colon and Rectal Surgery , 26 (4), 259-264. doi: 10.1055/s-0033-1356728
