Understanding Conflict And Negotiation: Consequences For Future Self Social Personality

The importance of conflict resolution for a peaceful working environment.

Question:

Discuss About The Consequences Future Self Social Personality?

Conflict and negotiation are two integral parts of an organisation that identifies difference in behaviour in different employees. Conflict can be defined as a stage where one employee negatively affects something, which other employee has care for. For example, working for incentives is good with one employee; however, to another, this is nothing but harassment (Hofmann et al., 2012). On the other hand, negotiation can be termed as a process that tries to destroy all the barriers in the way to success and try to dislodge any conflicts in between the two parties (Chen & Weiss, 2012). Interestingly, both conflict and negotiation exist there at the workplace but not all the employees have like perspectives on the two terms. Some has conflicting nature while some has reunion nature. Despite all the factual things surrounding it, it is important to understand that conflict resolution is of high importance to a peaceful working environment at the workplace. The main purpose of this assignment is to understand the two terms conflict and negotiation. The assignment also covers a reflection on the self-understanding of the two terms with the help of some tools provided in the assessment.  

Negotiation and conflict are a part of any platform; however, it is of high importance at the workplace. This is because of the impact, which both the factors can produce on the operational productivity. A conflict can bring dispute within the team members, which is threatening for a successful completion of the project. A project requires teamwork, which is never possible in a conflicting environment. There are different views on conflicts such as traditional view, human relation view and internactionist view (Kowalski & Limber, 2013). Different views have their different opinions on the conflicts. Traditional views say to avoid the conflicts. According to them conflicts are not good for an organisational perspective. It is not good either for an educational perspective. They have viewed this as a stopping agent in the way of a progressive trend. On the other hand, the human elation view has seen conflict as a natural phenomenon. According to such beliefs, conflicts are natural and are expected outcome from a team or any group. According to internactionist views, conflict is extremely necessary in order to perform effectively (Ayoko, Konrad & Boyle, 2012).

Conflicts are of various types such as task, process and relationships. Task means conflicts for the contents and goals in the task. The level of conflict ranges from lows to moderate level. This is not a very healthy sign for an organisation. This is because it hampers process. The process gets hampered because people builds up this habit in them to ignore such task that are challenging. Consequently, it becomes difficult to the management to allocate this task to an appropriate resource because this is difficult to understand who potential employees are. Relationship is another type of conflict that is a high concern in between the different relations. This gives birth to domestic violence, which is harmful for the family in most times. Sometimes conflicts are required at home to oppose the wrong thing; however, majority of times, it happens for wrong purpose. Another type of conflict is process that governs a scenario where different professionals in organisation clash to each other with different perspectives on an assigned project. Such conflicts are advantageous sometimes because it generates the necessary urgency to complete the project; however, at times this is harmful as well because it is a sign of making decision in hurry. Operation related decisions should be made with utmost calm and composed attitude (Fisher, 2016).

Impact of negotiation and conflict on operational productivity at the workplace.

Negotiation on the other has two bargaining strategies such as distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining. Distributive bargaining refers to such process, which is a win-lose situation to either of the party. It further means that in such negotiation process, one party has to compromise for the others. It is not fruitful as well. This is indeed much difficult to negotiate a conflict by ignoring the importance of one party. There might take place a case where such thing happens; however, probability for such case is very low either. On the other hand, integrative bargaining is a highly advantageous option to get rid of the conflicts in between the two parties. In such negotiation process, two different parties try to come at one platform such as by compromising on each other’s thought for the sake of other. However, it entirely depends on the surrounding circumstances to understand the best option for negotiating the conflicts. For example, in an organisation, it is indeed advisable that employees agree on most terms with their organisation in order to maintain a peaceful environment. It is least advised to become rebellion with personal thoughts. However, there are some instances where it is required to be rebellion such as disclosing the salary discrepancy issue. It is indeed much more advisable that at workplace, selection of the most suitable negotiation option is done according to the surrounding scenarios. These factual things are not just limited to workplace only but it is also applicable to all such places where someone is supervising one (DeChurch, Mesmer-Magnus & Doty, 2013).

There are certain tools that can help in negotiating the conflicts. Such tools are Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI), Belbin Team Inventory and Johari Window.

TKI- TKI is an assessment that takes around fifteen minutes to complete the test. The assessment model believe in a fact that conflict is natural, which is bound to happen because there is no such pair that has same desire and expectations (Atorough & Martin, 2012). It further means a conflicting thought is a resource to conflicts. However, according to the TKI things can be improved and can be brought to normality if two people understand each other’s nature and try to assimilate with each other’s thoughts. Problem only arises when two people do not realise each other’s characteristics. If they have enough time to understand each other’s requirement, there would not be any more conflicts.

Reflection on self-understanding of the two terms with the help of some assessment tools.

Belbin Team Inventory- Belbin has identified some roles that according to Belbin are ideal to an effective team performance. Those roles are resource investigator, team worker, co-ordinator, stand, monitor evaluator, professional, shaper, implementer and complete finisher. According to Belbin, these nine roles are required in a team in order to enhance its effectiveness and to prevent this from conflict. However, it also widened the understanding by stating a fact that it is not necessary to have nine people all the time in the team to have all the mentioned roles. Any team member can have two or more than two roles. These roles are mentioned to show the importance of Belbin roles in negotiating approach towards resolving a conflict (Senaratne & Gunawardane, 2015).

Johari Window- This gives its utmost emphasis on the feedbacks. Johari Model supports the production of feedbacks and on the other hand, it supports the reception of feedbacks. Johari Model is all about giving feedbacks and accepting the other’s feedbacks. This is a vital challenge at the workplace where people do not easily give any feedbacks and rarely do they accept anybody else’s feedbacks. The model encourages in giving and accepting the feedbacks (Saxena, 2015).

The three models such as Johari Model, TKI and Belbin Team Inventory have helped me understand that I am missing on some important characteristics that are necessary to prevent any conflicts. I am very reserved, which makes me disconnected with the other team members. I never bother to give any feedback to them neither do I implement any of their feedbacks on me. Additionally, I am very less connected with co-ordinating terms with my team members. This at times creates conflicts because they build up wrong perceptions of me. They are doing wrong; however, I have unintentionally forced them to do so. I am also not a complete finisher, which makes me depend on others a lot. This is not a very healthy sign because depending on others might attract some conflicts. I might accept more; however, things might not turn according to my thoughts.

The development plan for the two areas of improvement in me would be as follows:

• Personal analysis- The different models such as Belbin Team Inventory, Johari Window and TKI have made me understood that I need improvement in two areas such as reserving nature and poor co-ordination skills. I am very reserved in nature, which makes things difficult to me to get dissolve with my other team members. Co-ordination is the other challenge that produces a communication gap in between the others and me. This sometimes hampers the project as well because others do not understand what I mean of everything (Parks-Leduc, Feldman & Bardi, 2015).
• Short-term goals- I need to set a short-term goals to rectify the two identified issues in me. The short-term goals would include preparing me for the change. I would start engaging me in different cooperative works such as being a part of social gathering at the workplace. The first stage and the short-term goal would be to be open with all in the team. The other goal would be to start coordinating with other team members. Initially, I might face difficulties; however, things would start working for me. The short-term goals would be to be open and coordinative (Sirois & Pychyl, 2013).
• Long-term goals- This would include working on the feedbacks that my other team members and the supervisors give those to me. This is very necessary to be open for feedbacks according to the Johari Window. I would strongly focus on working on the feedbacks. This includes but is not limited to such as taking help of others on how to implement the feedbacks (Duffy et al., 2015).
• Specific work schedules- I would dedicate few time on a daily basis to make the identified changes in me. This would include working on the feedbacks while taking help of others on how to implement the feedbacks. This also includes making me engaged with others in the team member in order to make me habituated of coordinating things with the others. Becoming more social and approachable would be another set of improvements in me, which I would try to implement in me in order to be addicted with the solutions advised for bringing the necessary changes (Allen et al., 2013).
• Corrective actions- This would be required when I fail to execute the plan accordingly. This is very natural that I would fall short in implementing the feedbacks for improving me as more social and coordinative. Necessary actions would include working on the feedbacks. If it does not work then I would consult to my senior in the team to suggest me some ways on how to bring the required changes in me. I would also watch some videos that are extremely designed for personality grooming (Fliscounakis et al., 2013).

Conclusion

 Conflicts and negotiation are the two most effective things found quite frequently at the workplace.       Conflicts must be negotiated with help from different resources such as listening to other’s feedbacks and compromising with others. Conflicts are negotiable if there are utmost resources available for it. There is no better way than to understand each other and respect each other’s feedbacks. These two are the most effective weapons that would rectify one with utter odd qualities in him or her. Conflicts at times are important to bring in various new ideas; however, it should be mostly disrespected if no benefits are possible with such attempts. Nevertheless, personal development plan is utterly required in order to counter the effect of conflicts and negotiate this with some mutual compromising activities. There is no such better way than to develop the personal behaviour and rectify the personal shortcomings through different ways. Personal development plan in a systematic way is one of such tools that would bring the necessary change in an individual. Personal development plan is a long-term process that would gradually provide fruits on the attempt. It includes learning on mistakes.

References

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