Conflict Matters by Cecil Norman, MA

Communication without communicating is when people believe that they are talking with each other when in fact they are speaking over one another.

Communicating effectively is essential in all aspects of life. It helps to build relationships, stimulate mutual understanding and drive business forward. Conflict can be viewed as a breakdown in communication.

Conflict between people is an everyday, everywhere interaction. Social conflict is the natural opposition between individuals or groups on the basis of competing interests. When this happens in the workplace it impacts relationships, productivity and morale.

Conflict in the workplace is competitive and easily escalates between individuals and groups of individuals because of power and prestige, or scarce resources. In most small to medium sized companies, a manager’s role includes resolving conflicts whether he or she understands conflict theory and has the skills to resolve conflicts internally.

When people engage in communication without communicating, they often believe that they have incompatible goals. When this occurs, one individual or group of individuals tries to gain advantage over the other in the workplace. If management is not effective as a third party intervener, then even minor conflicts can escalate quickly. Once out of hand, a workplace conflict may require external intervention, which can be disruptive and costly to the company.

Conflict resolution is only effective when it satisfies all the parties involved. Currently in Ontario organizations, there is legislation, policies, procedures, guidelines and often training for managers to help companies deal with conflict situations. However, despite all these measures, many workplace conflicts require external intervention.

This growing trend can be attributed to an absence of effective communication, lack of trained conflict resolution professionals, limited understanding of conflict resolution theories, complex conflict interaction, misunderstanding of what constitutes conflict and sustainable resolutions, conflict resolution practitioner’s failure to empower people in conflict to recognize their own abilities to create a resolution that suits them, and the notion of treating conflict as a problem instead of opportunity for better communication.

Conflict in the workplace takes many forms --- it can be a disagreement between co-workers or misunderstanding between employer and employee. Similarly, it occurs for many reasons as mentioned above. However, no matter which form or cause, if conflict is not properly dealt with, it may take on a life of its own, require third party intervention, and possibly create havoc within the organization.

It is therefore necessary for managers to understand conflict theories to help them discern the root cause of each particular conflict, separate various and complex conflict interactions, and mediate resolutions between parties when acting as third party interveners for their employer.

Despite the negative connotations of conflict, it is a natural occurrence among people and is therefore best viewed as productive and healthy to growth rather than as a problem to be solved. In my next columns, I will discuss all aspects of workplace conflict and present ideas on how to effectively manage it. There are many useful tools to apply to workplace conflict, such as: transformative mediation, collaborative mediation, facilitative mediation, settlement mediation, and problem solving mediation.

Conflict in the workplace is natural, but resolving it can be complex. Therefore, it is imperative that organizations equip their managers and human resources staff with a broad understanding of effective conflict resolution practices through training and education. Follow the upcoming articles for further information and insights on managing workplace conflict.

Cecil Norman holds Masters Degree in Conflict Resolution. His column deals with Conflicts in the workplace. You may reach Cecil directly at, HRAS Inc.,
Web: www.hras.ca Email: cnorman@hras.ca

More Career Articles