Researchers in the business world have long recognized the complex relationship between conflict and productivity. The traditional approach holds that all conflict is bad and that a good manager will work to minimize conflict at all costs. A second theory states, that moderate conflict is potentially helpful, because it increases an organization's competency and productivity. In this paper, our team will describe these two theories of conflict and explain why the second theory is more beneficial in the business world. We will describe strategies that managers can use to assist them in minimizing the negative conflict and how they can transform their organization so it works with healthy conflict. .
Since problems do not go away on their own, managers have to resolve.
problems by using critical thinking, but that alone will not solve the.
problem. Using critical thinking, situation analysis, and creative thinking better solves problems. Conflict resolution is going beyond the usual range of imaginations and inventing something new. The Department of Defense once asked the Actors Guild to come up with scenarios of what terrorist would do in a movie format. Not to create a movie about terrorists, but to think ahead and use creative minds. The great thinker and problem solver Albert Einstein's response was "a problem cannot be solved at the level of consciousness it was created." .
Conflict resolution falls into two general categories. The first type of conflict is A-type or emotional conflict. This is the type of conflict that can be detrimental to the success of an organization. A-type conflict is a result of "anger, personal friction, personality clashes, ego, and tension" (Thompson, Aranda, & Robbins, 2000, p.218) between two or more co-workers. Generally, this type of conflict is not easy to solve, it interferes with a team-members decision-making process, and is typically personal in nature.
