This document provides an overview of conflict resolution strategies. It discusses the different conflict management styles people use including competing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising, and collaborating. It defines conflict and explores major sources of workplace conflict. The document examines how culture, gender, expectations, the situation, and experiences can impact one's conflict style. It emphasizes that effective communication, problem solving, and negotiation are key skills for conflict management. The document poses questions about understanding and managing conflict in the workplace.

1. Conflict Resolution
Strategies
“Conflict is inevitable but combat is optional”.
Max Lucado

2. Overview
 Your Conflict Management Style
 Conflict Defined
 Major Sources of workplace conflict
 Exercises and Scenarios
 Conflict Resolution Strategies
 Effective Communication
 Managing Stress
 Discussion

3. What’s Your Style
Source: Mastering Human Relations, 3rd Ed. by A. Falikowski 2002 Pearson Education http://www.pearsoned.ca
 Instructions: There are 15 statements in this
evaluation. Each strategy provides a possible strategy
for dealing with a conflict.
 Give each a numerical value
o 1=Always
o 2=Very often
o 3=Sometimes
o 4= Not very often
o 5=Rarely, if ever
Don't answer as you think you should, answer as you actually behave

4. The Competing Shark
 Sharks use a forcing or competing conflict management style
 Sharks are highly goal-oriented
 Relationships take on a lower priority
 Sharks do not hesitate to use aggressive behavior to resolve conflicts
 Sharks can be autocratic, authoritative, and uncooperative; threatening
and intimidating
 Sharks have a need to win; therefore others must lose, creating win-lose
situations
Advantage: If the shark's decision is correct, a better decision without
compromise can result
Disadvantage: May breed hostility and resentment toward the person using it

5. The Avoiding Turtle
 Turtles adopt an avoiding or withdrawing conflict management style
 Turtles would rather hide and ignore conflict than resolve it; this leads them
uncooperative and unassertive
 Turtles tend to give up personal goals and display passive behavior creating
lose-lose situations
 Advantage: may help to maintain relationships that would be hurt by
conflict resolution
 Disadvantage: Conflicts remain unresolved, overuse of the style leads to
others walking over them

6. The Accommodating Teddy Bear
 Teddy bears use a smoothing or accommodating conflict management style
with emphasis on human relationships
 Teddy bears ignore their own goals and resolve conflict by giving into others;
unassertive and cooperative creating a win-lose (bear is loser) situation
 Advantage: Accommodating maintains relationships
 Disadvantage: Giving in may not be productive, bear may be taken
advantage of

7. The Compromising Fox
 Foxes use a compromising conflict management style; concern is for goals
and relationships
 Foxes are willing to sacrifice some of their goals while persuading others
to give up part of theirs
 Compromise is assertive and cooperative-result is either win-lose or lose-
lose
 Advantage: relationships are maintained and conflicts are removed
 Disadvantage: compromise may create less than ideal outcome and game
playing can result

8. The Collaborating Owl
 Owls use a collaborating or problem confronting conflict management style
valuing their goals and relationships
 Owls view conflicts as problems to be solved finding solutions agreeable to
all sides (win-win)
 Advantage: both sides get what they want and negative feelings
eliminated
 Disadvantage: takes a great deal of time and effort

9. What Impacts Your Conflict Style
 Culture
 Gender
 Expectations
 Situation
 Communication Skills
 Experiences - personal and
professional
 Position/Power

10. Understanding Conflict
Conflict
 Is a struggle or contest between people or groups with opposing values,
needs, ideas, beliefs, or goals
 Arises when needs or wants of one person/group are perceived by that
person/group as being denied to them by another
 Is easier to manage than it is to control all the opportunities that can
produce conflict

11. Conflict Management
 The practice of identifying and handling conflict in a sensible, fair,
and efficient manner
 Required skills
 Effective Communication
 Problem solving
 Negotiation with a focus on interests

13. How Does Management Affect Conflict
 Leadership Style
 Communication
 Expectations/Perfectionism
 Micromanagement
 Low Tolerance for Ambiguity

14. When the demands being placed on us
(physically, emotionally, or psychologically)
exceed the resources we have available to deal with
them.

15. Conflict
“Effectively managing conflict is arguably the hardest thing a manager has to
do”. (Forbes 4/13)

16. Discussion/Questions