A conflict in teams occurs when two parties in an organization fail to agree. The disagreement could be short-lived, having been caused by lack of agreement over something. Equally, the disagreement could prolong when the two parties do not like each other’s ideologies. In addition, conflicts in teams can occur when two parties in a team disagree at a personal level. The reason might not be related to the organization, but it affects teamwork in the organization. Personal feuds cause underperformance and may result in the total dysfunction of the whole team in the organization. The reason for the establishment of a team is so that it can closely work together through a shared set of goals. When a conflict occurs, it creates a different set of goals that hinder the achievement of the overall view on the big picture of the organization.
There are different types of conflicts. Value conflicts are associated with disagreements caused by the values between teams. When members in teams do not have the same view on values, it becomes difficult to work together under a shared system of values (Lencioni, 2012). Values in this case could be personal or company related ones. Values affect the discipline in a team and determine how best they will adhere to instructions and authority. Values, in addition, facilitate the goodness of the team towards the company’s goals. It means that values determine whether the team will want to advance their careers and personal interest or oversee the goals of the organization. When a one or a number of members of the team has a different opinion on the values, it affects how they reason and hence burdens the team.
There are also functional and dysfunctional conflicts within an organization. Functional conflict recognizes the existence of feud among the employees, but they do not affect the performance of a team towards organizational goals. A team will still function even with the presence of the conflict. In this case, most management does not try to resolve the case since it does not affect work performance. However, such conflicts tend to extend with time and become even bigger problems. Dysfunctional conflicts, on the other hand, are disagreements that affect the work in a team. A team may fail to function completely. Such conflicts have, in the most extreme cases, caused the disassembling of a team. In dysfunctional conflicts, members fail to have shared goals and aspiration. A team fails to agree on almost all the aspects of the organization and, therefore, fails to function completely. In addition, the team fails to reach any objectives that caused their coming together.
Constructive team conflicts are those that can be solved by the teams. The reason is that the teams have grown and perhaps worked together for a long time. The conflicts in this case can originate from the different views on objectives that emanate from the diverse views the team shares. Thereby, the team might be able to sit together and come up with solutions (Phillips & Gully, 2012). Such conflicts happen in teams that exhibit a certain kind of maturity and are distinctively qualified. The opposite of these are destructive conflicts. The conflicts in this scenario happen when a team completely fails to come up with solutions for their differences. Coping amidst the destructive conflicts is extremely hard, and results in serious underperformance of the team. The teams in destructive conflicts have no problem-solving skills. In most of these cases, they will let a conflict, however minute in nature, get out of control. The conflicts are responsible for negative energy in teams and may involve more than two members of the team over time.
How to manage conflict in a team
Equivalent to having different types of conflicts within a team, so are there different techniques that would be applied in solving and managing conflicts within a team. In addition, it is factual that no single set of procedure that might be applied in the management of all types of conflicts within a team. That explains why there are not standard procedures to be followed when it comes to the management of team grievances. However, there exist some basic guidelines that might be adhered to in ensuring that team conflicts are managed effectively as long as tolerance and respect are upheld (Collins & O'Rourke, 2009).
The first step in conflict management would be the acceptance that a conflict exists. As mentioned exceeding, conflict originate from divergent sources and different opinions is not an exception in such a situation. Evidently, it would be impossible to solve the conflict unless the parties concerned accept that it does exist. Moreover, such a step indicates that they are both willing to reconcile for the betterment of the team. The initial step, therefore in conflict management in a team entails the planning for resolving the issues. Under this first steps, various aspects are included (Collins & O'Rourke, 2009).
For instance, there is the acknowledgement of the conflict, accepting to dialogue, as well as opting to cooperate to the process. The second step would be the understanding of the situation, and it involves the clarification of the issues at hand. In this step, facts, assumptions and beliefs are deliberated on for a better understanding after conversing. Lastly, there is realization at a settlement (Collins & O'Rourke, 2009). That would only take place once each party has given his/her views concerning the conflict and a compromise has been taken. Although the steps are not the best in every situation, they do offer a guidance that might be applicable. Considering the difficulties in solving conflicts, sidestepping and eluding it becomes the better option.
References
Collins, S. D., & O'Rourke, J. S. (2009). Managing conflict and workplace relationships. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Lencioni, P. (2012). The five dysfunctions of a team: Facilitator's guide: the official guide to conducting the five dysfunctions workshops for teams and team leaders. San Francisco, Calif: Pfeiffer.
Phillips, J., & Gully, S. M. (2012). Organizational behavior: Tools for success. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning
