Team Building for Conflict Resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Team Building for Conflict Resolution - Essay Example Conflicts are an ingrained and in-built part of the human psyche. In our everyday lives, whatever roles we play, wherever we live or work, conflicts are naturally occurring all the time. Even in such compact structures as families, which are supposed to be naturally caring and altruistic, conflicts arise all the time. The notion of conflict emerges from the notion of diverse mindsets. In any situation where two or more people come together on a common ground and think for a common problem or agenda, it leads to conflict. Since no two people are alike and no two minds work the same way, people naturally end up disagreeing or thinking differently from their other counterparts, which leads to the emergence of conflicts (Payne, 2001). One may ask, why solve conflicts? A better question may be, why is so much attention devoted to conflicts and if lack of attention on conflict resolution leads to any adverse outcomes? Well, there are multiple answers for that. First, the conflicts arise du e to the differences of opinions and the emphasis here is on differences. Differences usually hold a negative connotation to them; however, having a wide range of options to choose form makes the ultimate solution much more creative and better. Thus, solving conflicts is important because it is through the process that one attains a mutually agreed-upon, more compatible and enhanced solutions to the issues. Secondly, solving conflicts is also important because it is through them that the human resource of any organization stays cohesive and bonded. If conflicts are not resolved aptly and efficiently, it might lead to severe damages in relationships and inefficiency in working together and effective communication (Morris et al, 2008). Now one might ask, what can be done to resolve conflicts, if any arises? Well, the answers to these questions are many depending on different contexts in which conflicts arise. First, conflict should be perceived in a positive light rather than pessimis tically. Managers should encourage conflicts to take on in the positive direction and stimulate lateral thinking than arousing opposing parties to hold grudges against each other. Conflict resolution must also entail the element of listening out the other parties’ arguments. Many times people do not listen to others and make certain assumptions regarding their beliefs and attitudes only to regret later. An effective communication tool is to be able to listen to other people and more importantly, empathize with them. Imagine a case scenario in which Mr. Alex and Mr. Brown had an argument over the interface of the new layout of the website that was launched by their company few months back. Before their first meeting about the topic at hand, the manager sent out an email to both of them stating the agenda of the meeting and explaining that Mr. Alex has a tech-savvy background and he suggests that the interface should be of aqua theme. Mr. Brown who has been a loyal employee wan ted the theme to be more professional, something along the lines of white and black. When they met for the first time, Alex came with a pre-conceived assumption that he has an edge over Brown since he has more credentials in the field