2. Q
Why is learning about conflict management relevant?
A
To help develop and facilitate leadership, team building,
performance management, and conflict management skills.
5. Conflict
Conflict is a form of relating or
interacting where we find ourselves
(either as individuals or groups) under
some sort of perceived threat to our
personal or collective goals.
These goals are usually to do with our
interpersonal wants. These perceived
threats may be either real or imagined
(Condliffe, 1991, p3).
17. Components of Conflict
When you have to deal with conflict
tackle the emotional issues first
then address values and interests
Emotional: feelings that accompany human interactions eg. anger, fear, reject, and loss
Interests: things that motivate eg. managers and workers have different interests
Values: ideas and feelings about right and wrong (difficult to resolve)
32. Groupthink
Groupthink is a tendency for strong conformity pressures within
groups to lead to the breakdown of critical thinking and encourage
premature acceptance of questionable decisions
42. Which conflict handling
style will you use?
Project Managers may have a preferred
style for managing conflict
You should use different styles depending
on the problem – and get there by using
your ability to read situation
44. Avoiding
Characteristics When to use
• ignoring conflicts and hoping • Trivial, small/unimportant
they’ll go away issue
• putting problems under • no perceived chance of
consideration or on hold resolution
• use of secrecy to avoid • To allow a cool down period
confrontation • To allow others to resolve the
• appeal to bureaucratic rules situation
45. Compromise
Characteristics When to use
• negotiation • goals are important, but not worth effort
• looking for deals and • opponents with equal power are committed
trade-offs to mutually exclusive goals
• finding satisfactory or • achieve temporary settlements to issues
acceptable solutions • arrive at solutions under time pressure
• back-up to collaboration or competition
46. Competition
Characteristics When to use
• create win-lose • quick, decisive action is vital, very
situations important
• use of power plays • unpopular actions eg. cost cutting
• forcing submission • issues are vital to company welfare
• against people who take advantage of non-
competitive behavior
47. Accommodation
Characteristics When to use
• giving way • find you are wrong
• submission and • issues more important to others than yourself
fulfillment • maintain cooperation
• build social credits for later on
• minimize loss
• harmony and stability are important
• allow team members to learn from their mistakes
48. Collaboration
Characteristics When to use
• problem-solving carriage • find an integrative solution when
• tackle differences both sets of concerns are
• sharing ideas and information important
• seeing problems and conflicts as • objective is to learn
challenges
49. 2 Methods for Resolving Conflict in a team
• Role Clarification Technique (RAT)
• Intergroup Conflict Resolution
50. Role Clarification Technique (RAT)
This is a systematic procedure which involves all team members
understanding the requirements of their of own and everyone
else's position, duties and expectations
You’ll need to clarify roles for team and individuals; for example
via questionnaires (or for project teams - RAM matrices!)
51. Intergroup Conflict Resolution
Each group should prepare list of what they would like the other
groups to start doing, stop doing, and continue to do.
This list narrows he scope of the dispute and makes it easier to work
on the core problems.
54. A grievance is any behaviour or action of another member or
members of a team, which has or is likely to have an unreasonable
negative impact on the ability of a team member to undertake their
duties
61. What is Stress?
A pattern of emotional states and physiological reactions occurring
in situations where individuals perceive threats to their important
goals that they feel unable to meet
(Greenberg & Baron, 1993, p257).
62.
63. Effects of Stress
Physical illness
Lack of sleep
Reduction in task performance
Poor quality decision making
64. Causes of Stress in the
Causes of Stress in the
Workplace
Workplace
Long hours
Tight schedules
Transient work force
High risks
Work overload
Role uncertainty
Social relations
68. Stress Management at
the Organizational
Level
setting reasonable work plans
and schedules
delegating responsibility and
increasing independence
clarifying responsibilities,
authority, and performance
criteria
clarifying goals, procedures, and
decision criteria
giving consideration and
support in leadership
69. Stress Management
for the Individual
stress management program
relaxation training
diversions from work-related
problems
70. Review
1. Conflict is the opposition of people or forces that develops into an
aggressive state or action.
2. Sources of IT project conflict includes; schedules, priorities and
workforce issues.
3. Conflict can be good and bad.
4. Conflict handling styles include; avoiding, compromise,
competition, accommodation, and collaboration.
5. Grievance handling strategies include; listen, discuss, and plan.
Not dealing with grievances can be harmful to projects.
6. Work environment improvements and reducing stress is essential
to a team’s health and the success of the project.
