Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES 1

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Literature Review on Conflict Management Styles

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Student's name

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Course name and code

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 LITERATURE REVIEW ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES 2

Literature Review on Conflict Management Styles

I. Introduction

a. Conflict management styles are various methods or strategies that people use to address,

engage, and resolve a situation of conflict between two or more parties. Having skills in

conflict management styles is essential in leadership and management. Leaders and

managers have to learn the art of various conflict management styles because not all styles

are applicable in every situation (Caputo, Marzi, Maley & Silic, 2019, p. 101).

b. There are various common themes in the research literature of conflict management

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styles. These themes go hand in hand with the conflict management styles. Most

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research studies of this topic discussed themes: accommodation, avoidance,

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collaboration, compromise, and competition (Caber, Ünal, Cengizci & Güven, 2019,
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p. 89-97).
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II. Theme one: Accommodation

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a. In conflict management, the accommodating style is used to resolve a conflict by

giving in to the party on the opposing end. In most cases, the accommodating style is
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effective when dealing with people with abrasive or strong personalities. Mostly,
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people with the notion that they have more expertise or knowledge tend to behave

abrasively. Therefore, accommodating their views could reduce the chances of the
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occurrence of conflict. However, accommodating other people for the sake of

resolving can be detrimental to the accommodating parties or their interests (Caber,

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Ünal, Cengizci & Güven, 2019, p. 89-97).

i. Accommodation works effectively in conflict management when both parties

accommodate the views or needs of each other. The conflict may not be

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 LITERATURE REVIEW ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES 3

resolved entirely if only one party agrees to accommodate the other (Caber,

Ünal, Cengizci & Güven, 2019, p. 89-97).

ii. Most researchers do not recommend accommodating conflict management

style as it is seen as one of the most unsuccessful techniques of resolving

conflict (Caber, Ünal, Cengizci & Güven, 2019, p. 89-97).

b. Accommodating works better to resolve conflicts between parties that do not interact

with each other for more extended periods. Therefore, accommodation is not very

effective in resolving conflicts, such as between two parties working in the same

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workplace and political parties that often compete (Caber, Ünal, Cengizci & Güven,

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2019, p. 89-97).

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i. Two parties interacting for more extended periods resolve a conflict using the
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accommodating style are likely to get into another conflict later or rekindle the

already resolved conflict (Caber, Ünal, Cengizci & Güven, 2019, p. 89-97).
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ii. Accommodation is best effective when one of the parties is free to accommodate
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the other's abrasiveness (Caber, Ünal, Cengizci & Güven, 2019, p. 89-97).

III. Theme two: Avoidance

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a. The theme of avoidance is discussed in the avoiding style of conflict management.

Avoidance refers to when a party prefers to avoid getting into confrontations that can
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bring about conflicts (Caputo, Marzi, Maley & Silic, 2019, p. 112-115).
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i. Research shows that avoidance can be physical or psychological. A party can

physically or psychologically remove itself from a situation of conflict or delay

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a decision or deadline to resolve the problem (Caputo, Marzi, Maley & Silic,

2019, p. 112-115).

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 LITERATURE REVIEW ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES 4

ii. However, the avoidance tactic mostly pushes the conflict to a later period

(Caputo, Marzi, Maley & Silic, 2019, p. 112-115).

b. Researchers argue that avoidance can be suicidal at times. If two parties avoid

confronting a conflict situation for too long, one or both parties can build frustration and

resentment (Caputo, Marzi, Maley & Silic, 2019, p. 112-115).

i. Also, avoidance can provide conflicting parties time to rethink and

readjust their methods and attitudes. Consequently, the disagreeing parties

resolve the conflict without taking any further action (Caputo, Marzi,

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Maley & Silic, 2019, p. 112-115).

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ii. Avoidance is one of the best methods of solving conflicts in workplaces,

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schools, and political fields (Caputo, Marzi, Maley & Silic, 2019, p. 112-
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115).

IV. Theme Three: Collaboration

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a. Conflicts arise when a party wants to win at the expense of another party. Collaboration is
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a method of resolving a conflict by allowing each of the conflicting parties to win. This

situation is called a 'win-win' situation.

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i. The collaboration aims at finding a solution that genuinely and openly satisfies

each party involved. However, both parties may be required to forego an interest
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to gain the other (Caputo, Marzi, Maley & Silic, 2019, p. 112-115).
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ii. Collaboration is possible when the conflict manager takes time to understand all

the conflicting parties and resolve to facilitate them to negotiate a solution

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together (Caputo, Marzi, Maley & Silic, 2019, p. 112-115).

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 LITERATURE REVIEW ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES 5

b. Collaboration is labor and time-intensive. However, it often produces the most likable

results and can resolve a conflict completely. Collaboration is mostly used in political

conflicts and professional relationships (Caputo, Marzi, Maley & Silic, 2019, p. 112-

115).

i. Collaboration is the best style of managing a conflict when you need lasting

peace between conflicting parties (Caputo, Marzi, Maley & Silic, 2019, p. 112-

115).

ii. Almost all conflicts resolved using the collaborating style of conflict

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management produce the desired results and find lasting positive relationships

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between the involved parties (Caputo, Marzi, Maley & Silic, 2019, p. 112-

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V. Compromise

a. Compromise refers to a situation whereby the mediator encourages each of the

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conflicting parties to sacrifice something. Unlike in collaboration, parties wishing to

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resolve a conflict using a compromising conflict management style do not benefit

from the resolution itself (Caber, Ünal, Cengizci & Güven, 2019, p. 89-97).
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i. Comprise is a form of 'lose-lose' to resolve conflict as none of the parties

benefit from the whole process (Caber, Ünal, Cengizci & Güven, 2019, p. 89-
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ii. A compromise can lead to a reoccurrence of conflict as most parties do not get

satisfied when encouraged to lose part of their interest while not gaining
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anything (Caber, Ünal, Cengizci & Güven, 2019, p. 89-97).

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 LITERATURE REVIEW ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES 6

b. The compromising conflict management style offers short-term products in most

cases. Hence it is not the best form of resolving a conflict since it rarely solves the

underlying disputes altogether (Caber, Ünal, Cengizci & Güven, 2019, p. 89-97).

VI. Competition

a. Competition is a way of addressing a conflict by acting bluntly and directly to the

occurrence. This style encourages the conflicting parties to compete with each other

for the interest. The winner takes the interest, and the loser becomes unfortunate (Ma,

Lee & Yu, 2008, p. 92 - 97).

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i. Competition produces fast results since the conflicting parties strive to emerge

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victorious over its rival.

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ii. However, competition can be detrimental to the parties' productivity and morale,
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especially when working in a team (Ma, Lee & Yu, 2008, p. 92 - 97).

b. A party with a habit of competing with its rivals without compromising or

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collaborating is likely to bar helpful input from other parties. Competition is not
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healthy in most environments, such as in businesses and management (Ma, Lee &

Yu, 2008, p. 92 - 97).

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i. Competition damages many workplace relationships (Ma, Lee & Yu, 2008, p.

92 - 97).
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ii. Competition discourages teamwork and cooperation in undertaking a project

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(Ma, Lee & Yu, 2008, p. 92 - 97).

VII. Conclusion and Recommendations

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a. The literature of this research topic has contributed much in the understanding of the

topic. Almost all the research studies on this topic agree that there are five conflict

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 LITERATURE REVIEW ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES 7

management styles. These styles are centered within the themes of collaboration,

avoidance, competition, compromise, and accommodation.

b. The overall strengths of the literature of this research topic is that there is a commonality

in that all studies recognize the five conflict management styles.

c. The overall weakness is that all the researches seem to recycle the same ideas in this

topic. Not even a single paper seemed to propose other conflict management styles apart

from the ones discussed in this paper.

d. The overall literature misses the aspect of arguments. A strong literature needs to have

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researchers that are for and against the thesis.

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 LITERATURE REVIEW ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES 8

References

Caber, M., Ünal, C., Cengizci, A. D., & Güven, A. (2019). Conflict management styles of

professional tour guides: A cluster analysis. Tourism Management Perspectives, 30, 89-

97.

Caputo, A., Marzi, G., Maley, J., & Silic, M. (2019). Ten years of conflict management research

2007-2017. International Journal of Conflict Management.

Ma, Z., Lee, Y., & Yu, K. H. (2008). Ten years of conflict management studies: themes, concepts

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and relationships. International Journal of Conflict Management.

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