Conflict Management: Self-Awareness and Compromising Strategy

Conflict is a natural part of human interaction, and its occurrence within work teams is
inevitable (Himes, 1981). According to Dr. Thakore (2013), as long as organizations continue to
use work teams, conflict cannot be avoided since it is an inevitable aspect of work teams.
Whenever there is interaction there is conflict. Throughout my career, I have encountered
various conflicts in the workplace. These have ranged from disagreements between team
members to conflicts with supervisors or other departments. Conflict in the workplace can arise
from various sources, including differences in opinions, competing interests, and interpersonal
clashes. Conflict arises from opposing needs, ideas, beliefs, values, or goals among individuals
or groups (Himes, 1981). Thakore (2013) states that Conflict is an inevitable aspect of work
teams and should not be avoided. Therefore it is important to consider conflict as an
opportunity to enhance workplace harmony, productivity, and strengthen team spirit.

Conflict management involves recognizing and addressing conflicts in a constructive

manner. Conflict resolution is not about eliminating conflict altogether, but rather finding a
productive and positive way to navigate through it. Haumschild (2015) states that conflict
resolution and effective workplace relationships are essential for maintaining a healthy and
productive work environment. As a manager in the past, I have negotiated disagreements and
resolved insubordinations by being patient and empathetic. Sometimes it is just a minor
misunderstanding and by being a good listener it is possible to resolve the conflict. Proper
conflict management contributes to higher effectiveness, trust, and openness in the workplace
(Kumar et al, 2014). Additionally, conflict management is crucial for successful conflict
resolution. It is important for organizations to view conflict as an opportunity for improvement
rather than something negative. Conflict resolution in the workplace requires prompt
identification and immediate action to prevent escalation and negative impacts (Behluli &
Qerimi, 2022). Effective conflict management in the workplace is crucial for maintaining a high-
performance team and achieving organizational goals. Conflict that is not managed effectively
can have damaging effects on the workplace, leading to decreased productivity and morale.
Conflict resolution strategies must be employed to address these and prevent them from
escalating. According to Rahim (1983), conflict resolution strategies can be categorized into five
divisions namely: integrating, obliging, compromising, avoiding, and, dominating. Rahim,
Magner & Shapiro (2000) have divided the five conflict resolution strategies into two primary
components, namely cooperative and uncooperative conflict resolution strategies. The three
strategies (integrating, obliging and compromising) that have moderate to high level of concern
for others are categorized as “cooperative conflict resolution strategies”. While dominating and
avoiding are categorized into “uncooperative conflict resolution strategies”, both of these
strategies show little concern for others. The summary of conflict resolution strategies is shown
in the table below:
Five conflict resolution strategies:

Conflict Description Effect

Management style
Cooperative Integrating • Value both himself/ herself and Provides long-term
others. resolutions, but time
consumers.
• Solve the conflict via collaboration.

• Best conflict solution strategy.

Obliging • Low concern about This strategy only
himself/herself, but highly concern provides a short-term
for others. solution. Use only
when your negotiation
• Accommodating until to satisfy power is low.
his/her needs.
Compromising • Intermediate concern for himself/ Provide a definitive
herself and others. solution, but not a
long-term solution.
• Making a mutually acceptable
decision involves give and take on
both parties.
Uncooperative Avoiding • Low concerns for himself/ herself Does not solve the
and others. conflict.

• Withdraw from conflict situations.

• Worst conflict solution strategy.

Dominating • Use forcing and competitive Hard feelings may
strategies to obtain her or his come back in other
objective without concern about forms.
others.

Kolb's Cycle of Reflective Practice/Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly
defined as "learning through reflection on doing". Hands-on learning can be a form of
experiential learning but does not necessarily involve students reflecting on their
product. Experiential learning is distinct from rote or didactic learning, in which the learner
plays a comparatively passive role. It is related to, but not synonymous with, other forms
of active learning such as action learning, adventure learning, free-choice learning, cooperative
learning, service learning, and situated learning.
 Kolb's (1984) cycle of reflective practice is a model designed to help people learn from
their experiences. It is based on John Dewey’s claim that learning must be grounded in
experience, Kurt Lewin’s ideas of the importance of active learning, and Jean Piaget’s emphasis
on the interaction between person and environment on intelligence. It can be used as a way to
structure our thinking. Kolb's model is based on four stages, requiring us to work through each
one before the cycle leads to new experiences and loops back around. The four stages are:

i. Concrete Experience - the learner encounters a concrete experience. This might be a new
experience or situation, or a reinterpretation of existing experience in the light of new
concepts.
ii. Reflective Observation of the New Experience - the learner reflects on the new experience
in the light of their existing knowledge. Of particular importance are any inconsistencies
between experience and understanding.
iii. Abstract Conceptualization - reflection gives rise to a new idea or a modification of an
existing abstract concept (the person has learned from their experience).
iv. Active Experimentation - the newly created or modified concepts give rise to
experimentation. The learner applies their idea(s) to the world around them to see what
happens. This stage is also about going off to have new experiences base on this learning.

The Gibbs Reflective Learning Practice

Gibbs’ (1988) model of reflective cycle consists of six stages that guide the process of
reflection and focuses on learning from experiences. This reflective cycle was developed by
Graham Gibbs in 1988 to give structure to learning from experiences. It attaches significant
importance to emotions in the reflection process and recognizes the link between life
experiences, professional values, and reflective practices. He originally advocated its use in
repeated situations, but the stages and principles apply equally well for single experiences too.
It offers a framework for examining experiences, and given its cyclic nature lends itself
particularly well to repeated experiences, allowing you to learn and plan from things that either
went well or didn’t go well. The framework comprises six stages to facilitate the process of
reflection and focus on learning from experiences. The stages are:

i. Description - Describe the experience and understand what happened in that specific
situation. Without trying to give our opinion or jump to conclusions, we have to try to
describe the situation as it unfolded as accurately as possible.
ii. Feelings - highlighting the reactions and feelings before, during and after the experience. At
this stage, we have to determine whether there is a need to improve and work on
ourselves to feel better next time a similar situation arises.
iii. Evaluation - Objectively looking at the experience and evaluating the situation by
identifying the positive and negative aspects.

iv. Analysis - one of the most critical steps to the model. During this stage, you’ll get a chance
to understand why the experience was positive or negative.

v. Conclusion - drawing conclusions about what happened. We have the opportunity to sum
up what we have learned so far and highlight what specific changes to our actions could
help improve the future outcome.

vi. Action plan - planning what we should do differently the next time a similar or related
situation arises. Besides, not only should we plan what we would do differently, but we
should also know how to make it happen.

Conflict Resolution Using Gibb’s Reflective Cycle

Background

In the summer of 2021, Covid lockdowns were in effect. During this time, I was working
as an estate manager at the Institute of Management Studies Limited. Alongside the institute,
there was also a hotel and boarding facility. My responsibilities included overseeing
maintenance, supervising staff members, and managing budgets and events. Unfortunately, the
establishment's water connection was not integrated with the city’s water supply, causing
frequent interruptions in supply, particularly during the monsoon season. As we did not have a
dedicated plumber to maintain the water supply, I used to assign the janitor and kitchen
assistant to maintain the water supply at the source.

Description of the Experience

During lockdown, the hotel services weren't running, leaving the kitchen staff with free
time. However, there was an issue with the water supply. After obtaining authorization from
city authorities to movement of personnel, I asked the janitor and waiter to go and fix the
problem at the source since the kitchen assistant was feeling unwell. Later, there was a
commotion in the living quarters and I found a heated argument ongoing between the waiter
and kitchen assistant. When I asked about the problem, the waiter and janitor were unhappy
with the assignment. The waiter accused the kitchen staff of pretending to be sick and said it
was unfair for them to be assigned work when other staff were also free. I became angry with
the accusation and had a verbal altercation with the waiter. I scolded both the janitor and
waiter and threatened to report them to the CEO and have them removed from their positions.
However, I later reasoned with them and we agreed to deploy all free staff on a rotational basis
to fix the water problem. Although they were insubordinate, I apologized to them for the
outburst and threat. They accepted their fault and my apologies too. Then both of them agreed
to go fix the water supply and the conflict was resolved amicably.

Reactions and Feelings to the Experience

When I first heard the accusations against me, I reacted with anger and dominance, using
my position to threaten negative consequences. I quickly realized my mistake and worked to
find a fair solution to resolve the conflict. Ultimately, we agreed on a fair and just system for
assigning water duty to all staff members, leaving me satisfied with the outcome. Later when I
reminisced the situation, I felt guilty for having used my position to threaten my coworkers and
not being able to control my reaction. I am also satisfied that I could resolve the conflict with
the use of honest conversation and looking at the situation from the other person's point of
view. Preventing the conflict from further escalation helped me to gain the trust and
cooperation of my colleagues, especially after my apology.

Reflecting on my experience with conflict resolution, I have found that effective

communication with open and honest dialogue is vital for conflicts to be addressed and
resolved in a constructive manner. Another key element in conflict resolution is self-awareness.
Being aware of one's own emotions, triggers and biases can help in managing conflicts more
effectively. Furthermore, I believe that establishing a structure for managing conflict
incorporating the cooperative strategy in the organizational environment is essential and
beneficial.
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