Respond with thoughtful comments to three of your classmates’ posts

Conflict Management & Organizational Change

Instructions

Respond with thoughtful comments to three of your classmates’ posts

Student #1
Strategy 5:
Separating what matters from what gets in the way, is a tactful strategy that takes time to master. It is important because when in a conflict sometimes we just need to take a step back and think about the factors that are getting in the way and what things actually matter. The quote from strategy 5 that stood out to me most was, “By being willing to listen to each other, separate what mattered from what was in the way, and acknowledge the truth of each other’s interests, they were able to discover a higher, more creative truth that would support collaboration and teamwork, acknowledge the need to make sure individuals did not slack off, and focus on producing outstanding results” (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2001, p. 134). This is a perfect explanation of what could come from a positive conflict when your differences are set aside, and a collaborative resolution is figured out. Working together with others is key because every single person thinks differently and has something different, they can bring to the table. Listen, acknowledge, work together and in the end your team will produce outstanding results.

Strategy 6:
Paradoxical is an adjective that describes a paradox, something with two meanings that don’t make sense together. (Paradoxical) If we can jointly investigate a problem, analyze it, categorize it, and prioritize it, we can solve it. Doing this creatively comes down to the people that are working together and how they decide to think outside the box. The quote I choose from strategy 6 was, “Many people who face problems in organizations ask: “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” It often seems easier and less confusing to ignore what is troubling and hope it goes away” (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2001, p.185). When people go about there day with this attitude it bugs me because if there is a better more efficient way of doing something, then we should strive to change it, even if it ain’t broke. Yes, ignoring the issue at hand is easy to do if the issue isn’t actively causing any problems, but just think if we were to fix it on the spot, it could save countless hours of work in the future. Always solve the problem that is presented to you and utilize your team and resources around you to do so because you are not alone.

Strategy 7:
The more you know about someone with a difficult behavior the more likely you are to understand them. Before judging someone, we should properly assess their behaviors. Once we have figured out how the persons behaviors affect their everyday life, we can then learn to work with them appropriately.  “These complaints identified important problems and pinpointed ineffective behaviors, but they also attributed problems to specific individuals based on their difficult natures as people or personalities” (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2001, p.206). Some people are so quick to judge someone off they way they act or the way they were brought up, even I’m guilty of it from time to time. Sometimes those unique personalities are people we need in life because often times they are creative thinkers, or they just process information differently then everyone else and this could be very useful in group situations.

References

Cloke, K., & Goldsmith, J. (2001). Resolving conflicts at work: A complete guide for everyone on the job. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Student #2

Strategy 5, 6, and 7
                 

These three chapters discuss how to separate fact from emotion, he to resolve problems, and learn how to handle certain behaviors. This step-by-step process will lead to resolving conflicts in a logical manner.

Strategy 5 – Separate What Matters from What Gets in the Way
This chapter talks about how in any conflict both parties think they are in the right. They do not think that their opponent is correct in their thinking so we try our hardest to sway them to our point of view. But, what we don’t know is that our opponent also thinks that they are right and they are trying to sway our opinion to their point of view. If we can meet in the middle, the conflict will resolve itself. Cloke and Goldsmith state that, “By being willing to listen to each other, speparate what mattered from what was in the way, and acknowledge the truth of each other’s interests, they were able to discover a higher, more creative truth that would support collaboration and teamwork, acknowledge the need to make sure individuals did not slack off, and focus on producing outstanding results.” (Cloke and Goldsmith, page 134) If we can put ourselves in our opponents shoes and understand what they are relaying we can see that there might be some commonality rather than opposition. If there is oppposition then hopefully we can meet in the middle to resolve it.

Strategy 6 – Solve Problems Paradoxically and Creatively
This chapter talks about solving the problem once we have identified it. The book states, “To begin ending our conflicts, we have to shift gears and be able to calculate logically and practically what we actually need and can realistically achieve.” (Cloke and Goldsmith, page 171) Rather than going through the process emotionally we need to be more logical and find a solution that best fits the conflict. But, to resolve the conflict it needs to be a more collaborative effort rather than solo. Teamwork is ideal because it can satisfy both parties by assuming that their conflict has been resolved.

 

Strategy 7 – Learn from Difficult Behaviors
This chapter talks about the difficulty in separating the problem from the person. We sometimes mesh together the problem and the person because it’s easier to look at it together rather than separately. The book states, “Rather than labeling the problem as a “difficult person” or difficult personality” it is possible to view it instead as a “difficult behavior” or relationship.” (Cloke and Goldsmith, page 211) By separating the problem from the person we an look at the problem separately and not think worse of the person. By dealing with the conflict first and resolving it the relationship with the person will vastly improve in a positive direction.

Cloke, Kenneth and Goldsmith, Joan. (2011). Resolving Conflicts at Work: Ten Strategies for Everyone on the Job. Jossey-Bass.

Student #3

For strategy 5 of the Cloke & Goldsmith text this quote caught my attention, “We transform our relationship from one of competition to one of collaboration and a search for common ground (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2011, p. 133). I found this quote interesting because it’s being too illusionist on what shifting to a team management rather than individual management will entail. At first glance one would think that this will facilitate cooperation within the team as everyone in the team is now working together as their achievements will be recognized as a group and not individually and as such competition amongst group members should not occur.

However, the reality is that this will almost certainly guarantee a power struggle between at least two individuals which usually ends up with the group being split into factions which then compete amongst each other.
For strategy 6 of the Cloke & Goldsmith text this quote caught my attention, “Many of these decisions are made before the problem has been solved in ways that can easily aggravate or replicate it” (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2011, p. 195).

I found this quote interesting because many times “experts” on conflict resolution actually aggravate the problem and blow a mild situation into something much bigger, so it’s interesting to see that Cloke & Goldsmith address this in their book. It’s also interesting to read that Cloke & Goldsmith consider that if the problem is fully solved then this can lead to significantly better decisions being taken.

For strategy 7 of the Cloke & Goldsmith text this quote caught my attention, “One person refused to go along with the consensus and adamantly refused to accept the design favored by the rest of the group. Her ‘difficult behavior’ created considerable friction and criticism, but she held firm, seeming to enjoy the conflict and smiling as she stood her ground” (Cloke & Goldsmith, 2011, p. 213). This quote caught my attention because this just shows that each person’s personality is very unique. Some people might have really disagreed with the design, but to avoid putting themselves on the spot they go along with it even though they know that it is the wrong thing to do. However, other individuals tick up for what they believe despite being heavily pressured and even bullied by their peers or colleagues.

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