Self-Study Notes
Created by Chantelle. B
Chapter 3 – Conflict Management
Conflict: negative differences of opinion/ varied emotions people experience due to dispute
over an issue
Functional conflict:
- Parties deal with conflict in a healthy/ respectful manner
- Leads to innovation, creativity, higher productivity
- Listen to each other’s POV, acknowledge and compromise ---> win-win situation
- Manager may play devil’s advocate to create conflict ---> may lead to group bonding
Possible outcomes:
- Create awareness on problem, which can be then solved
- Team members start to consider wider range of ideas ---> increased participation
- Discussed misconceptions are cleared
- Clarification on views and cooperation ensues
Dysfunctional Conflict
- Decline in productivity due to misperceptions, ambitions, egos, unwillingness to
compromise
- Manager must step in if negative impact on productivity
- May hinder group performance, waste resources, counterproductive/ undermine group
cohesiveness
- If compromise can’t be reached, manager may force employees to set aside differences and
cooperate to achieve organisation’s goals
Possible outcomes:
- Mistrust ---> negative impact on teamwork & cooperation
- Blaming, backstabbing, gossip
- High stress/anxiety levers ---> lower job satisfaction
- Lower morale ---> increased staff turnover---> higher costs
- Waste of time and resources
- Violence
Created by Chantelle. B
Chapter 3 – Conflict Management
Conflict: negative differences of opinion/ varied emotions people experience due to dispute
over an issue
Functional conflict:
- Parties deal with conflict in a healthy/ respectful manner
- Leads to innovation, creativity, higher productivity
- Listen to each other’s POV, acknowledge and compromise ---> win-win situation
- Manager may play devil’s advocate to create conflict ---> may lead to group bonding
Possible outcomes:
- Create awareness on problem, which can be then solved
- Team members start to consider wider range of ideas ---> increased participation
- Discussed misconceptions are cleared
- Clarification on views and cooperation ensues
Dysfunctional Conflict
- Decline in productivity due to misperceptions, ambitions, egos, unwillingness to
compromise
- Manager must step in if negative impact on productivity
- May hinder group performance, waste resources, counterproductive/ undermine group
cohesiveness
- If compromise can’t be reached, manager may force employees to set aside differences and
cooperate to achieve organisation’s goals
Possible outcomes:
- Mistrust ---> negative impact on teamwork & cooperation
- Blaming, backstabbing, gossip
- High stress/anxiety levers ---> lower job satisfaction
- Lower morale ---> increased staff turnover---> higher costs
- Waste of time and resources
- Violence
