The impact of conflict management on team effectiveness

1. Introduction to conflict management

Conflicts are inevitable as a consequence of teamwork and a multitude of opinions, expectations and
interests.

Within a team, conflicts can arise from several causes, such as: role ambiguity, role conflicts and
overloading an employee with too many tasks.1

Research shows that task and relationship conflict forms are mutual expectations among team
members about the strength of disagreement over either tasks (i.e. priorities, concepts, and success
strategies) or relationships (i.e. personality differences, relational styles), while conflict processes are
interactions between participants that seek to work across tasks and interpersonal disagreements. 2

A conflict is a clash of interests. The basis of the conflict may be different, but it is always part of
society. The basis of conflict is personal, racial, class, caste, political and international. Conflict in groups
often follows a specific course of action. Routine group interactions are first disrupted by an initial
conflict, often caused by differences of opinion, disagreements between members, or scarcity of
resources.

Conflict management is a method of reducing the negative aspects of conflict while at the same time
increasing its positive effects. The goal of conflict management is to maximize learning and team
outcomes, including productivity or success in an organizational environment. Properly managed disputes
will boost team outcomes.

The conflict mechanism arising from the friction between the members of the team-will have
important implications for the processing of information. According to this information processing
perspective, cognitive load between participants increases when there are disputes and these conflicts
intensify, and information processing is impeded, which can interfere with cognitive versatility and
creative thinking. As a result, conflict has the potential to be linked to the company's entrepreneurial
strategy.3

1
Mary L. Cooper, Margaret E. Knight, M. Lance Frazier, Daniel W. Law, (2019), “Conflict management style and
exhaustion in public accounting”, p. 04
2
Mark A. Maltarich, Michael Kukenberger,Greg Reilly, John Mathieu, (2018),” Conflict in Teams:Modeling Early
and Late Conflict States and the Interactive Effects of Conflict Processes”, pp.08-09
3
Top management team conflict and entrepreneurial strategy making in China, Haiyang Li & Jun Li, 2007

1
 Conflict management techniques can be split into three categories, along with strategy for cooperative
conflict management, competitive conflict management tactic, and conflict management strategy
avoidance.

Among them, the strategy of cooperative conflict management means that team members take the
form of mutual cooperation in order to achieve a win - win situation by meeting the interests of all
parties.4

There are three conflict orientations: loss-loss, win-loss, and win - win.

 Loss-loss orientation is a type of conflict that tends to end negatively for all parties involved.
 Win-loss orientation results in one victorious party, usually at the expense of the other.
 Win - win strategy is one of the most important concepts of conflict resolution.

The win - win solution achieved by inclusive negotiations may be close to optimal for both parties.
This approach involves a cooperative rather than a competitive approach. 5

There are four big categories in which conflicts can be grouped:

• Interpersonal conflict is a conflict between two or more individuals. This usually happens
because people are different from each other. We have different personalities, which are usually the result
of conflicting choices and views. Apparently, it's a natural occurrence that can eventually help you
improve your personal growth or your relationships with others.

• Intrapersonal conflict is a phenomenon that happens within a person. The perception takes place
in the mind of the person. It is therefore a form of conflict that is emotional, involving the feelings,
beliefs, ideals and emotions of the individual.

• Intragroup conflict occurs between individuals within a team. Incompatibilities and

misunderstandings between these individuals lead to this type of conflict. It is the result of interpersonal
disagreements or differences of opinions and ideas.

• Intergroup conflict occurs when a misunderstanding arises between different teams within the
organization. This is due to the varied set of objectives and interests of these groups. Competition is also a

4
Impact of Conflict Management Strategies on the Generation Mechanism of Miners' Unsafe Behavior Tendency,
Ji-Zu Li, Taiyuan University of Technology, CHINA, 2017
5
Conflict management, (date and access time: 2019/12/07; 11:20 PM)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_management

2
factor that contributes to this. There are other factors that fuel this kind of conflict: rivalry for resources,
limits set by a group or other employees that establish their own identity as a team. 6

In a literature review, the various conceptualizations and conflict concepts are discussed.

The primary conceptual aspect of interpersonal conflict is disagreement. There is conflict when
individuals think that there is a difference in desires, preferences, views, or priorities.
On its own, however, disagreement is not enough for conflict to arise:

o When one individual's behaviors interfere with or oppose the achievement of their interests,
goals, or goals by another, there is said to be conflict.

o Nevertheless, most researchers believe that the central conflict mechanism is the action in which 
one or more individuals contradict the desires or goals of others. Although activities such
arguing, competing and backstabbing may be indicative of conflict, the presence of conflict is not
always implied.
o Ultimately, while a variety of emotions were associated with conflict, negative emotions such as f
ear, envy, rage, anxiety and frustration were predominantly used to describe interpersonal conflict
.7
The following are types of Interpersonal Conflict:

 Conflict of relationships results when there are interpersonal incompatibilities between people,
including personal taste frustration, social style, different personal principles, or other non-work
interests. Typically, this type of conflict is very detrimental, taking the attention from the
problems that need to be addressed and replacing it with personal antagonism.
 There is a task dispute when there are conflicts over the nature of the tasks being done, including
discrepancies in perspectives, ideas and perceptions. Positive effects on productivity and team
performance can be created by task conflict,
 Task conflict, however, can lead to job dissatisfaction increasing the perception of individuals
working together. Research also shows that mission conflict causes relationship conflict in
general. For example, if individuals hold particularly strong feelings about a task issue, they may
become emotionally invested in a problem.

6
Brad Evans, (2013), “Types of Conflict – Four Classifications”, (date and access time: 2019/12/07; 01:30 PM)
https://www.typesofconflict.org/types-of-conflict/
7
Amason, 1996; Barki &Hartwick, 2002; Jehn 1995, Managing and Mitigating Conflict in Health-care Teams,
pag.29

3
  Process conflict concentrates on differences about how to perform a task that is responsible for a
task or how to delegate tasks and resources. So, job differences can be about how to conduct or
handle a specific task (process) or the nature or substance of the task itself.
Conflicts can range from small disagreements to more significant alterations in the workplace that
lead to the denial of information, an invasion of people's privacy and fearful antagonism. Conflicts in the
workplace include interpersonal interactions in which an individual or a team displays verbal aggression,
inappropriate personality traits, irritations and other types of adverse behavior intended to worsen
relationships. It seems that someone who encounters hostility and frustration arising from interpersonal
conflicts with their supervisors and co-workers is less likely to be happy at work than someone who does
not have to contend with interpersonal dissatisfaction. If the workplace works efficiently, the ability to
manage disputes is an essential prerequisite. 8

Climate conflict management is an important organizational tool theorized to avoid interpersonal

tension from developing into serious interpersonal conflicts and even harassment in the workplace.

Conflict management environment relates to employee perceptions of the organization's conflict

management processes and strategies and how realistic and consistent in this regard are considered to be
the relationships between leaders and followers.

Recent years have seen increasing interest in the concept of conflict management climate as a
promising mechanism, explaining why and when bullying occurs in a work environment.

Bullying researchers, it has suggested and substantiated that the climate of conflict management is an
important organizational resource that could prevent interpersonal frustration due to stressful working
conditions from escalating into workplace bullying. 9

2. How to combat conflict

Specialized literature teaches us that in a team environment, relationships must be based on honesty,
trust and mutual respect. If these factors do not exist, educational conflicts would be created within the
team. This could affect the completion of projects and also the working environment, leading to the
workplace being perceived by each member as a hostile environment. The matter can further evolve into
diminishing productivity, culminating, then, with the desire to leave the workplace.
8
Impact of leadership styles on employee engagement and conflict management practices in Nigerian
universities,Babatunde Akanji Elizade University, Nigeria Tonbara Mordi, Univerity of Worcester, United Kingdom,
Hakeem Ajonbadi and Bashir Mojeed-Sanni, Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates
9
Job Demands as Risk Factors of Exposure to Bullying at Work: The Moderating Role of Team-Level Conflict
Management Climate, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway, Erasmus University Rotterdam,
Rotterdam, Netherlands

4
 Conflict management strategy is one aspect of the process of generating unsafe behavior. There are
cooperative, competitive and avoiding types of conflict management strategies.

Cooperative and collaborative conflict management approaches can undermine the tendency towards
unsafe behavior and avoiding conflict management techniques that can lead to unsafe behavioral
patterns.10

An “avoiding” style of conflict is defined by dismissing some conflicts, welcoming others, and
generally by putting aside open and honest discussion on issues of dispute or work. By its nature, position
conflict is a type of discord in which the supervisor generally avoids conflict and any demands or
requirements that may conflict with each other are likely to be ignored. As such, workers may also
assume that avoiding conflict is the best course of action, creating additional pressures that would
exacerbate the demands of opposing positions.11

Experts in the field of psychological education, such as conflict management education, security
psychology education and safety behavior education, must be hired. Except for the selection of conflict
management strategies, there are many other factors in the mechanism of generation of unsafe behavioral
tendencies that need further study.12

Conflict is an unavoidable occurrence. Its roots must be grasped and discerned to be handled
assertively, suppressing its dysfunctionalities and potentializing its constructive impact. Conflict
resolution does not necessarily imply that they are being solved, sometimes it implies allowing the
involved parties to learn from the group constructively. 13

The diverse teams must deal with their own internal conflicts. Conflicts between members of the team
arise because they have different characteristics of diversity, for example based on social categories of
diversity and informational/functional diversity. Consequently, it implies that conflict is inevitable when
various team members work in a group together. Conflict can be harmful or beneficial to the performance
of individuals and teams. Previous studies have proposed three types of conflicts related to conflicts of
relationships, tasks, and processes.
10
Impact of Conflict Management Strategies on the Generation Mechanism of Miners' Unsafe Behavior Tendency,
Ji-Zu Li, CHINA, 2017
11
Mary L. Cooper, Margaret E. Knight, M. Lance Frazier, Daniel W. Law, (2019), “Conflict management style and
exhaustion in public accounting”, p. 10
12
Impact of Conflict Management Strategies on the Generation Mechanism of Miners' Unsafe Behavior Tendency,
Ji-Zu Li, CHINA, 2017
13
Cinira Magali Fortuna, Iramildes Souza Silva, Cássia Irene Spinelli Arantes, (2019), “Conflict as a possible catalyst
for democratic relations in the work of the Family Health team”, p. 06

5
 With regard to the category of conflict as an opening for building democratic relationships in
teamwork, we ought to look at the results in order to understand how a team articulates itself to resolve
the produced conflicts. It is accepted in this situation that confrontation has positive value; it can serve as
a way out of new ways of producing work.14

However, where there are interpersonal conflicts between two or more individuals, it can create
an atmosphere of concealment and animosity that can potentially weaken the commitment to work. 15

In resolving conflicts, especially in higher learning institutions, we agree that university leaders in
whatever capacity should stop expecting too much from their subordinates, but rather they should sit with
these workers and mutually set goals or targets as well as thresholds that will not intensify conflicts to
damaging proportions.

Knowledge emerging from these findings is the relationship between conflict management and
leadership. From the report, it is concluded that leaders displaying a style of transformative leadership
seemed inclined to a style of dispute managing grievances and making concessions to harmonize
competing claims.

Transformational leaders ' intellectual stimulation can lead to different team members '
viewpoints to solve a problem and potentially increase the possibility of mission disagreement within a
community.

Nonetheless, some employees may look at this style of transactional leadership as them being
dependent on the centralized directives of management on how internal disputes should be resolved. 16

Efficient sharing and processing of information helps representatives minimize their uncertainty
about decision-making and improve their innovative and risk-taking activities. They therefore recommend
that affective or partnership conflict be negatively linked to the development of entrepreneurship strategy
and that mental or mission dispute be positively related to the development of entrepreneurial strategy. 17

The trend of digital teams has made it possible for working relationships to take place at a distance: it
reduces the spatial and temporal limits of organizations. The implementation of distance and appropriate
14
Cinira Magali Fortuna, Iramildes Souza Silva, Cássia Irene Spinelli Arantes, (2019), “Conflict as a possible catalyst
for democratic relations in the work of the Family Health team”, p. 05
15
Impact of leadership styles on employee engagement and conflict management practices in Nigerian
universities,Babatunde Akanji Elizade University, Nigeria Tonbara Mordi, Univerity of Worcester, United Kingdom,
Hakeem Ajonbadi and Bashir Mojeed-Sanni, Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates
16
Impact of leadership styles on employee engagement and conflict management practices in Nigerian
universities,Babatunde Akanji Elizade University, Nigeria Tonbara Mordi, Univerity of Worcester, United Kingdom,
Hakeem Ajonbadi and Bashir Mojeed-Sanni, Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates
17
Top management team conflict and entrepreneurial strategy making in China, Haiyang Li & Jun Li, 2007

6
technology ultimately changes interaction and relationships between and within these teams. The fact that
virtual teams have fewer chances of communicating seems to make them lack social presence, which
tends to hinder communication and create conflicts. Virtual teams are associated with a number of
conflicting risk factors: limited communication mechanisms, social and cultural gaps, and difficulty in
conflict detection. In the face of this new situation, interactive conflict resolution becomes a tactical
practice to ensure the digital team's sustainability. 18

Cultural values can affect the actions of the team member. In particular, the criteria set the level
of output that is acceptable and feasible.

Communications and teamwork are key components of team's performance, and these tasks are more
likely and simpler for smaller teams. Larger teams limit the time necessary for group maintenance work
due to the time expended on extra teamwork.

For smaller teams, the ability to monitor actions can also improve alignment with team goals, and
small teams can find it easier to collaborate and share data and tasks. This debate suggests that smaller
teams may be involved in setting targets more often than larger teams and may set targets that are more
challenging.

From a cognitive point of view, the importance of group norms on setting goals cannot be
overestimated. To a large extent, they set limits on what the team believes can and cannot achieve and
serve as norms that guide the actions of members. 19

Some executives believe they can reduce conflict by focusing on just one or two alternatives, thereby
minimizing the dimensions that people might disagree with. But in fact, the opposite is done by teams
with low incidences of interpersonal conflict.

They develop multiple alternatives deliberately, often considering at once four or five options. By
contrast, conflict often turns out to be personal in teams that vigorously debate just one or two options. A
strategy to mitigate disruptive confrontation requires portraying strategic choices as tasks that are
cooperative rather than competitive.

Within any management team, elements of collaboration and competition coexist: executives share a
stake in the performance of the company, but their personal ambitions can make them rivals for power.

18
Mokline,(2017), ” Managing communicative conflicts and relational challenges in virtual teams”, p.01
19
A STUDY OF CONFLICT IN TOP MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING: THE IMPACT OF CONTRIBUTION MOTIVE,
Thomas A. Clerkin, Indiana University Purdue University Columbus Kevin J. Jones, Indiana University Purdue
University Columbus

7
 Conflict-hobbled teams lack common goals. Team members see themselves as competing with each
other and as reactions to threats, surprisingly, tend to frame decisions negatively. All low-person conflict
teams described how they used humor on the job.

Teams that deal well with conflict make explicit and often even artificial attempts to relieve tension
while at the same time promoting a collaborative spirit by making their business fun. The excitement of
fast-paced competition is emphasized, not the stress of competing in brutally tough and uncertain
markets.20

3. How conflicts affect team activity

Conflicts may arise from a multitude of factors that you can find in the working environment. The
continuous stream of corporate scams and financial misdemeanors shows that conflict inside a company
is a stark reality of the contractual relationship between the owners of the business and the employees. 21

Due to inherent discrepancies in interests, expectations, preferences, obligations, desires and ideas,
conflict is inevitable in any work environment.

In the workplace, interpersonal relationships can make the difference between unpleasant and
intolerable circumstances. Nevertheless, the increasing prevalence and resulting effect of interpersonal
conflict allows organizations to have a mechanism that may arise to resolve conflict.

Interpersonal contradictory dynamics between team members generate subtle unpleasant experiences
that result in negative attitudes and behaviors. It, in effect, can create a stressful working environment
with negative consequences such as job dissatisfaction, weak organizational engagement, lack of
involvement, low morale, poor working relationships, reduced sense of well-being, emotional exhaustion,
loss of employee confidence and sense of support, absenteeism.

Besides these negative effects, constant interpersonal tension often contributes to decreased teamwork 
and communication and low group performance.22

Competitive conflict management method refers to team members who, in the face of conflict with
others, only seek to satisfy self-interest without taking into account the impact of conflict on others.

20
How MANAGEMENT TEAMS CAN HAVE A GOOD FIGHT, The absence of conflict is not harmony, it's apathy,
Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, Jean L, Kahwajy
21
Anadi S. Pande, Ranjan Kumar, (2019), “Implications of Indian Philosophy and Mind Management for Agency
Conflicts and Leadership: A Conceptual Framework”, p. 01
22
Cloke & Goldsmith, 2011, Managing and Mitigating Conflict in Health-care Teams, pag.23

8
 And the strategy of avoiding conflict management indicates that the team members realized that there
was a conflict but chose to avoid or suppress the practice. Dispute has many dimensions, such as being
able to split the conflict into cognitive dispute and emotional conflict.

Cognitive conflict and emotional conflict have been strongly correlated with each other in these
dimensions, which means that cognitive conflict can be transformed into emotional conflict.

Some scholars have therefore pointed out that the conflict is essentially an emotional response. And
there was a substantial correlation between negative emotions and psychology of insecurity. There is
therefore some link between psychology of confrontation and vulnerability.

Because if the strength of interpersonal conflict expressed mainly in people's attitudes towards
conflict and conflict management strategies preferences, interpersonal conflict management styles and
anxiety psychology are somewhat associated.23

Considerable research has shown that supervisory attitudes and leadership styles have a direct impact
on the role of stressors faced by workers at their job. Further research indicates that at work managers
may spend at least 20% of their time on conflict management, suggesting that the conflict’s level and the
capacity of the boss to handle it are likely to have an impact on workers as well.

The “Concept of primacy of resource loss” states that a lack of resources will impact team members
negatively by being a stressor that leads to the employee’s exhaustion. This can be explained as a constant
battle between who gets assigned to do a certain task, what assets will they have on hand (ex: materials,
information, equipment) and with whom do they have to share said assets. This means that different
employees may get assigned to do the same task, at different times and with different resources available
which can make a conflict arise.24

Productive conflict management enhances creativity between multiple parties or groups within a
company, resulting towards more innovative solutions to current problems. Poorly managed conflict, on
the other hand, may lead to aggression, reduced contact and decreased task performance.

The negative effects of conflict on individuals and organizations have been investigated in numerous
studies. The results include burnout (including work exhaustion, reduced professional efficacy and
cynicism), absenteeism, reduced quality of work, disruption of work, poor work performance, physical
and psychosomatic complaints. Nevertheless, some researchers indicated that conflict could lead to

23
Impact of Conflict Management Strategies on the Generation Mechanism of Miners' Unsafe Behavior Tendency,
Ji-Zu Li, Taiyuan University of Technology, CHINA, 2017
24
Mary L. Cooper, Margaret E. Knight, M. Lance Frazier, Daniel W. Law, (2019), “Conflict management style and
exhaustion in public accounting”, pp. 03-04

9
positive outcomes under certain conditions, including innovative problem solving, improved team unity
and better organizational decision-making.25

Team goal setting may be affected by resistance emerging among team members. Some of the factors
that may lead to conflict and resistance include trust issues, differential perceptions of cultural values, and
low change tolerance.

Trust in group relationships emerges as a significant factor. The lack of trust can lead to the results of
team dysfunction. Confidence is associated with conflict in that the perception of confidence or lack of
confidence can allow conflict.

Simply stated, the less trust the higher the potential for conflict and the greater the trust the lower the
potential for conflict.26

Usually, conflict interferes with the performance of the team, but that task conflict may improve the
performance of the team. Task dispute increases the tendency of members of the team to scrutinize task
problems and engage in deep and deliberate processing of task-relevant information that encourages
learning and new and creative insights to be developed.

Task conflict team members tend to make better decisions because the task conflict encourages
greater mental understanding of the issues being considered. By contrast, relationship conflict restricts the
team's ability to process information, as team members spend their time and energy on each other rather
than mission-related issues.

Conflict of tasks and conflict of relationships are equally disruptive for team performance. When
conflict becomes intense — regardless of conflict types — the processing of information is impeded and
also the performance of the team endures.

Nevertheless, both environmental conditions and group dynamics will change this positive
relationship. As noted above, some scholars argue that cognitive dispute may have a double-edged sword
effect on team performance in that it may also have a negative impact on team performance, although it is
generally functional.27

25
Cindy Riemenschneider, Paige Rutner, (2015), “The Impact of Emotional Labor and Conflict-
Management Style on Work Exhaustion of Information Technology Professionals”, p. 03
26
A STUDY OF CONFLICT IN TOP MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING: THE IMPACT OF CONTRIBUTION MOTIVE,
Thomas A. Clerkin, Indiana University Purdue University Columbus Kevin J. Jones, Indiana University Purdue
University Columbus
27
Top management team conflict and entrepreneurial strategy making in China, Haiyang Li & Jun Li, 2007

10
 Experiments have shown that psychological fatigue appears to decrease morale and productive
capacity in employees. Therefore, fatigue is likely to be associated with lower rates of social support and
team cooperation. This, in turn, can be expected to have a negative impact on group processes, thus
reducing the group's capacity to provide high-quality customer service, for example. Therefore, the
collective’s feelings towards exhaustion have a negative effect regarding quality and performance of
service.

The following elements can affect the effectiveness of the team:

1. Being in different countries means that team members have a limited amount of face-to-face
contact that can impede shared knowledge base growth and the exchange of tacit and non-
codifiable information. Increased geographical distance has a negative impact on contact
frequency as well as efficiency that, in turn, is likely to have consequences for the efficacy of
team-based evaluation of each other's knowledge. This is important from the point of view of
defining sources of knowledge, as potential new knowledge exchange is limited by the
availability of codified data about each other and people then decide whether to invest more
heavily in the relationship;
2. The efficiency of interaction in teams is further burdened by temporary discrepancies between
locations that may make it difficult to organize communications such as video conferences.
Because of the lack of spontaneous communication (e.g. ' water-cooler discussions ') and non-
verbal and contextual indications, team members tend to lack knowledge of the situations and
circumstances of each other that affect their work. It is therefore not surprising that diverse and
dispersed teams pose a different set of challenges for establishing a stable partnership between
ships and co-located domestic teams.

It is challenging to coordinate knowledge in teams because of divergent forces driven by differences

in languages, nationalities, locations, and time zones. These are argued for high levels of conflict that are
frequently observed in teams.28 The Antecedents and Consequences of Conflict Conceptual Model
organizes and directs the suggestions discussion. This offers a thorough understanding of conflict causes
and consequences and may allow for preventive action.

 History of conflicts (including individual characteristics, social and organizational factors)

 Conflict discovered
 Management of conflicts

28
Pekka Vahtera, Peter Buckley, Murod Aliyev, (2017), ”Affective conflict and identification of knowledge sources
in MNE teams”, p. 02

11
  Conflict consequences (including individual effects of conflict, interpersonal relationships, and
organization).

Figure 1: The conceptual model of the previous conflicts and their consequences

The majority of conflicts result from common misunderstandings, poor language choices,
inadequate conflict management strategies, vague roles and responsibilities, miscommunication and poor
leadership. Through listening to others, learning how to solve problems, communicating and exploring
options, most disagreements can easily be resolved.
Changing the way we think about disagreements and is significant, and eventually, how we react in their
presence. It is our responsibility to make this conscious choice and to show our willingness to engage
effectively in collaboration with our colleagues.

12
 There is no step-by-step conflict method that works for everyone, everywhere and in any
situation. The goal is to see what works, what needs to be done better, and to be bold enough to learn and
change your method as you go.

When conflict erupts, individuals react in different ways: consciously and thoughtfully choosing
their actions, or in the heat of the moment reacting emotionally.

As we all know, each situation has two positive and negative faces, and how they respond to the
conflict depends on the individuals. Conflict is characterized simply as tension, which isn't good or bad. 29

Negative Effects of Conflict

The general assumption is that conflict appears to have negative effects on the individual as well as
the organization. Below is a detailed list of the results of individual conflicts:

 Conflict Decreases the Productivity: Workplace tensions impact productivity at a high rate as
the parties involved in the conflict spend most of their time on personal issues rather than on their
own work. Fear, opposition, mistrust and deception characterize those involved in conflict,
impacting not only the provision of service, but also the service quality rendered.

 Conflict Affects the Work Security: Conflict fuels the job insecurity of workers as the
workplace becomes a war zone marked by distrust, resentment and coldness. This threatening
environment is leading many non-conflict mongers to plan their departure ahead of time.

 Conflict Leads to Loss Of Time And Resources: A lot of time and money are wasted as it takes
time for workers to think not only about confrontation, but also about the potential opponents.

 Absenteeism: It is true that conflicting employees usually find reasons to stay away from work as
a way to avoid conflict and its impact. Once the organization is absent, it would lose its service
immediately and thereby reduce its daily productivity.

Positive effects of Conflict

29
Almost, 2006, pg. 446

13
 Although conflict is often viewed as negative, it is capable of improving organizational performance
and productivity. Conflict can be constructive if it stimulates creativity, new look at old situations,
clarification of viewpoints and the creation of interpersonal differences in human capacity.

 It stimulates more effort and hard work by individuals. The individual uses his or her abilities,
skills and talents in a conflict situation
 This strengthens the cycle of decision making and increases the progress towards goals
 Conflicts are aimed at clarifying and resolving problems, fixing a problem.

 Conflict Making Relationships: Being friendly is good, but it can actually strengthen
relationships by fostering conflict. Organizational conflict between individuals, divisions and
even rivals may help build relationships through shared understanding and respect. Training to
listen and to learn contributes to knowledge respected by both sides in any conflict situation.
Leaders who sincerely appreciate their subordinates ' opinions and ideas are not only more
effective leaders, but their employees also consider them more valuable. If the employee believes
that management respects his or her opinion, the employee will respect his or her job more and
the overall morality will increase.

 Conflict Encourages News Ideas: While people are often thought to avoid conflict, many people
actually enjoy conflict to some degree because it can be the catalyst for new thinking. Having a
different point of view— which in some cases reflects conflict — can open up new possibilities
and help generate new ideas that may not have been considered otherwise.

 Conflict Makes You Ask Questions: For those on both sides of any problems, interpersonal
disagreement usually leads to a series of questions. Such problems can lead to new innovative
solutions and breakthroughs that can help people, agencies and organizations. Everything shifts
when there's no tension. Conflict is an incentive to rethink, which can lead to thought
breakthroughs.

 Conflict is Opening the Mind: Organizations that teach workers how to handle conflict
efficiently create a climate of creativity that promotes creative thinking and opens minds to new,
previously unexplored opportunities. Given the possibility of new solutions to problems and

14
 meeting the demands of a competitive business environment, changes will help both workers and
the organization.

 Conflict Teaches To Listen: The secret to any positive settlement of conflicts is listening
capacity. Listening requires patience and discipline to control our speaking impulses. It allows us
to be able to put ourselves and our feelings to the side so that we can take a completely different
perspective. Listening must be active, not passive, in order to really listen to someone. Listening
provides us with access to the information we need to make intelligent and profitable decisions.

 Conflict Helps to Set Our Limits: People need to know where we are going to start and they are
stopping. Conflict is the perfect place for setting limits and making new arrangements that are
compatible with the dignity and honesty of all concerned. It is impossible to develop productive
relationships without respect. We encourage others to learn a lot about us and how we function
when we express needs and boundaries. We also learn a few things about ourselves, which makes
us much more productive. Conflict is teaching us when we stop.

 Conflict Teaches Us How to Control Our Emotions: We don't always have to be so emotional
We need to treat conflict seriously if we want to be taken seriously. We need to know how to stay
calm and use the least amount of words to get our point across, while being strong and flexible
when setting our course. The keys to effective conflict resolution are perseverance and self-
control. People can better relate to us when we are in charge of ourselves, count on us and trust
our intentions.

4. Study case

When you get a group of people together, there will usually be conflict at some point. This
includes workers of yours. People might disagree with each other or find each other fault. Passive
remarks or shouting fights might happen.
There will be tensions at some points as peaceful as you want your place of work to be. Clear
answers to verbal interview questions and perfect job-fit tests do not promise a workplace which would
be regularly quiet.

15
Five ways to handle Conflict Management
We hope that employees will be able to resolve their own conflicts, but sometimes it may be
necessary to find a way to help. In this case, I will present 5 ways to resolve the conflict between the
employees.

1. Welcome Conflict
In the workplace conflict can be good. It can show you where the business has difficulties. And as a
team it can help the managers grow and succeed. Don't scared about conflict. Handle them as quickly as
possible before they intensify.
Conflict prevention can be a negative thing. Tension could increase, and the conflict could get awful.
When the find a dispute between workers, enable them to work it out. Give yourself as intermediary.
Or just be with the employees in the room to lighten the mood when needed.

2. Open Communication
Communication is the only way to solve conflict Empower workers to set up a start time, preferably
alone or with supervision. Without interruptions there should be enough time to talk.
Make sure every person gives the chance to explain what they want. Neither they or the manager
implicated should interrupt them. The communication should not be dominated by one person, too. Both
should be given equal debate time.
An employee during the same stage should not dispute or blame the other. Set some basic rules if
possible. For example, workers could be expected to focus on the issue at hand, not on the personal
aspects.
Also, can help the members direct what they say to create a more productive conversation. For
example, the employees may be asked to phrase their affirmations as, "When you did ... I felt ..." could
also prompt employees to give concrete examples so everyone understands the problem better.

3. Listen Actively
It is only helpful to have the employees meet to talk if everyone interested is actively listens.
Everybody should pay full attention to the person who is speaking. They and the other staff involved
shouldn't check emails, play on the phones or drawing on paper.
Do not disturb the participant who is speaking, as mentioned in step two. Let them finish by saying
everything they want to say.
They can reformulate and explain what an employee has said to confirm that they understand. Might
ask, for example, something like, "You feel ... because of ... Is that right?" It gives a chance to describe
something for the employee.

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 4. Build Agreement

The conversation will be mostly about the conflict, but that should not be the only thing about which
they are discussing. The workers should also look for points of clarification. The clauses are increasing
positivity, which could help end the conflict. Agreement can provide common ground for the workers to
build on their partnership.
When they can't find similarity for the staff, you might need to support. Search for common things
that the employees have said, even though they are minimal. Show the staff they have valuable things to
bring together.

5. Give Guidance
It really is essential to not remain neutral when helping employees work through a conflict. Just to
help employees work through their problem, you're there.
Guide, and keep the debate concentrated. Recommend the staff on what to do next. They could give
them materials for intervention, and other things to consult.
They may also use what they learn to make adjustments to the company practices to avoid future
conflicts.30

30
Mike Kappel, 2017, Forbes, Article „How to handle conflict at your business”;

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 Figure 1.1: Five stages of The Conflict Process

The Orchestra seems to be a business metaphor

This approach we thought of helps us in understanding and developing an image of management.

More precisely, by researching the orchestra's functions, connections and obligations as a business
analogy.

Is an orchestra that different from a business enterprise? Apart from the business aspects of
running and maintaining a musical project, such as a symphony orchestra, the method of making a
musical product is not much different from the production of a commercial product or a service to serve

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clients. In essence, business could learn a lot from musicians and artists ' creative functions — valuable
lessons about organization, structure, efficiency, goal setting, cooperation, and collaboration.

Managers of company are usually associated with conductors of the orchestra on management's
job. To optimal results and job satisfaction, good management is important. 31

The preparation of an orchestra for a concert is a great example of practical management, using
similar techniques and principles in the competitive business world.

These require teams of qualified professionals with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
They both rely on coaching and evaluations to improve their skills. They try to achieve a carefully
defined perspective as specifically and elegantly as possible. And at the middle of all this is the manager /
conductor – the perfect embodiment of stability and harmony.

Imagine about it: how many enterprises did you work in that actually work like a symphony
orchestra? Corporate reality is complicated. As necessary as setting a clear strategy is, it would be totally
tragic for most businesses to fail to improvise and react to unexpected changes. Complex and uncertain is
the business world. It's rapidly moving and dynamic.

Part of this business-as-symphony orchestra's attraction is the inspirational role it offers to the
manager. Without encouraging and influencing this leader, up the entire corporation would fall. There
would be no interrogation plan. And there's no one to direct.

The success of the metaphor persists mainly in its ability to relate to the egos of staff. But as a
way to represent how almost all multinationals really work, it's almost absolutely useless.

According to Cristian's ideas, an esteemed Austrian maestro 32 we have to leave the image that the
orchestra depends only on the conductor- It's exactly the opposite, that's valid. The orchestra has the
ability to fall if it behaves stupidly. It is the same in corporation. This is why the manager is always
confronted, because they don't know how to lead, because leadership doesn't mean commanding, but
persuading – and so they don't understand the value of teams.

For orchestras there is a slogan that reads: "Listen to each other – function collectively." That's
the primary rule: above all duties, above all small and large considerations – it's the responsibility of
everyone. And most of the top managers just were for them! All of them related only to their own area.
This means admiration, respect and an attitude where solidarity is a daily business.

31
Nierenberg, R. Maestro,2009, A surprising story about leading by listening, New York
32
Christian Gansch, 2006, From Solo to Symphony – What Companies Can Learn From Orchestras

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 In order to understand what an organization may learn from an orchestra; we must first
understand the function of a symphony. It includes of up to 15 instrumental sections, five sections alone –
almost 60 participants – including members of woodwind and brass instruments, bassoon and oboe, flute,
clarinet, and percussion. Many of them are all experts who essentially have no knowledge of the technical
difficulties encountered by the other classes of instruments. But each one still continually tries to
understand each other's difficulties through conversation. This includes a method of communication
during rehearsals, so that they can join together during the concert. It is a method of constant offering and
taking. It happens just because people care not only about their own zone, but cooperation of all areas.
That is really something that orchestras should teach businesses.

How does a conductor control 100 artists?

The conductor, the manager and the orchestra are participated in a vibrant dialogue. Sometimes
even the conductor switches between the singers, communicates with them and bows to their wishes. It is
sometimes important to note that the conditions of all orchestral management staff specify that they must
conduct their divisions with their gestures. This does not suggest that there is only one conductor! The
boss has only two hands It's not possible for him to orchestrate every detail on his own. He focuses on the
employees of his management. And this confidence indicates appreciation. The same things must be
applied by the CEO for his company to work well.

What is a CEO's most important responsibility?

He needs to have a vision. Musicians want someone who, according to his style, can form a
diverse vision out of 80 visions. However, he can not only juggle dreams, he will have to live and work
on what exists. A vision has to be incorporated within an ensemble's everyday reality. The great
conductors also managed to fine-tune a vision so an orchestra could execute it.

Does an orchestra have a hierarchy as it exists in a company?

Discipline exists, but hierarchy continues to exist only in sense that it is decided who makes the
final decisions. It is also in a company. As the violin “managers” have to set the strokes in the bow, so the
team manager must establish the responsibilities of the people in his team. Discipline, competence and
quality often require a focused attitude. An orchestra is a society oriented towards success.

Can an organization without departments be productive at all?

No group of instruments can ever play alone. The fabulously orchestral sound arises from many
different groups of instruments that have to perfectly organize themselves. But that only contributes for

20
10 percent of the success; 90 percent is down to how these groups will relate to the overall context, so that
in an interplay of strengths they are not seen in isolation but rather flow into the other areas. A great
department is of no use to the orchestra if it works for itself and thereby finishes what is orchestral.
Symphony represents the abundance of diverse individual strengths that function together in a wonderful
way.

What happens when departments are at conflict?

The orchestral world also has disputes, rivalry and jealousies. The orchestra is a product of
human conflict – that it still works is a great miracle. However: During the party, nobody mixes it up with
another. Everybody knows that this moment matters and that if we can't deliver a top performance to our
audience, we will lose our clients – regardless of personal animosity and antipathy. The otherwise too
emotional artists succeed in leaving their emotions outside. They realize they need to sit with 100 people
in the room for three to six hours to bring out the best together. In strong contrast, companies often
discover the hidden emotions and dissatisfaction of employees that lead to behavior that triggers conflicts.
The feedback in an orchestra is more specific and aggressive, being, for the moment, directly from the
show's listeners.

It is necessary to be aware that each and every one adds value to the success of the enterprise.
And, alternatively, it needs people who really want to make something. The principle for this is a strong
business culture attracting people displaying a sense of corporate spirit and entrepreneurship rather than
those with a bureaucratic mentality.

Conclusion

Following the information extracted from this comparison between the orchestra and the
company, we have reached the following conclusions:

A good leader is like a good conductor:

 Start with a clear vision and set great goals;

 Inspires his team;
 He is surrounded by the best people and supports them in their development;
 Allocate individual tasks and goals;
 Coordinates and integrates individual capabilities into a unitary power supported by the entire
team;
 Lead by the power of example;

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  Creates and leads a team made up of complementary talents;
 Transform diversity into innovation and lead their team in adapting to improvisation and taking
advantage of every opportunity.

The same as an orchestra, the progress of any company is not a destination it is a trip. That makes
this ride special are the opportunities a company continues to create for itself and others.

The leaders and processes of each organization are the main components of the mentioned
experiences. Just as an instrumentalist can mistake the musical notes and destroy the performance in front
of the audience listening to the orchestra, so employees who are in a permanent conflict at work can affect
the company's productivity.

The rhythm is set by the conductor, and he "command" the group also in so much as to direct it.
It's all about the performers ' continuing reviews. Not controlling them, but making the performers
flourish as the composition progresses. Also, the achievements and cooperation of the members of a team
are important, but also the effort made by them to achieve the results. Thus, the basis of the managerial
feedback represents the results obtained by the team.

At the end of the show, the conductor never take all the praises for his team. He will direct them
to all the musicians, because they are the ones who made the show to be perfect. A good manager should
be the same, that is, after some good results of the project, the congratulations are due to the team and the
collaboration of all the members.

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 5. Closing remarks

A company brings together people who have different personalities, education, religion, experience,
abilities, tasks and perspectives within the company.

Teamwork is a harmonious activity in the collective imagination of staff, supervisors and clients, and
not perceived as bureaucratic or complex, except conflict. 33

Conflict management is a difficult challenge that we can face in the work environment.

The way we keep these situations under control can be in the team's favor or at its expense, and
sometimes it can affect the continuity of the project.

When the project’s objectives are unanimously accepted, but there are differences - regarding the way
in which they are carried out - as a project manager, the team leader must stimulate the situation,
determining those involved to come with creative and innovative solutions.

The team leader will do everything possible to reduce the harmful effects of any conflict that can
create tension, affect communication or has the potential to compromise the development of the project.

There is no universally valid solution for conflict management. Each project manager acts according
to the nature of the conflict and their own interpersonal skills. There are, however, a few
recommendations for addressing the conflict:

• complex conflicts - the manager must use an “integrative style”, to support the team's cooperation in
identifying and solving problems.

• basic problem with low importance - "friendly style" to minimize the differences of opinion and
emphasis on commonalities

• making a quick decision when the underlying problem is of minor importance - the manager
assumes a "dominating style".

• ignoring the conflict - is done when the manager does not have the necessary solutions to diffuse the
tension situation.

33
Cinira Magali Fortuna, Iramildes Souza Silva, Cássia Irene Spinelli Arantes, (2019), “Conflict as a possible catalyst
for democratic relations in the work of the Family Health team”, p. 02

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 In conclusion, in an organization, it is absolutely normal for conflicts to arise due to the differences
between people, but in order to not affect the activity, the manager must keep the clash under control.

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