Hi Amanda,

I suppose it is a chain reaction, Dennis got you thinking

and you have me thinking where "there is no conflict
there is no communication" there is probably very little
productivity. Even though the word 'conflict' implies
negativity what can be more negative as lack of
communication? The ability to communicate gives people an
opportunity to exchange ideas, thoughts and share
feelings, including resolve differences. Conflict can be
an enlightenment when it is resolved peacefully. As
human beings, we have a natural desire to communicate and
interact with one and other, when we are not allowed to
speak our opinions out of fear, eventually fear turns to
anger and frustration. I am impressed with the way you
stated it: "At some point, after having bubbled up
internally their disagreement and discontent for so long,
somebody will explode and voice their opinion." In
addition, person's voice can cause destroy the whole
team. Conflict is cannot be ignored by silencing
employees, nor does it disappear because someone pretends
that it does not exist. It must be recognized and
resolved.

15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two
of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your
brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others
with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses
every matter may be established. 17 If he refuses to listen to
them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the
church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.

A good leader uses conflict as a barometer to identify

where the problem areas in the execution of a strategy
are. If a conflict appears, then the leader addresses the
issue, the location, department and the people impacted.
It usually flags:

• communication problems, misunderstandings

 • problem with available resources
• people problems
• problems in the execution of the strategy

If the leader is very responsive to the issue that caused

the conflict, supporters will quickly realize that the
leader is actively engaged in the organization, and is
sincere about correcting the problems.

If the leader ignores the conflict, it will escalate into

a large unmanageable turmoil that will cripple the
organization and its effectiveness. Ultimately the leader
by his or her laissez-faire (Bass and
Avolio,1995,1997),reaction to the conflict will pay a
huge price for the lack of decisiveness.

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Excellent choice of words Gene,
Once the problem area has been identified the leader
can determine the root of the conflict, in other words,
why did conflict occur in a certain area or department as
oppose to other area(s) or department(s). Background
knowledge about certain types of conflict may require the
enactment of new company policies, especially if a
company is in its infant stage.

For instance, this is the situation I encounter at my

middle school in a multi-handicap classroom. The teacher
complaint repeatedly about conflict between her 2 aides.
The principal insisted that it was in my department and I
needed to handle my people. After visiting the classroom,
talking to the aides and the teacher it was obvious that
there were gross problems. These problems ranged from
physical location of the classroom with limited space per
student, and the aides were not assigned daily
responsibilities in the classroom. Although, this should
never have been a conflict, however since it was we were
able to resolve it to everyone’s satisfaction. The class
was relocated to a room with adequate space, near a
bathroom, speech physical therapist offices. In addition,
the district enacted new policy raising the standard for
aides resulting in educational improvements. This was the
first multi-handicap at the middle school since then I
have discovered that even in the best situation conflict
will occur simply because people are involved.
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What role does conflict play in the establishment of leader/follower relationships?

One can consider that miscommunication, differences of opinion, and incongruence of style are
expected occurrences and conditions in any organization. Lewis (1997) states that effective
leadership involves effectively managing conflict among interdependent group members. In
considering the various leadership approaches, the underlying principle of each involves how
communication flows and what is communicated among the leader and followers. When this
flow is interrupted by differences among the members, whether or not it involves a difference
directly related to the leader, it becomes part of the leadership role to restore a functional
relationship. Kotlyar and Karokowsky (2007) discuss two types of conflict in organizations,
cognitive and affective. While cognitive conflict relates to ideas and tasks, affective refers to
emotion and personal differences. According to Kotlyar and Karokowsky (2007), it is the task of
the leader to manage the communication process to avoid allowing cognitive conflict to dissolve
into destructive affective conflict.

Walter

I enjoyed your post, to add to what you have stated

Garmston (2005) indicated that cognitive conflict, which is a
characteristic of high performing groups, occurs when teams are
in disagreement about ideas and approaches. As long as
disagreements among team members focus on substantive, issue-
related differences of opinion, they tend to improve
effectiveness. Cognitive conflict occurs as team members
examine, compare, and reconcile these differences.

Issues are separated from people. Cognitive conflict is a

characteristic of high-performing groups. Affective conflict is
interpersonal, with either person-to-person or group-to-group
antagonism. Affective conflicts sap energy, sidetrack tasks, and
block work.

Affective conflict, however, tends to lowers effectiveness by

fostering hostility, distrust, cynicism, avoidance, and apathy
among team members. This type of conflict focuses on
personalized anger or resentment usually directed at individuals
or groups rather than ideas. The list below depicts the outcome
of conflict in teams
Outcomes of conflict in teams

Affective Conflict Cognitive Conflict

Poorer decisions Better decisions
Decreased commitment Increased commitment
Decreased cohesiveness Increased cohesiveness
Decreased empathy Increased empathy
Reduced progress Increased understanding
Adapted from Amason, Thompson, Hochwarter, & Harrison, 1995

Garmston, R. J., (Summer 2005). Group wise: how to turn conflict

into an effective learning process. National Staff
Development Council, 26, (3) 20-33.