A632.6.3.RB - The High Cost of Conflict

The High Cost of Conflict

Conflict is something that each person will have to deal with sooner or later. Our text described the Conflict Resolution Cycle and Ten Principles of New Thinking that can resolve conflicts in a less costly manner (Levine, 2009). Brown (2011), points out that a chance of goal conflict is somewhat low between groups that have their own resources and perform entirely different tasks. In other words, if your task is separate the chances of conflict are extremely low. However, if there is any type of dependency, or common task and frequently pursue incompatible goals, the chances of conflict are greater (Brown, 2011). Levine (2009) explained that although the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is growing, the cost of conflict is a resource drain of huge proportion, and a source of great unhappiness and discomfort.

I can recall an instance of conflict within my workplace that costs me more than what I could have imagined. This scenario has to deal with both role conflict and role ambiguity. Role conflict exists when an individual belongs to or identifies with two or more groups whose goals or values are in conflict (Brown, 2011). Role ambiguity occurs when an individual or the members of a group are not clear about their functions, purposes, and goals within the organization (Brown, 2011). According to Levine (2009), the cost of conflict is composed of: direct cost, productivity cost, continuity cost, and emotional cost.

While being assigned to Navy Recruiting Command, I had the opportunity to work with both military and civilian personnel. In most part, interaction is naturally positive with no conflicts. One of the duties within my department is to handle all communication related to event coordination with the marketing department for approval and support. On this particular day, one of my coworkers was on official travel, attending a National Conference on behalf of the Navy. I was the only person in the office for this specific day. I got a phone call for assistance from the member at the event. The person who usually does the set-up for the booth at the career fair was not present and they were about to reach their deadline for setup. I walked over and talked to a person who was in charge of the logistics for the booth set-up. The issue was quickly resolved with no apparent complications. Approximately an hour later the individual walked into my office with a negative attitude. Apparently, he had submitted the wrong booth for the event and was trying to put the blame on my team. I quickly advise him to remain calm and that I could help find a solution to the problem. I called up the individual who was at the event and he pointed out the contract specifically stated the requirements and it was an error on his part. The conflict escalated to the point in which the person overacted and was unprofessional; he screamed and ran out of my office. After explaining the situation to his supervisor, it was advised to formally record the incident and to file a complaint.

This situation presented many obstacles to a leader. How do you handle an individual who is becoming uncontrollable? Do you push back and force the individual to calm down? Or do you just don’t do anything. This situation was both an emotional cost and productivity cost (Levine, 2009). In this situation, I decided to stay calm and made sure the individual knew that we were on the same team. I wanted to keep him calm and to channel the conflict into a more appropriate direction. According to Brown (2011), conflict is a natural social interaction, and managers should be able to recognize the types of conflicts and channel them in appropriate directions. Levine (2009) points out, this is due to our cultural conditioning.

 Levine (2009) discusses the cost of conflict and how much more one might accomplish if you could harness the resources, money, and energy expended, and using those resources to produce the outcomes you want. This conflict taught me many lessons: expect the unexpected, be prepared to deal with uncontrollable people and to keep your emotions in check in order not to make a situation worse. This conflict could have been prevented with utilization of the Cycle of Conflict of Resolution combined with the Ten Principles of New Thinking. I believe, if faced with similar situations I would use the Ten Principles of New Thinking and the knowledge being gained from this exercise to handle similar conflict in the future.

               There is a great Ted Talks video that addresses conflict negotiation. I think it helps as it relates to how we can address conflicts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xCkhV7zhuw

  

Reference:

Brown, R. D, (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th edition.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Levine, S. (2009). Getting to Resolution: Turning conflict into collaboration (2^nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Berett-Koehler.