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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT by RanjithKumar Panjabikesan, Program Manager, SATYAM COMPUTERS

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

By : RanjithKumar Panjabikesan, Program Manager, SATYAM COMPUTERS
Industry : Management & Strategy Consulting Functional Area : Project Management
Keywords :

Management

Strategy

Conflict Management

Activity:  7 comments  1245 views  last activity : 07 06 2010 20:18:04 +0000
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What is a Conflict ?

Conflict is a fight or disagreement about interests or ideas , Values , Opinions  roles and objectives. Depending upon intensity it may Positive or Negative effect.

Conflict can have a Positive effect when it challenges perceptions and lead to creative thinking and innovative ideas. Conflict lets u know where you stand with the team members  and with whom you need to earn cooperation and assistance. It is always better to have some degree of conflict than to have people in your team outwardly agree but inwardly disagree.

Conflict can have Negative Effect - Severe Conflict can have a Negative Effect -  When team members focus on conflict, dont focus on project work and goals  and their productivity decreases.Ignoring conflict is not a solution : A Mistake many project Managers make is assuming that a conflict will get automatically resolved and they ignore.  Conflicts Left alone will get only worse and jeopardize project.It is very essential to manage conflict as soon as possible. Guidelines for Managing Conflict  :

Following are the set of guidelines for managing conflict.  

1. Deal with issues -  The intent of any conflict is to have open and honest conversation about different ideas, opinions , values, benefits, attitudes or methods that cause the problem. The intended outcomes of the discussion is to  change  behaviours and actions not personalities. NEVER ALLOW PERSONAL ATTACKS - One person pin pointing other or vice versa would result focus  being lost. It is the managers responsiblity to make sure the conversation focus solely on the objective and reasons for conflict.

 

2. Recognize Goals -  In the discussion, Be Open about WHAT IS EXPECTED TO HAPPEN ? WHAT BEHAVIOUR IS REQUIRED TO BE CHANGED. Clearly express your intent to  work on  a solution until every one is satisfied. In addition ask all the parties to define their goals  to help ensure every one is working towards the objectives.

3. Discuss Tangibles - Sometimes conflicts may be due to differing ethics and principles . In such cases, you should nt aim at attempting to changing the specific beliefs that cause the conflict rather determine if the team invlevd could make bahavioural modifications to eleminate the problem.

4. Make Requests / Not Demands - Making people feel pressured to comply will intensify the conflict  Hence ensure making requests and not demands - Also understand their concerns working with them and provide necessary support. 

5. Dont Assume - To avoid antagonizing/irritating - Never presume to know what they think and feel. Speak Only of what you know. Ask Team to share their thoughts , feeling and objectives. NEED NOT GUESS WHAT IS GOING INSIDE THEM.

6. Be Cooperative - This involves approaching the conflict discussions with a Positive attitude, listening respectfully to " WHAT ALL TEAM MEMBERS HAVE TO SAY " and committing to  a solution. Dont Allow the discussions derail by hurtful words or harmful behaviour by the team. Listening actively and repharsing the key points  will make the team aware that you are listening to an understanding.

7. Get the Team to Buy into the solution - You must get the team to Buy in the solution or the solution may not be workable for every one. Before assuming an issue is resolved ask all the team members involved if they are honestly satisfied with a solution if there are any reasons that would prevent from honoring the agreement.

8. Work on one issue - Start with the issue that seems easiest and quickest to resolve and work you way up to more difficult challenges. Take your time to work on each hirrying up doesnt help. You should also get the authority  , senior management buy in before committing to any requests.           

 Top Comment : Devi Kaladeen   | 01 18 2010 16:28:24 +0000
Sometimes it is very difficult to avoid conflicts. Very good guidelines to work with. Thanks for sharing.
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7 comments on "CONFLICT MANAGEMENT"
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  Commented by  zubair irshad, Senior Projects Manager, IMECO WLL    | 06 13 2010 11:18:55 +0000 
Management of conflict lies in the hand of "balance head PM".
When conflict occurs during the project that can be resolved with the available tools/guidelines such as (contract documents) however if it took another shape that is not defined by the contract, then it has to be handled with due dilligence by keeping the project interest on high priority.
The conflict based on ego, cant be determined by management however they occur most of the time & one has to have a sense of SMELL to tackle such issues diplomatically.
Most of the time conflict impact negative on project as time loss become imminent despite there might be positive signs of cost savings.
  Commented by  Devi Kaladeen, Audit Manager, Health Sector Development Unit    | 01 18 2010 16:28:24 +0000
Rating : +1  
Sometimes it is very difficult to avoid conflicts. Very good guidelines to work with. Thanks for sharing.
  Commented by  Ashutosh Pandita, Sr Business Manager , Quadrangle-Infoedge India    | 01 18 2010 10:20:05 +0000 
Conflict management should have a positive outcome.
  Commented by  varsha ., Technical manger(QMS)    | 11 17 2008 18:03:14 +0000 
nice one....
  Commented by  Abhishek Tiwari, Network Admin/System Admin, STPL INC.    | 08 27 2008 05:12:43 +0000 
Nice one Ranjith
  Commented by  RanjithKumar Panjabikesan, Program Manager, SATYAM COMPUTERS    | 07 05 2008 10:40:56 +0000 
Apologies. Thank you for pointing this out. Hope i have rectified the issue.
Ranjith..
  Commented by  Srinivas Srikanta, Product Manager GlobalLogic India Pvt Ltd    | 07 05 2008 05:14:04 +0000 
Ranjith,
The initial post is kind of garbled...unless you meant to make it show up like wiki Heat Cloud.
Can u kindly make it a lil bit more eyes-friendly?
-Srini
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