Comm 330 - Conflict Management Styles

Conflict Management Styles

Danielle Martinez

COMM/330

April 22, 2013

Keeley Weisbard

Abstract

In this article I will be talking about group conflicts and different ways of handling these conflicts. We all have our go to ways of dealing with conflict and I will be discussing some of these and some of the advantages and disadvantages of different conflict management styles. I will also talk about the different conflict management styles that I have used and which one I think has been the most effective.

Conflict Management Styles

When working in groups there is bound to be some level of conflict. Conflict is all about disagreement. You might be working in a group with people from various backgrounds or people who are a little hard headed. There are many different ways of dealing with conflict and in my opinion the end result should be that everyone feels respected and listened to.

Avoidance

The avoidance style in conflict management is a non- confrontational approach to the problems that the group is having. This conflict management style involves side stepping an issue or just not addressing it at all. Some people use this conflict management style because they are afraid to stand up for themselves or because they don't want things to become uncomfortable within the group. Although this may seem to only make things worse, sometimes there is a time for avoidance. Sometimes emotions get in the way and discussions get heated and people just need to take a break. I think that this a perfect time for avoidance. Everyone just needs a little time to cool off and then the group can come back together and regroup. Sometimes what seems like a big issue at the time may end up being rather simple to resolve. The negative side of avoidance is that when you ignore a problem it does not just go away. You may see the problem as being taken care of but others may perceive it as you not caring enough about the issue. This might seem disrespectful to some people.

When I was younger I was very shy and quiet. I hated working in groups because I did not feel comfortable sharing my ideas with other people. I was also very uncomfortable with any kind of conflict. So when I did have to work in groups and any kind of conflict did come up, avoidance was my go to conflict management style. Like I said before, there is a time and place for avoidance when working in groups but not the way that I used it. The reason I used avoidance is because I didn't want to rock the boat and I didn't want things to become uncomfortable for me. I can see now that it wasn't the right choice to make and since then I have learned to use different conflict management styles.

Accommodation

The accommodation style in conflict management involves giving in to the wishes of the other person. Accommodation sacrifices one's own goals for the sake of the other person. This is another conflict management style that people use because they don't want to cause trouble within the group or they don't want things to become uncomfortable. Sometimes people accommodate others in the group because they want to seem like they are flexible or just because they want to be liked and accepted within the group. Sometimes accommodation is a useful tool in conflict management. When you give in to the wants or wishes of another person then you may come off as being a reasonable person who is able to see other people's points of view. Using the accommodation conflict management style shows your group that you are not hard headed and can admit when you are wrong or can see when someone else's idea is better than your own. There are also downsides to always accommodating to others in your group. When you are too quick to accommodate then the group loses out on seeing everyone's point of view. You may have a better idea or thought but when you accommodate then people do not get to hear it. This may lead to the group making the wrong decisions or settling