Conflict Resolution Process

RESOLUTION PROCESS

1. Definition of the conflict

One of the first recommendations when managing a conflict is to avoid dealing with it through small interventions, instead of tackling it in a comprehensive way. It is really important to make contact with the involved parts, as some of them may not be aware of the existence of the conflict. Manager communication skills must be exposed specially in this phase, since he has to create a dialogue framework with the parts.

1. Consideration of the conflict

Once a framework of proper confidence for dialogue has been created, every single party will contribute to unravel the causes of the conflict situation, and the circumstances or context in which it was originated.

1. Analysis of the possible solutions

The pros and cons of the resolution alternatives and their respective consequences are exposed and analyzed. In this phase, the manager should ensure that the parties don’t break the dialogue framework. Moreover, he must not break it, asserting his hierarchical authority, with imposed solutions, as long as this is not the only possible way, after a long and hard conflict.

1. Choice of a certain solution

The solution chosen consensually between the parties will always be the best alternative for all of them. If it is not possible, the manager will try to adopt the decision which least harms any of them.

1. Evaluation of the taken decision

The manager must control and evaluate the start-up process, as well as if their consequences are close to those expected when this alternative was taken as the best one.