PERSONALITY CONFLICT AND
MANAGEMENT
PREPARED AND PRESENTED
BY
ASARE, RICHARD OPOKU
COLLEGE OF NURSING, NTOTROSO
BRONG AHAFO REGION, GHANA
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INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY
 For instance, when you say of someone ‘She is a kind
woman but loses his temper easily’, you are describing
her personality. Thus, personality means a person’s
qualities and character as seen by others.
 Every personality is unique. It develops as a reflection
of the life experiences which shape the feelings and
behaviour of the individual from the moment s/he is
born.
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WHAT IS PERSONALITY
 Personality is the dynamic organization within the
individual of those psycho-physical systems that
determine his unique adjustments to its
environment.
 Personality is said to be dynamic meaning It varies
with changes in Person-Environment fitting across
situations. It is developed through self monitoring
and learning.
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Cont’d
 In terms of organization, Personality can not be
studied with only one attribute. Therefore, it is
multi-dimensional.
 Personality is described to be unique meaning It
varies from individual to individual.
 With regards to adjustment, Personality directs
individual to cope with environment in unique way.
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Cont’d
 Personality is defined as the set of habitual
behaviours, cognitions and emotional patterns
that evolve from biological and environmental
factors (Wikipedia, 2017).
 Personality is also seen as the combination of
characteristics or qualities that form an
individual’s distinctive character.
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Cont’d
 Personality is defined as the set of habitual
behaviours, cognitions and emotional patterns
that evolve from biological and environmental
factors (Wikipedia, 2017).
 In other words, it refers to individual differences
in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and
behaving (Encyclopedia of psychology, 2000).
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Cont’d
 Personality is also seen as the combination
of characteristics or qualities that form an
individual’s distinctive character.
 Other synonyms used to describe
personality are character, nature,
disposition, temperament, make-up,
persona, psyche, identity.
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Cont’d
 So as human beings, there are “reasons”
for everything we do; though we
sometimes find it difficult to
understand why we think like we think,
feel like we feel, or act like we act in
life.
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MYTHS ABOUT PERSONALITY
1) Personality can be assessed by appearance.
2) Personality can be assessed by one’s
conscious behavior.
3) It is inherited and Environment has no
role. Therefore, we can not change our
personality.
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PERSONALITY TYPES
 According to the scientific analysis all human
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personalities are commonly divided up into four
major categories and these four types are further
broken down into two categories —
Extroverts and Introverts.
1) Extroverted Personalities: are more “out-going,”
more sociable, talkative. (Choleric and
Sanguine)
2) Introverted Personalities: are more shy and
“reserved”.
(Melancholy and Phlegmatic)
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THE FOUR CATEGORIES OF TEMPERAMENTS
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SANGUINE
 Strengths
• Is warm, lively, never at loss of words
• Is responsive to people, enjoyable, optimistic, apologizes
easily, engages in activities requiring energy
 Weakness
• Is emotionally unpredictable
• Forgets promises and obligations
• Is sometimes disorganized
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CHOLERIC
 Strengths
• Is confident, strong- willed, self determined, selfsufficient, fearless and bold
• Is a good organizer and promoter
 Weakness
• Is insensitive to the needs of others, sometimes disgusted
by the tears of others and almost never cries
• Can be cruel, blunt, bossy, domineering
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PHLEGMATIC
 Strengths
• Is calm, dependable, good-natured, pleasant and peaceloving
• Has many friends because they are easy-going
 Weakness
• Is sometimes too calm, slow and lazy, indecisive
• They don’t get involved, selfish and stingy, indifferent
about others
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MELANCHOLIC
 Strengths
• Though makes friends cautiously, they can be very dependable
• Has strong perfectionist tendencies and likes detailed,
intellectual work
• They love music and art; can be deep reflective thinkers
 Weakness
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• Critical of other imperfections
• Can be very impractical, hesitant to begin a new project and
over-analyses things
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Can be moody
and gloomy
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CONFLICTS
 Personality conflict arises when there is
mismatch between expected self and actual
self that causes conflict.
 Given the uniqueness of our personalities
even as nurses in a health team, there is
bound to be conflict when we work
together...
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WHAT IS CONFLICT
 Conflict occurs when two or more
parties (people, groups, etc.) perceive
that they have mutually incompatible
goals.
 They want different outcomes.
 Conflicts vary in intensity and duration.
 Intensity affects the way we intervene.
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THE MYTHS OF CONFLICTS
1) Conflict is only negative
2) Conflict is only about Outcomes
3) There is only one right way
4) Conflict is abnormal
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LEVELS OF CONFLICT
 Intra-personal (within the individual)
 Interpersonal (between individuals)
 Intragroup (within a group)
 Intergroup (between groups)
 Organizational
 Societal
 National
 International
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
Global
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CAUSES OF CONFLICT
 Conflict of aims – different goals
 Conflict of ideas – different
interpretations
 Conflict of attitudes – different
opinions
 Conflict of behavior – different
behaviors are unacceptable
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PYRAMID OF CONFLICT
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WHY CONFLICT ARISES
Type “A” Personality
Type “B” Personality
 Highly Competitive
 Works methodically
 Strong Personality
 Rarely competitive
 Restless when inactive
 Enjoys leisure time
 Seeks reward
 Does not anger easily
 Thrives on deadlines
 Does job well but doesn’t
 need recognition
 Easy-going
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AGGRESSIVE PEOPLE
Body language
Verbal language
 Stiff and straight
 “I want you to…”
 Bangs tables to emphasize
 “You must…”
points
 Folds arms across body
 “Do what I tell you!”
 “You’re stupid!”
Aggressive people are basically insecure….. Try to avoid them.
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SUBMISSIVE PEOPLE
Body Language
Verbal Language
 Avoids eye contact
 “I’m sorry”
 Stooped posture
 “It’s all my fault”
 Speaks quietly
 “Oh dear”
 Fidgets
Submissive people have a great sense of inferiority
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ASSERTIVE PEOPLE
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Body language
Verbal language
 Stands straight
 “Let’s”
 Appears composed
 “How shall we do this?”
 Smiles
 “I think… What do you
 Maintains eye contact
think?”
 “I would like…”
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PERSONALITIES WHO CAUSE
CONFLICT
 Aggressor
 Passive
 Error prone
 Negative attitude
 Chatterbox
 Do nothing
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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
STYLES/TECHNIQUES
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COMPETING (MY WAY)
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Competing (Forcing) – Cont’d
 This is where an individual firmly pursues
his or her own concerns despite the
resistance of the other person. This may
involve maintaining firm resistance to
another person’s actions.
 When one person seeks to satisfy his or her
own interests, regardless of the impact on
the other parties to the conflict.
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COLLABORATING (OUR WAY)
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Collaborating – Cont’d
 Collaboration involves an attempt to work
with the other person to find a solution to
the problem in hand (the one that most
satisfies the concerns of both parties).
 The intention is to solve the problem by
clarifying differences rather than by
accommodating various points of view.
 It is win-win situation.
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Examples of when Win-Win may be
appropriate:
 When consensus and commitment of
other parties is important.
 When a long-term relationship is
important.
 When it is required to address the
interests of multiple stakeholders.
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COMPROMISING (50/50)
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Compromising – Cont’d
 Compromising looks for a mutually
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acceptable solution which partially satisfies
both parties.
 Each party in conflict seeks to give up some
thing, sharing occurs, resulting in a
compromised outcome. Here no one is a
loser or a winner, but solution provides
incomplete satisfaction of both parties’
concerns.
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Examples of when Compromising may
be appropriate:
 To reach temporary settlement on
complex issues.
 As a first step when the involved parties
do not know each other well.
 When collaboration or forcing do not
work.
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ACCOMODATING (YOUR WAY)
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Accommodating (Smoothing) – Cont’d
Accommodating is accepting the
concerns of other people first of all,
rather than one's own concerns.
It is where one party seeks to
appease an opponent, that party
may be willing to place the
opponent’s interests above his or
her own.
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Examples of when Accommodating
(Smoothing) may be appropriate:
 When the issue is not as important to
you as it is to the other person.
 When you accept that you are wrong.
 When you have no choice or when
continued competition would be
detrimental.
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AVOIDING (NO WAY)
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Avoiding (Withdrawing) – Cont’d
 This is when a person does not pursue
her/his own concerns or those of the
opponent. He/she does not address the
conflict, sidesteps, postpones or simply
withdraws.
 It is where a person recognizes that a
conflict exists and want to withdraw
from it or suppress it.
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Examples of when Withdrawing may be
appropriate:
 When the issue is trivial and not worth the
effort.
 When more important issues are pressing,
and you don't have time to deal with it.
 When you are unable to handle the conflict
(e.g. if you are too emotionally involved or
 others can handle it better).
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CONFLICT CONTINUUM
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ASSERTIVENESS
COMPETING
COLLABORATING
COMPROMISING
AVOIDING
ACCOMMODATING
COOPERATIVENESS
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ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF EACH CONFLICT STYLE
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Competing/Forcing - Advantages
 The winner is clear.
 Winners usually experience gains.
 May provide a quick resolution to a
conflict.
 Increases self-esteem and draws respect
when firm resistance or actions were
response to an aggression or hostility.
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Competing/Forcing - Disadvantages
 Establishes the battleground for the next conflict.
 May cause worthy competitors to withdraw or
leave the organization.
 May negatively affect your relationship with the
opponent in the long run.
 May cause the opponent to react in the same way,
even if the opponent did not intend to be forceful
originally.
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Accommodation - Advantages
 Curtails conflict situation
 Enhances ego of the other
 In some cases smoothing will help to
protect more important interests while
giving up on some less important ones
 Gives an opportunity to reassess the
situation from a different angle
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Accommodation - Disadvantages
 Sometimes establishes a precedence
 Does not fully engage participants
 There is a risk to be abused, i.e. the
opponent may constantly try to take
advantage of your tendency toward
smoothing/accommodating. Therefore it is
important to keep the right balance and this
requires some skill.
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Compromising - Advantages
 Shows good will.
 Establishes friendship.
 Faster issue resolution.
 Can provide a temporary solution while
still looking for a win-win solution.
 Lowers the levels of tension and stress
resulting from the conflict.
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Compromising - Disadvantages
 No one gets what they want.
 May feel like a dead end.
 May result in a situation when both
parties are not satisfied with the
outcome.
 May require close monitoring and control
to ensure the agreements are met.
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Collaboration - Advantages
 Everyone “wins”
 Creates good feelings
 Leads to solving the actual problem
 Builds a foundation for effective
collaboration in the future
 You earn the reputation of a good
negotiator
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Collaboration - Disadvantages
 Hard to achieve since no one knows how.
 Often confusing since players can “win”
something they didn’t know they wanted.
 Requires a commitment from all parties to
look for a mutually acceptable solution.
 May require more effort and more time than
some other methods.
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Avoiding/Withdrawing - Advantages
 When the opponent is forcing, you may
choose to withdraw and postpone your
response until you are in a more
favourable circumstance for you to
response.
 Gives the ability/time to focus on more
important or more urgent issues instead.
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Avoiding/Withdrawing - Disadvantages
Not acting may be sometimes be
interpreted as an agreement.
Sometimes withdrawing may
negatively affect your relationship
with a party that expects your action.
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LEVELS OF CONFLICT
MANAGEMENT
 INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
 GROUP LEVEL
 ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL
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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL
Unambiguous communication
Realigning work group
Altering rules and regulations
Increasing interdependence
Structural changes to disrupt status
quo
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SUMMARY
 All human beings are unique in their behavior but can be
classified into four major personality types – Sanguine,
Choleric, Melancholic and Phlegmatic.
 All personalities have their strengths and weaknesses which
must be understood if we are to work together effectively.
 Due to our personality differences, conflicts are bound to
arise.
 There are five techniques for resolving conflicts –
Withdrawing, Forcing, Win-Win, Smoothing and
Compromising.
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CONCLUSION
Despite our different personalities,
proper application of the resolution
techniques in their appropriate
contexts always guarantees harmony
in our workplaces even when
conflicts arise.
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END OF LECTURE
THANK YOU
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 My gratitude goes to all authors whose publication(s) I
used for this presentation.
 My appreciation goes to the 2017/2018 first year
students of College of Nursing, Ntotroso for having the
patience to sit in and giving me the attention during the
presentation of this material.
 I thank all my colleagues who did the proof-reading
before the presentation of this material.
 For all members of the slideshare community, I say
continue imparting your knowledge to us. God bless
you.
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