Chris Assef MGT-2220-01 Discussion Questions for Chapters 10 & 13 10. How can managers promote constructive conflict? Conflict is a disagreement through which two or more parties perceive a threat to their interests, needs or concerns (Org Behavior). Conflict can have positive and negative outcomes depending on how the people involved react to the situation. The reason for the conflict does not necessarily determine if it is positive or negative, people are able to create a positive outcome out of something that seems very negative at first. This is a reason why conflict management is so important because the way people deal with conflict has a huge impact on the outcome. There is a lot of potential for conflict in work environments, and it is important that people know how to deal with it in a positive way. When conflict gets to a point when the nature of the argument is simply aimed at the other parties emotions, it is called dysfunctional conflict, and will always have a negative outcome (Org. Behavior). Constructive conflict is the type of conflict that allows people to learn from it. Constructive conflict is able to help develop creativity, adaptation and a desire to discover a mutually acceptable outcome (Org. Behavior). There are a few common causes of conflict that come up often in a work environment. One of these is task conflict, where people have a disagreement on a certain task or goal. Task conflict can be constructive because it will help promote creativity and allows for multiple plans to be created and discussed. It becomes an issue for bigger tasks and projects though, where a clear and concise plan is needed to execute it properly. Another type of common conflict is called process conflict, which is conflict about how to accomplish a task, and who is responsible for what, and how things should be executed. This is similar to task conflict but is more focused on planning out steps for a project (org. Behavior). Similar to task conflict, process conflict helps encourage creativity within the organization, and managers can influence this positive type of conflict by vaguely assigning work tasks to employees, and not being very clear on who is responsible for what. This will encourage employees to figure this out for themselves and help them gain experience as individuals and as a team. Relationship conflict is also common in a work environment. This is when there is conflict or stress due to co-workers who do not get along very well and have personal differences. Although this might seem beneficial at first, because it gives people an opportunity to work their issues out, it is actually one of the leading causes of dysfunctional conflict. It would not be wise for a manager to purposefully pair people together who do not get along in hopes of letting them solve their problems. It is probably better to just keep them separated. Relationship conflict is not constructive most of the time, it is best for a manager to encourage constructive conflict through things like teamwork and task management. 13. Describe a time in the last week that someone influenced you to do something you would not otherwise have done. What influence tactic(s) did she or he use? Time in the last week where I was influenced to do something that I definitely did not want to do was when my mother influenced me to try Bikram Yoga, which is a very intense type of yoga. It involves extreme stretching and difficult poses at a temperature of about 102-108 degrees. My mother does this very often and enjoys it a lot, and has been trying to get me to do it for a long time, but I always say no. One tactic that she used was the coalition tactic, which is engaging the help of others to persuade someone to do something, and to attempt to get them to change their attitude about something (org. Behavior). My mom the rest of my family to join in on getting me to do this, with my sisters and even my dad saying that they would do It as well. Although this did not make me have a desire to do it still, it did persuade me a little bit, but mainly because of my family pressuring me into it. She also used inspirational appeals by trying to educate me on the benefits of doing Bikram yoga, saying how it is very good for your health and very beneficial for flexibility and strength. Although these are very good benefits and I believed her that it was a very healthy activity, it did not influence me to want to participate in it. The main reason being the extreme heat that it is done in, and the long 90 minute periods that she does it for. After not being very influenced by my mom to do a Bikram yoga class with her, she was about to give up but tried one more influence tactic to get me to do it. She used the exchange tactic, saying she will give me money if I try just one class with her. I am not sure why exactly she was so desperate to have me do it, but she really wanted me to try it. I finally agreed that if I try it once she would have to pay me. I ended up hating it, but it made my mom happy, so it was worth it in the end. Sources: Griffin, R. W., & Moorhead, G. (2014). Organizational behavior: Managing people and organizations. Estados Unidos: Cengage Learning Editores.
