Conflict Resolution Reflection Paper

Workplace conflict has been prevalent in the last two decades, which has generated different opinions from the general public, scholars, employees, managers, and other professionals. Conflict is a regular occurrence in the workplace due to the diverse nature of employees with unique cultural values, age, background, gender, and skills (Yadav and Lenka, 2020, p.557). This semester, I have learned more about conflict resolution, which has influenced my perceptions and understanding of its cause and management in a workplace environment. I have gained knowledge and understanding of the dynamic nature of conflict that requires effective mechanisms to help navigate these issues and promote high productivity and order in the workplace. In this reflection, I will explore my initial perception of conflict before and after the semester, and my personal experience, analysis, and strategies I learned to address future conflicts.

Initial Perception

When I started this semester, my first thought about conflict in the workplace was a simple issue since I knew it was a negative behavior that could easily be avoided. I thought that the natural response to conflict was avoiding it or trying to win the fight. I avoided engaging in conflict with classmates or colleagues during my internship period. Sometimes, I used the conflict as an opportunity to debate, battle, or win such a confrontation, without realizing that people used such situations to learn and grow my career. Due to a lack of cultural competence, I needed to gain more understanding and experience in conflict resolution, especially in managing communication. For instance, I never knew the value of conflict management in leadership since my thinking was based on the idea that talented employees and leaders are the only essential skills in ensuring that a business remains successful. In addition, I had never thought of analyzing my behavioral patterns in the decision-making process or during conflict situations.

Changing the Perception

At the end of this semester, I changed my perception of conflict resolution in a workplace environment since I realized it is an invaluable aspect of society. I learned that conflict is very complex, which forces every organization to understand the intricate nature of human interaction that tends to create such issues. I learned that conflict might be controlled and used to achieve workplace goals and objectives rather than creating stringent policies to eliminate it. After my placement, I realized that different kinds of conflicts require a tailored strategy for resolution. Also, I have learned that conflict may be a chance to improve relationships as well as personal development. It may encourage greater empathy, understanding, and connections when managed correctly. Now, I think about all the components of a good business and understand that they are equally crucial.

Personal Experience

During my internship program this semester, I had a real-life experience of workplace conflict among different employees since it was a common issue. Fortunately, I never had terrible experiences with conflict, but some colleagues have had mild and long-term consequences. In a call center, many staff members working in one department had some clashes due to jealousy over schedules, seating arrangements, and other office equipment. In our department, I experienced a staff relationship due to an existing perception of favoritism by my manager, which destroyed their connection. Head (2022, p.42) stated, “Successful leaders shape how priority issues are understood and debated.” For instance, conflicts arise from apparent priority and preference given to some people or departments over others. Despite such issues not being evident, the lack of proper communication allows such negative suspicion to thrive, lowering other employees' morale and creating more conflict. Nevertheless, I observed that most of these conflicts worked out over time, while the manager resolved others relatively quickly. However, I think that the company’s top management should not often assume that these conspiracy theories will die down naturally, since there are times when the impact can be destructive or lead to massive losses. For example, I witnessed an incident where an incompetent staff member led to an ugly and disturbing confrontation, which attracted the attention of the whole organization despite occurring in a specific department. I believed that the underlying cause of this conflict was not addressed, which allowed it to grow, leading to long-term office drama in the office, resulting in a dismissal. Also, I experienced conflict where an older and younger employee who worked side-by-side in the same department had several differences in conflicting working styles and personalities that led to tension.

Analysis

Based on my modules and internship experience, I learned several important things concerning the conflict. For instance, I realized that understanding the conflict triggers is necessary for developing effective resolution. The issues that trigger conflict in a workplace are common and usually become more accessible to identify over time, like changes in behavior due to personal problems, working styles, personality differences, and communication breakdown. However, conflict arising from personal issues is isolated primarily in cases like employees undergoing family struggles due to divorce or taking care of a child, and working at the same time can be very draining. I realized that employees with such issues in the workplace were very oversensitive and received support from colleagues.

Conversely, the conflicts that occurred due to differences in working styles, age, and personality are very common. The new generations are entering the workplace with a unique way of doing things, which the older staff struggle to embrace. These differences generated conflict due to age gaps, diverse backgrounds, and cultures, which often results in some resistance if proper training is not done to end this tension. I realized that these conflicts occurred due to the need for better communication to create workplace harmony. Thus, cultural competence is necessary to enable all employees to be conscientious with verbal and nonverbal communication since people interpret these things based on their cultural background. Unfortunately, a failure to find a solution to these issues can result in conflict and resentment, which many organizations may not be able to overcome, since it was a simple issue that they allowed to grow over time.

Strategies for Managing Workplace Conflict

However, this course helped me learn about managing workplace conflict through the modules and the internship program. For instance, effective communication is one way of managing conflict by actively listening to others to avoid preconceived bias (Heavin, H. and Keet, M., 2020, p.199). During my internship program, I observed differences in communication styles among staff due to their age and cultural differences. Moreover, suitable leadership styles should be installed in the workplace to limit potential conflicts by allowing employees to embrace their personalities and unique working styles. I learned that people need to establish common ground during the conflict by having a private and honest meeting.

Future Goals

This learning experience is effective in helping me move towards my future goal of becoming a leader in a huge company based on the skills I have gained throughout this course. Based on the issues I experienced in my internship placement, I will only give promises I can fulfill to enable employees to trust me. If I make the mistake of promising something I cannot achieve, I will compensate the employees and make them understand the reasons behind every failure. In my future leadership role, I want to build trust with the staff to create a sense of belonging, which will help solve the issue of favoritism. Further, I will work closely with my staff to assess their situation and performance, which is critical in implementing changes where they need support. Leaders are expected to develop trust among employees, which enables them to open up and share their ideas and career goals, which is vital to the organization's growth (Schulze, J.H. and Pinkow, F., 2020, p.37). I believe that trust is critical in a workplace since it enables employees to know everything that is happening in the workplace to avoid issues that may lead to conspiracy theories, like the existence of favoritism. I would also like to support my local community through initiatives that help in environmental conservation and assist disadvantaged people. I want to further my education to gain more knowledge on conflict management and technical skills by completing a master's degree.

Conclusion

Therefore, my understanding has evolved from the beginning of this semester up to the completion of the placement program, since I have learned that conflict is inevitable as long as workplaces employ human beings. I learned to be observant and apply every available resource in conflict resolutions since the long-term impacts can be very severe for an organization to manage. Some of the strategies I learned in conflict resolution are improving communication, training staff, and establishing good leadership, which are elements of an influential workplace culture. I realized that embracing conflict as a common issue in the workplace that should not be ignored is an essential step in supporting employees, since they benefit from such approaches. I consider conflict resolution a complex problem that needs more research since it goes beyond the ordinary behaviors that can be observed. Nevertheless, I gained vital experience and knowledge from different resources in this course, which I am determined to apply in my future career. Hence, current and future managers need to gain cultural competence to manage the diversity of workplace conflicts by identifying the underlying cause at all levels of organizations.