WEEK 8 REFLECTION

Conflict Resolution

The most valuable thing I think I have learned this week thanks to studying the course is how to deal with arising conflicts among team members during group work. I recently acquired this knowledge when our group is already in the final stages of the post-production phase in our assigned work. It was at the start of this week that we managed to work out some underlying tension and misunderstandings we had previously. According to Tuckman and Jensen’s (1977) idealization of group development model, conflicts in groups emerge during the Storming phase, where tension and competition are at peak due to frustration of the lack of progress.

Tuckman and Jensen’s (1977) model of group development

I think that due to the pressure that we all felt because of the heavy workload, it was quite difficult to have cohesion in our teamwork, and we were moving back and forth between that stage and Norming. However, the conflict reached a peak that made our group relationship very negative and unable to reach an agreement to proceed with the rest of the project, and the experience to handle this provided me with very beneficial understanding.

Under Ghaffar's (2009) categorization of conflicts, my issue belonged to Conflict in Values, meaning mainly it was me and my teammates’ differences in ideologies, rather than work-related topics that were the root of the dispute.

Image from Wix (2020)

As stated in Ghaffa’s research, poor communication is one of the most common sources of conflict and frequently leads to misunderstandings (Kuligowski 2019). The difference in personalities, shaped by respective experiences and personal backgrounds (Johnson 2019) among our team was possibly the reason that we held different opinions about the expected conduct while working together. As noted by Switzer (2018), effective communication has an important role in de-escalating conflict, which I have applied in my situation by having an open discussion to address the issue clearly and actively listen to others’ points of view.

Image from Wix (2020)

This experience has been extremely valuable to me to practice being exposed to new environments and enhance my interpersonal skills, particularly in argumentative situations. Before, I was hesitant to have an upfront conversation and used to tolerate conflicts for the end goal. However, I now understand that it’s not beneficial towards both professional outcomes and my personal relationships with others.

In the future, I will apply the 4 ways listed by Kuligowski (2018) to resolve conflict, which is to take quick actions when problems arise and have a clear outline of the expectation I expect from team members and vice versa. Being transparent from the get-go will be useful to understand the values that my partners believe in and help minimize chances of miscommunication. What’s more, I will further practice my listening skills to not only words, but also body language and take note of any possible clashes during conversations. Most importantly, I believe that having an open mind and respecting others’ differences is a great tool in dealing with conflict because when I am aware of opposing viewpoints, I can understand better how best to approach the situation. Being professional, positive (Accipio nd.) and being honest are also important values to apply in managing conflict, since the latter leads to a much faster procedure of reaching mutual understanding and is effective in eliminating conflict and encourages cooperation (Sarachek 1965). After that, I will take reconciliation measures to restore the friendship after conflict resolution (Bar-Siman-Tov 2005).

Image from Wix (2020)

This new skill I have learned will aid me greatly in future group work and in my professional career, as I will interact and work with other people who are different from me. I will apply this knowledge in preventing and resolving conflicts in order to have harmony in teamwork and achieve desirable results in final outcomes.