Conflict: Influence and dealing with differences 
Feb 15 Assignment:

1. Read  sections of text and website related to conflict

2. Meet as a team (during class time or other) and discuss the results of your Conflict Mode Inventory
    a.    What is your style (primary, secondary, least) and implications of that style.
    b.    Discuss implications of your constellation of styles if you were a permanent task group
    c.    Discuss utility of this instrument for OD regarding understanding conflict in teams and organizations (advantages   & disadvantages)

3. Go around your team using the Sentence Completion worksheet.
    a.    How well would it work to “break the ice” in discussing beliefs and styles regarding conflict?
    b.    If you were a permanent task group, would this exercise help your working with each other (advantages & disadvantages)

4. Identify a case of conflict in an organization you are familiar with, and discuss:
    a.  What were its causes; how did it arise?
    b.  How was it handled? What efforts were made to resolve it?
    c.  How well did the efforts wor? Why or why not  were they effective?
    d. What would you recommend to have improved the resolution?


Conflict often has ugly connotations to people. As a result, we tend to avoid disagreements, confrontations, conflict, and attempt to bypass situations where it might arise. The result is that team members may not discover how their differences might complement each other, nor do they overcome conflict with clearer ideas of boundaries and increased trust and cohesion.

Study questions:

Conflict naturally emerges in nearly all groups. Sometimes this occurs during the jostling for position and influence during the "storming" stage of development, but can occur at any stage, such as when there are disagreements over goal definitions. Conflict grows out of differences over valued beliefs, and it can be mild, moderate or severe. Mild to moderate conflict can have a beneficial catalyzing effect on a team by bringing out issues that require discussion, acknowledging real differences, and preventing hidden agendas and subgrouping. Severe conflict can handicap a team, preoccupy group functioning, damage relationships, and seriously impair an organization.

The following are important assumptions about conflict:

Team Stages & Conflict. The "Storming" stage of group and team work is often considered a stage of conflict and even fighting, when it is really a stage of development where people become more aware of their differences and attempt to use their influence to persuade each other. Conflict only occurs when such influence does not work, and influence behavior escalates. Review what the stages of team development are, with an emphasis on Storming: Style & conflict. People also differ in their styles, or the way they tend to understand and deal with situations. They often behave in ways that are intended to influence others, and the Storming stage is where these maneuvers are initially tested. The Jungian instruments have been widely used as a way for people to explore their interpersonal, problem solving, and conflict styles. Self-monitoring refers to the ways people calibrate their behavior based on people's reaction to them. The Mach Scale has also been devised to explore how manipulative people can be. Review your style related to conflict and influence: Managing conflict. This selection of links describes some of the team- and organizational based causes of conflict, their symptoms and effects, and how they can be managed. Additional Readings Sample Training Materials
Organizations