Management of Conflict

The goal of this assignment is to help you apply your knowledge of conflict management to a real-world situation so that you can improve your skills in handling conflict. You must read the assigned article, “Too Hot to Handle? How to Manage Relationship Conflict.” I want you to use this article as a framework for this assignment.

Think of a few of the relationship conflicts you have experienced that did not end well/achieve what you wanted (make sure you understand the different kinds of conflict so you can identify a relationship conflict). Either focus on one or try to find a pattern in many.

In this assignment, I want you to reflect on conflict and use ideas in the article (a) to understand what went wrong and (b) to figure out what youcould have done differently—not what the other party did/did not do to increase conflict or what you wanted them to do. The focus must be on actions you could take.

Page length is flexible. A general expectation is a maximum of 1000 words.. Please cover the following points:

• Background of the conflict: Why did it happen?, Who was involved? What were the issues that started the conflict?
• Describe the conflict and how it progressed. Sometimes conflicts escalate; task conflicts can become relationship conflicts. You can talk about this if it occurred.
• Outcome of the conflict
• Your reflection based on the article: The article describes how conflicts progress. See if this applies to your conflict. This is the heart of your analysis, so spend some time thinking about this.
• If you could move back time, what would you do differently at various points (before conflict started, during conflict, etc.)?

In order to receive a good grade, you need to convince me that (a) you have read and understood the assigned reading and (b) you have applied and reflected upon this reading. Note: You do not need to agree with the reading. In your reflection, you can discuss what you disagreed with and what you did not find useful. This is as valuable as agreeing. Remember, every assignment is a chance to practice persuasive communication. Take responsibility to earn the grade you want

REQUIRED TEXT :Robert Konopaske, John M Ivancevich, & Michael T Matteson. Organizational Behavior and Management, 11th ed. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. 2018. ISBN10

• Chapter 11: Managing Conflict and Negotiation
• Article: Smith, D. M., & Edmondson, A. C. (2006). Too hot to handle? How to manage relationship conflict. California Management Review, 49(1), 6-31. (Available from our library databases).
• Online book: Fisher, R and Ury, W. Getting to YesThis link opens in a new tab (PDF). Random House (pp. 7–48).