Team Dynamics - How Conflicts Affect Teams - Essay Example

Team Dynamics Thesis statement Teams cannot function in an environment free from conflicts and therefore the only way to achieve team goals and objectives is by engaging in effective conflict resolution strategies. Introduction Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, (2005) defines a team as a formal group of people working together with an aim of achieving common goals. Teams are important in that, they improve performance in an organization, they enhance communication and they make an organization more competitive in that they draw from a wide range of talent. This paper looks at conflict resolution process in teams with an aim of analyzing how conflicts affect teams. Business organizations are constantly striving to achieve efficiency and effectiveness on the part of the work force. The numerous challenges organizations are faced with such as competitor activity and unfavorable business environment all play a very important role in determining the success of the organization. Of all resources an organization has in its disposal none is perhaps as relevant and important to the success of the organization than the human resources. Human resources if managed well hold the key to the success of the organization. According to (Cranny, Smith, & Stone, 1992) human resources output is higher when the employee’s function as a team than it is the case when employees do not work as teams. A synergetic effect is what results when organizations embrace team spirit. However, creating functional and efficient teams calls for expertise, tolerance and a lot of motivation on the part of the organization. Teams enable employees to exploit their potential and therefore increase job performance. A team consists of members with diverse experience, skills and qualification, cultures and business backgrounds. To an organization, this translates into potential for success. However, as (Cranny, Smith, & Stone, 1992) notes team building process is a challenging process that can present numerous challenges to the management. However teams have disadvantages such as reduced independence of talented and capable workers, social loafing as well as bureaucracy hence time wastage (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2005). Tajfel, and Turner, (1979) classifies teams into functional teams which consist only of members drawn from various departments, self-managed teams which are formed to meet some specific goals and objectives and function with little or no supervision, task forces are teams constituted to oversee completion of specific projects, while process improvement teams are comprised of experts as well as technocrats in a given field. Formation of working teams presents the following challenges to leaders; establishing strong team leadership, difficulty in establishing positive interpersonal relationships, fear of the teams failing to meet set goals which translates to wasted resources as well as the possibility of members of the team failing to adopt well into the team. These challenges lead to conflicts in the group. As (Cote, & Morgan, 2002) notes, conflicts are not necessarily detrimental to the success of the organization. If well-resolved conflicts have numerous advantages and disadvantages alike. If well managed conflicts serve as a bonding experience and an opportunity for the team members to learn and reunite something which results into the team emerging more strong, and ready for the challenges ahead. According to (Sims, & Manz, 1995) in modern business organizations teams are indispensable something which explains the reasons for meetings and committees in most modern organizations. Teams in the process of executing their roles and functions, conflicts emerge which unless well resolved can lead to disruption of activities in the work place. The purpose of teams varies but no matter the nature of the teams, conflicts always crop up in teams. According to (Sims, & Manz, 1995) there is a positive correlation between effectiveness of any given team and high motivation and commitment of the team members. Therefore, while handling conflicts in teams there is a need for an understanding of these dynamics. How well motivated teams are determine which way teams go in their implementation of company policies. Conflict resolution calls for proper communication since all conflict resolution strategies involve one form of communication or the other. According to (Tajfel, & Turner, 1979), conflicts in teams result from a number of factors such as; the members having different goals from those of the organization as well as communication breakdown between members of the teams. Team conflicts are categorized into two; relationship-oriented conflicts and task-oriented conflicts (Fox, & Spector, 1999). Relationship conflict results when members of a team experience interpersonal incompatibility orchestrated by their different characters and traits. If not well resolved, these differences can interfere with team performance. Relationship conflicts are not beneficial to organizations and when they occur in an organization, efforts should be put to resolve them. The danger with relationship conflicts in teams is that if not well controlled they turn into a vicious cycle affecting the whole team and can totally paralyze teams hence causing failure to achieve team goals and objectives. Task-oriented conflicts are more related to the task the teams are involved in and results when team members cannot agree on the process of accomplishing team goals and objectives. As (Tajfel, & Turner, 1979) notes, task conflicts can be beneficial for teams in that they can cause team members in conjunction with the team leader to dedicate more effort and energy into evaluating the best way of achieving team objectives. Consequently creative solutions to the tasks are discovered, brainstormed and agreed upon, resulting into workable and effective solutions to problems, although (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2005) cautions that for task conflict to be effective, the conflicts must be moderate in nature as opposed to being extreme. When conflicts occur, the only available option is to resolve the conflicts as fast as possible and in the best way possible. There are several conflict resolution strategies namely; avoidance, imposition, composition and integrative bargaining (Tajfel, & Turner, 1979). According to, (Fox, & Spector, 1999) avoidance is a conflict resolution method in which team members ignore the conflict existing in the team. Ultimately, avoidance can backfire especially when team members can no longer withstand each other. Imposition as a method of conflict resolution involves a process in which team members involved in the conflict are forced to cope with the team inspite of their indifference. This type of conflict resolution can cause members of a team to be demoralized and demotivated something which can affect performance. Compromise as a conflict resolution method involves members of the team conceding some of their interests for the sake of the interests (Cranny, Smith, & Stone, 1992). Compromise is a very effective conflict resolution strategy in that, it caters for the diverse interests of team members and does not affect personal interests. Where it is embraced, it can lead to motivation and a synergetic effect. However, compromise as a conflict resolution method can deprive the organization of constructive disagreement in that members may become complacent and keep on agreeing and striking deals which are not necessarily beneficial (Cote, & Morgan, 2002). Integrative bargaining as a conflict resolution method is a strategy that aims at getting a win-win solution for all members of the team in times of conflict (Sims, & Manz, 1995). Integrative bargaining has been found to be the most effective of all the four conflict resolution strategies named above due to the fact that, it involves objective and assertive brainstorming of the problem at hand and at the same time, caters for each member’s concern without compromising the interests of the organization. Conclusion The success of a conflict resolution very much depends on the leadership of the team. It is the team leader who is supposed to guide the team through the conflict negotiation and resolution process and ensure that teams come out of conflicts stronger and united. Conflict resolution continues to plays a very important and central role for organizations. There is a need therefore, for organizations to encourage team work despite the numerous challenges especially in regard to conflicts, given that teams are central for the success of any given organization. Reference Cote, S. and Morgan, L (2002). A longitudinal analysis of the association between emotional regulation, job satisfaction and intention to quit. Journal of organizational behavior. Cranny, C., Smith, P. & Stone, E. (1992), Job Satisfaction. New York: Lexington. Fox, S. & Spector, P. (1999). A model of work frustration-aggression. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 20, 915-931. Spector, P., Fox, S., & Van Katwyk, P. (1999). The role of negative affectivity in employee reactions to job characteristics: Bias effect or substantive effect. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 72, Sims, H. and Manz, C. (1995). Company of Heroes: Unleashing the power of self-leadership. New York. Wiley. Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W.G. Austin & S. Schermerhorn, J. Hunt, J. and Osborn, R (2005). Organisational behavior, 9ed. John Wiley & Sons Inc. NAIROBI MUNICIPAL COUNCIL NBNHFNHH HHBHRHRG OF KHNFHGGH HNFFH RN Read More