Conflict Management and Resolution for Teams
When a group of individuals with varying experiences, thought processes and expectations
work together as a team, conflict is inevitable. While many people see conflict as a sign of
failure, teams can potentially use conflict as an asset. Understanding conflict dynamics and
cultural approaches to conflict management help teams to distill key points vital to a
successful and productive resolution of team conflict.
John Dewey (1934, p. 207) once said, Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to
observation and memory. It instigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheep like passivity,
and sets us at noting and contriving. What did he mean by this statement? The thought of
actually being stirred into observation and memory suggests something has to occur to get
someone moving. The question has always been what motivates anyone into action?
Types of Team Conflict
Research has shown that there are all sorts of conflict and each conflict varies depending
on the person conducting the research. In the book Tools for Teams, Leigh Thompson,
Eileen Aranda, and Stephen P. Robbins (2000, p. 514) suggest there are four basic types if
conflict: emotional, cognitive, constructive and destructive. Emotional and destructive
conflicts lead to an inability to resolve issues. Cognitive and constructive conflicts are a
necessary part of finding successful solutions as a team.
Emotional Conflict
Emotional is personal, defensive, and resentful. (Thompson, Aranda, & Robbins, 2000, p.
514) and of is based on anger, personality clashes, ego and tension. Emotional conflict
occurs when individual interests trump the interests of the team as a whole. This type of
conflict interferes with the effort of a team to resolve a problem.
Cognitive Team Conflict
Cognitive conflict occurs when team members voice different ideas and is largely
depersonalized (Thompson, Aranda, & Robbins, 2000, p. 515). As opposed to emotional
conflict, his type of conflict is based on arguments about the merits of ideas, plans and
projects. Because cognitive conflict is not based on personal feelings, it forces team
members to rethink problems and arrive at a collective decision.
Constructive Team Conflict
Constructive conflict, as the name suggests, helps teams resolve problems and uncover
new solutions to old issues in a productive manner (Thompson, Aranda, & Robbins, 2000,
p. 515). It allows change and growth to occur within a team environment.
Destructive Team Conflict
Destructive conflict, like emotional conflict, causes dysfunction when a lack of common
agreement leads to negativism (Thompson, Aranda, & Robbins, 2000, p. 516). This
