Terri Iverson LDS Travel Services Managing Conflict in the Work Place

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1 Terri Iverson LDS Travel Services Managing Conflict in the Work Place 1

2 Managing Conflict in the Work Place It was said by Abraham Lincoln When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted. (Books, 2003) It is the purpose of this paper to show that conflict can be managed in the workplace by following President Lincoln s advice and by putting into practice the management skills that lead to timely resolution of conflict found normally in the routine day to day activities of a team. Conflict is a part of the workplace. It is the disagreements that we experience with individuals or groups as a result of different attitudes, beliefs, values or needs. In the workplace conflict is one of the biggest problems faced by managers and employees. With the years of experience I have had in the travel industry, conflict in the work place is something I have experienced time and time again. There are always changes, with new policies and procedures. Ticketing, baggage issues, and reservations can cause conflict. These elements are out of our control. However, when it comes to working with the general public and also your coworkers it is necessary to recognize the conflict that happens on a daily basis and find successful ways of resolving these situations. I have found that conflict does not go away if ignored. Here s the thing- leadership and conflict go hand-in-hand. Leadership is a full-contact sport, and if you cannot or will not address conflict in a healthy, productive fashion, you should not be in a leadership role. From my perspective, the issues surrounding conflict resolution can be best summed-up by adhering to the following ethos; don t fear conflict; embrace it- it s your job. (Myatt) While you can try to avoid conflict in the workplace it is not always possible. It becomes critical that you, as the travel professional, learn the skills it takes to manage this conflict. The ability to recognize conflict, understand was causes conflict, and to bring a quick resolution to conflict will help you as a leader. The Positive and Negative Sides of Conflict: In looking at both sides of conflict, sometimes positives can come out of the negative experience. Viewing conflict as positive allows us to have greater creativity and become stronger. Creativity enables us to have new ideas. It can also benefit us, having made a mistake, to then share our experience of the mistake. Making mistakes encourages change and innovation by letting our coworkers know that it is ok to fail. We can learn self-respect and feel very capable and likable when we use our mistakes as a learning experience. By having a positive outlook on conflict you are more likely to be able to solve problems in the work place. Sharing your ideas and practicing your skills will allow you to be a more effective travel professional. This past year I accepted an opportunity to be a supervisor in our travel agency. I am now responsible for the agents that book travel and process visas for all of Europe and 2

3 Asia. They gave me a team that had quite a bit of conflict among several members of the team. They felt I would be a good fit because of my customer service experience. So part of my goal has been to try to help them work well together as a team. I have used the following steps to organize my team. I needed to learn and adopt these steps in order to manage the conflict that was occurring. 1. Define Acceptable Behavior. You know what they say about assuming It was very important to me that as a new supervisor, as I sat down with my team all together, to talk about what was acceptable behavior. Having a clear and defined job description so that people would know what s expected of them is very effective and will help avoid conflicts. My goal was to have my team show great customer service when working with our clients. More importantly it was my expectation to give great customer service to everyone on our team. Defining acceptable behavior was the best way to start in managing conflict with my new team. 2. Hit Conflict Head-on. While you can t always prevent conflicts, it has been my experience that the secret to conflict resolution is to strive continually to prevent it wherever possible. As I began to work with this new team, the first thing I needed to determine was the cause of the conflict with between the individuals I was expected to supervise. I asked for information from several individuals that were involved and invited them in these discussions to pinpoint what was causing conflict among themselves and their co-workers. It was important to schedule a time when all team members would be present. We also determined a place where we would not be interrupted. 3. Provide Alternative Options. I have noticed that people feel empowered when they are a part of the decision making process. When they have a say in the solutions and feel like they are heard, they have a vested interest in solving the conflict. It was very important for my team, in the beginning of this new union, to share their thoughts and feelings and present different options to prevent conflict between each other. We also set a goal of attaining great customer service as a team. In our first meeting, because we were all together for the discussions, we were able to come up with several great ideas of how we could achieve our goal. 4. Implement Solutions. After the meetings with my team I found the best way to implement solutions was in one on one s each month. I would set aside time to meet with each team member individually when there would be no interruptions. Team members would open up and be honest in an effort to communicate their concerns to me. Sometimes they would identify ways they could change their behavior as they worked with another team member. Because we also talked about conflict in our team 3

4 meetings, each member was aware of the expectations. It was very important to me that they understand what the goals were and how they as an individual could obtain them. 5. View Conflict as Opportunity. Hidden with every conflict, is the potential for a teaching opportunity. Where there is disagreement there is potential for growth and development. I worked for Southwest Airlines for 10 years as a Customer Care Representative and I learned so many valuable things in dealing with conflict right on the front line. Bottom line I believe resolution can normally be found with conflicts where there is a sincere desire to do so. I have had a strong desire to find the resolutions with my new team over this past year. This will be an ongoing challenge for me, to recognize and manage my team in effective ways that will help to lessen the conflicts between people on my team. It has also been very important for me, in my new position, to get the feedback needed from each of my team members. This helps me to manage conflict when it occurs. Interestingly enough, as I am writing this paper, I thought I would share with you the I just received from one of my team members. See the text from the below: (I have changed the names) Please remind Sue that what I do at my desk is my business and what others say while talking to me is my business and is meant for my ears. Until she is my paid supervisor then her mandates and interference in my conversations are not required... This was my response: She is my senior agent and does have the ability to act in my behalf when I am gone. You have been doing so well please be professional and courteous when someone talks to you. That s all I am saying at this time. I know you have a hard time with Sue. Just to give you a little background on the gentleman that sent me the . I had received several complaints about his attitude from some VIP s in our company. So working with him was my first experience with managing conflict. We, my manager and I, had to bring in with a Human Resources person and have them involved the meeting to discuss his problem. We gave him a written warning letter about his behavior and let him know what changes needed to be made and what our expectations were. He has been very receptive to the council we gave him and I have noticed his effort to improve his attitude. I have to be constantly on top of the conflict that happens with my team. We have met together in our one on ones to discuss his progress and I like to give him positive feedback when he is doing well. It was a little disappointing to get the from him. 4

5 However Sue can be a little bossy so I am sure that was the reason for his today. Management is not for wimps, it can be exhausting to keep up with this type of conflict! These techniques of clarifying priorities and expectations have worked great for my team. When we are in our staff meetings we talk about the basic mission and the reason our organization exists. When the team members can share in a common purpose it helps minimize negative conflict. Behaviors that Cause Conflict The time you spend in understanding human behavior-that is, how people act-is an investment that will pay future dividends. Once you understand people s behavior, you will rely less on your gut feelings and more on an objective evaluation of the causes of conflict. (Institute) The following list of behaviors will help us understand the causes of conflict. 1. Analytical ability: Isolates the fundamental parts of a complex problem: pays attention to details. 2. Learning ability: Can grasp new ideas and concepts. 3. Judgment: Has the mental ability to discern what has to be done; blends experience and knowledge effectively. 4. Planning: Sets a predetermined course of action. 5. Organizing: Lays out tasks in a logical sequence; establishes and maintains priorities. (Institute) After studying the behaviors listed above I can see why, on my team, there is conflict among certain individuals. There also are a number of other behaviors such as emotional behaviors. Here are some of the emotional behaviors: honesty, persistence, ambition, self-discipline, being a self-starter, becoming assertive and enthusiastic. Understanding these behaviors plays a very important part of managing conflict. Each individual may show any number of these behaviors. They will each have some that are strengths and some that they are not as proficient with. In this past year I have had the opportunity to hire 8 of the 12 members on my team. I feel like I have mastered what the recipe is to hire the perfect person to work in our office and with the individuals that are already here. When you work in a busy travel office you need to be flexible, adaptable, and able to get along with many different types of people and behaviors. Because of my background in Customer Service my recipe is to hire NICE. You can teach people the technical skills needed but you can t, or don t always have the time to, teach NICE. The 8 new people that are on my team are so pleasant to work with. Their emotional behaviors are fitting for the kind of travel office in which we work. The 2 Individuals that I spoke of earlier on my team, that had the problems with one another, are not what I consider to be NICE. As a result, managing 5

6 the conflict is much more difficult with those two individuals. I spend much less time in this area with the other members of my team. This course has taught me some tools and techniques needed to supervise my team. It is important for me to be aware of these situations and to look at conflict as a positive way to bring better results to problems. Mediating this conflict is challenging, but as a manager or supervisor, the role of a mediator comes with the job. Workplace conflict exists between individuals and groups and it may lead to a series of negative influence to the organization in which you work unless there is an awareness of how conflict can affect the team. When people work together, cultural differences, gender differences, style differences, and all kinds of other differences occur. Resolving and avoiding conflict in the workplace will help increase effectiveness. When I properly manage work conflict it will bring positive results for the organization, and even in my personal life. Creating a harmonious workplace is a win-win situation. After all the study and research I have done I feel it is very necessary to communicate with my team the best solutions for avoiding and managing conflict. Bibliography Books, A. (2003). Quotations of Abraham Lincoln. Applewood Books. Consulting, A. (2008). How to Manage Conflict. Retrieved from Gill Corkindale, 2. (n.d.). How to Manage Conflict. Retrieved from ict.html Institute, T. T. (n.d.). Managing Conflict. Board of Trustees of the Travel Institute, 2006, Myatt, M. (n.d.). Forbes. Retrieved from 5 Keys of Dealing with Workplace Conflict: online, C. (n.d.). Resolving Workplace Conflict. Retrieved from aspx Staff, U. S. (n.d.). How to Handle Conflict in the Workplace. Retrieved from 6