Overview

Conflict is an element of both life and work situations. Learning to manage conflictand even to see the benefits of conflict and its resolutionis important. Investigate conflict management strategies and apply them to three types of conflicts. Evaluate when a particular strategy is best suited to specific conflicts.

Being the new executive director of a human services organization. You haven't been the director for long when, one day, tensions at the organization lead to a series of complaints.

• Clients from an underserved community within the city complain about the intervention strategy the agency uses, specifically, its focus on individual clients rather than engaging the entire family.
• An influential minister from the same community sends a formal complaint in writing about the same concern. This person has been an instrumental stakeholder in helping the organization gain access toand the trust ofthis community.
• The staff at the agency are divided. Some agree with the criticism, saying the agency failed to deliver on your predecessor's promise to deliver culturally competent services, while others argue that their services adhere to standard practice.

As the executive director, recognize the importance of each of these groups:

• Every organization wants satisfied clients.
• Organizations need to maintain strong relationships with key external stakeholders, such as community leaders like the minister.
• Staff discord can impact the overall functioning of the organization.

Instructions

1. Compare Collaborative and Accommodating conflict management strategies.
   • Discuss Collaborative and Accommodating conflict management strategies;
   • How are they similar? Different?
2. Apply both conflict management strategies to each of the conflicts (clients, community stakeholder, and staff members).
   • For each of the two conflict management strategies identified, how could you use it with:
     • Clients?
     • The minister (community stakeholder)?
     • Staff members?
3. Compare the use of conflict management strategies with each group (clients, community stakeholder, and staff).
   • What are similarities and differences in how conflict management strategies would be used with each group (clients, community stakeholder, and staff)?
   • What are the likely outcomes of each conflict management strategy with each group?