Workplace Conflict

Conflict in the workplace is a perennial problem for organizations. Whether it's a disagreement between colleagues, a dispute with management or large-scale industrial action, conflict negatively affects both people and profits as employee morale and productivity fall. Endorsed by the CIPD, Managing Conflict is an essential guide for HR professionals needing to tackle these problems by not only resolving current issues, but also preventing future instances of conflict. Going beyond interpersonal conflict, the book also looks at resolving board room disputes, disputes with shareholders, in the supply chain, commercial disputes and customer complaints. The first part of Managing Conflict covers the causes and costs of conflict, the impact of the psychological contract and the legal framework for managing workplace disputes both in the UK and internationally. The second part of the book provides a blueprint for redefining resolution and building a culture of constructive conflict management, from designing a conflict management strategy and developing a formal resolution process to embedding mediation, engaging stakeholders and training managers in resolution and mediation skills. This book also includes conflict resolution toolkits for managers, HR teams, employees and unions to help tackle conflict and bullying at work. Packed with best practice case studies from major UK and global organizations, this is an indispensable guide for all HR professionals looking to resolve conflict in the workplace. Online supporting resources include a conflict health check tool, conflict cost calculator, and checklist for developing an internal mediation scheme.

Today's workplaces are dynamic, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that tension can develop quickly and ruinously. The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook is the ideal resource for anyone ready to confront conflict at work rather than run from it. Managed correctly, conflict can be a positive source for innovation and creativity. Using examples drawn from a wide range of corporate and entrepreneurial experiences, along with checklists and other practical tools, The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook will help employees, managers at all levels, and business owners answer the following important questions: What's changing in the workplace and the workforce today? Are the right issues being addressed? How can we create more options to solve conflicts? What's my conflict style, and why is it important? How should I set and manage expectations? What happens when disruptive behavior gets out of control? Positive interactions are critical to successful workplaces. This vital new title gives you the confidence you need to communicate effectively, as well as a clear understanding of your individual responsibility, no matter your title or role. It also gives the organization a plan for what it can do to foster a tension-free workplace.

People thrive on conflict in most areas of their lives - football games, political debates, legal disputes - yet steer clear from workplace conflicts. But conflict is actually a healthy way to challenge the existing order and essential to change in the workplace. The real problem is not conflict per se, but managing conflict. This authoritative manual explains step by step how to design a complete conflict resolution system and develop the skills to implement it. Packed with exercises, case studies, and checklists, the book also supplies: * an overview of workplace conflict * diagnostic tools for measuring it * techniques for resolving conflict, such as negotiation, labor/management partnerships, third-party dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration, more." "

“Raines masterfully blends the latest empirical research on workplace conflict with practical knowledge, skills, and tools to effectively manage and prevent a wide range of conflict episodes. This is a highly applicable ‘top shelf book’ that will assist anyone from the aspiring manager to top level management and leadership in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. It will also be a fast favorite of professors, trainers, and students of business and conflict management.” - Brian Polkinghorn, Distinguished Professor, Center for Conflict Resolution, Salisbury University. “With her broad dispute resolution, teaching, and editing experience, Susan Raines is uniquely qualified to organize what is known about conflict management in the workplace. She has succeeded in providing private, public, and nonprofit managers with accessible concepts and tools to deal effectively with the internal and external conflicts they must confront every day. Essential reading for all managers!” - Alan E. Gross, senior director, training coordinator, New York Peace Institute “After reading an advance copy of Raine’s impressive book, I can’t wait to begin to use it as a seminal text in my classes in organizational conflict. I am amazed at her ability to cover so well such disparate subjects as systems design, public policy disputes, small and large group processes, customer conflicts, conflicts in a unionized environment, and conflicts within regulatory contexts. Her user-friendly writing style is enhanced by her salient examples of exemplary and mistake-laden practices within public and private sector organizations. A ‘must-read’ for scholars, students, and practitioners interested in organizational conflict.” - Neil H. Katz, professor, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Nova-Southeastern University “Conflict management skills are essential to a manager’s success. Raines, a leading scholar and practitioner, provides a comprehensive and strategic new guide to these critical skills and how to use them in any organization.” - Lisa Blomgren Bingham, Keller-Runden Professor of Public Service, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University

Make workplace conflict resolution a game that EVERYBODY wins! Recent studies show that typical managers devote more than a quarter of their time to resolving coworker disputes. The Big Book of Conflict-Resolution Games offers a wealth of activities and exercises for groups of any size that let you manage your business (instead of managing personalities). Part of the acclaimed, bestselling Big Books series, this guide offers step-by-step directions and customizable tools that empower you to heal rifts arising from ineffective communication, cultural/personality clashes, and other specific problem areas—before they affect your organization's bottom line. Let The Big Book of Conflict-Resolution Games help you to: Build trust Foster morale Improve processes Overcome diversity issues And more Dozens of physical and verbal activities help create a safe environment for teams to explore several common forms of conflict—and their resolution. Inexpensive, easy-to-implement, and proved effective at Fortune 500 corporations and mom-and-pop businesses alike, the exercises in The Big Book of Conflict-Resolution Games delivers everything you need to make your workplace more efficient, effective, and engaged.

"In the tradition of bestselling explainers like The Tipping Point, [this] book [is] based on cutting edge science that breaks down the idea of extreme conflict--the kind that paralyzes people and places--and then shows how to escape it"--

Here is a completely updated edition of the best-selling Resolving Conflicts at Work. This definitive and comprehensive work provides a handy guide for resolving conflicts, miscommunications, and misunderstandings at work and outlines the authors’ eight strategies that show how the inevitable disputes and divisions in the workplace actually provide an opportunity for greater creativity, productivity, enhanced morale, and personal growth. This new edition includes current case studies that put the focus on leadership, management, and how organizations can design systems to change a culture of avoidance into a culture of creative conflict. The result is a more practical book for today’s companies and the people who work in them.

Workplace mediation is becoming an increasingly popular dispute resolution method to settle interpersonal employee conflicts, including harassment and bullying complaints. There is a direct ratio between the quality of relationships across the workplace and long-term effectiveness and success. Mediation addresses complex relationship difficulties head-on so that working relationships can be restored. Fostering a philosophy of mediation as a culture and a "co-entrepreneurial" business model, Doherty and Guyler consider what mediation is, why it is necessary and how it works, including the main principles of operation and the 6-step structure of a mediation meeting. They analyze the reasons for conflict and suggest useful everyday communication skills to help defuse anger or aggression. Real case studies look at specific complaints of bullying, of sexual harassment and of racism, generational conflicts within family businesses and boardroom conflicts between chairmen and CEOs.

While some of us enjoy a lively debate with colleagues and others prefer to suppress our feelings over disagreements, we all struggle with conflict at work. Every day we navigate an office full of competing interests, clashing personalities, limited time and resources, and fragile egos. Sure, we share the same overarching goals as our colleagues, but we don't always agree on how to achieve them. We work differently. We rub each other the wrong way. We jockey for position. How can you deal with conflict at work in a way that is both professional and productive—where it improves both your work and your relationships? You start by understanding whether you generally seek or avoid conflict, identifying the most frequent reasons for disagreement, and knowing what approaches work for what scenarios. Then, if you decide to address a particular conflict, you use that information to plan and conduct a productive conversation. The HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict will give you the advice you need to: Understand the most common sources of conflict Explore your options for addressing a disagreement Recognize whether you—and your counterpart—typically seek or avoid conflict Prepare for and engage in a difficult conversation Manage your and your counterpart's emotions Develop a resolution together Know when to walk away Arm yourself with the advice you need to succeed on the job, with the most trusted brand in business. Packed with how-to essentials from leading experts, the HBR Guides provide smart answers to your most pressing work challenges.