Is Conflict A Motivator Project Management - 2640 Words

Is conflict a motivator in project management? Introduction Conflict is inevitable in all organizations, project teams are no exception (Nicholas, 2012, p. 535). Negative effects of team conflict have usually been focused by the early conflict scholars. However, is conflict always detrimental to team performance? Recently, with the significant changes happened in the study of conflict in the organizations, the view of conflict has been changing gradually (Brown, 1983). It also poses a great challenge for the managers who are given high expectations especially when conflict occurs (HAMMER, 1994). While a variety of definitions of the term â€Å"conflict† have been suggested and improved over time, this paper will use the†¦show more content†¦A case analysis of conflict happened between manager and boss and the skills that managers take to deal with conflict will be analyzed firstly. Another case analysis of conflicts occurring in groups will be discussed next. Finally, the principle and techniques applied to control conflict in the two cases will be evaluated, the rules containing the basic elements of constructive conflict management and the constructive conflict management process will be presented. Cases analysis and evaluation Dealing with the relationship with the boss is believed to be one of the important parts, probably the most difficult parts for managers to face in the workforce. I am sure that there are many different kinds of bosses and managers all have certain stereotypical image about bosses, most of who are believed to be powerful, hope everything in control, expect respect, or more clever than ordinary staff. These imaginations also have a significant effect the way managers work with boss, and these may influence the relationships between managers and those who manage them, especially they are in conflict with their boss. So how do managers overcome their stereotypical feeling? How do managers receive what they want from people who manage you? The following case presents managers some ways to take the advantages from constructively dealing with conflict occurring between them and their boss (Crawley, 1996, pp. 112-114). Case situation: The scenario in the case is that Howard