A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT ME...

Hi everyone,
My name is Tiffany Schickling. I am currently a senior at MSU Mankato, graduating in May 2016 with a major in Communications and minors in Human Resources and History. I currently just accepted a job at CIOX Health affiliated with Allina Clinics and Abbott Northwestern in their release of information department. I also work at HyVee part time as a 2nd Assistant Manager, and have been with them for almost 3 years. I recently left my job at Kwik Trip as their bookkeeper to accept the job at Abbott. I recently got engaged  and am over the moon about marrying my best friend next year. When I am not working I love spending time being active, spending time with my two nephews, watching Chicago Med, Property Brothers, Grey's Anatomy, ER, The Voice, and many more. Hulu and Netflix are my best friend! I am looking into continuing my education and getting a Masters in Health Communication from the University of Illinois because the entire program is online and it would allow me to keep the job I just got and work full time.

I am creating this website as an assignment for Conflict Management, but also as a self interest project because no matter where one works there is always going to be Organizational Conflict in any line of work you are in. Knowing conflicts in the workplace and recognizing them can aid in better relationships among employees company wide.

Before taking Conflict Management I knew the basics about the subject, but now I have a more in depth understanding of theories and principals associated with the topic. Since I have worked in retail for the last 7 years I come into conflict between employees and customers on a daily basis. Whether it be the customer is unhappy with their level of customer service they received and wants to complain, or an employee is having an argument with another employee and needs a manager to step in and be a mediator. Throughout the class I have found the high and low context communication methods interesting, as well as the difference between collectivism and individualism. How we communicate in the United States (individualism) compared to people in China (collectivism) is not the same. In America we are concerned about ourselves and in China they are concerned about their families and people in their group. Thus, if you work with a diverse range of people, like I do on a daily basis, knowing how to communicate with other groups of people aids in misunderstandings not happening as often.

Another concept I found very valuable in the class was the ten questions people ask about difficult conversations found in one of our classroom books called Difficult Conversations. The three aspects I found especially interesting and also relate to organizational communication is how does this work with someone who has all the power like my boss, if I am the boss/parent why can I not just tell my subordinates/ children what to do, and what about conversations that are not face to face, what should I do differently if I am on the phone or email. 

                                Introduction to  Organizational Conflict 

Introduction  to the topic 

There are many topics in conflict management to research and discuss, but organizational conflict is crucial as everyone encounters conflicts daily at work.Organizational conflict is controversies that happen at work between managers and subordinates, and all other co-workers. Disputes happen over all sorts of issues the common ones include power differences, position differences, culture, personalities, and differences in opinion on how a job is to be completed. A basic definition of organizational communication is disagreements between individuals or groups within a workplace. One of the most common reasons disagreements happen in the workplace is because workers feel as though they should be paid more, whereas the managers do no feel the same way.

Why people need to be aware
Everyone needs to know about organizational conflict because at some point in every person's life they will have to get a job or already have a job and will come into contact with other people with whom they will have differences with. Knowing how to deal with conflicts with other employee's, subordinates, superiors, and coworkers, will aid one in being a better employee and overall better person at work and in their personal lives. Also, conflict in the workplace can harm and disturb business operations and the company's image, so any differences should be handled immediately and correctly.




Key concepts and theories 
In organizational conflict in the workplace, there are many concepts one can look at, but here I will focus on the Explanatory Model of Interpersonal Conflict.

1. Distal Context:
Distal context refers to the background character of people that exist prior to a conflict situation. Factors involved include culture, individual dispositions, relationship history, prior conflicts, and knowledge and skill.An example of this includes a worker from a collectivist society having an argument from a person from a individualistic society over whether a project should be done alone or with a group of workers.

2. Proximal Context:
Proximal context is the perceptual environment that is readily attached to a specific controversy. Factors involved include goals, emotions, and attributions. An example of proximal context is there is a difference when a conflict occurs on the sales floor than in a private office, In this example the environment is different. On the sales floor the workers in dispute are obligated to act more professional and watch their choice of words, whereas in a private office where no one can hear the people in dispute do not have to worry about other people hearing and can say whatever they want.

3. Conflict Interaction:
Conflict interaction is concerned with what occurs during the process of the conflict. The emphasis is on the message tactics, strategies, and patterns. Tactics and strategies used can create patterns that are for better or for worse in managing the controversy between the parties. One tactic is to separate the people involved in the conflict. Thus, separation is necessary because the parties involved usually become personally involved when discussing options in negotiation. The focus of negotiation is to look at the problem, and determine how to solve it.

4. Proximal Outcomes:
Proximal outcomes are the immediate consequences of a controversy. Evidence shows that the use of integration strategies and the five organizational outcomes proves strong relationships. The five organizational outcomes include job sanctification, perceptions of workplace equity, system outcomes, job and performance outcomes, and interpersonal outcomes.

5. Distal Outcomes:
Distal outcomes refers to the delayed effects of a controversy that arise over time. An examples of distal outcomes is when two workers try to resolve a dispute that created problems for both parties, but in the end may result in a friendship.

References:

Cupach, W.R., Canary, D.J., & Spitzberg, B.H. (2010). Competence in Interpersonal Conflict.Long 
          Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press.

Dontigney, E. (n.d.). What is organizational conflict. AZ Central. Retrieved 

          from http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/organizational-conflict-1227.html

THEORISTS IN ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION 

In this section I will discuss and present two different theorists who have done extensive work in organizational conflict and conflict resolution.

The first person pictured above is Eben Weitzman (2016) who has a PhD and teaches at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. He is the Associate Professor in the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, Global Governance, as well as the Graduate School Graduate Program Director of the Conflict Resolutions Programs. Also, he obtained his PhD from the University of Columbia.

His areas of expertise include organizational conflict, intra-group conflict in mediation, cultural differences in attitudes towards conflict, effects of cooperation and competition on small group processes, and computer aided data analysis in qualitative research. Doctor Eben has many achievements. He has assisted in the international human rights NGO in reducing internal conflict and improving collaboration within the organization, as well as worked with the leadership of local unions in two different states to help foster state working relationships.

In addition, Eben is a social and organizational psychologist specializing in conflict. His work mainly focuses on conflict between groups. Also, besides teaching Weitzman also does conflict resolution, organizational development work, and dispute resolution with a wide variety of individuals and organizations. He also does extensive work on research and methodology. He was a review editor for the Field Method journal from 1999 to 2006.

The link below is his website for further information from the University of Massachusetts in Boston. https://www.umb.edu/academics/mgs/faculty/eben_weitzman


The second person pictured below is Alex Colvin.

Alex Colvin is the Professor of Labor Relations and Conflict Resolution at the ILR School at Cornell University. He is also the Associate Director of the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution. His research and teaching focuses on employment dispute resolution, with an emphasis on procedures in nonunion workplaces and the impact of legal environments on organizations. 

Colvin is also a Professor at the A&M University, and joined their staff in 2006 after he received his PhD in Curriculum & Instruction from Texas A&M University in College Station. Before getting his PhD, Colvin attended Prairie View A&M University as an Undergraduate and majored in social work. After obtaining his undergraduate degree, he went on to the University of Houston where he received his masters degree in social work in 1997. 

Alex has published articles in the journals of Industrial & Labor Relations Review, Industrial Relations, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Academy of Management Journal, Personnel Psychology, Relations Industrializes, the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, the Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, and the Cornell Journal of Law & Public Policy. 

The links below are the links to his site at Cornell University and Prairie View A&M University. 

http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/faculty/bio.cfm?id=626

https://www.pvamu.edu/swbps/about/faculty-staff/colvin-alex/

For further interest on the topic below are sources cited in APA to five very interesting journal articles on organizational conflict and conflict resolution.

Barki, H. & Hartwick, J. (2001). Interpersonal conflict and its management in

information development. MIS Quarterly, 25(2), 195-228.

Dant,R.P., & Schul, P.L. (1992). Conflict resolution processes in contractual

channels of distribution. Journal of Marketing,56(1), 38-54

Lambert, D.R., Boughton, P.D. & Banville, G.R. (1986). Conflict resolution in

organizational buying center. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 14(1).

Rahim, A., & Bonoma, T. (1979). Managing organizational conflict: A model for

diagnosis and intervention. Psychological Reports, 44, 1323-1344. doi:

10.2466/pr0.1979.44.3c.132.

Sandu, M.L., & Cozaru. G.C., & Pescaru, M. (2012). Motivational dominants and

value orientation in organization. Communication & Marketing/ Revista De

Comunicare Si Marketing, 35(5), 119-136. 

References

Cornell University. (2016). Alex Colvin. Cornell Law School. Retrieved from

http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/faculty/bio.cfm?id=626

Prairie View A&M University. (2016). Colvin, Alex PhD. PVAM. Retrieved from     

           https://www.pvamu.edu/swbps/about/faculty-staff/colvin-alex/

University of Massachusetts Boston. (2016). Faculity& staff Eben Weitzman

PhD. UMB.edu. Retrieved 
from https://www.umb.edu/academics/mgs/faculty/eben_weitzman

APPLICATION 

The link below is a link to my Infographic about relationships and how close is too close. 

https://magic.piktochart.com/output/11020077-tiffany-schicklings-infographic-for-cmst

In the Infographic above, one may not right away see how it relates to organizational conflict, but below I will explain that it does indeed. Relationships exist throughout an organization, whether they are personal, friendships, or work related. The theme of the infographic is how close are you with the people you work with. If people are too close and are in the same workplace, favoritism can occur and case conflict among others in the workplace. The infographic relates to distal context the best, and is defined on the introduction tab. Distal context has to deal with relationship history, so if people are too close conflicts can occur and disrupt employee relations or the businesses work flow. For example, in distal context if someone has an argument about how a certain project is to be done, but the two people in dispute dated before and the relationship ended badly, the situation could get out of hand. 

Also, I must discuss what it means for separates working in the same work place. Having separates, who avoid conflict because they do not want to share thoughts and feelings, can cause problems at work. People who do not share their thoughts and feelings at work become outsiders and isolated from other co-workers, and many people end up not liking their job because they think no one likes them. Not sharing thoughts and feelings at work is warranted in certain situation such as politics and religion, but anything work related people should feel inclined to share their thoughts and feelings because it can be beneficial to get others views on how to do certain things at work. Thus, the infographic does indeed relate to organizational conflict because distal context and separates shows how being too close in the workplace can cause problems. 

Also, I found a YouTube video titled Conflicts in the Workplace 13756 posted by kinesticstreaming that is a great example of both distal context and distal outcomes in organizational conflict in an office setting. The link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQfcezPgfB0

The YouTube video starts out with three people sitting at a desk having a dispute on how to conduct a work project, and by the looks if it, two of the employees have a history of conflicts in the workplace. The women is upset because the guy sitting next to her thinks he has all the good ideas the women does not want to work with him anymore. So, she told him to finish the project himself. The guy said to other co-workers that it was not his first run in with his co-worker Anita, and starts complaining to them about her and the argument they are having. He said instead of dealing with the conflict directly he lets of steam to his friends. His friends told him that it is getting old and nothing is getting resolved, and told him he needed to figure it out.

Conflicts are a part of life and can cause stress, but they do not have to be that way, and there are skills you can learn to resolve conflicts in a positive way. He said conflicts are about working with the other person and building a relationship. There are many causes of conflicts, but in order to solve it you have to get to the root cause of the conflict. Also, being defensive does not get you anywhere and move forward from insults because there is no need to dwell on them. A good way to solve a conflict is to put yourself in the others shoes, ask open ended questions, and do not judge.

What one can take away from the video is that Anita and her co-worker demonstrate distal context because they have had prior conflicts and relationship history. We know they had previous conflicts because the guy goes to his friends and told them this is not the first time they have had a argument and his friends told him he they are done hearing him complain and that he needs to solve his issues with her. So, he started to self reflect and thought of ways to resolve their issues and find a way to become friends. This is where distal outcomes come into play because it is about resolving a dispute and may take a while, but in the end become friends, which is what happened in the video in the various scenarios they gave, especially the one with the two women having an augment about one doing all the work while the other one sits at her desk all day. So, they put each other in each others shoes and figured out when she is sitting at her desk all day she is actually working and both realized they are doing the same amount of work and became good work friends after that. Therefore, this video is a good example of the concepts I discussed on the introduction page because it demonstrated two of the principles.