Blog 4- April
Conflict Resolution
In Season Two of The Office, the one and only Michael Scott takes it upon himself to resolve all of the issues that have been brewing among his employees.
Michael begins by going over the different kinds of conflict, where he utters his signature "My Shaolin Temple style defeats your Monkey style." But in all honesty, there are different kinds of conflict, different ways to view conflict, and many ways on how to manage conflict.
Conflict is any situation in which there are incompatible goals, ideas, or emotions within or between individuals or groups that lead to opposition. Whether it be Jim putting Dwight's stapler in jello-
-or Oscar and Angela arguing over this creepy baby poster
There are plenty of opportunities for Michael to resolve conflict among the employees. There is positive conflict, which is functional, and benefits the organization or person's main objectives. There is also negative conflict, which is dysfunctional, and hinders the person or organization's ability or performance.
There are three views concerning conflict-
- Traditional View- conflict is always bad and should be avoided at all costs
- Human Relations View- conflict is natural and inevitable, and is accepted as normal
- Integrationist View- conflict is inevitable, and maintaining a degree of tension can be helpful in keeping a group energized and creative.
Conflict usually has a negative connotation, but it isn't all bad. Groups with synergy and great ideas that are progressive use conflict to their advantage. And just think how boring our lives would be without Jim and Dwight's shenanigans.
"I never smile if I can help it. Showing one's teeth is a submission signal in primates. When someone smiles at me, all I see is a chimpanzee begging for its life."
-Mercedes Maness
I love that you have continued to relate the office to each concept that we have gone over in class! This just shows that conflict is something that we are constantly around. We need to learn how to deal with conflict successfully so that we benefit from it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes conflict brings people closer together afterwards if you can make it through it. Then other times, they never work out what needs it and conflict tears groups or teams apart.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog . The connection you have made with television series "the office " was very creative .
ReplyDeleteConflict can make or break a team and not all conflict is bad but it's very important to know the difference between the two .
Conflict is something I usually try to avoid but now that we have covered this in class and were given the techniques on how to handle it, I feel I can deal with conflict when it happens.
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