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Conflict
Conflict: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Marrietta Forsyth, Stephanie Munoz, Derrick Samuels, and Allie Smead
Gen 200
January 8, 2013
Thomas Snook

Conflict: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
In life, everyone must work with teams or other people at times to reach a common goal. One may need to work with one or two people in the co-parenting of a child or children, at work to complete a project, at school for an assignment or any other number of ways. As one can guess, when there is more than one person, there is more than one personality, which has the potential to lead to conflict. The word “conflict” is often viewed with a negative connotation. At times that may be the case, but this paper will investigate conflicts a little closer to show that conflict is not completely negative and can at times, be a blessing in disguise.
Conflict is a disagreement regarding an interest or idea whether it is with oneself, between two people, a team or an organization. A conflict is traditionally avoided and is generally considered taboo. Positive conflict is the notion that healthy discourse may exist in the disagreement among group members regarding personality traits, styles, or characteristics or the content of their ideas, decisions or task process, which involves a pathway toward resolutions (Greenhalgh, 2006). Viewing conflict as a positive dynamic can enhance the quality of a team’s decision-making ability; this is still a new concept and faces opposition upon implementation. Team’s members realize that it is important to stay focused on the issues relating to the task at hand and at the same time accept open and honest communication about their different opinions. Also there have to be established ground rules; members have to listen to the other member’s perspective and not just their own thoughts, recognize each member’s views and feelings along with focusing on the advantages of resolving the conflict. A team can benefit greatly from recognizing and


References: 2013 Merriam-Webster Greenlagh, J. T. (2000) The Creative Potential of Idea-generating Groups Eisenhardt, K. M., Kahwajy, J. L., and Bourgeois III, L. J. (1997). How Management Teams Can Have a Good Fight. Harvard Business Review The importance of conflict in work team effectiveness. (1997). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/217105723?accountid=35812 Overcoming cultural challenges in adopting iterative development. (2004). Retrieved from http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library/content/RationalEdge/oct04/nelson/ Keeping team conflict alive. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/ehost/detail?sid=f49ab31a-396e-4978-a891-63eaa9915c8c%40sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=119&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=f5h&AN=107919 Friedman, M. F. (2001) Teams in the Workplace Illustrating a constructive approach to conflict management. (2002). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/202943072?accountid=35812 How Ben Franklin would use the Ben Franklin Close today. (2007). Retrieved from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/editorials/27995080/how-ben-franklin-would-use-ben-franklin-close-today
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