Conflict Management Styles

Conflict can have many different definitions to various people. Conflict can be a difference in opinion, a disagreement or a battle. I think that conflict is often thought of as negative, but fortunately it does not have to be. Conflict can be a healthy part of group dynamics. Although, conflict can also negatively affect a group or workplace. Being able to work well with others during conflict is a great skill to have. This makes it important to know the different conflict management styles and how and when to effectively use each one.
I. Conflict Management Styles
There are several different styles of conflict which can all be appropriate to use in certain situations. There are 5 conflict management styles that were discussed by Thomas-Kilmann,
It is important to not always use this style. Dominating is a commonly used conflict style. People who dominate are mainly concerned with themselves and have a low concern for others. Although, dominating can be useful in a position where a conclusion needs to be made immediately and no consensus can be reached. Lastly, there is avoiding, which I believe is similar to obliging. An individual who uses avoiding normally has a low concern for others and for self. They may seem detached from the group and unwilling to accept fault in situations.
Herb Kindler also discussed conflict management, but spoke about nine different styles. All 9 styles can be used effectively in different situations. Maintain is a useful strategy to use in dealing with disagreement, because it provides room to let the situation settle. It is important to assess the situation by gathering as much information as needed before [wrongly] reacting and dealing with a problem inappropriately. The conflict management style, yielding, is used when 2 or more people want something, but the person to yield decides it is not as important to them. Kindler describes yielding as letting the other person explain why it is necessary to them and
These 4 assessments consisted of Kindlers MODI, Chapter 4 Pickering Assessment, the Strong Foundation Assessment and Thomas-Kilmann TKI MODE assessment. Each activity was interesting to complete and for the most part, was accurate to my lifestyle. They were all very similar in the fact that they determined different conflict management styles and provided similar results in determinations. Many of the completed assessments resulted in very close breakdowns, which concludes that I often change the style used based on the current situation. The assessment I found the most inaccurate was the Kindlers MODI survey. I mostly agree with Pickering and Thomas-Kilmann. These two provided exactly the same results, and I believe that they are accurate to what I use, being that I accommodate in most circumstances and am least likely to