Posted by Now let’s look at what are the ways to avoid conflict. There are five such ways: avoidance, competition mitigation, compromise and cooperation. Only one of the ways can be adopted in a given situation. Therefore, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with these strategies so that you can more easily deal with conflict situations.
AVOIDANCE
This involves avoiding dealing with the conflict or denying that a conflict exists. The danger of this course of action is that the conflict then proceeds in a covert manner and neither party has a chance to have its needs met. This style is often chosen by superiors who prefer an autocratic leadership style or feel threatened. However, avoidance is worth using when the goal of the conflict is not important, there is no chance of success or time is needed to familiarize oneself with the problem.
RIVALIZATION
This is a way of looking at conflict as a game or competition. Winning means success and a good outcome, while losing means defeat, weakness and loss of prestige. Many people react to conflict in this way because it is also a means of defending self-esteem. It has its advantages when quick decisions are needed or when one needs to protect oneself from people who are incompetent in a particular field.
MITIGATION
This is primarily done by people who are focused on maintaining a good relationship with another. They prefer to give up their own goals for fear of becoming lonely or losing good relations with others. Such behavior is good and justified when the partner has a definite advantage over us.
COMPROMISE
This is a course of action that allows the interests of both parties to be partially satisfied. However, everyone loses something and gains something. Compromise is worth considering when interests are less important than good mutual relations or a quick solution to a problem is necessary.
COOPERATION
This style of response stems from the assumption that a solution can always be found that will satisfy both sides of the conflict. It is one of the most effective styles of responding to conflict. Particularly useful in situations where the two sides have different goals, it makes it easy to discover the real cause of the dispute, which is most often miscommunication or lack thereof.
It seems that the most effective way to resolve conflicts in an organization is to improve communication channels. Communicating to employees the company’s direction, mission and strategy as well as the need for change influences a healthy atmosphere in the organization, thereby reducing vulnerability to conflict. In the relationship between supervisor and subordinate, personality differences should be discarded and the ability to communicate clearly should be constantly improved.