Constructive and destructive conflicts

The difference between constructive conflict and destructive conflict

Constructive

(as well as negative)
functions
of conflict, with a certain degree of convention and for the sake of convenience of presentation of the material, can be divided into: general functions of conflict that take place at various levels of the social system; functions of conflict at the personal level, which relate to the impact of conflict directly on the individual.

Conflict is a form of resolving contradictions.

It reveals the gaps, miscalculations and shortcomings that arise in society and because of which the conflict itself flares up.

Conflict also relieves social tension

and eliminates the situation of stress, helps to “let off steam”, defuse the situation and relieve accumulated tension.

Conflict resolution leads to system stabilization

, while eliminating sources and sources of dissatisfaction. The parties involved in the conflict, taught by “bitter experience”, will in the future be more inclined towards mutual understanding than towards conflict. In addition, resolving a conflict situation can help prevent more serious, significant conflicts that could have occurred if the conflict had not arisen.

Conflict stimulates group creativity

it brings together the energy of the participants, which is necessary in solving a given problem. When people are looking for ways to resolve a conflict, a process of analyzing difficult situations occurs, during which new original ideas arise, the latest information technologies are developed, and the necessary ways to solve a particular problem arise.

Conflict can become a means of clarifying the balance of power

public organizations or communities and can protect against subsequent more destructive conflicts.

Conflict can serve as a link for the emergence of new norms of communication

between people or help fill old norms with new content.

The impact of conflict extends to individual

personality characteristics.

Conflict can contribute to adequate self-esteem and self-knowledge
of the individual.
This is a situation in which you need to really assess your abilities, identify new opportunities, and the best previously unknown qualities. This is character building, self-esteem and pride.

Conflict can help eradicate

undesirable qualities of human character, for example, feelings of inferiority, humility, servility, etc.

The situation of conflict helps to adapt

of a person in a group, since it is in conflict that one reveals oneself and returns to square one. Then the person is either rejected by society or joins the team and is accepted by the group members. In the case when a person is rejected by society, no adaptation occurs.

Destructive functions of conflict

Conflict may involve violent methods

its resolution, which could ultimately lead to human casualties and material losses. In addition to the parties involved, for example, in a military conflict, completely innocent people may suffer.

A state of conflict can also slow down the pace of a country's development. Conflict may precede disintegration

society, the destruction of social communications and the cultural alienation of social societies within the social system.

A state of conflict leads to the destruction of morals, the decline of social life and, often, an increase in pessimistic mood.

What can conflict leave behind? – decline in the system of the entire organization, decrease in efficiency and discipline. You may also feel stressed, overwhelmed, or depressed.

In addition, each participant in the conflict may be disappointed by its consequences, and there will remain a feeling of disappointment in their abilities, capabilities, and potentials.

Conflict can cause feelings of
self-doubt,
loss of previous motivation and destruction of existing value orientations and patterns of behavior. In the worst case, the conflict may result in disappointment and loss of faith in previous ideals. Faith in yesterday's friends, in work colleagues, in business partners can be undermined overnight, and distrust in loved ones and relatives can arise.

However, it is appropriate to recall a well-known position: there is no abstract truth, truth is always concrete. If one of the participants wins, then the other loses

Differences

1.Constructive

The functions are to bring its participants closer together, to relieve tension that could accumulate for a long time. Defuse the situation and provide complete information about the opposite party, the absence of which destroyed both the relationship and the work process. This type of debate helps to clarify the shortcomings of the entire system in which people exist. Stabilize it and eliminate shortcomings.

If we look at the example of a family, have you noticed how much closer the partners became after a quarrel, instead of completely quarreling? How did the communication process improve, the level of satisfaction increase, and mutual understanding emerge? In addition, when a dispute is handled constructively, there is a huge chance of preventing very serious and protracted disagreements. Sometimes they have such destructive consequences that they can lead to the death of one of the opponents if the tension has reached such a level that a person becomes unable to control.

It also has the function of uniting the parties to the dispute. Then they may well group together and direct all their energy to creativity, that is, a creative and developing innovative way to solve a problem that previously seemed overwhelming. Thanks to constructivism, character is strengthened and it becomes possible to gain recognition. What increases self-esteem and self-respect.

New styles of behavior and values emerge when an entire system of people understands that old methods and attitudes do not work and it is time to creatively adapt and develop new ones. After all, society is developing rapidly, and it is always necessary to adapt and be “on the wave” of change.

Basic rules and features of constructive dispute management

Clarity

The very first thing that distinguishes a developmental conflict from a destructive one is clarity. When both sides are ready to hear each other’s opinion, even if they categorically disagree with it, this is, as they say, “half the battle.” With clarity, the opponent becomes understandable, it is quite possible to ask him clarifying and clarifying questions, to give “feedback” to his words. With this type of communication, a person is heard and maintains a sense of self-worth.

Creativity

Very often, managers arrange for employees to brainstorm, during which subordinates must share their ideas on how to resolve some difficulty. This is done in order to hear completely opposing points of view, and at the same time employees feel that their opinion is worthy of attention and valuable, even if it is very different from others. This motivates and improves the microclimate in the team. You can read about brainstorming here.

Specificity

Both sides discuss directly the specific subject of the dispute. They do not get into each other’s personalities and do not remember past incidents, even if they are somewhat similar to the one that arose at the moment.

Engagement

Inclusion in the dialogue, interest and wasted energy are the same, the participants alternately both deliver and receive “blows”. If there is no dialogue and the attack is one-sided, we can talk about the so-called triangle of violence, from which it is very difficult to escape. Its essence lies in the fact that someone necessarily plays the role of victim, tyrant and savior, and, moreover, replacing each other.

Honesty

The use of manipulation and “dirty methods” is not practiced when they try to offend and injure using information that is a weak point for a person. Although aggression arises, there is mutual respect and a desire to maintain contact.

Contact

No one leaves prematurely, and no matter how difficult it may be to clarify some points and listen to feedback, people remain in contact. Since they are interested in finding a way out and ending the quarrel peacefully, and not showing their weaknesses by not being able to withstand the tension. Because they understand that then they will have to continue to live with him, feeling discomfort and anxiety, and it is better to make an effort now, and still breathe a sigh of relief, having come to a compromise.

Well, for example, has it ever happened that, having quarreled with someone, you don’t say hello when you meet and try to ignore him, believing that this person is a scoundrel and is not worthy of putting up with him, punishing him in this way?

The main techniques are argumentation and counterargumentation

When arguing, they usually use the method of positive answers and present facts that prove the accuracy and truth of the opinion. When counterargumentating, one finds a fact that refutes the opponent’s opinion and arguments. I recommend reading the article, in which you can find information on how to effectively negotiate a dispute, you will find in this article.

2.Destructive

The very concept of “destruction” suggests that these are destructive situations that are not beneficial, but threaten both relationships, health, and sometimes even a person’s life. With this type of disagreement, innocent people who are not involved at all and have become victims of circumstances may well suffer. Victims become when both parties have lost control and “lost their temper,” wanting to destroy each other, both physically and mentally.

If it occurs in the workplace, it leads to a decrease in motivation, to the point where the entire organizational system suffers. It causes depression and a lack of desire to be active, to participate in public life, and also leads to a decrease in self-esteem. A person who is “wounded” in a verbal battle may well experience shame. It can lead to neurosis, which causes panic attacks in stressful situations and a reluctance to leave the house so as not to intersect with other people.

The consequences are so terrifying that they can provoke a suicide attempt if you do not receive support from loved ones in time and do not find the resources to move on. In the best case, there remains tension and disappointment, not only from yourself, but also from people with whom you were in friendly, partner and other relationships. By the way, this disappointment may, over time, lead to excessive distrust, even towards close people. Which will alienate you from everyone, again causing symptoms of neurosis, and in extreme cases leading to personality degradation.

You can read about degradation in the blog article at this link.

Features and styles of conducting

Generalization . Sometimes completely illogical arguments and facts aggravate the communication process, delaying time and making it impossible to understand the problem. This is the simplest example, when sellers and clients quarrel at the market. There is even a phrase that characterizes the personality of the participants, namely “bazaar woman.” That is, it begins with a certain subject, over which a dispute arose, and ends with insults and mutual wishes for the worst.
"Dropping out" from the process. When one of the parties ceases to take part in the discussion and leaves it without the consent of the opponent. Sometimes “playing on feelings”, showing how offended and hurt she is in order to induce guilt and immediately smooth out the consequences of the disagreement with the help of apologies and other things.
Communication is broken. Because it becomes impossible to clearly argue one’s opinion for various reasons, and one can see not only a lack of understanding of the other’s arguments, but sometimes one’s own position as well.
Words are chosen that are sure to hurt and disarm. At a critical moment, when there are no arguments at all, threats and devaluation of authority and personality may begin to pour in.
Depreciation . It often happens that attempts to clarify the points due to which misunderstandings arose are associated with the “bad” character of the party that took the initiative. For example, a subordinate says that the boss is unfair, who in turn simply calls him quarrelsome or sleep-deprived.
Flattery is also a method that does not dot the i's, but, on the contrary, aggravates the situation. Due to the fact that it causes a lot of anger, which becomes difficult to bring against the defendant. The reasons for its use are simple - manipulation. And if a participant in a dispute decides to show anger, then for those around him he will be a negative character, because they communicated with him in a good way, and he allows himself to do this.

Constructive and destructive conflict - difficulties of assessment

It is worth noting that the confrontation between individuals or their groups is quite difficult to assess. It is not always possible to determine the variety due to the following objective factors:

There are no clear criteria according to which constructive and destructive conflict are distinguished. Most often, this can only be done after the confrontation is over, when the consequences can be assessed (and even then the answer may not be clear-cut). Most conflicts, regardless of the environment in which they arise, are characterized by both constructive and destructive functions simultaneously. The characteristics of the confrontation can vary significantly depending on what stage it is at. A constructive conflict can become such only after an acute phase or, conversely, move into the realm of destruction. When assessing a conflict, it is always worth considering the subjective side. So, one side may consider it constructive, but for the other it will be destructive.

In addition, it is important to take into account the interests of third parties who may initiate the confrontation.

Development of a destructive conflict situation: stages

For both sides, the development of a destructive conflict is undesirable. Therefore, we will find out the mechanism of its development so that everyone knows how to avoid such incidents.

How does such a conflict develop? There are several stages, smoothly transitioning into one another, by which we can characterize the degree of neglect of the collision.

The emergence of a situation where the interests of the parties are in opposition to each other.
Awareness of conflict.
Development. At this stage, hidden confrontation can turn into open. Supporters may also be involved.
Expansion of the conflict. Increase in negative statements addressed to the other party.
Ending a conflict situation.

The mechanism for the development of constructive conflict is similar. Only in it the parties always come to mutual agreement as a result of a dispute. At the same time, both opponents change their attitudes and values.

A positive conflict occurs without an expansion stage. In most cases, it is resolved through calm negotiations.

But in the event of a destructive conflict, one of the parties ends up defeated and can accumulate strength for further confrontation in the name of “revenge.”

Is it good or bad

Most people believe that only evil can come from conflicts, and any aggravation of relations should be avoided. Who needs screams, reproaches, tears, constant clarification of who is wrong and who is right? In fact, without contradictions, people would not be able to grow, develop, acquire new knowledge, teach and learn, or build relationships with colleagues and family members. Any step forward is the result of overcoming efforts, and fighting with oneself is a real conflict.

Conflicts occur in the lives of each of us. In the first case, there is a break in relations and hostility, in the second, all participants not only benefit, but also receive a bonus (a creative idea, strengthening of friendly ties, increased production volumes, etc.). The same conflict can be both constructive and destructive, depending on the circumstances of its occurrence, the view of the situation of the participants in the confrontation and the consequences.

How to resolve a long-term conflict?

Prolonged intense confrontations between groups completely destroy relationships. All members of the other group are considered enemies. This was confirmed by an experiment conducted in the early 1950s by a group of sociologists led by M. Sherif. The artificially created conflict situation between two camps of boys aged 9–12 years continued even after emotional release (they were allowed to swear). The only way to reconcile the guys was general occupational therapy. Common activity is the only method that experts have tested that has helped restore friendly relations between groups.

Social conflicts - constructive and destructive - are equally resolved by restoring mutual respect and trust. And this is possible precisely in work activity.

Constructive and destructive conflicts: characteristics

A conflict resolved in a timely manner significantly improves mutual understanding, and it is called constructive. And a long-term, ever-growing confrontation, which threatens to break all forms of communication, is precisely a negative phenomenon. Such situations should not be allowed either in the family or in the work team. But how to do that?

In many ways, conflict situations improve relationships in a group and strengthen relationships. From time to time, a “debriefing” is even necessary in any team. Especially if this is a company where, in order to achieve a common result, the motives and goals of disparate departments must be taken into account.

A qualified manager knows how to manage conflicts; without control and proper leadership, no company will achieve either success or a strong position in the market.

A destructive conflict occurs when one of the participants crosses the social boundaries of what is permitted or deliberately aggravates an already acute situation.

The characteristics of destructive conflict are:

all participants have mutually exclusive goals, finding a common denominator is extremely difficult;
the parties make efforts to incite contradictions, and not to resolve them;
there is no regulation, no one is puzzled by the search for regulating principles of behavior in this situation.

These are the main signs by which a constructive dispute is distinguished from a destructive one. The third point is considered the most important. Because in a constructive situation there is always a third party - arbitration, which is designed to improve relations.

So, what are the positive functions of mismatch situations identified in industrial conflictology?

Team building. Having learned to value their work team, people are in no hurry to find another place. There is no staff turnover in production.
Each participant begins to better understand the motives of the other and in the future learns to be guided not only by their own, but also by common goals. This means that the staff solves all problems more efficiently.
Relieving tension. In a tense team, none of the participants enjoy their work.
Incentive for development. Each team member learns, in the process of resolving a conflict, to find a balance between personal and social interests, which will undoubtedly be useful in later life.
Subordinates get rid of the so-called obedience syndrome. It is easier for them to express their opinions, and people do not feel like “pawns”.

The destructive functions of conflict are as follows:

Decreased motivation to work. Excessive and prolonged emotional stress of participants, which can lead to neuroticism of workers.
Decreased discipline. When the showdown drags on, the work process stops.
Deterioration of the emotional climate. It is very difficult to re-establish normal working relationships.
One or more employees may quit.

It is difficult to single out only positive aspects in a tense confrontation. Usually one conflict has both positive and negative meanings for its participants. After all, they both have to compromise and lose something in the process of building relationships.

Types of conflicts depending on violated needs

Depending on the violated needs, conflicts of interest and cognitive conflicts are distinguished.

Conflicts of interest are confrontations based on the clash of interests of the subjects of the conflict, which can be individuals, groups of people, organizations, etc.

EXAMPLE: Examples of conflicts of interest can be found even in everyday life - two children cannot share the toy they like; a husband and wife, having one TV between them, want to watch different TV programs at the same time, etc.

Cognitive conflicts are conflicts of knowledge, points of view, views. As a rule, the goal of each subject of a cognitive conflict is to convince the opposite side that his position, opinion or point of view is correct.

EXAMPLE: Examples of cognitive conflict can also be found quite often - these are discussions of various problems, disputes, debates, disputes, during which participants express different points of view and provide all sorts of arguments to prove that they are right.

Summarizing the conversation about the types and types of conflicts, it should be noted that the distribution of conflicts by type is in fact very arbitrary due to the fact that there is no clearly defined boundary between them, and in practice, i.e. in real life, various complex types of conflicts can arise, some conflicts can transform into others, etc.

Destructive consequences of conflict

An unmanaged conflict threatens both parties with a negative scenario for the development of relations in the future. If this is a conflict between 2 individuals, for example between a husband and wife, then over time it leads to a depressed state and disorganized behavior of each of them. A depressed person gets tired faster and copes worse with everyday responsibilities, which leads to an escalation of conflict and then the cessation of any relationship.

If we talk about the enterprise, there are several other extremely negative consequences. This is the loss of interest of employees in the direct production process, the inability to cooperate and dismissal.

Ways to become a winner

In order for the quarrel not to be in vain, and, moreover, not destructive, it is necessary to transform it into constructive. Then it will be possible to hear each other and come to a mutually beneficial agreement or understanding.

1.Learn to separate the flies from the cutlets

That is, if a problem arises, do not associate it with the character of another person. At the moment of contention, this will not be your argument, no matter how much you would like, but will only distance you from your partner. And besides, it won’t help fix the situation in any way. Even children are told that it is not they who are bad, but sometimes their behavior. For example, if a woman tells her man that he is a terrible husband, then, in addition to the fact that this will cause a lot of negative feelings, it will not help him find a solution, because the only thing is to replace him with a good husband.

But if you explain what exactly in his behavior and actions makes his wife unhappy, then there is a chance to move forward in the relationship and change it a little.

2. Resolving disagreement begins with determining the overall complexity

After all, even if you are on different sides of the barricades, something unites you. Without this, there will be no motivation to withstand tension and look for solutions, which threatens to fall into destructive communication. Therefore, no matter what feelings you have for each other, discuss how this misunderstanding is bothering both of you.

3.Now each of you must propose solutions

Gain the strength to listen and hear; by showing respect, you increase your chance of being heard in return. If an option doesn’t suit you, don’t devalue it or criticize it, but simply explain what exactly you don’t like about it.

5.The last stage is making a decision that you mutually approve

It happens that it is not always possible to discover ways to solve the complexity, then it is quite normal if you come to a mutual agreement not to do anything for now and watch how events develop further. The level of tension will subside, you will already have experience in conducting a conversation with each other, which means that over time everything will definitely fall into place.

6.Dismemberment

What if it happens that you simply have a tangle of claims against each other? Be sure to use the method of dissection and specification, otherwise you will not come to any mutually beneficial agreement if you talk about everything at once. If you have identified one problem, solve it, and only then move on to the next one.

7.Special phrases

In your speech, use phrases such as “I understood you”, “I heard you”, “Do you mean that...?”, “Did I understand you correctly?” And so on. This will endear you to you and will not provoke you into a militant position.

Introduction

Let's start with the definition

Conflict is the emergence and collision of contradictions, that is, when opposite parties have completely different views on circumstances, values and information, as a result of which there is no agreement between them.

The outcome of such disagreements can sometimes be predicted, but most often it is unforeseen. It depends not only on the subject of the dispute, but also on the personalities who participate in it, their motivation, as well as the setting and background in which it arose. Usually people have a negative attitude towards quarrels and disputes, preferring to avoid them.

Sometimes one’s needs are ignored out of fear and unwillingness to compete, to clarify something and to declare oneself and one’s point of view, which may be different from others. But modern psychology provides a lot of arguments, based on which, clarification of disagreements is considered not only useful, but generally necessary. And not only for a person with the goal of improving his quality of life, but also for an entire organization, which stops developing if employees “escape” tense moments in every possible way.

Therefore, the task of managers and executives in large corporations and successful companies is to artificially create creative, stimulating circumstances.

Types of behavior in conflict

What models of behavior in conflict exist? There is a constructive model, a destructive and conformist one.

Destructive behavior in conflict is noted

the desire to expand the conflict and involve new participants;
humiliation of the personality of another (as a method of influence);
violation of communication ethics;
intimidation of an opponent;
focusing on one’s own position and authority;
using flattery and ingratiation.

The latter always shows passivity in a dispute and agrees with all demands, even contrary to her own values. This model is also not considered constructive, because when a person refuses his own position, responsibility for himself, he unintentionally becomes the cause of conflict.

Ending the conflict

The end of the conflict can occur in the following forms:

resolution - the parties to the confrontation, through joint efforts, came to a final decision that, to one degree or another, satisfies their interests;
settlement - elimination of a contradiction through the efforts of a third party;
fading is a temporary or complete cessation of active confrontation, which can be associated both with the depletion of the resources of the participants and with the loss of relevance of the cause of the conflict;
eliminating a conflict consists of “eliminating” its structural elements (withdrawal from the dispute by one of the parties or a long absence of contacts between opponents, neutralization of the problem);
in some cases, the current conflict may lead to the emergence of new confrontations around objects that were identified during attempts to resolve it.

Question _____. The concept of conflict. Object, subject and subject of the conflict

Differences in people's views, discrepancies in perceptions and assessments of certain events quite often lead to a controversial situation. If the current situation poses a threat to the achievement of the set goal by at least one of the participants in the interaction, then a conflict situation arises.

Thus, the conflict situation

- these are contradictory positions of the parties on any issue, the desire for opposite goals, the use of different means to achieve them, divergence of interests, desires, etc.

Conflict situation

is a condition for conflict to arise. For such a situation to develop into a conflict, into dynamics, an external influence, push or incident is necessary.

What is conflict?

There are different definitions of conflict

, but they all emphasize the presence of contradiction, which takes the form of disagreement when it comes to the interaction of people.
Conflicts can be hidden or overt, but they are always based on a lack of agreement
.

The word “conflict” itself contains the answer. It has a Latin root and literally means “collision.” If the “clash” affects the sphere of ideas, then we have a situation that is familiar to everyone.

Therefore, we define conflict as a process of interaction between subjects individuals or groups regarding the differences in their interests.

Lack of agreement is due to the presence of diverse opinions, views, ideas, interests, points of view, etc. However, it is not always expressed in the form of a clear clash. This happens only when existing contradictions and disagreements disrupt the normal interaction of people and prevent the achievement of their goals. In this case, people are simply forced to somehow overcome differences and enter into open conflict interaction. In the process of conflict interaction, its participants have the opportunity to express different opinions and identify more alternatives when making decisions; this is precisely the important positive meaning of the conflict.

An object -

Subject -

Subject of the conflict

- this is the main contradiction, because of which and for the sake of the resolution of which the parties enter into a struggle.

Every conflict goes through several stages in its development. …..

Definition of concepts

A conflict is a certain contradiction or opposition that arises due to the incompatibility of the interests of the parties. It can arise between individuals or their groups in the process of life.

In accordance with the nature of the consequences, psychologists distinguish between destructive and constructive conflicts. In the first case, there will be nothing but quarrels, negativity and strained relationships. Sometimes destructive conflicts can progress to the stage of physical violence. They often arise on the basis of personal hostility, bias, and the desire to make a profit.

Constructive conflicts have absolutely the opposite meaning. They help resolve obvious and hidden problems, relieve tension in the team, and strengthen friendly relations. When it comes to enterprises, managers sometimes deliberately provoke conflicts in order to defuse tense situations.

Classification of conflicts according to the specifics of the opposing parties and the conditions for the development of the conflict

According to the specifics of the opposing sides and the conditions of development, conflicts can be internal, external and antagonistic.

Internal conflicts are characterized by the interaction of two or more opposing entities within a community or group of people.

EXAMPLE: An excellent example of internal conflict is intra-class struggle, for example the struggle for leadership.

External conflicts - represent the interaction of opposites that relate to different objects (groups, classes, etc.).

EXAMPLE: An example of an external conflict is the confrontation between man and natural elements or the struggle of the body with the external environment.

Antagonistic conflicts are one of the most acute conflicts, because are interactions between social groups that are irreconcilably opposed to each other. What is unique is that the very concept of “antagonism” is very common in medicine and biology - antagonism of teeth, muscles, microbes, drugs, poisons, etc. can occur. In addition, in mathematical science, antagonism is considered as an opposition of interests. In its pure form, antagonism is presented in social processes.

EXAMPLE: A striking example of an antagonistic conflict is war, market competition, revolution, sports competition, etc.

In addition to all of the above, a correct understanding and interpretation of conflicts, as well as their functions, features, essence and consequences, is impossible without typology, i.e. without identifying the basic types of conflicts based on identifying their similarities and differences and ways of identifying them with the commonality of the main differences and characteristics.

To make it possible to choose an adequate method of influencing and managing a conflict (which you will learn about in our next lessons), it is necessary to classify conflicts according to their main characteristics: methods of resolution, areas of manifestation, direction of influence, degree of expression, number of participants and violated needs.

It is on the basis of typology that both types and varieties of conflicts are determined. The type of conflict as a variation of conflict interaction is distinguished according to certain characteristics.

What else you need to know about conflicts

The history of humanity, its morality, culture, and intellect is an ongoing struggle of ideas, aspirations, competition of forces and interests, rivalry. Throughout his life, every person systematically faces conflicts of all kinds. When a person wants to achieve something, the goal may be difficult to achieve. When he experiences failure, he may blame the people around him for the fact that it was because of them that he could not get what he wanted.

Those around him, in turn, no matter whether they are relatives, classmates, friends or work colleagues, may believe that he himself is to blame for his problems and failures. The form can be completely different, but almost always it can lead to misunderstanding, which can develop into discontent and even confrontation, thereby creating tension and causing a conflict situation

Every person has life contradictions. It is common for people to be dissatisfied with something, to perceive something with hostility, and not to agree with everything. And all this is natural, because such is human nature. However, these and other similar internal properties can become harmful if a person is not able to resolve his own conflicts with the people around him; if he is unable to give it a constructive form; if he cannot adhere to adequate principles in his contradictions.

It is quite reasonable to conclude that conflicts are inevitable. But, in reality, everything is somewhat different. And not all conflict situations that arise from time to time between people end in conflict.

You should not treat conflict as something dangerous and negative if it is a stimulus for personal development, pushes a person to work on himself, strengthens him morally and psychologically, and promotes unity with other people. But you should try to avoid those conflicts that have destructive potential, destroy relationships, create a state of psychological discomfort, and increase a person’s isolation

It is precisely the poem that is very important to be able to recognize any preconditions for conflicts and to be able to prevent the occurrence of unwanted conflict situations

Being able to recognize and prevent conflicts means mastering the culture of communication, being able to control oneself, showing respect for the personality of other people, and using various methods of influencing them. Nothing can contribute as strongly to the elimination of various kinds of misunderstandings as competent, civilized communication, which includes knowledge of basic etiquette skills and the ability to master them, as well as the ability to establish and maintain effective contact, develop your own style of communication and interaction with others people.

If you find yourself in a difficult, contradictory situation, the most important thing is to control your behavior and behave socially competently. If a conflict situation is based on experiences and emotions, then the unpleasant sensations from it can remain for a very, very long time. For this reason, you need to learn to manage your emotional states, control your behavior and reactions. You should always be tuned to the stability and balance of your nervous system.

EXERCISE: One of the most effective methods of working with your psyche is to set yourself in a state of calm. It’s not at all difficult to implement: sit in a comfortable chair, relax, close your eyes and try not to think about anything for a while. Then clearly and slowly say to yourself a few phrases that will set you up for self-control, endurance, and a state of calm. Strive to feel a sense of balance take over you, you become more cheerful, feel a surge of strength and good mood; you feel great physically, mentally and psychologically. Regularly performing this exercise will allow you to become more resistant to emotional stress of any intensity.

Let us remind you that the presented lesson is more theoretical than practical, because Our task was to introduce you to what a conflict is in general and to present a classification of conflicts. From the following lessons of our training on conflict management, you can learn not only a lot of theoretical information, but also learn a lot of practical tips that you can immediately put into practice.

Conflicts in organizations

Sheinov Viktor

Personnel Directory

Any management and production activity is almost always associated with conflicts. And although in each specific case the reason for the complaint or conflict is completely specific and unique, upon analysis it is discovered that they all have a common basis: the actual state of affairs contradicts the expectations of the people who join the ranks of those in conflict.

Classification and typology of conflicts

Based on their direction, conflicts are divided into vertical, horizontal, and mixed.

Vertical conflicts involve individuals, one of whom is subordinate to the other . Horizontal ones involve persons who are not subordinate to each other. Mixed have both vertical and horizontal components.

Conflicts that have a vertical component (i.e., vertical and mixed conflicts) account for an average of 70 to 80% of their total number. Such conflicts are the most undesirable for a leader: by participating in them, he is “tied hand and foot.” For every action and order in this case is considered by all employees (and especially the participants in the conflict) through the prism of the conflict. And even if the leader is completely objective, they will see intrigues towards his opponents in any of his steps. And since subordinates often lack sufficient awareness to correctly evaluate the actions of management, misunderstandings are more than compensated for by speculation, mostly of a negative nature.

Naturally, in such conditions, when every order can lead to a deepening of the conflict, it is extremely difficult to work.

Already from this preliminary examination, some of the manager’s guidelines are clear: to exercise the greatest caution in relation to vertical conflicts (try to extinguish them in the bud).

According to their significance for an organization, conflicts are divided into constructive (creative) and destructive (destructive). The former are beneficial to the cause, the latter are harmful. It is impossible to escape from the former, but it is necessary to escape from the latter.

According to the nature of the causes, conflicts can be divided into objective and subjective . The first (as the name suggests) are generated by objective reasons, the second by subjective reasons.

According to the scope of conflict resolution, they can be divided into those that are resolved in the business sphere , and those that are resolved in the personal-emotional sphere.

Relationships

Constructive conflicts have objective reasons. Destructive conflicts can have both objective and subjective factors as their causes.

Constructive conflicts must be resolved both in the business and personal-emotional spheres. The fact is that a constructive conflict generated by objective reasons, in the process of its resolution (which takes a very long time), causes tense relations between the participants in this conflict. Therefore, complete resolution of the conflict should mean both a reaction to objective reasons and the elimination of emerging personal hostile relationships.

Causes of conflicts

At riding school, a rider who stays on a rearing horse is not praised. For the specialist knows that under a good rider the horse will not rear. It’s the same in leading people. The leader who deserves the greatest praise is the one who prevents conflicts or at least resolves them in the bud.

Therefore, conflict management begins with anticipating them. And in order to foresee, it is necessary to know the reasons that most often lead to conflict situations.

Causes of constructive conflicts

Usually these are shortcomings in the organization of production and management. Let us list those that most often lead to conflicts:

dissatisfaction with pay;
unfavorable working conditions (for example, lack of ventilation, gas pollution, vibration, noise, drafts, uncomfortable temperature in the workplace, etc.);
shortcomings in labor organization;
inconsistency of rights and responsibilities;
irregular work (downtime, forced vacations, storming);
inconvenient work schedule;
omissions in technology (especially those from which the employee’s earnings suffer, and through no fault of his);
lack of resources for tasks (in particular, interruptions in the supply of raw materials, materials, components);
lack of clarity in the distribution of responsibilities, in particular ineffective, too vague or outdated job descriptions (i.e., forgetting the management principle: “It is preferable to manage with instructions rather than orders”);
low level of labor and performance discipline;
conflictogenic (i.e., conducive to the emergence of conflicts) organizational structures. For example, shop managers may receive 15–20 instructions or requirements daily from various services (directorate, production and dispatch, planning and economic departments, chief specialists, labor and wages department, accounting, etc.). It may be physically impossible to fulfill all these requirements, and failure to comply with instructions leads to conflicts;
contradictory relationships or goals of technological and economic services (for example, services responsible for quantitative indicators, for implementing the plan, and services responsible for quality - the technical control department, etc.).

The Importance of Constructive Conflicts

A positive resolution of a constructive conflict is, first of all, the elimination of shortcomings and the reasons that led to it. And since these reasons are objective, reflecting the imperfection of the organization of production and management, then eliminating these reasons means improving production and management.

Therefore, positive resolution of constructive conflicts is beneficial to the cause. That is why they are considered creative.

Consequently, a leader should not avoid these conflicts, but should constantly work to resolve them and eliminate the causes that lead to such conflicts.

An attempt to avoid solving these problems leads to their deepening, to a decline in the authority of the manager, the emergence of alienation between him and his subordinates, to a deterioration of the situation in the team, to conflicts, and personnel losses.

Causes of destructive conflicts

Destructive conflicts are most often generated by subjective reasons, which include incorrect actions:

manager;
subordinates;
both the leader and subordinates.

Most often, destructive conflicts arise when both subordinates and the manager act incorrectly.

Many of us are designed in such a way that we first of all notice other people’s mistakes, not our own. But a manager is supposed to help his subordinates correct their mistakes. Therefore, here we will focus specifically on the wrong actions of leaders: to whom more is given, more is asked.

Wrong actions of managers

Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of them. Three directions can be distinguished:

violation of professional ethics:
violation of labor laws;
unfair assessment by the manager of his subordinates and the results of their work.

Violations of professional ethics include :

manifestation of rudeness, arrogance, disrespectful attitude towards subordinates;
failure to keep promises;
intolerance to opinions different from one's own;
clamp criticism;
infringement of the rights of subordinates;
abuse of the position of a superior (for example, imposing non-official assignments on subordinates);
assignment to the performer “over the head” of the immediate supervisor;
withholding information (especially in conditions of staff reduction or reorganization);
criticism that belittles a person's dignity;
deliberately provoking conflict between subordinates - management according to the “divide and conquer” principle.

Let us comment on some of these factors.

Manifestations of disrespectful attitude towards a subordinate are very diverse. Here are a few of them:

Don't value your employee's time. For example, forcing him to “catch” himself or wait for a long time;
talk to the visitor without looking up from the papers
do not invite the visitor to sit down.

Intolerance for dissent from subordinates and suppression of criticism go hand in hand. Stendhal owns words whose importance for relationships between people and for production management can hardly be overestimated: “You can only rely on what resists.”

Each specialist is valuable for his professional opinion. To develop this idea, management has formulated the following principle: “If two specialists agree on everything, then one of them is redundant!”

of official position can also include making fun of a subordinate and ridicule. After all, a subordinate may simply be afraid to answer the way he would have answered if the “joker” had not been his boss.

In the event of an upcoming reorganization or staff reduction, management often delays in every possible way the unpleasant moment of making a decision and its announcement, so as not to “injure ahead of time.” However, the lack of information on such critical issues leads to the emergence of rumors, which are usually more unpleasant than hidden decisions. (The pattern here is this: the worse the rumor, the faster it spreads.) As a result, a nervous environment is created in which every minor incident is fraught with conflict.

In a situation of reorganization, reduction of administration staff:

you should not delay making a decision;
inform at general meetings or through a large circulation about the decision made;
if the resolution of certain issues is delayed, then make public what has already been decided; then the vast majority (as is usually the case) will be reassured that they will not suffer.

Violations of labor laws

We are talking about violations of both the spirit and the letter of labor legislation and an attempt to act autocratically, regardless of the laws.

This comes from the legal nihilism of leaders. As a result, in more than half of the cases, the courts reinstate dismissed workers who appealed the dismissal decision. Although, the data suggests that the employee has long been “worthy” of dismissal. However, failure to comply with formalities forces the court to declare the administration’s decision to dismiss illegal.

One can only imagine the situation in which managers find themselves when they are forced to reinstate an unfit employee and also compensate him for his salary. And what a hero this unfortunate worker feels like in the team.

Life shows that jokes with the law are bad, and it is better for a manager to study labor legislation than to get into unpleasant situations.

Unfair assessment of subordinates

The forms of this phenomenon are very diverse. Here are some of the most common ones:

Errors in the use of rewards and punishments

Such mistakes are common when there is no well-thought-out system of rewards and punishments. In many organizations, we prioritize punishment over rewards. And this despite the fact that it has been reliably established that rewards are much more effective than punishments. For the need for encouragement is one of the most important human needs.

Disadvantages in the distribution of work between performers

It is known that there are profitable and unprofitable jobs. When profitable jobs always go to the same workers, and unprofitable ones to others, this also predetermines unequal remuneration, which causes natural discontent.

Violation of the “contribution-salary” balance

If the contribution to the work is less, and the salary is higher than that of other employees, then a conflict situation is inevitable. It often happens that a new employee is given a higher salary than his predecessor. If the newcomer does not show from the first steps that he is head and shoulders above his predecessor in his business, then both he and the manager who “knocked out” him for an increased salary will feel a negative attitude towards himself from the team. The same situation arises when one of the employees, who does not stand out in any way at work, “knocks out” a salary that exceeds the rest.

Inviting an employee “from outside” when there is an applicant “from within” for the position

In general, inviting outside managers has its pros and cons. A plus may be the introduction of new ideas and expansion of the arsenal of methods used. This is like fresh blood in the body of the enterprise, preventing “swamping”.

The downside is the uncertainty of their employees, reducing the chances of advancement. After all, precedents with invitations tell everyone that he can remain in his current position until retirement. The most active will declare injustice to themselves, or think about moving to another organization, or will conflict.

Thus, an invitation from outside must have good reasons and imposes on the invitee the obligation to bring significant innovations to the work.

Painful attitude towards the authority of a subordinate

This means that the manager not only does not want to recognize a good employee, but also tries to lower his authority in the eyes of others. Since both the actions of a subordinate and their assessment by the leader occur in front of the team, the injustice of these assessments is an open secret. Such actions by a leader, first of all, diminish his own authority. And if an authoritative subordinate “accepts the challenge” of the leader, a conflict arises, then there is no doubt on whose side the sympathies of the subordinates will be.

Non-specific criticism of a group of subordinates

Such criticism is unaddressed, since everyone can decide that it does not apply to him. Consequently, the charge will miss the target. At the same time, a contrast between the leader and his subordinates arises, which unites the accused against the accuser. At the same time, they unanimously declare themselves victims.

Quite often, sweeping criticism occurs at the first meeting with the team of a newly appointed manager, especially if he is sent “to strengthen” a poorly performing unit.

“You will no longer work the way you worked until today” - this is a categorical invitation to a conflict that can drag on for years. The speaker made one more mistake, in addition to those already mentioned: he removed the blame from his predecessor and completely shifted it onto the team. This position indicates that in the future they will look for the guilty only among subordinates. Thus, the sense of self-preservation will push the team to unite against the leader.

Unclear wording of tasks

It will ultimately lead to an unfair assessment of the subordinate's work. After all, regardless of his efforts, further misunderstanding is predetermined. And the result is mutual irritation.

It is precisely because of the vagueness in setting tasks that statements from subordinates about managers “who don’t know what they want” and counter-claims from managers about the “stupidity” of subordinates have become widespread.

Lack of information

It makes you nervous and gives rise to rumors, some worse than others. In many cases, managers hide unfavorable information (for example, about upcoming staff reductions) so as not to unnecessarily or prematurely stress people. The effect of concealment is the opposite.

Underestimation of persuasion as a means of controlling a person

Unfortunately, practical methods of persuasion are not taught anywhere in our country. The fourteen most important techniques of persuasion are given, in particular, in the author’s book “How to Manage Others. How to manage yourself (The Art of the Manager)."

Psychological incompatibility

How often do you actually hear the words: “We are not compatible with him.” However, in reality, psychological incompatibility is much less common than people say.

Most often, these words cover up feelings that are embarrassing not only to strangers, but also to oneself. For example, elementary envy gives rise to constant hostility and serves as a source of a huge number of conflicts, including at work.

Cases of truly psychological incompatibility are relatively rare. They can only be determined by specialized compatibility/incompatibility tests.

What factors in a manager’s performance can cause envy? This is the possession of power, higher social status, higher salaries, comfortable working conditions (office, personal telephone, secretary, assistants), greater freedom of action and movement, better information. (At the same time, they forget that all this is more than compensated for by the stressful nature of the work, greater responsibility, longer work week, etc.)

The leader must remember about the factors that cause envy and not emphasize his privileged position, and be more democratic. And boasting, arrogance and other manifestations of a position of superiority should be completely excluded from everyday life.

Actions in conflict situations

When to take action?

This question concerns to a greater extent “horizontal” conflicts in which the manager is not involved.

Research shows that some managers tend to take a wait-and-see approach in conflict. They are afraid of being drawn into a conflict, afraid of its escalation and hope that everything will somehow resolve itself.

There are situations when, in fact, the third one is superfluous. But even in this case, the leader, having learned about the conflict, can help restore normal relations by creating the conditions for reconciliation. For example, he will give those in conflict such assignments (business trips) that they will not see each other for some time. Those arguing will calm down, come to their senses, and the conflict will fade away.

Conflict escalation pattern

Leaving a conflict unattended is like leaving smoldering coals in an empty house: a fire, of course, may not happen, but if it happens...

In general, the analogy between conflict and fire is deeper: both are easier to prevent than to extinguish; in both cases, the time factor can become decisive, because both conflict and fire are terrible in their growth.

These same two signs connect conflict with illness.

The escalation of the conflict occurs according to the following scheme:

Such escalation is explained by the fact that the participant in the conflict seeks support from others and recruits supporters. They especially try to attract the leader to their side.

As the conflict grows (escalates), things get complicated. The original conflict acquires new ones, reflecting the interests of the new participants and the contradictions between them. At the same time, emotions grow like a snowball.

All this convinces us that, having received information about the conflict, the leader must act and take measures without waiting for the conflict to escalate. Moreover, inaction, the position of non-interference, is regarded in the team as indifference, or even cowardice. Both do not contribute to the authority of the leader.

The first stage of conflict resolution: determining its true causes

The essence of this stage is to establish the true (often carefully hidden or unconscious) cause of the conflict. For example, concern for business and adherence to principles often mask selfish interests, hurt pride, grievances (including long-standing ones), and the desire to get rid of the unwanted and take its place.

This disguise is explained by the fact that no one wants to look like a troublemaker - after all, those around them value the calm atmosphere in the team. The substitution of motives may occur at first for “external use”, to explain one’s position to others, but then it becomes more pleasant for the initiator of the conflict to believe in it.

Here the psychological mechanism of self-defense is triggered, as in general in cases of unseemly actions: in addition to the true, ignoble reason, a certain noble one is invented, supposedly moving the person.

Thus, the first task of a leader - to find where the seed of the conflict is hidden - is very difficult.

This approach makes the task somewhat easier: you need to try to analyze all possible reasons, considering separately both the constructive components and the personal-emotional ones.

Detection of hidden participants in a conflict helps to answer the question: who benefits from this?

An external sign of a person’s involvement in a personal-emotional, destructive conflict is his behavior, manifested in excessive verbosity, agitated speech, and reluctance to listen to counter arguments.

In the case of a constructive conflict, participants are more restrained in expressing emotions, more importance is attached to logic, facts, and arguments.

Therefore, excessive ardor of a participant in a constructive conflict may serve as an indication that the constructive component for him is, perhaps, only a screen for achieving his personal interests.

Continuing the comparison with the disease, we can say that just as correct treatment is impossible without making an accurate diagnosis, it is also impossible to effectively resolve the conflict without knowing the real reasons that led to it.

To illustrate this, let us give a practical example. Experienced workers began to refuse to engage in mentoring. The management accused them of being in a greedy mood, of not wanting to create competitors for themselves, and of intending to consolidate their exclusive position.

However, in reality it turned out that the workers had other reasons for this: the supply of necessary components was irregular, and the workers were constantly on the verge of downtime. Therefore, they believed that they first needed to ensure the supply of components, and then increase the number of jobs. When the issue with components was resolved, mentoring ceased to be a problem.

The original version was beneficial to those responsible for providing workplaces with everything necessary, because it took them away from responsibility. But at the same time, it also led away from resolving the conflict, contributed to its confusion, and the growth of new conflicts. Thus, the refusal to mentor was only a manifestation that took place in a conflict situation with a shortage of components.

The cause of the incident could be any careless word spoken by the manager or any other reason.

Unfortunately, many of our leaders approach conflict resolution superficially, not daring to look into the depths of the phenomenon and understand its causes. But since the causes of conflicts remain unresolved, they arise again and again.

What to do?

The specific actions of a leader in a conflict depend, firstly, on whether he sees his guilt. This is probably the most difficult moment - not to succumb to the temptation to look for mistakes primarily in others, while protecting yourself from criticism. What happens next depends on what goal the initiators of the conflict are trying to achieve—near or distant.

If short-term goals are set, then most often some kind of practical action is necessary: make or cancel a decision (if possible), apologize if the manager feels guilty, that is, take specific steps. Assessing the situation and making a decision in this case is relatively easy.

The difficulty is that in the case where real steps to satisfy the claims are impossible, you need to convince your opponent that your refusal is forced.

The goal of the conflict initiator may be distant. Achieving it cannot be accomplished immediately, since a long time is needed to implement the decisions made: to reorganize the work of the unit, improve working and rest conditions, deviate from the usual routines and established structures, etc.

This kind of transformation requires many sequential steps. But the most important thing is that the first step is taken without delay. It will show the initiators of the conflict that “the ice has broken.” The inaction of the leadership, even flavored with promises, can only irritate people.

In the case when a manager seeks to change a subordinate’s attitude towards his duties, the most important thing is to convince the latter that this is not a whim of the manager, but an urgent necessity that must be taken into account.

There is another type of conflict, expressed in a negative emotional reaction to what happened.

Conflicts of this kind often make no sense. But the victim internally cannot come to terms with a decision he does not like, creating tension in relationships with others.

In such cases, the leader needs to take into account the person’s condition and show sympathy for him, because only on an emotional level can such conflicts be resolved.

Conflicts often arise that are based on imaginary contradictions. This happens mainly due to some small incident or a remark from the manager to a subordinate who “came to hand at the wrong time.”

Resolution of the situation is achieved through a frank conversation and the manifestation of a friendly attitude towards the subordinate.

How to behave

When communicating with conflicting people, follow the following rules:

show restraint; Considering that in conflicts, painful things “break through”, conduct business with maximum tact and caution in order to prevent yourself from being drawn into the conflict or aggravating it;
listen to those who come to you, let them speak to the end, making full use of the therapeutic effect of the opportunity to speak out and “cry”;
do not rush to conclusions and promises, do not “judge”; only after listening to the other side, checking all the facts and statements, comprehend the situation and take appropriate measures;
do not overestimate the degree of your awareness; remember that the effectiveness of communication “bottom-up” (from subordinates to managers) is on average only 10%.

Conflict Prevention

The art of leading

The work of a leader largely consists of resolving constantly emerging contradictions. However, not all of them lead to conflicts; the manager manages to resolve many of them in a timely manner.

This is precisely what the art of leading consists of - anticipating conflicts and resolving them in the bud.

Attitude to conflicts

A manager's attitude towards conflicts of different natures should be different.

With regard to destructive conflicts generated by inept relationships, the natural attitude is that there should be as few of them as possible.

Where pressing issues cannot be resolved without conflict, the leader should not “hide” from it.

Recommended measures

Measures to prevent conflicts follow from the reasons for their occurrence discussed above. Let's consider these measures in detail.

Constant work to improve working conditions, improve remuneration, improve the organization of production, and improve the living conditions of workers.

Given the complexity of these issues and the time required to achieve tangible results, opportunities should be found to unobtrusively inform subordinates about the measures being taken. After all, people will understand that the issues are complex and not everything depends on the immediate manager. But what they will not want to understand is the reluctance of management to deal with these problems.

Working on such issues is one of the most important ongoing responsibilities of any leader.

2. Strict adherence not only to the spirit, but also to the letter of labor legislation.

3. Compliance with work ethics.

Remember, that:

managing people begins with managing yourself;
if you don’t respect your subordinate, you won’t get respect from him, and lack of respect is already a pre-conflict situation;
nothing is valued so highly or costs so little as politeness;
studying subordinates, interest in them as individuals are absolutely necessary for successful work with them, an individual approach is the path to mutual understanding with subordinates;
withholding information creates tension in relationships.

4. Taking into account the expectations of subordinates.

Subordinates expect from the leader:

knowledge of the matter;
ability to organize work;
vision of perspective;
good earnings;
polite attitude towards yourself;
respect.

It is in this order that male employees most often name the desired qualities of a leader.

Female workers name the same qualities, but they put polite attitude towards themselves first. A worker worries if she is not seen as a woman, that is, a creature in need of support - such is the nature of female nature. Women react more sharply to rewards and punishments than men.

As the educational and cultural level of workers increases, the expectation of a more democratic leadership style increases.

All this is useful to remember for a manager who wants to avoid difficulties in managing people and reduce conflict in business communication.

Leader and conflicting personalities

Different types of conflicting personalities, despite all their differences, also have something in common: morbid ambition and the habit of not giving up their desires. For “demonstrative”, “uncontrollable” and “hyper-precise” individuals, conflict is more their problem than their fault. This is the psychological makeup of these people. Most of them suffer from various complexes, especially an inferiority complex.

Knowing this, the leader does not always “pick up the gauntlet” of the challenge to conflict thrown at him by such individuals. It happens that a subordinate in an excited state was insolent to the manager, slammed the door, and the manager waved his hand at him: “What can we take from him - he’s a sick man!”

The leader himself should not be a conflict-ridden person. It is unacceptable to use your position of authority to relieve internal tension, overcome an inferiority complex, or satisfy painful pride.

conflicts in the organization

Conflict and its destructive functions

The main negative point in all conflicts is the negative emotions received by its participants. Frequent stressful situations have a detrimental effect on a person’s health and mood. In addition, conflicts can be accompanied by violence, both psychological and physical.

Very often such phenomena end in a complete breakdown of relations between opponents. Examples of this are divorces of spouses, dismissals of employees, termination of friendly relations. People fail to agree and find a compromise, so this outcome is the only possible way out for them.

The destructive functions of conflict are also manifested in the underestimation of the self-esteem of the losing participant. A person may become depressed and doubt the correctness of his ideals and values.

In addition, conflict situations create an image of an enemy in people. Anyone with whom contradictions have once arisen will no longer be able to earn trust. Subsequently, the slightest misunderstanding can lead to the outbreak of a new conflict.

Signs of conflict escalation

When a conflict escalates, the atmosphere becomes so tense that the parties, in principle, cannot see any positive qualities in the other side.

In such a clash of interests, everyone considers the enemy an enemy. Naturally, mistrust arises, as well as the desire to blame the enemy for all failures. All participants on the opposing side are removed from the list of persons deserving ordinary human sympathy and participation.

These factors have an extremely negative impact on the psychological state of the warring parties. Also considered signs are the generalization of the conflict, the attraction of new participants to one’s side and the use of violence when other methods of influence are not enough.

Classification of conflicts by impact on the activities of a group or organization

In terms of their impact on the activities of a group or organization, conflicts can be constructive or destructive.

Constructive (functional) conflicts are conflicts that lead to the adoption of informed decisions and contribute to the development of relations between the subjects of the conflict. As a rule, the following several functional consequences of conflicts are identified:

The conflict is resolved in a way that suits all parties to the conflict; each party feels involved in resolving the problem;
A decision made jointly is implemented as quickly and easily as possible;
The parties involved in the conflict master the skill of effective cooperation when resolving problematic issues;
If a conflict has arisen between subordinates and managers, then the practice of conflict resolution makes it possible to destroy the “submission syndrome”, when a person occupying a lower position has a fear of expressing his point of view if it differs from that of people with a higher status;
Relationships between people become better;
Participants in the conflict no longer view disagreements as something negative and leading to negative consequences.

EXAMPLE: An excellent example of constructive conflict is a common work situation: a manager and a subordinate cannot come to an agreement on any issue regarding their joint activities. After a conversation and each participant expressing their opinion, a compromise is found, and the manager and subordinate find a common language, and their relationship acquires a positive tone.

Destructive (dysfunctional) conflicts are conflicts that impede the making of competent decisions and effective interaction between the subjects of the conflict. The dysfunctional consequences of conflicts are the following:

Competitive, adversarial relationships between people;
Lack of desire for positive relationships and cooperation;
Perception of the opponent as an enemy, his position - exclusively as incorrect, and one’s own - exclusively as correct;
The desire to reduce and even completely stop any interaction with the opponent’s side;
The belief that winning a conflict is more important than finding a common solution;
Bad mood, negative emotions, feeling of dissatisfaction.

EXAMPLE: Examples of unconstructive conflict include war, any manifestations of physical violence, family quarrels, etc.

Constructive development of the conflict

In order for the conflict to develop according to a constructive scenario, the following conditions must be met:

participants acknowledge the existence of disagreements, try to understand their nature and recognize the opponent’s right to respect their rights and defend their personal position;
Before we begin to eliminate the causes of the contradiction, negative manifestations of the conflict, such as increased tone, mutual insults, and so on, must be completely eliminated;
if it is impossible to reach a consensus on your own, then it is possible to involve a third disinterested party in resolving the controversial situation, who can give an objective assessment of the problem;
agreement of all parties to the conflict with the established rules of behavior, which contributes to effective communications.

Models of conflict behavior

Three main models of conflict behavior can be distinguished, namely:

Destructive is characterized by a desire to escalate confrontation and increase tension. A person may try to involve even more participants in the conflict, expanding its scope. This model is characterized by the following: neglect of the partner in order to reduce his role in resolving the dispute; personal insult and negative performance assessments; open expression of mistrust and doubt; deviation from moral and ethical standards of communication.

Constructive behavior in a conflict is aimed at “extinguishing” the confrontation as soon as possible and solving the problem diplomatically. If one of the participants is aimed at reconciliation, then he will show restraint and self-control, regardless of the opponent’s behavior

It is important to behave openly and kindly, while maintaining few words.

A compromise model of behavior is aimed at finding an alternative solution; it is characteristic of insecure individuals. They act rather passively and avoid direct answers to questions.

Participants do not insist on respecting their interests and willingly make concessions.

Types of conflicting personalities

A constructive solution to a conflict is not always possible due to the individual characteristics of its participants. Psychologists identify six personality types that most often come into conflict with others:

demonstrative - they like to be in the center of events, they are quite emotional, and therefore are often the initiators of disputes and confrontations;
rigid - due to high self-esteem and resentment, they often neglect the opinions and interests of others, which leads to serious conflict situations;
uncontrollable - characterized by excessive impulsiveness and lack of self-control skills;
hyper-precise - too demanding of themselves and others, picky about little things, distrustful;
conflict - they purposefully enter into confrontation with others, considering such behavior as a way of manipulating and achieving their goals;
conflict-free - they are afraid of any disputes and confrontations, as a result of which they can provoke aggression and irritation of others, which leads to the opposite effect.

Conflict management

Managing constructive conflicts includes the following basic techniques:

A clear distinction between the subject of the conflict and its participants. It is unacceptable to criticize personal qualities or interests

Thus, all attention is focused directly on the problem. Development of options that satisfy both parties. To come to a common decision, the parties to the conflict must direct all their efforts not to personal confrontation, but concentrate them on finding alternatives

It is worth uniting against the problem, and not opposing each other. The brainstorming method works well here, and you can also involve third parties. The use of objective criteria implies an objective view of the problem, regardless of the interests of the parties to the conflict. In this case, a decision can be made that will be stable and neutral. Elimination of the influence of principled positions. First of all, each side must decide what its rational interest is in this or that development of events. It is quite possible that the conflicting parties will have them in common, or at least will not be mutually exclusive.

Constructive functions of social conflict

Despite the general negative connotation of such a phenomenon as conflict, it performs a number of functions of positive significance. So, the constructive side of conflicts is as follows:

conflict allows us to identify contradictions and problems at the very moment when they have reached the stage of maturity and need immediate elimination;
can act as a mechanism for relieving tension in society and resolving situations that are a source of stress;
in the process of finding ways out of the conflict, individuals can integrate, showing mutual assistance and understanding;
as a result of resolving a controversial situation and eliminating its source, the social system becomes more stable;
A conflict that arises in time can warn against more serious clashes and contradictions.

Thus, it is impossible to speak unequivocally about the negative nature of the conflict. Constructive social conflict is aimed not at aggravating, but at resolving problems.

conclusions

Despite the fact that most people consider conflict to be a purely negative phenomenon, this is not entirely fair. It may well be constructive in nature. Moreover, in some cases it is simply necessary. For example, the leaders of some organizations deliberately provoke constructive conflicts in work collectives. This helps to identify existing problems, relieve emotional stress and create a healthy work environment. It is also worth remembering that with a competent approach to conflict management, even destructive confrontation can have a constructive conclusion.