Trident university international | Module 2 Case Assignment | Conflict Management | | Jessica Cupo | 6/11/2012 |

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Introduction
Conflict occurs regularly within the military organizational structure on the interpersonal, intergroup, inter-organizational, and international levels. A relevant example of interpersonal conflict and resolution recently presented itself between a peer and me in my current role as Awards and Decorations Officer in Charge. A combination of personality, values, communication, and previous interaction bias resulted in the escalation of an interpersonal conflict which required attention in order to regain productivity in the program. As a leader or a team member, a misstep in an interpersonal conflict results in loss of productivity, escalation of bias, and misinterpretation of intentions. Learning from previous conflicts helps to establish de-escalation techniques and facilitate better work-group dynamics.
Scenario
As the office in charge of a program within my squadron, a conflict recently developed between myself and a peer assigned to my shop for tasking and assigning office duties. The other Captain had recently been removed from his primary job for failing to meet the standards and expectations required. The other Captain and I were commissioned from the same University in the same year group and therefore equals in rank. Due to the circumstances, I was put in a position of authority over the individual and required to give him tasks within my program.
The individual had an observable and established reputation for laziness. He had previously been assigned to a different shop and was removed from that duty because he repeatedly failed to contribute and had to be micro-managed to get anything accomplished correctly. The conflict between myself and the individual occurred when he failed to meet a deadline on an assignment I had delegated to him and I confronted him about the missed deadline in a manner that made him feel I was “out to get him”.
The conflict escalated further when I extended the deadline and provided strict consequences for failure to execute the task by the deadline. The other Captain felt victimized and reported to my superior. My superior then facilitated a de-escalation of the situation by providing an outside perspective that allowed me to analyze my own behavior. The conflict was resolved when I apologized for making the individual feel that I was out to get him, explained my perceptions, frustrations, and expectations, and provided clear cut guidelines for the assigned task. Several months later the program runs smoothly and productively in large part due to the assistance provided by the other Captain. Instead of working in opposition, the two of us work together to accomplish the mission and meet deadlines.
Sources and Levels of Conflict Upon reflection, the sources of conflict in the scenario arouse from multiple areas. A significant source of conflict in the instance described arose from a communication based misunderstanding and a personality conflict. Walls and Callister wrote,
Communication-based misunderstanding becomes especially prevalent if the other is angry, dislikes, or distrusts the party. Or a history of interpersonal difficulties can too readily set the stage for miscommunication. Accurate, lucid communication can just as readily generate conflict when it conveys criticism, especially the inconsiderate, destructive variety (Baron, 1988b, 1990), high individual goals, threats, intended distributive behavior, insults, etc. (Walls, 520)

My aggressive, confrontational, type-A personality combined with the other Captain’s history of conflict within the larger organization resulted in additional conflict and loss of productivity. When I confronted the other Captain about his failure to meet a deadline, he perceived my frustration and urgency as a desire to further reprimand him when my desire actually remained accomplishing the task.
My bias from previous interactions created a more hostile tone than I intended. Armed with the knowledge of the other party’s previous failures, I became angry and distrusted the other Captain to accomplish the objectives without significant prompting. My expectations based on his former behavior and our previous interactions created a self-fulfilling scenario that generated conflict escalation instead of dissipation. The communication of my disappointment and criticism created a further misunderstanding between us. While I thought I was clearly communicating expectations and establishing guidelines, the other Captain thought I was threatening and bullying.

Conflict’s Effect on the Organization On a personal level the conflict added stress, anger, and frustration to my already busy schedule. As the leader of the program, negative feelings in the office I shared with the other Captain manifested in openly disdainful behavior towards the source of the conflict. The environment created by the disdainful behavior reduced every other member’s productivity within the office and my own performance of duties decreased.
The misstep in communication on my part compounded the already tricky situation of leading a peer. My personality combined with his history of personal failure to create a complete breakdown in productivity. Instead of accomplishing the task, the interpersonal disagreement created a conflict so vitriolic that all productivity ceased until the conflict was resolved. With the entire program losing productivity for several days, medals required for promotion remained unprocessed compromising the chances of several airmen being promoted. As a person responsible for the processing of decorations that immediately impact the lives and livelihood of others, lack of productivity and failing to accomplish the task is grievously unconscionable in my mind. As I was unable to accomplish the task alone, the conflict needed to be resolved.
Resolution of Conflict The resolution of the conflict between me and the other Captain was facilitated by the mediation of a superior mentor. While I was expressing personal frustration to my superior, my superior provided just counsel and outside perspective that resolving the conflict remained crucial to accomplishing the goals of the program. My superior recommended I apologize for any affronted feelings I may have given the other Captain and try taking a softer approach to the situation. I took the advice, apologized for any hurt feelings, and explained in a nicer way that I was not out to get the other Captain but that the need to work together was urgent. I also provided more specific direction to the other Captain. Walls and Callister wrote,
Finally and most importantly, an effective method of de-escalation is for one side to take a step that reduces the other’s anger, that signals one is not diabolical, or that reduces the tension between the parties. As examples, an apology often cools anger; discussing mundane problems reveals a disputant’s humanity, and predictable behavior (e.g., Osgood’s GRIT proposal) reduces tension. (Walls, 532.)

My superior had the experience and insight, as well as the outside perspective, to suggest a highly successful de-escalation tactic. A simple apology and level headed explanation of the expectations allowed the conflict to de-escalate and helped to facilitate a productive working environment.
Conclusion
Experience with conflict leads to an ability to recognize sources of conflict and avoid escalation. Insight into individual behavior helps to reduce the tendency towards miscommunication and person bias in facilitating a hostile, conflict ripe environment. Conflict on an interpersonal level results in additional workplace stress and loss of productivity. Occasionally, a team member must recognize the sources of conflict and objectively act in a way to minimize or reduce conflict in order to facilitate goal accomplishment. Recognizing conflict and implementing de-escalation techniques leads to a more successful working environment and more productive team.

References
Wall, James and Ronda Callister. 1995. “Conflict and Its Management.” Journal of Management 21 (3): 515-558.