Working with Others Kelley Smith 7/19/2015 GS2520: Professional Communications Charles McCoin

The article that I found for managing conflict in a work environment is by Bonnie Hagemann and Saundra Stroope and is called “Conflict Management: Lessons from the Second Grade”. In this article, Stroope and Hagemann discuss strategies on how to avoid and resolve conflict while at work. They found that second graders used the same techniques to resolve conflict as those at the upper levels in the business world. Here are the techniques they touch on in their article: * Get help * Compromise * Avoid * Talk it out * Negotiate * Chance * Ignore * Take turns * Apologize * Share * Postpone * Humor * Better results
These 13 techniques are the most important things to consider when trying to resolve conflict in the workplace, but you must make sure to choose the correct technique since they all have very different outcomes. For instance, when choosing to avoid the conflict you have to make sure that the issue is an unimportant one before avoiding it because it could lead to worse problems than the original issue. When considering negotiation as a conflict technique, you have to take it one step at a time. One of the best times to use this tactic is when negotiating one’s salary and benefits. Another technique that is extremely useful is apologizing. You have to know when to own up to a mistake, take ownership of it, and ask for forgiveness. Once you can be open enough with your co-workers to say I made a mistake and for that I’m sorry, you can then have a more open work relationship with them and make it a better working environment for all concerned. Another technique that should always have a place in the work environment is humor, after all, it is a powerful tool. “It breaks up