Ideas for managing conflict

Nature of the conflict

• what is the historical context of the conflict in terms of (a) the people involved and their relationship; and (b) other events in the organization?
• has something happened between the conflicting parties in the past which might be influencing   present behavior?
• are there norms established in the firm about how conflicts are supposed to be handled, for example, end runs are okay but direct confrontation of a superior by a subordinate is not?
• what triggering event brought this conflict to the surface?
• what assumptions about conflict do the parties have (look at metaphors used to describe the situation, patterns of behavior, and expressed attitudes about conflict)?

Styles of conflict

• what conflict style does each party use and do they change over time?
• how does each party's style influence the other's choices?
• how do the styles used by each help or hinder their goal attainment?

Power

• who has what kinds of power in this situation, and how are they acting as a result?
• how much power does each think the other has, and how is each acting as a result of that perception? does either underestimate or overestimate the other's power, or their own?
• what is the nature of the interdependence between the parties, that is, what does each need from the other? if there is a conflict, there must be an interdependence. People do not bother to get angry at people from whom they need nothing.
• what choices is each party making based on their assessments about power? with what results?

Goals and issues

• what are each party's goals?
• what does each think the other's goals are?
• how have goals been altered over time? with what impact?
• what are the content goals? relational goals?
• if this conflict were not about the present controversy, what would it be about?

Attempted solutions

• how are the parties trying to resolve this problem and are their attempts helping or hindering resolution?
• have attempted solutions become part of the problem?
• have third parties been brought into the conflict? with what effect?
• is this conflict a repetitive one, with attempted solutions providing temporary change, but with the overall patterns remaining unchanged? if so, what is that overall pattern?
• what solutions have not been tried?

This checklist adapted from material included in Joyce Hocker and William Wilmot, Interpersonal Conflict, Wm. C. Brown, Publishers, Dubuque, Iowa, Second edition, 1985.