Running head: CONFLICT WITHIN TEAMS 1

Conflict within teams and the methods of tackling them

Name

Institution
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A. Conflict

The term conflict can mean differently as per the aspect it is used or depending on the person defining
conflict. Some people may view conflict as fighting, war or anything of the sort yet another group of
people may view it as a mere difference in opinion or personality. Conflict occurs between two people
or two parties or simply two disagreeing/ opposing groups or individuals. A conflict can be simplified as a
disagreement mostly unfriendly between two opposing parties.

B. Sources of cultural conflicts in teams

A team generally consists of more than one person and will likely consist of people coming from more
than one background. Each person in a team is always brought up differently depending on the parent
(s’) or their country’s beliefs and cultures. This may cause a conflict in the team and that is what we
define as the cultural conflict in a team. Several reasons may cause a cultural conflict and they are as
follows;

1. Ignorance

We are called upon each to deeply understand that we come from diverse backgrounds with different
cultures. With this in mind we should digest before talking to a person from a different culture as ours.
Most people get irritated when asked “stupid questions” which according to the person giving the
question seems just right by curiosity. A Malaysian for instance coming from a country leading in rice
production may ask a westerner why they regularly consume vegetables and fish unlike him/her (the
Malaysian) who sticks to rice and noodles. This question to the westerner may seem “stupid” and it will
arouse some conflict due to the ignorance of the Malaysian.

2. Religion

This should not be the topic of discussion when chatting with a person whose belief you are unsure of.
Religion mostly causes conflicts since different people have different religions which have different
teachings and they may not be compatible with either religion in discussion. Some people will consider
their religion as dominant while others are minor and this will easily cause conflict.

3. Music

This may be a cause of conflict between two or more parties. People seem to clash over their views and
likes of music. Some music seem to speak directly and people may raise arguments over their
preferences in music. A person preferring reggae music to hip hop will probably disagree with another
person preferring the vice versa.

C. Intervention strategies for going about team conflicts

Conflicts in a workplace/a team is inevitable. It might be avoided or tackled with depending on the
urgency for instance a manager might ignore less exchange of words or minor attitudes between
employees but if these go on continuously the issue must be looked at. We have different approaches to
solving team conflicts and they can be listed as;

 Mediation
This means involving a neutral third party to help solve the conflict. The mediator should first of
all before getting into the argument should understand the situation and by this he/she should
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have the information by both parties and this will prevent biasness. The mediator should pay
attention to the problem and not the individual and should avoid coercion. The communication
between the three should be open and after the mediator listens to both cases he/she should
make the decision.
 Negotiation
This involves the agreement between the warring parties and they should review on either
party’s opinion and act wisely. Both parties should consider the other party’s culture and try
best to understand it. This will allow them to be at peace since when they both understand the
situation their agreement will be much easier. After negotiation all the team members affected
by the conflict must accept that there is a conflict to be solved and aim at working together.

D. Types of creativity in teams

A team may face several challenges and the challenges are not meant to block entirely their
aim/works. They will need to come together as a team in order to collectively generate a
solution and this will require a higher set of creativity. Creativity can be enhanced in a team by
several ways;
 Vision
This helps the team members realize the importance and urgency of the work they are doing.
With this in mind they will do everything clear and valuable. To make this a success the team
leader should engage the mind and heart of his/her team.
 Talent
It’s important to recruit a group of people with some hidden set of skills in them. A group with
talents gives an added advantage to the kind of jobs they do because their skills combined with
talent gives a boost to the team.
 Great leadership
This will help the team with various ways. A good team leader understands the team best and
knows whom in the team can tackle a job best. The team leader knows how to bring the team
members together hence promotes working collaboratively. This will give the team a good
picture and the team will provide good results

Conclusion
Conflicts in a team is inevitable and it should not stop the works of a group. With some of the
points above, we can try to solve the conflicts and better the results expected of us. We should
not allow conflicts whether minor or major hinder our activities
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References
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California Management Review, 49, 6-31.

Langfred, C.W. (2007). The downside of self-management: A longitudinal study of the effects of
conflict on trust, autonomy, and task interdependence in self-managing teams. Academy of
Management Journal, 50, 885-900.

LeBreton, J.M. , & Senter, J.L. (2008). Answers to 20 questions about interrater reliability and
interrater agreement. Organizational Research Methods , 11, 815-852.

Li, J. , & Hambrick, D.C. (2005). Factional groups: A new vantage on demographic faultlines,
conflict, and disintegration in work teams . Academy of Management Journal, 48, 794-813.

Passos, A.M. , & Caetano, A. (2005). Exploring the effects of intragroup conflict and past
performance feedback on team effectiveness. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 20, 231-244.