Conflict resolution or conflict management is defined as “the control of conflict within an organization. There are three different beliefs with conflict resolution. Traditionalists believe that conflict is bad and destructive for an organization and they try to avoid it at all cost. Behaviorists believe that conflict is inevitable in an organization thus the techniques used are to manage conflict positively. Lastly, Interactionists believe that conflict is good for an organization and welcome it with open arms (Oxford University Press, 2008).

Conflicts amongst individuals and groups happen everyday. Conflict is one of those things that are unavoidable like food, water, clothing and shelter. As longs as there are people on earth, there will always need food to eat, water to drink, clothes to wear and shelter to live in and conflict to resolve. Why are we prone to conflict? According to University of Phoenix text (2008) there are two reasons why we can not get along in a group. One reason is due to personality issues. Not all personalities blend well with other personalities. Personality issues may seem minute in contrast to other reasons why there is internal conflict but it is a huge reason why groups do not get along. In a group, we must understand that we must compromise our personalities for the sake of getting goals accomplished; which leads to another reason why we conflict with each other in groups. Everyone in a group does not have the same goals for the group. One person may have financial goals, another may have support goals and one may want to use the team for personal gain. Somewhere in the middle of the personal goals for the group lies a middle ground that will please everyone in the group individually and benefit the group as a whole. However, steps must be taken to uncover what the team really needs to succeed while still making the majority in the group happy and completing the assignment on time.

Another aspect to consider is that certain types of conflict can benefit or hurt a team. According to University of Phoenix text (2008) relationship conflict can be detrimental to the survival of the group. If a team bickers constantly on what some would consider personality issues, nothing will get accomplished. Arguing over personal quirks only lays a foundation for resentment because respect for individual differences has been lost and no one wants to work someone that they feel does not respect them as a person. Task conflict can be beneficial for the team because it pushes the team to evaluate itself on tasks it should be doing. It allows for the group to critique each other and the end result is a perfectly executed assignment.

There are many ways to resolve conflict within a group. Some ways are more effective then others. One way is avoidance. It's like saying out of sight out of mind. This technique works for a group that has one assignment with no intentions on ever grouping together again. However, if you have multiple tasks that need to be done with this group, avoidance would not be a great way to handle issues because they will only resurface with a vengeance. Also avoidance is not a good technique because it produces a crutch. It is easier to just avoid a situation than it is to look it in the face and handle it. It not the most mature way to handle conflict.

Imposition is another strategy that can be used for conflict resolution. Imposition requires that one group member or a number of members give up their position on an issue to further the team. This happens a lot when one team member does not have the support of others to further their idea. This also happens when there are members of the group that dominate in the group. Domination may cause serious conflict because not all views are met by all the member of the group (University of Phoenix, 2001). Giving up your position on a topic only benefits those that opposed the idea. It also is a selfish way to handle a conflict because it shows the group is not willing to negotiate for the team

Compromise and integrative bargaining are the best ways to handle a conflict. Compromising gives the group a chance to wheel and deal in the best interest of the group. It gives the opportunity to reach some personal goals and meet all the needs of the team. Integrative bargaining allows a win- win situation. Everyone in the group reaches their own individual goals and the needs of the team are met. These techniques are great

ways to govern a group. Behaviorists love these particular conflict resolution techniques because it allows for the group to resolve issues where a positive outcome for both sides

is possible. These skills can be classified as negotiation skills. “Negotiation skills … are crucial for participation in the modern business world” (Flynn, Ph.D, 2008, para. 2).

There are four techniques mentioned in this paper to handle conflict within the group. While some strategies promote a juvenile approach to resolving internal issues, others promote a democratic environment where every voice is heard and a common ground is met. Unfortunately, when conflict happens in a higher level organization like in corporations, the four strategies mentioned before may not work. Corporations sometimes have to go through arbitration to settle differences.

Conflict is necessary to keep a group focused on what needs to be done. However some conflict can be avoided by being considerate to each group members' ideas and feelings. Also being a team player and being flexible in teams streamlines conflict to a minimal. “Teams must create a change oriented environment because change is necessary (Temme, Katzel, 1995). As long as a team is flexible, the group will succeed.

So the next time the professor assigns you to a team project; do not fret. There are ways to create harmony in an unharmonious situation. And you do not have to give up a lot of yourself to get goals accomplished.

Works Cited

Temme, J., Katzel, J. (1995, January 9) Calling a team doesn't mean that it is. Plant Engineering, 112 (2). Retrieved October 28, 2008 from General One file database.

A Dictionary of Business and Management Ed. (2006). Conflict Management. Retrieved October 29, 2008, from www.oxfordreference.com.

University of Phoenix. (2008). Learning team Toolkit. Retrieved October 29,2008, from University of Phoenix, Learning Team Toolkit, rEsource.GEN 300 - Skills for Professional Development course website.

University of Phoenix. (2001). Week 3 overview. Retrieved October 24, 2008, from University of Phoenix, Week three, rEsource. Gen 300 - Skills for Professional Development website.

Flynn, PhD, S.I.( 2008). Managing conflict within Organizations through Negotiations. Research starters. Retrieved October 28,2008, from EBSCO research database.

Corcoran, B and Landry M. (2008, March 31) Conflict Resolution. The Recorder, 1 ( 5), 1-4. Retrieved October 29, 2008, from General One file database.

• Acknowledging a person's feelings is the first of five key factors in separating the people from the problem. This aids the cohesion of the group through empathy and shows other members that they really mean something.
• Determining the specific behavior causing intense feelings is another factor that plays a role in being a cooperative group member and helps members understand why a person might be feeling the way they do about a topic.
• Assessing the intensity and importance of the issue is the third one in the list of five, and has to do with rating the importance of the issue that is causing conflict in direct proportion to the subject matter of the group as a whole.
• Inviting the other person to join you in working toward a solution will also help the cohesion of the group by, once again, showing how important the individual is to the group as a whole.
• Making positive relational statements is always a wise move to make while building cooperation during a conflict.

Being objective is one of the most difficult things people attempt while working with others today. With the rise of “having it your way” and “you deserve a break today” life styles, Americans have grown cold isolated beings. Participation in small groups can lift the stifled air of isolation and show us how we can work together for a common goal even though it might bring conflict along for the ride. Objectivity carries a lot of clout in many circles where conflict arises mainly because we can state criteria that is based on more than just our opinion.

Separating the people from the problem, focusing on shared interests, generating many options to solve problems, and basing decisions on objective criteria are just some of the ways to build cooperation within a group in a time of conflict.

Conflict is in itself inevitable in group relationships. People have different thought processes and opinions. They have different likes and dislikes, different philosophies and different religious beliefs. People have different ideas about the right and wrong way to do things or about right and wrong in general. All of these collective aspects of the individual personality can cause conflict when groups of people come together.

Conflict according to Mayer (1989) can be a source of, joy or pain, a burden, a blessing or curse, a gift or a torment, depending on how it is handled.

There are quite a few factors that can affect the productive behavior of a group. Common pitfalls according to Capezio (1996 p. 71) are a lack of principles for effective teamwork, having ineffective meetings, inability to give effective feedback, not having a climate for mutual respect. Capezio states that often teams are put together without considering what will determine their success.

Two teams have formed and are meeting to discuss and plan an assignment. Team A has decided to meet at a night club so that they can have drinks while discussing the assignment and charter. Team members Abby and Bob arrived early and have already had a number of beers and are now a little bit tipsy. Connie and David arrive and are a little disgusted to see that Abby and Bob are a little buzzed and wonder if they will be up to having the meeting.,

They state they are fine. David is a little perturbed as he wanted to meet at the library since he needs to get a good grade to keep his scholarship and wanted to get down to the business of studying. Evan and Francesca arrive late but the team goes forward with their plan for the assignment. David takes the lead and gets down to business, he suggests that they state their strengths and weaknesses and assign tasks. They simply put on their charter that they want to assist each other in getting the best grade possible but do not lay out a plan of action. Their first draft is due in two weeks. Francesca says she is good at research so she has volunteered to do the research for the team. David wants to write the paper and does not want the help of the group. He says he always gets good grades especially in writing so he will do the paper. He wants the topic to be on Computers in the workplace.

Francesca thinks, “Boring!” He then tells Abby and Bob that they can do the research for the paper completely ignoring the fact that Francesca has already volunteered to do it and then assigns the outline for the draft to Connie. David has taken on a leadership position within the group. Abby and Bob are ordering more drinks and are not really paying attention to what is going on in the meeting. Francesca has nothing to do but doesn't say anything. They have not taken notes and have not written down phone numbers or email addresses.

David says he will get copies of the charter and the log to all of them when they meet in class but that he should have the research no later than Wednesday of the upcoming week. When the group shows up for class, David makes sure to give the copies of the team charter and team log to the team members and asks Abby and Bob how the research is coming. Bob just smiles and says, “It's coming.” By Wednesday David checks his computer and has seen no research. He emails Abby and Bob and copies the rest of the team. He sends the message in capital letters so it appears that he is yelling.

Abby doesn't appreciate the tone of the email so she just quickly emails David that she is working on it! Bob totally ignores the message. It is now the Saturday before the draft is due and David has not received anything. Connie says she cannot do the outline because she has not seen any of the research. David quickly looks up some information and emails it to Connie. Connie stays up late reading the research and does the outline and emails it to David. It is not what David was looking for so he completely changes the outline and writes the paper. He is mad that Abby and Bob have not participated and sends the paper over to without their names on it

Teams need to discuss before hand situations that have previously caused conflict within the group and set down guidelines and develop principles within their charter to prevent escalation from occurring and establishing an atmosphere that promotes mutual respect within the group.

In situations where teams may need to address issues of conflict, teams need to focus criticism on the behavior and not on the individual. They should acknowledge the concern and seek to resolve those issues for the benefit and success of the group. They should communicate with respectful language and avoid name calling, or pointing a finger of accusation at another member. They must consider the common goals set within the charter governing how the team should behave as a whole and come to a mutual agreement that would conform to the set guidelines of the charter.

When teams agree to a standard set of principles that will govern the way they behave as a group and abide by those guidelines they may be able to prevent escalated behavior before it ever happens. By acknowledging problems that have occurred in the past and seeking to implement ways to prevent and to resolve issues is the first step in a successful team relationship.

How unemployment is individual and social problem

Unemployment is caused by many factors in a modern market economy. It can be caused by rapid technological change, business cycle or recessions, seasonal factors in some industries particularly such as changes in tastes and climatic conditions which affects demand for certain products and services, individual perceptions and willingness to work and search for jobs, their values and attitudes towards some jobs and about employers, accessibility for retraining and acquisition of work skills, willingness and perception of unemployed of the benefits of training and the possibility for them to get a job after the training even though they have a chance to get a job, discrimination in the workplace based on race, color. religion, ethnicity, age and class.

It can be seen from the above causes unemployment in a particular period can be a combination of caused by social factors and how the economy as a whole works and also due to the subjective individual factors. In a sociological point of view according to functionalist and conflict theorists the unemployment is caused primarily by the social factors than by the individual factors. However according to Max Weber and symbolic interaction theories individuals construct their own social constructs and perception and they can be subjective in their behavior and there fore can become unemployed even though the actual condition they can get a job in the job market.

In summary applying the sociological and the primary causes of unemployment unemployment is individual as well as a social problem in a market economy. As discussed above it is caused by the society as well as by individuals. Even the economy or societal factors are not present unemployment can be caused by individual perception and their own subjective behavior.

Max Weber's distinction among power, authority and coercion

Power can be defined as one person's ability to influence others does what ever they want even though they don't like to do what is demanded and they resist doing what is demanded. For example a professor can influence the students to assign work and demand them to do to satisfy some criteria. As well a dictator like Hitler can control all aspects of life because of this ability to impose his will on majority of people. In other words a person or group on other person or other groups can use power legitimately or illegitimately. That is power need not come from proper authority or legitimate authority. That is power and authority can be different in this respect.

According to Max Weber authority can arise from tradition, charisma of certain powerful people or from legal-rational. That is authority need not come from any logical reason but likely to come from respect for the past. For example a monarchy in Western Europe can get authority because they ruled the populace over a long period of time. Even the traditional authority can exist in modern democracies because the people respect the monarchy or authority of monarchy at least in a limited symbolic head of states in Western Europe.

Authority also can arise from charisma of some powerful people. They have authority because of their charisma. This arises because they have the ability to lead a vast number of people for a particular cause using their powerful charm and influence over ordinary people. For example Martin Luther King, Gandhi. Nelson Mandela is the modern examples of charismatic authority they had because of their ability to charm and influence a vast majority of people for a particular cause.

Authority also can arise from legal-rational. That is in society authority is given to individuals and organization based on rationally enacted laws and regulations. This authority is impersonal and differs from charismatic authority because the legal-rational authority is impersonal and the charismatic authority is personal and admired by the people who accept that authority. In modern societies the authority is derived from the legal-rational compared to charismatic and traditional in varying degrees in industrialized societies in particular.

Coercion is the extreme manifestation of power in a way threatens the person to complete obedience because it threatens the person coerced physically, financially and socially. This results in persons following the authority of another because of fear rather than will. Coercion is mostly linked with abuse and conflict. Coercion exists in many dictatorships in the past as well as in the present world in many parts of the world where citizens are forced to follow the regime of dictatorship.

The view of the economy in the perspectives of functionalist, conflict theorists and symbolic interaction theory

Functionalist perspective of the economy

In the perspective of functionalist sociological theorist social systems including economy works like a biological organism where every part of the system work in a united manner so that smooth functioning is maintained and so that society builds consensus between different parts of the system.. In this change is evolutionary and the changes take place to minimize dysfunction and to enhance the stability and its survival in the future. In this respect Capitalism will not collapse and will endure in the future as the functions of the system will adjust and evolve so that it maintains the social order and stability without any radical overhaul of the economic system. In addition the social, legal, political, religious systems will not be in conflict with the economic system and work in unison with the economic system so the whole social organism survive and social order is maintained and their functions and their purpose even though different work as a unified system. As discussed above this is the functionalist view of the economy.

Conflict theorist view of the economy

In contrast conflict theorist believe society do not work as a unified system. Conflict and struggle take place as different groups work to maximize their benefit in the same time other groups loose. Functionalist view conflict in a negative manner. However the conflict theorist see the conflict to some extent is beneficial as it forces the parties to come to a common ground and make the economic system or the social system to change for the better and minimize the losers and maximizing the benefits for a greater number of groups as well make the power system in check so that abuse of power is minimized.

In this context the economic system and social order changes continually and changes take place and shaped by different interest groups in varying degrees in a market economy. However Marxism as a conflict theory predicts radical change to the economic system to move towards a socialist system it has not eventuated. However Max Weber as a conflict theory predicts the viability of the market economy with some reform to minimize the negative aspects of capitalism like alienation and the negative impact of bureaucracy in capitalist economies and more democracy in society and continuous reform of the economic system to make it work efficiently but also effectively by legal, social and political reform appropriate to a countries historical, cultural, political and social context.

Symbolic interaction theory perspective of economy

Symbolic interaction theory is a micro-sociological theory as opposed to the functionalist and conflict theory. That is symbolic interaction theory analyze how individuals and groups interact with each other and how they adept to change and shape change and build economic and social relations and political structures and institutions rather than viewing the economic system as whole. In their perspective communication and negotiation between individuals and groups and build symbolic meaning imposing this meaning in society and economic system and its parts work on these symbolic meaning of the societies relationship with the economic affairs of society and its priorities and what changes are beneficial to society in economic terms in these symbolic meanings determine how the economic system work and all the issues involved in the economy and how it must be resolved and the process of reform and changes to the economic system.

End of mid-century and the evolution of new sociological theories

In the present global economic environment and deregulation of the market economy and also after the fall of Berlin Wall and the collapse of Soviet Union the power of Marxism has dramatically reduced. This created new sociological theories such as post-modernism, relativism and neo-liberal theories of economics and society in general. However the functionalist and conflict theories have some resonance to some groups in society particularly to trade union movement in some parts of the world. This may be due to the negative consequences at least perceived by some groups in society and particularly in the developing world.

In era of rapid technological changes, social changes as well as political instability in some parts of the world and unpredictability of economic and social outcomes may revive some of the earlier theories particularly the conflict theories may become credible at least in some parts of the world. The social stability and order is not a phenomenon in this century in some parts of the world and there are rapid changes in countries and some countries face severe instability even after reform particularly in some parts of Asia and Africa as well as in Middle East.

In addition after the mid century the environmental issue became prominent. Some economist and sociologists view this as a market failure. As suggested by functionalist and symbolic interaction theories the environmental issue must not arise. However it is a reality and most political scientists, economists now agree environmental problem is a serious issue for the whole world. This may be due to the negative consequence of the market economic system and the externalities it produces. However as economic systems become more dynamic and adaptable to change there is hope the present system will survive with evolving reforms within the system rather than radical over hall of the present economic and social system. However the political instability and economic instability in some parts of the developing world and the crucial environmental issues must be adequately addressed. The way the present economic system address successfully these complex issues will determine the survival of the present economic and social order and the relevance of functionalist, conflict theory of Max Weber or the symbolic interaction theory or post modernism than the radical conflict theory of Karl Marx.

Conclusion

As discussed above unemployment can be an individual issue as well as a social problem. This is an individual issue because the individual can perceive subjectively and behave in a subjective manner. However the social or economy as whole also can affect his employment prospects particularly if the economy goes through boom and bust cycles. I addition it may be also due to technological innovation and rational economic decision Contribute to structural unemployment. There fore unemployment can be an individual issue as well as a social problem.

In the perspective of Max Weber power, authority and coercion are distinguishable because power can be exercised by any strong personality without legitimate authority or even if a person has legitimate authority that person can abuse the power given by that legitimate authority. In addition authority can come from tradition, charisma or from legal-rational authority given to a person or group by rational and logical reason. As well according to Max Weber coercion is the abuse of power in extreme as a threat. It can be a physical, financial or social threat. The person who abuses power to compel the other person or group for complete obedience can use coercion. In this sense according to Max Weber power, authority and coercion are distinct and distinguishable.

In summary the functionalist's view of economy is that the economy works as a unified system like a biological organism. The functions of the separate parts can be different but the functions are defined so that the economy works to maintain order particularly social order and changes only happens to reduce dysfunctions. Consensus is the norm and conflict is an exception and it is temporary as all participants in the economic system voluntarily make consensus so that the system works to maintain order.

However the conflict theory is opposite of functionalist theory and suggests in an economic system conflict and struggle is norm because the participants maximize their benefit in the expense of others because conflicting interests. For them conflict is necessary for change and to refine the economic system where the economic participants come to common grounds so that the economic system evolves and adepts dynamically. for conflict theorist the economy changes all the time and social order is disturbs and it evolves in to a new economic relationship and new economic system. However according to Max Weber the Capitalist system will adept and change and evolve but not radically change by revolution in to a socialist economic system as predicted by Karl Marx.

The symbolic interaction theory is a micro sociological theory which emphasizes the importance of symbolic meaning which arises from interaction of different groups and individuals in society and which is imposed on society which determines how the economic participants behave and what changes are necessary within the symbolic meaning and what institutions are necessary to meet the outcomes which is symbolically important at a particular time. In this perspectives the changes are made by groups and individuals interacting and communicating and create meaning or constructing meaning is the driving force for change and adapt for changes in the external environment.

By the mid century many new sociological theories have risen. However the old theories are not disbanded by at least some groups in society and in different parts of the world. In the current global environment and deregulation of economies neo-liberal theories are dominating at least in the economic field. As well post-modernism have risen after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the collapse of Communism in the Eastern European countries. However the functionalist and conflict theories play a part in some western countries in different degrees and in some developing world. As discussed above even though interaction theory and other new theories become prominent due to negative consequences of global economy and liberalization process some groups and in some parts of the world conflict theory is used in practice in explaining how the economic system works and the positive and negative consequences due to the externalities of the capitalist economic system. The relevance of theories to explain economic system depends in the future how environmental issues; social and political instability in some parts of the world is resolved by the current economic and social order.

The perceptions you have of others even overflow into the work place and can cause conflicts with other coworkers. When people begin to share their thoughts with other coworkers they open up the door for their coworkers to spread the gossip. This can cause enormous amounts of animosity amongst coworkers. There is also the issue of people getting involved in other workers lives wither its work related or not. They form opinions, make accusations, and cause drama.

All of these problems are due to people forming perceptions of others when they shouldn't. Workers should try to avoid idle gossip and concentrate on the tasks at hand. After all you are being paid to work not to congregate at the water cooler.

A good example of how perceptions and conflicts in the workplace affect real people is about this man I used to work with that was very well liked by everyone. One day one of the coworkers saw the man at the park with another man. The rumors started flying around the office that the man was gay and nobody would say anything to him about it. In my opinion it doesn't matter at all if he was or wasn't but it gave the office something to chat about. When the man finally heard the rumors he was embarrassed. It really hurt his feelings that people would shy away from him and talk behind his back. He ended up quitting his job because nobody looked at him the same. The worst part was the man he was in the park with was his brother and the rumors spread by a coworker made this man leave his job.

This just goes to show that opinions and perceptions of people are not always right and I believe they do not belong in the workplace.

The Good Boss Company, a consultant group, interviewed 1,000 employees and found that 58% of these employees looked for another job because they didn't like their boss. In addition, 1/3 of the workers in the office faked sick days when working for a bad boss when compared with only 1 of 10 with those who have good bosses. Thus, bad bosses have higher employee turnover and more people absent on any particular day.

If you feel that bad bosses don't have an affect on employees then consider that nearly 40% of American employees feel that have a bad boss. The wide scale of such feelings indicates that there is currently a problem with poor manager to employee relations that exists throughout the American labor force. Many of these problems revolve around people's lack of ability to communicate.

You may be wondering what really constitutes a bad boss. Bullying, incompetence, harassment, discrimination, disregard for the law, poor compensation, rude behavior and invasion of privacy are all signs that a boss isn't doing his/her job well. Such bosses are the result of the Peter Principle where they have been promoted to their complete incompetence.

The Peter Principle is in effect when employees are promoted to supervisory levels without having the skills necessary to effectively do the job. They were promoted because they were good at what they did. However, some people are great employees but terrible managers.

Even worse few employers will take much action against poor employees let alone bosses. According to a survey listed in the Journal Personnel Today 9 out of 10 people in authority do nothing about poor performance of bosses or employees. Thus, these bad bosses continue to stay within organizations year after year with little consequences.

If you have by now recognized that you need to make a few changes in your organization you may be wondering what you can do about it. The easiest solution is to wrap the bosses management skills and effectiveness into the performance appraisal. When poor management becomes wrapped into compensation and employment stability these managers will either improve their performance or be managed out of the organization.

Every day, I sign into the phone and computer system for my job, electronically from home. I am a home agent, and work in my office, taking sales calls for a large magazine publishing house. Customers call in to buy magazines, then for a variety of reasons, are unhappy with payment terms or other issues, such as returns. They then have nobody else to take their frustration out on, so you are their most convenient target.

As a matter of fact, you are the target for just about anything. Heavy breathers, prank phone callers, hecklers, and more will call in. And we smile and talk to each and every person with respect and dignity, even if they don't do the same for you. It's a matter of going with the flow and realizing that the customer may be having a bad day, or is mad at the promotion, but he is not at you personally.

When confronted with a customer who is purposely being mean, my response is to let them rant then continue trying to answer his question. By being persistent, calm and mellow; the customer rants alone. Eventually he gets tired enough to give up and either listen or get off the phone. Many of us home agents talk to each other by instant message over the internet. It helps us to keep our sanity, and morale going during tough times. We compare notes on people who were really nice or really difficult and learn from each others' experiences. It makes the day go by faster and reminds us that it's only a job and not to get stressed out by it.

If a customer is in distress, there are times when it is our duty to help them in whatever way that we can. I have a list of phone numbers to refer people to for things like domestic violence or food assistance hot lines. Working with the public, we do our best to please and help them. Some just need a friendly ear to talk to. Though each call I take is monitored, I take the time to talk to anyone who is having trouble. Many of my co-workers do to. It is our way of appreciating our customers. They are the reason that we have our jobs and put food on our tables. It is our job to be there for them.

Being a phone customer service agent isn't for everyone. If you enjoy talking to people, figuring out problems and helping those who need it, then this job may be for you. After three years, it has helped me to pay for college and allowed me to work from the comfort of home. Gone are the days of buying coffee from a vending machine or listening to loud co-workers in the next cubicle. Life is good, especially after hearing how tough some of my customers' lives are, it makes me appreciate my relatively stress-free routine all the more.