Introduction
In life, different people
would have different personal experiences. Where a person is born, how a person
is raised, what education has a person received would all contribute to the
variation in one's perception towards certain things. In a group context, these
personal differences would sometimes be complimenting each other, while in
other occasions, differences might contribute as a factor of interpersonal
conflict.
During the process of
completing our group work, Tracy, Beatrice and I have been working harmoniously
most of the time. However, because every individual is different, it is
inevitable that we might have different ideas. Since the values that we uphold
would not be identical, we had to find ways to resolve our conflicting ideas in
order to carry on with the projects.
In this blog, I will be
focusing on how we have overcome our ideological differences on our group
project outcomes. An analysis on our conflict resolution process will be done
with the support of previous academic researches. With an aim to provide
insights for resolving group conflicts, the pros and cons of our group's
approach will be discussed. I will conclude this article by sharing my personal
experience during the semester.
Background of the Team
The TAB team is composed of
three members -- Tracy, Beatrice and myself. Our personal characters are
somewhat different, yet we are able to get along with each other as all of us
are easy-going persons.
By observing the individual
behavior among us, it was not hard to find that Tracy and Beatrice tend to
follow the rules in a step by step manner. It is quite a big contrast when
compared with how I normally do things - FAST! Taking the number of classes we
took in semester B as an example: I was registered with three classes on three
consecutive days throughout the week, while Tracy and Beatrice both decided to
do two courses only so that they can be less stressed. Since they knew my
schedule is quite packed with work and study, they have always been passing on
reminders about guidelines and deadlines so that I would not miss any important
information for completing our group work.
To work as a group, our
belief was to share a common goal so that we can work towards it together with
our joint efforts. Throughout the semester, our common goal was very clear,
that is to pass the course.
Causes of Ideological
Conflicts
In order to accomplish our
common goal, we know that we have to finish our coursework following the
instructions given while also handing them in on time. For Tracy and Beatrice,
this goal was not too hard to fulfill. But for me, it was a little tricky based
on two reasons: 1) I did not have enough
time due to a very demanding job that requires frequent overtime, and 2)
even if I did not have time, I would not be satisfied by just passing, but
rather I want to score a high mark.
With that said, the difference in values has caused some conflict among us.
The first time I experience
negative emotions about our work was when the first blog assignment was soon to
be due. For that particular assignment, we have not started using
collaborative tools to work on our parts yet. Therefore, our own work has not been
visible to others until a very late stage. When I was trying to finalize our
work before submission, I was quite surprised that the structure of Tracy and
Beatrice's work were quite loose. Language wise, I had to make a lot of
adjustments to make the piece grammatically accurate. Also, because it is one
blog instead of three, I had to align the tone used so that it would be
coherent enough. Unfortunately, I only got everyone's final part until the
night before the due date, I had to spend a lot more time than expected to fine
tune the piece. As a result, I had to work
overnight without sleeping to finish the blog.
As defined by Barki and Hartwick (2004), interpersonal conflict refers to the "dynamic process that occurs between interdependent parties as they experience negative emotional reactions to perceived disagreements and interference with the attainment of their goals." In that particular incidence, I was quite disappointed
on the quality of work that Tracy and Beatrice has provided. But because I
have decided to keep a high standard throughout my coursework, I had to polish
our copy even it was late at night. With that quality, I really had the feeling
that I was not given enough time to
do what I need to do to our work. I was indeed not very happy.
5 Stages of Conflict Process
According to Kangal (2013), conflicts are composed of five stages:
- Stage 1: Potential opposition or incompatibility
- Stage 2: Cognition and personalization
- Stage 3: Intentions
- Stage 4: Behavior
- Stage 5: Outcomes
The diagram below shows the specific details in each stages when a person is encountering a conflict.
To put this model into simpler words, the five stages can be regarded as 1) the cause, 2) realizing the conflict, 3) the approach to handle the conflict, 4) the actual actions taken by conflicting parties, and 5) the outcome of the conflict resolution.
In the following section, I will be incorporating Kangal's model in analyzing my group's conflict.
Resolving the Conflict
After realizing the problem with the first
assignment (stage 1), I believed that there is a need for us to discuss how we can work
together in a better way (stage 2). We have had an open discussion on our own capabilities
and the possible changes that we could make to our process in order to
facilitate a smoother collaborative workflow (stage 3).
Eventually, we have decided to allocated our
responsibilities within the group in advance according to a general consent on
each other's strengths. Tracy
Other than assigning specific roles among
ourselves, we have always set deadlines together so that I would have enough
time to do the editing work. Also, we have started to use Google Document as a
common platform so that the progress of each individual was visible for
preview. In that sense, I would have a better idea of what to expect for
editing, thus avoiding the shock.
The implementation of our agreed approach (stage 4) has given me the opportunity to see the final outcome before submission. Being the final editor has also given me the sense of security of the quality of our work. During the process, Tracy, Beatrice and I have been actively communicating with each other through virtual platforms to make up the face to face discussion time as we were not able to meet often. Our group has taken similar approaches in all other assignments and this has proven to be an effective resolution to our conflict (stage 5).
Conclusion
By reviewing our experience on overcoming ideological differences, I believe the whole process of conflict resolution follows the flow with a few steps:
- uncovering the problem;
- understanding the cause of the problem;
- finding out possible solutions;
- compromising on a common way of dealing with the conflict;
- implementing the compromised idea; and
- reviewing the outcome and make necessary adjustments as needed.
References:
- Barki, H., & Hartwick, J. (2004). CONCEPTUALIZING THE CONSTRUCT OF INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT. International Journal of Conflict Management, 15(3), 216-244. Retrieved May 3, 2015, from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/eb022913
- Kangal, S. (2013, January 14). 5 Stages of Conflict Process. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://www.edunote.info/2013/01/5-stages-of-conflict-process.html
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