Conflict in the work place is inevitable. People will argue, disagree, or treat another badly for many reasons. Racial prejudice, sexual prejudice, religious prejudice, or simply not liking someone can and will cause conflict.Conflict resolution can be handled in a one-on-one manner (the boss talking to employees) or can be handled through mediation or negotiation. The one-on-one method will work in a small business setting where there is employee conflict or business conflict. In a larger corporate setting mediation or negotiation is often used to settle conflicts. Union negotiations are a good example of this. Listed below are some methods that may be used for conflict resolution. Many of these can be used in a one-on-one setting or in a larger setting where mediation is being used to settle a conflict. 1. Separate the people from the problem. One specific technique that can work is to change the shape of the table rather than sitting opposite your 'opponents', arrange the seating so that all the parties are sitting together facing a flip chart or blackboard where the problem is presented. That makes it clear that all the participants are facing the problem together, that instead of it being 'us' against 'them', it is a case of 'all of us' against 'it'. 2. Distinguish between interests and positions. When preparing for a negotiation, or after it has begun, don't just ask "What do they want?" It is also important to ask, "Why do they want it?" It is equally important - and often more difficult - to ask the same questions about your own views. Many successful negotiators find they will be more successful if they focus on understanding their interests as they enter discussions. If they haven't started out with a perfect package, the ideas of others may actually improve their final result. Negotiators who arrive with a complete package can create real problems. Modifications to their ideas might be taken personally, they may b...
