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PART E: PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS AND COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS 
 
450
 
 
5
Conflict 
 
Key approaches to 
managing disagreements and conflicts 
include understanding the problem and the 
personalities involved; encouraging those involved to discuss the problem; exploring possibilities for 
mutual satisfaction (win-win); negotiating compromise where required; using formal grievance 
procedures where necessary. 
5.1 How does conflict arise? 
Conflict
is the clash of opposing 'forces', including the personalities, interests, opinions or beliefs of 
individuals and groups. Conflict often arises within and between teams because of a number of factors. 
(a) 
Power and resources
are limited (and sometimes scarce) in the organisation. Individuals and 
groups 
compete
for them, fearing that the more someone else has, the less there is to go around. 
(b) 
Individuals and teams have their own 
goals, interests and priorities
– which may be 
incompatible. 
(c) 
There may be differences and incompatibilities of 
personality
between individuals, resulting in 
'clashes'. 
(d) 
There may be differences and incompatibilities of 
work methods, timescales and working style
, 
so that individuals or teams frustrate each other with apparent lack of co-ordination (especially if 
one person's task depends on the other's). 
Difference 
and 
competition
by themselves do not lead directly to conflict: they can even be positive 
forces, helping people to solve problems or to lift their performance. 
However, they can 
escalate
or 
deteriorate
into destructive conflict if: 
(a) There 
is