Habe recht wahllos im Internet gesucht, bis ich was mit einer in meinen Augen angemessenen Komplexität gefunden habe. Hier der Link: www.esrccoi.group.shef.ac.uk/pdf/whatis/conflict.pdf
Habe gerade noch mal nachgeschaut. Das ist irgendein Forschungsverein für Organisations- und Innovativitätskrams. Nennt sich ESRC Centre for Organisation and Innovation und ist offenbar irgendeine univerbundene Mischung aus Think Tank und Beratungsbude. Hier der Text:
Conflict In Teams
What is conflict?
Conflict starts when an individual perceives that someone is negatively affecting, or about to affect, something they care about. It occurs as a series of episodes between those involved, with each episode shaping how the conflict is subsequently perceived and managed. Although conflict is popularly thought of as involving a win-lose struggle, many conflicts in the workplace occur between individuals who share similar end goals but disagree over the means by which they can be achieved.
Why is conflict important for team performance?
Teams are increasingly used as the building blocks of flexible organizations. Underlying this trend is the belief that by bringing together a range of different perspectives, teams will achieve higher levels of creativity. This belief is reflected in the current interest in promoting diversity in teams. However, simply bringing together individuals with diverse expertise does not in itself lead to creativity. How those individuals interact with each other is critical. Team members must share and integrate their different perspectives to reach creative decisions. This requires the skilful management of conflict in the team.
What are the different types of conflict?
To understand how conflict affects team performance, we need to distinguish between two types of conflict:
Task conflict concerns disagreements over the content of tasks being carried out; for example, differences of opinion among members of a project team on how to market a new product.
Relationship conflict concerns interpersonal animosities and tensions between individuals themselves, rather than the task.
How do different types of conflict affect team performance?
Research has examined the relationship between the levels of these different types of conflict and team performance, both in terms of the task and individual attitudes. Task conflict has generally been found to have a positive effect on task performance, provided that the level of conflict is appropriate to the complexity and uncertainty of the team’s work. For example, a strategic management team may need high levels of disagreement to facilitate the critical evaluation of decisions; conversely a production team following routine procedures may find that even a relatively low level of disagreement interferes with their work. At the same time, task conflict can cause unease among individuals and weaken their commitment to the team. This effect is mitigated by the extent to which team members perceive that they need to work closely together and disagree over task issues, in order to get the job done.
Relationship conflict generally has a negative effect on team performance. Relationship conflict lowers task performance by distracting members’ attention, reducing their ability to think clearly, and encouraging perceptions of hostile intentions in other’s actions. Not surprisingly, relationship conflict negatively impacts on individual satisfaction and commitment to the team. These consequences are magnified in those teams whose members must work closely together to achieve their goals.
How can task conflict be encouraged without relationship conflict?
A key dilemma for teams is that task and relationship conflict often occur together. There is some evidence that team members tend to misinterpret task related disagreements as personal attacks, leading to retaliation and a cycle of relationship conflict. This makes it difficult to gain the benefits of task conflict without the negative effects of relationship conflict. This risk is reduced when there is a high level of trust between team members. This suggests that team-building exercises are particularly beneficial at the start of a team’s life, when positive relationships need to be established between members.
How is conflict managed?
People manage conflict in many different ways, such as through humour, avoiding colleagues, or using one’s position or authority. The major strategies that individuals can adopt are:
Competing – the individual attempts to satisfy their own interests or concerns at another’s expense, for example using authority to impose a solution.
Collaborating – the individual tries to achieve a solution that meets both his/ her own needs and those of the other as fully as possible.
Avoiding – the individual actively withdraws from a threatening situation. This approach is often used in relationship conflicts. Although each conflict situation may require a different strategy, collaborating is likely to be most beneficial over the longer term. Compared to other strategies, collaborating tends to achieve higher quality solutions, is seen as fairer, and helps to build a positive relationship between those involved in the dispute.
How can collaboration be encouraged?
The use of collaborating is determined by the extent to which an individual is concerned with achieving both their own aims and those of the others involved. Many different factors influence these concerns, including the prior relationship between the individuals such as liking and trust, accountability to others and time pressure. In particular, the perception that all those involved in a dispute ultimately stand to win or lose together fosters collaboration. These perceptions are encouraged by tasks that require co-ordination and teamwork to achieve, developing understanding among team members, and ensuring that roles and objectives are complementary.