A632.6.3.RB – The High Cost of Conflict

According to Levine (2009), decision-making can be viewed the same way as problem-solving.  Decision-making is our way of getting down to the bottom line and the details of the issue.  We find a resolution to conflict as best as we can.  As Levine (2009) stated, conflict is healthy, but it composes of direct cost, productivity cost, continuity cost, and emotional cost that can be retained after the conflict is done.  The value of resolution is that it resolves the conflict without lingering effects.  Resolution is a much better resource than compromise since the cost of aftereffect is less.  Conflict resolution is a skill that we can learn by cultivating the habit of alternative practices (Levine, 2009).

When I was transferred from Student Affairs to Human Resources department at a local University, the current HR Assistant who was temporarily responsible for benefits and leaves of absences has openly expressed her disagreement why the Benefits Coordinator position was offered to me and not to.  The Director of HR called in a meeting on my third day of work to give everyone a chance to voice out our concerns.  At that time, the department only has four staff, the Director of HR, HR Assistant, HR Specialist, and Benefits Coordinator.  The HR Assistant and HR Specialist have worked together for almost ten years under a different HR leader.  The current Director of HR has been in her position for three months when she decided to offer me the coordinator job.  The meeting did not result positively.  The Director warned us that negative behavior was unacceptable and the three of us needed to find a way to get along to accomplish our daily tasks.

As the days passed, the HR Specialist and HR Assistant questioned my ability to perform the essential function of my job, and behind my back, met with the Director to tell her that I was not pulling my weight within the department.  In turn, the Director would called me in and said what was said to her and asked me not to say anything to the other two employees and just keep up the excellent work that I do.  She stated that she has been receiving good feedback from the Cabinets members, Deans, and our EVS employees about my performance and how knowledgeable I was about my job.  She further stated that I needed to avoid heightened conflict between the other two employees by not paying attention towards their aggression towards me and just let things go.  As a new member of the group, I followed the Director’s recommendation and did not question her decision. 

Things did not end well.  One day, the HR Assistant was very upset when she heard that someone was told the HR Director regarding her consistent rudeness to the employees.  She automatically assumed that it was I who did so and stormed to my office, yelling and cursing not knowing that I had the Dean of Education in my office discussing changes on her benefits coverage.  The Dean of Education was mortified with the HR Assistant’s behavior.  She reported the incident to the Director of HR.  The HR Director gave the HR Assistant 2^nd written warning due to the severity of the situation.  After that event, things in our department got worst until the Director decided to make arrangements to transfer the HR Assistant to the Library as the Library Director’s Administrative Assistant.  The unfortunate part was, whenever the HR Assistant saw me anywhere on campus, she would pretend she did not see me and if I say hello, she would not acknowledge me.  She blamed me for everything that happened to her. 

            Based on Levine’s (2009) Ten Principles Of New Thinking (p.46), if I have practiced the number 2 principle, creating a partnership, the conflict that existed between the HR Assistant, HR Specialist, and I would have turned out differently.  As Levine (2009) stated, the adversarial minds that the employees and I had permeated in our ability to be collaborative to make sure that our new partnership will be productive and efficient.  If I had taken the initiative of being creative, the number 3 principle of Levine’s (2009) Ten Principles Of New Thinking, the outcome could have ended more positively. 

            Instead of following what the Director had recommended, I should have asked the two employees to spend lunch together as a form of a team building initiative.  I believe that our Director would be very supportive of it.  Preventing conflict within our group should have started with a group agreement and collaboration how we, as a team, can perform our tasks efficiently and how we can be supportive of each other.  The success of our partnership could not be accomplished in one sitting, but it could have been the core foundation of our future relationship to be fruitful and productive collaboration.  If I took the initiative in emphasizing to our Director the importance that the HR Assistant, HR Specialist, and I have to be on the same page from the very beginning when I joined the team, our team would have been stronger.  The three of us could have worked collaboratively as a team, and the conflict that existed between the three of us could have been reduced, if not eliminated.

            My takeaway from this exercise is that when practicing a resolutionary thinking, what takes place in a climate or environment of resolution are addressing the group differences and reaching to collaborative agreements.  Negotiations are no longer adversarial, but it becomes seeing eye to eye with a shared vision to attain the team’s desired end result.  When a disagreement arises, it is framed as a chance to enhance and not break down the existing agreement.

Reference:

Levine, S. (2009). Getting to resolution: Turning conflict into resolutions. (2^nd edition).

            Williston, VT: Berrett-Koehler Publisher.