Aspects of Conflict Resolution

Aspects of Conflict Resolution by Pat Letendre
Human resource (HR) issues such as resolving conflicts consume an enormous amount of an
organization's time, including that of managers and staff. I first became interested in strategies to
resolve conflicts as a supervisor at a blood centre in Winnipeg. During a long career as an instructor
dealing with conflict became routine, whether between students, instructors, students and instructors,
students and hospital preceptors, instructors and preceptors, and educational institutions and clinical
facilities at an organizational level.
Which is a long-winded way of saying that conflict is normal. Conflict can occur at individual, group,
and organizational levels. Occasionally these levels overlap as shown in some of the examples
below.
Causes
Many interrelated circumstances can cause conflict in the workplace. They include
Miscommunication
Change
Conflicting goals and priorities
Limited resources
1. Miscommunication
Of all causes of conflict, faulty communication is perhaps the most common. Using the simplistic
model of communication as sender, medium, and receiver, problems can relate to any of these
components.
For example, see conversation as communication.
2. Change
Change often causes anxiety which, if perceived as threatening, may lead to conflict between
individuals, groups, or organizations.
Examples:
When medical laboratory assistants (MLAs) are hired in a transfusion service previously
without them, technologists and MLAs must learn new roles and team responsibilities as the
work will be divided differently than before.
A change in donor testing may result in potential delays in providing blood components or a
rare need to issue partially tested components, creating the potential for conflict between
supplier and user.

New safety standards that require many changes in how transfusion services operate may
trigger conflict between those affected and the regulator.
When a new system of competency assessment is instituted, staff may perceive that
management sees some of them as incompetent.
A change in shift scheduling that requires staff to start work much earlier than usual may cause
resentment among staff with school-age children.
3. Conflicting goals and priorities
The goals and priorities of groups and organizations do not always coincide, thus creating the
potential for conflict.
Examples:
In times of financial restraints management may want to minimize expenditures by maintaining
many casual employees who do not qualify for staff benefits, whereas staff naturally want to
qualify for benefits.
A blood supplier may want to maintain a large central supply of blood so as to supply all
clients, whereas individual hospital transfusion services may want to keep a large on-site
supply for its own patients.
A staff member who habitually comes to work late, takes excessive breaks, and leaves without
informing others of work in progress, will cause conflict and resentment with co-workers.
Transfusion services invariably want to arrange workload to coincide with staff schedules by
requiring blood specimens to be collected during the day except for emergencies. Nursing and
medical staff may not have this as a priority.
4. Limited resources
Lack of resources is a common cause of conflict in organizations. It may lead to competition for
scarce funding, to discontent with working conditions, and more. Examples:
One laboratory department may receive more funding for capital equipment than another,
resulting in bad feelings and allegations of favoritism.
When employer funding for continuing education and conferences is cut, more applications
than can be supported will create the potential for competition and charges of favoritism.
Workload may increase concurrent with staff reductions, requiring staff to do more with less.
Approaches to resolving conflict
Quality guru W. Edwards Deming coined the popular term "Win-Win" (as opposed to "I Win- You
Lose") to describe a positive negotiating approach. Strategies for how to resolve conflict can be
organize around variations of win-win:
Win - Win
The ideal outcome of conflict resolution is when both sides come to a mutually agreeable
decision. Results from collaboration and compromise, but compromising only on minor points
of contention.
Win - Lose
One side is satisfied with the outcome while the other side feels that it has lost and is
dissatisfied. Results from competition in which the winner takes all.

Lose - Win
One side gives way. Results from accommodation by one side to preserve a relationship or
when they realize their position is untenable.
Lose - Lose
Both sides are dissatisfied with the outcome. Results from avoiding dealing with the real
problems and making compromises on important issues.
No deal
Both sides agree to disagree, and no decision is made. Not necessarily lose-lose if a resolution
is not urgently required.
Techniques and strategies
To identify and help resolve conflicts, try these techniques and strategies:
1. Identify latent conflicts before they become overt. It helps for managers to keep attuned to staff
issues by practicing "management by walking around" and taking coffee breaks with technologists
rather than always with other supervisory staff.
2. Analyse the source of the conflict. The obvious signs of conflict may not be the real ones and
people may have different views of what the issues are.
Example: A group of technologists complain to the manager that Alice went to a conference
two years in a row but the broader issue may be that the staff believe the manager practices
favoritism routinely in terms of holiday scheduling and promotion.
3. Identify the risks involved in unresolved conflict for individuals, groups, and the
organization. The longer that conflict goes unresolved, the more likely it is that differences will grow
or solidify.
Example: A technologist has started to arrive late, take excessive breaks, and leave without
informing others of work in progress. If supervisors do not deal with this issue promptly, the
consequences could include (1) the unacceptable behavior becomes entrenched and habitual;
(2) staff resentment grows and results in non-cooperation and overt hostility; (3) morale in the
lab decreases; (4) patient safety is compromised.
4. Understand the other person's perspective through active and empathetic listening. It is
more important to listen than be heard, especially at first. Only after the other side's views are
understood can win-win solutions be attempted.
Example: Lab supervisor to head nurse: "The blood bank cannot accept late samples as we
haven't the evening staff to process them. You will have to get them drawn earlier or blood will
not be available for morning surgeries." versus "Samples from ward A4 have been arriving late
recently. Has there been a change that's causing this--a new intern or resident? Increased
work load? Can we work together to solve this?"
5. Focus on issues, not personalities. Focusing on personality creates defensive behavior,
whereas dealing with issues is less threatening.
Example: Lab supervisor: "Alice, you are not carrying your load." versus "Alice, I have noticed
that you have been coming in late recently and taking longer breaks. Has something
happened?"

6. Build trust by being true to those who are absent, as advocated by Steven Covey in The Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People. Being true to those who are absent means never discussing one
staff member in a disrespectful vein with another. Once staff see that you do not gossip and backbite
others, they will trust that you will treat them similarly. In contrast, a manager who has a track record
of talking about others behind their backs quickly loses trust.
7. Determine points of agreement. The disputing parties may not be able to agree on all issues but
usually there are some common points of interest.
Example: Lab supervisor to Alice: "We both agree that patient safety comes first."
8. Emphasize solutions not problems. Conflicts can be resolved more readily in a positive
atmosphere in which improvement can be envisioned.
Example: Lab supervisor to Alice: "This behavior of yours is causing all kinds of trouble in the
lab. I know there are reasons but the problem exists and must be fixed. I'm giving you two
weeks to improve before a incident report goes in your personnel file." versus "Now that I know
about the problems that you are having at home, I am certain we can work towards a solution.
Think about what you can do at your end and I'll see what I can do about a temporary schedule
change. Let's meet again next Monday."
9. Obtain all relevant input. Because people often see conflict using selective perception, obtaining
more viewpoints will often clarify issues and their underlying causes.
10. List and evaluate options. In the initial stages, remain open to all ideas and possible solutions.
Detailing pros and cons of suggested solutions can be done secondarily.
11. Assess if external help is needed and obtain if required. Sometimes a problem has become
so entrenched that outside assistance is needed to resolve a conflict. This may require bringing in a
neutral facilitator who can work with the different factions to develop an acceptable compromise.
12. Maintain flexibility. Rigid approaches seldom work, especially in an environment that is
continually changing. Nothing stifles creative solutions and initiative as much as the repetitive mantra,
"We tried that once and it didn't work."
13. Decide the best option and document it. After getting agreement on the best option, it is
important to document why it was selected and that all parties agreed. A record can help minimize
recriminations or reneging later.
14. Agree on monitoring mechanisms and at least one contingency. Just because a resolution
was developed and instituted does not mean that it will work. Events need to be monitored and
reassessed. There should be a Plan B if Plan A fails.
Further Reading
Conversation as communication by Gerard M. Blair (University of Edinburgh)
Copyright © 2002 - 2009 TraQ Program of the British Columbia Provincial Blood Coordinating Office, a program of the
Provincial Health Services Authority. All rights reserved.