successful project management - Commonwealth of Learning

Two members are in disagreement with each other, and that affects their work
performance.
c. Conflict between an individual and the whole team.
M
M
M
M
M
A team member is in disagreement with members of the group.
d. Conflict between teams in the distance education institution
A
B
There is a misunderstanding between two teams.
I am sure you came up with interesting practical examples. Spend time, sharing
those examples with colleagues. The inevitable question likely to arise from your
discussion is probably how each of the conflict situations you came up with can be
resolved. Are there general ways of dealing with misunderstandings that can be
applied to different situations? Let us examine this matter at two levels.
Level 1 : Preventing conflict
The old saying that prevention is better than cure, can be applied here. Here are my
personal suggestions on how the team leader could prevent conflict.
• Ensure that channels of communication are clearly defined and
understood by every team member.
• Put in place a plan of activities, which should be understood by all
members.
• Avoid exaggerated forms of control such as constant policing of what
individuals do.
• Avoid one-way communication that limits input from team members.
• Make available the resources necessary for team members to achieve
their goals.
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