Reproduced with permission from BESTEAMS 20041 Conflict Resolution in Engineering Project Teams Interpersonal Effectiveness Intermediate Level.

Reproduced with permission from BESTEAMS 2004 1

Conflict Resolution in

Engineering Project Teams

Interpersonal EffectivenessIntermediate Level

Reproduced with permission from BESTEAMS 2004 2

Acknowledgment of Support

The material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant No. DUE-0089079: “Implementing the BESTEAMS model of team development across the curriculum.”Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Additional support was provided by the A. James Clark School of Engineering, the Mechanical Engineering department at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Morgan State University, the United States Naval Academy, and Howard University.

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“Conflict is a form of interaction among parties

that differ in interest, perceptions, and preferences.”

Kolb, David A., Osland, Joyce S., and Rubin, Irwin M., Organizational behavior: An experiential approach, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 6th Edition.

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Examples of Team Conflict

Describe:• Factual situation• Effects on team members• How the conflict was handled• Effects of Resolution on Team

Member(s)

“Why is conflict so difficult to deal with?”

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Why Conflict Management?

• Teams in engineering require both interpersonal and technical competencies

• Breakdowns in either skill can cause team disruption

• Therefore, conflict management skills are vital to team harmony and productivity

Many projects have been endangered because of feuding team members!

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Constructive (functional) Conflict…

Forces members/subgroups to discuss their differing viewpoints

Often results in mutual understanding

Helps a team to achieve its goals Example: Member A wants to use Method I

while Member B wants to use Method 2 to design a necessary component

Resulting discussion clarifies A & B’s viewpoints and a decision is reached

Not all conflict is negative

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Destructive (dysfunctional) Conflict…

Is a hindrance to the teamLeads to reduced productivity and moraleShould always be addressed and never

ignored Example: Member A wants to exclude

Member B from future meetings because Member B often is late to meetings

Resulting discussion reduces team resources for project completion

Conflict that reduces

effectiveness is negative

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Major Reasons for Conflict1

Differences in beliefs, values, & expectations often are the main cause of conflict.

Conflict may arise when: Two members or sub-groups use different sources or

interpret the same source differently Members or sub-groups have different or sometimes

conflicting objectives There are differing views on how logistics should be

managed There is a lack of authority structure or hierarchy The team is in the “storming” stage of development

9

Conflict Management Styles2

Style choice will probably

vary by situation

Ass

erti

ven

ess

Par

ty’s

des

ire

to

satis

fy o

wn

conc

ern

CooperativenessParty’s desire to

satisfy other’s concern

uncooperative cooperative

unas

sert

ive

asse

rtiv

e

Avoidance

Competition

Compromise

Collaboration

Accommodation

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5 Conflict Management Styles: Preferences for dealing w/ conflict

1. Competing Individual forces his/her way by being aggressive,

uncooperative, and autocratic A win-lose situation is created

2. Avoiding Individual ignores the problem rather than

negotiating to reach a resolution Individual is unassertive and uncooperative A lose-win situation is created

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Conflict Management Styles (continued)

3. Accommodating Individual tries to resolve the conflict by giving into

the other member(s) of the team This person is unassertive and cooperative A win-lose situation is created

4. Compromising Individual tries to resolve the conflict through give

and take and making concessions The person is assertive and cooperative A win-lose or lose-lose situation is created

depending on the concessions made

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Conflict Management Styles (continued)

5. Collaborative Individual tries to resolve the conflict with

the solution that is agreeable to all members of the team

Individual is assertive and cooperative This is the only style that has a win-win

resolution!

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Increasing Collaboration: A Practical Tool

The “XYZ” model of conflict resolution describes conflict in terms of behavior, consequences, and responses:

• “When you do X (a behavior),

• Y (consequences) happen, and then

• I do Z (personal response).”

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XYZ Conflict Resolution Tool Example

When you do X behavior,

Y consequences happen,

My response is Z.

X=“When you come to meetings late,

Y=the team has already started and decisions are being made that don’t have your input,

Z=and my response is frustration and wanting to quit the team.”

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Role Play Conflict Resolution

• Take one of the conflicts that has been mentioned

• Using the structure that has been presented as the starting point, use the collaborative XYZ model as a way to begin resolving the conflict

• Provide feedback (what worked, what did not, what influenced the process?)

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Handling DeadlockDeadlock is a special case of conflict: the team has come to a grinding HALT!3

Ignoring the conflict is NOT an option, so instead try: Having each individual/sub-group debate from the

others’ point of view. This will help all involved to understand all viewpoints.

Looking for a possible solution by examining and analyzing the two sides for common ground.

Debating each side in context of the original task. After the allotted time is over for each side, toss a coin if it is not an critical issue and move on.

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Choosing to Continue Teamwork

Conflict resolution may fail!

The team must choose:What team consequences to impose on

the uncooperative member(s)How to continue project progressThe revised working terms should be

clear to all team members

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SummaryNo team can function without some level of conflict

Being comfortable using conflict will enhance the work of the team and lead to a better engineering product

We discussed: Reality of conflict and the need to resolve it Intervening: Conflict Management Styles

(Collaborative) XYZ Model of responding to conflicts

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Summary

Handling special cases of conflict: Deadlock

Although conflict always involves emotions at some level, strategies for solving the situation require cognitive skills (diagnosis, problem solving, leadership) and some degree of risk taking

Conflict Management is a transferable skill that can be used beyond the team setting: LEARN/USE /BENEFIT!

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Optional Slides

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How is Conflict Manifested in the Team?

Team conflict can be manifested in any or all of the following ways: Attitudes: almost always poorBehaviors: unreliable, inconsistentStructure: team infrastructure is not

working (meetings, communication frequency, jobs are not getting done)

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Intervention in Team Conflicts

Intervention2

To promote constructive conflict, intervention may be needed to reduce conflict in groups with too much conflict

Intervention among groups involves efforts to disrupt the cyclic behavior caused by the interaction of attitudes, behavior, and structure

These strategies for intervening among groups are given on the next three slides

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Handling Attitude Issues

When it is necessary to change team members feelings and perceptions:

• Emphasize the overall team goal• Share perceptions to clarify team

dynamics (peer to peer feedback)• Encourage slackers to rejoin the group;

re-assign tasks and rotate roles

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Handling Behavior Issues

When individual performance in the team is not effective, try:

• Skill training for the individual or whole team (technical or interpersonal dynamics training)

• Bringing in a consultant with the missing skill set

• If lack of skill is not the problem, use conflict management skills or a third party negotiator to get the non-participating individual to contribute to the team

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Handling Team Structure Issues

When the context in which the team is working or the “rules” for guiding the team are not working, try:

• Involving the larger system (instructor, customer)

• Redefining the team charter and revisiting the team goals and deliverables

• Reorganizing tasks assigned to individuals to require more cooperation/interaction

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Exercise

Imagine a team conflict from your own experience:

• Was it due to attitudes, behavior, structural (or a combination) of issues?

• What would you to handle the conflict?• What else could you have done?

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Third Party Negotiation Called for when team led conflict resolution

does not workNegotiator can be any non-team member

respected by the group or the instructor Using “Principled” Negotiation,3 a negotiator will:

Separate the team members from the issue – be tough on the issue, not the members

Focus on the issue, not the different viewpoints Develop different solutions that are satisfactory to

all Have objective criteria for selecting the solution

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Redefining “Failure”Some teams think “conflict=failure”

Conflict is natural in the context of a team with a deadline

A true “failure” is an event where everyone agrees that something went wrong and should be avoided in the future

All failures should be examined/analyzed by the group BEFORE the next phase of the project is started.

This way a mistake should only happen ONCE.

To show continued trust in the individuals involved in the original error, delegate the solution agreed upon by the team to these individuals.

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Conflict Resolution: References

1http://www.cooper.edu/classes/eng/esc000/Conflict/notes.html

2Kolb, David A., Osland, Joyce S., and Rubin, Irwin M. (1994). Organizational Behavior: An experiential approach. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 6th Edition.

3http://www.ee.ed.ac.uk/~gerald/Management/4Felder, R.M., Felder, G.N., & Dietz, E.J. (2002).  The effects

of personality type on engineering student performance and attitudes. Journal of. Engineering Education, 91(1), 3-17.