Methods of Resolving Conflict - WPS Office

Conflict Resolution
 Methods of Resolving Conflict
 Understand the 8 Methods of Resolving Conflict:
 Conflict is an everyday part of life in the UK Grocery Industry. Discounters are

growing. New stores are hard to come by. Employees want salary raises. Bosses want
bonuses. Shoppers expect value for money. Resolving conflict is, therefore, an essential
part of life in the UK Grocery Industry. Here are 8 Methods of conflict resolution – Do
you know all your options?
 8 Methods of resolving conflict infographic – MBM The different ways to resolve

conflict
1. Resolving Conflict: Unilateral Decision
No, we’re not giving in, that’s it’. We’ve all heard the stories of a big brand and a
supermarket getting to the point where one has made a decision to delist the product or stop
supply of the product until the other party yields.
Advantage: Shows strength and resolve.

Disadvantage: The other party may call your bluff and it is not good for long-term relationships.
2. Resolving Conflict: Persuasion
‘It’s a no-brainer, you should do it’. Persuading someone to do something that they may
not want to do is undoubtedly a skill that can be learnt. To illustrate, some top tips from the
experts are, 1. Actively listen to their point, 2. Find common ground, and 3. Use the power of
‘because’.
Advantage: It’s free.
Disadvantage: Success is usually low unless you are a persuasive master!
3. Resolving Conflict: Haggling/Bartering
‘I’ll meet you halfway’. Most of us haggle when we go to the markets, where it is the
norm. In the UK we sometimes haggle when we want to agree on something and we believe we
are negotiating, but we are not, we are haggling.
Advantage: Haggling is a sound method for conflict resolution, but don’t believe that it is
negotiating.
Disadvantage: It will cost you ‘meeting halfway’.
4. Resolving Conflict: Arbitration
‘Ok, let’s ask them for their opinion’. Not something we hear much of in the UK Grocery
Industry unless the ‘Competitions and Markets Authority’ are involved. Occasionally you might
hear, ‘Let’s get another perspective on this’, which is very valid.
Advantage: An effective method of resolving a conflict.
Disadvantage: You might lose because it is 50:50.
5. Resolving Conflict: Postponement
‘We’ll come back to this at the next meeting with a plan’. Our observations of learners on
our negotiation skills training course, for instance, is that most people looking to resolve a
conflict opt for agreeing that a plan will be presented at the next meeting. This is usually a
postponement where the two parties come back to the original points once again, with, again
little resolution.
Advantage: Sometimes a postponement allows people to ‘cool off’ and/or revisit the problem
another way.
Disadvantage: Postponements that are used to get away from dealing with the problem are not
useful to resolving the conflict.
6. Resolving Conflict: Problem Solve
‘I’ve got an idea, how about if we…?’. Problem-solving is where the majority of conflict
resolution takes place.
Advantage: A mutually beneficial solution is a great way to solve conflict because both parties
usually win.
Disadvantage: You may not find a suitable solution for both parties and it requires both parties
to want to problem solve.
7. Resolving Conflict: Total Surrender
‘Ok, we’ll agree to the deal’. Total Surrender is where one party gives in to the other
party by giving up, waving the white flag and agreeing to the other party’s demands.
Advantage: The advantages of this method are limited; as a result, they are likely reduced to the
chance that you might get some payback in a later deal.
Disadvantage: You lose the lot!
8. Resolving Conflict: Negotiation
‘If you…then I…’. This tool is very simple and is a must in any negotiators’ toolbox. If
you do something for me, then I will do something for you. We see negotiating as trading. Yes,
there’ s a lot more to it. Essentially, therefore, it is about ‘giving to get’. Trading what you have
for what they have to get and aiming for a win:win outcome.
Advantage: Both parties can win.
Disadvantage: The better negotiator gets more. So for that reason, our ‘Negotiating with
Buyers‘ Masterclass will help!
 How to Improve Your Conflict Resolution Skills
How do you handle team conflict? What are the skills needed for resolving conflict? How
can conflict resolution skills be improved in the workplace? Hopefully arriving at this point you
feel you have a better understanding of conflict resolution. Also, that you have started to answer
some of these questions.
The easiest way to further develop your conflict management skills is to attend a conflict
resolution training session on the core skills and behaviours. This will help you understand the
theoretical models in the classroom. However, it is really important that you apply the skills. In
team situations, it is important that we get people talking and building trust with each other. This
could be in more formal meetings, over lunch, coffee out of the office or a team building event.
 Conflict Management
Conflicts are inevitable when number of people will be working together. Conflict is defined
as “difference in opinion or some kind of disagreement between two or more parties”. Conflicts
need to be resolved effectively. It is not only important to resolve the conflict, but also is equally
important to ensure that the parties involved in conflict do not unnecessarily end up being in any
kind of emotional stress during the resolution process of the conflict. Striking a balance between
resolving the conflict to find the decision and maintaining the emotional wellbeing of people
involved will be critical to successful conflict management.
 Some of the conflict resolution techniques are as follows:
1. Problem Solving / Collaboration / Confronting
In this method, people involved in the conflict or having a difference in opinion, they
come forward to discuss the problem at hand with a very open mind. They focus on resolving the
conflict and finding the best alternative/solution for the team. They discuss by rising above
personal emotions with the sole intention to finding what is best for the team. This leads to a
win-win kind of an outcome. Here everyone collaborates.
2. Compromising/Reconciling
Sometimes for certain conflicts, there will be a need for the involved parties to think of a
middle path wherein both parties decide to give up something and identify a resolution. This kind
of solution will be temporary for that moment and are not long lasting solution. This leads to
lose-lose kind of an outcome as both parties may feel they have lost something.
3. Withdrawing/Avoiding
In some situation one of the parties in the conflict may decide to retract from the
discussion and allows going with the other person’s opinion. Or some situation, one of the
parties may decide to completely avoid the conflict by maintaining silence. This works well in
situation where one of the parties in the conflict is emotionally charged up or is angry. Hence
avoiding any conflict resolution provides a “cooling off” period to the people involved so that
they can later come back for meaningful resolution.
4. Forcing/Competing
In some situations, a person with authority and power can force his/her opinion and
resolves the conflict without giving any chance to the other party/person. This leads to a win-lose
kind of an outcome. Someone may end up feeling as a loser while the other person with authority
may feel as a winner. This technique can be used if we see the conflicts are unnecessary and
mostly destructive for the team.
5. Smoothing/Accommodating
This is a technique which is used when the atmosphere seems to be filled with
apprehension/distrust among the parties involved. And no one is coming forward for resolving
the conflict. In these kind of scenarios, one of the parties can take charge and tries to smooth the
surrounding by using nice words and by emphasizing on the points of agreements and playing
down on the points of disagreements. This can work as catalyst to break the discomfort between
the involved parties by creating a feeling of trust and encourages them to come forward and
resolve the conflict.

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Conflict Resolution

 Methods of Resolving Conflict

 Understand the 8 Methods of Resolving Conflict:

 Conflict is an everyday part of life in the UK Grocery Industry. Discounters are

 8 Methods of resolving conflict infographic – MBM The different ways to resolve

1. Resolving Conflict: Unilateral Decision

Advantage: Shows strength and resolve.

2. Resolving Conflict: Persuasion

Advantage: It’s free.

Disadvantage: Success is usually low unless you are a persuasive master!

3. Resolving Conflict: Haggling/Bartering

Disadvantage: It will cost you ‘meeting halfway’.

4. Resolving Conflict: Arbitration

Advantage: An effective method of resolving a conflict.

Disadvantage: You might lose because it is 50:50.

5. Resolving Conflict: Postponement

6. Resolving Conflict: Problem Solve

7. Resolving Conflict: Total Surrender

Disadvantage: You lose the lot!

8. Resolving Conflict: Negotiation

 How to Improve Your Conflict Resolution Skills

 Some of the conflict resolution techniques are as follows:

1. Problem Solving / Collaboration / Confronting

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