在组织中,冲突是不可避免的,只有在极少数情况下不会出现冲突。冲突出现时,双方是为了不同的利益、目标,拥有不同的概念、文化价值观和方法等。如果出现一个冲突,就需要有效的管理。我观察到的手机制造商的策略和计划制定过程中会出现冲突:
该公司是一个著名的手机生产商,在国外有很多分公司。由于这家公司的主要竞争对手开始推出新款的智能手机,因此这家公司已经失去了大量高水平的市场份额,面对这样的事实,为了更好地满足顶级市场客户的需求,如白领上班族,在中国的分公司在两周内精心设计了一个有效的营销策略和计划,以促进公司的不断发展。制定相关策略和计划的生产部门应该有很好的时间观念,必须能够保证在两周内拟定急需的营销策略和计划。
Conflict can not be avoided in organizations. Only on rare occasions do conflicts not arise. Conflict arises when parties who are different in interests, goals, concepts, cultural values, or approaches to problems. If there is a conflict, it needs to be managed effectively. Here is a conflict situation I’ve observed in the department of Strategy and Plan of a mobile phone manufacturer:
The company is a famous mobile phone producer that has a number of branches in foreign countries. Faced with the fact that it has lost a large high- level market share with the key competitor launching new smart mobile phones which can better satisfy the needs of the top market customers such as white-collar office workers, the branch in china asked the department of strategy and plan to elaborate an effective marketing strategy within a period of two weeks. The manager of the department of strategy and plan required a very good marketing strategy should be drawn up within two weeks.
Because the task was of great importance, the manager got an unprecedented number of staff members involved in the tough task. But unfortunately, they hadn’t yet laid down an effective strategy nearly by the end of the deadline for the staff members involved couldn’t reach an agreement on the marketing strategy. Conflict is a certain situation in which there are different goals, contradictory cognitions, or emotions between individuals or groups that lead to opposition or antagonistic interaction. (The content comes from the lecture) In the above case, the staff members involved in working out a marketing strategy had different goals, different plans as to how to market mobile phones through survey and observation so that they felt that people on the other side was interfering with their efforts to achieve the goal. Therefore, the above case was a conflict on the strategy and plan team which remained to be managed by the manager of the department of strategy and plan.
In organizations, here comes a conflict when resources are limited, goals are different and there are differing attitudes, perceptions, miscommunication and personal emotions. There are some points to see whether you are confronted a conflict: discomfort level, that is, people have a feeling that things are not quite right; misunderstanding level- misunderstanding of the objectives or about strategies and tactics of the parties; tension level, namely when people feel concerned about working, talking or coming into contact with each other, emotions are high;. (C. De Dreu, 2005)
Although the manager involved an unprecedented number of staff members in working out an elaborate marketing strategy for their cell phones, the limited labor resources couldn’t get a totally clear idea of the market situation such as the preferences of the customers. Based on market segmentation theory, a market is divided into segments according to customers' needs and interests and social status and purchasing ability. In the mobile phone field, the market is segmented into the low, middle and high level markets according to Level of Technology. The staff members involved divided the market into different segments and their target markets contradict each other. The members on the one side held that their company should have a big change in the target customer and primarily served the high-level market while greatly decreasing the production of cell phones which are in great demand in the low-level markets because small phones raise technologically additional value of mobile phones and it could bring the corporate the maximal return and loyal customers. The staff members on the opposing side were assured that their company should mainly serve the low-level markets because the china’s markets are mostly the low, middle ones and a small part of high-level markets and the company should mainly launch low and middle end models and a very small part of top end mobile series. The difference in their target audience makes them have different goals, strategies and plans. The two sides couldn’t come to an agreement after many times of discussions and talks. The discussion and talks ended in failure every time for both of the sides insisted on their idea and strategy unwilling to listen to the opinions of the opposite side. And all too often the group discussions and talks ended in quarrels. Faced with the conflict situation, the manager of the department of strategy and plan had to take measures to manage the conflict in order to meet the deadline and help the staff members involved elaborate an effective marketing strategy.
Conflict needs to be managed accordingly
Bear in mind the different levels of conflict, the different periods of a certain conflict, and the different importance of intervention, the authors unanimously are aware of multiple ways to analyse and resolve conflict. (Cheldelin and others, 2003)There are many conflict management strategies including avoidance which is used when people have bad alternatives or even don not have one, accommodation that allows the other side to win the conflict, compromising you apply when you are willing to give up part of your goal and part of the relationship so as to arrive at an agreement in a conflict, collaboration-the ultimate “win-win” strategy. Because the conflict on the marketing strategy is continuing, I put forward some suggestions for the manager to handle the conflict based on these theories. First, the manager should have a clear idea about why there arises a conflict between the staff members. As to the conflict, lack of understanding and communication between them majorly account for the continuation of conflict. It’s fortunate that the manager recognizes that the conflict has occurred for many factors such as different objectives, surveys of the target audience, and investigations into the target markets and that the reason why the conflict hasn’t be resolved by the members themselves is their lack of enough communication and understanding the other’s strategy.
If the conflict still can not be resolved after all these efforts, there is a great need for the manager to assign some other staff members to carry out some further investigations and surveys as soon as possible in order to have a better knowledge of the market situation such difficulties and opportunities. Through hard work, I’m sure that the conflict will be managed properly.#p#分页标题#e#
Conflict is positive when dealt with properly
In the early twentieth century, conflict was believed to be always bad and should be avoided at all costs. Human Relations conception from 1940 to 1970 considered conflict as natural and common as long as we human beings. Some conflicts are supports for the goals of the group, thus improving its general performance because they are forms of conflict that are constructive and functional,. (Stephen P. Robbins, 2009) just as the Interactionist View contends that not only is conflict unavoidable, but maintaining a degree of tension can in an actual fact help keep an organization energized and more creative. The staff members work out a more effective and practical by handling the conflict on the marketing strategy under the help and guidance of the manager. By listening and speaking to the other party calmly and carefully, the staff members learn how to get well along with the coworkers and get the awareness of the great importance of effective discussion and communications; and by discussing the conflict together with the other party in an open way , the staff members will see a great improvement in analyzing the issues and laying down a marketing strategy; and by scheduling a meeting to get their ideas out on the table and having a heated discussion of the issue under dispute, the department of strategy and plan become more innovative and creative full of exchange, communication and life. And a practical and elaborate marketing strategy is here: the corporate further develops the internet businesses and keep on occupying the low and middle markets meanwhile increasing the quantity and quality, technologically additional value of small phones; the company should increase the speed at which new models of phones are updated and launched in order that the customers expecting its brand-new mobile phones don’t feel disappointed and the corporate can make these potential customers their loyal ones much earlier and raise the rate a product is updated or developed and a company reacts to the needs of customers and market changes.
It’s certain that the maximum of economic return for the company will be generated from the more effective and practical marketing strategy.
Conflict is a fact of life which is nothing uncommon in an organization though according to Thomdike’s theory “the empirical law of effect”, human beings have the tendency to do something repeatedly that are closely concerned with benefits and fun, entertainment and are try their best not to carry out actions which are followed by discomfort or punishment. (Edward L. Thomdike, 1967) Not all conflicts have negative effects and outcomes. A conflict is considered positive when handled appropriately and can bring a lot of constructive influence. “No choice is also a choice.”(Bills, 1898) If this is the case, let’s make a choice, a choice to face up with and manage the conflicts that confront us. So we should not escape them when they befall us but instead we should change our attitudes towards conflicts and be active to challenge them and resolve them with getting a lot of positive effects. In our daily life, we should learn to manage the conflicts that surface in all kinds of organizations especially in work-related ones. Only in this way can we live a better and better life with conquering the conflicts continuously.
References: Sandra Cheldelin, Daniel, Druckman, Larissa A. Fast2003 Conflict: from analysis to intervention printed and bound in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd Guildford King’s Lynn C. De Dreu, 2005, Conflict in Organizations: Beyond Effectiveness and Performance Ury, F. & Rodger Fisher, 1981, Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. New York, NY: Penguin Group Michael A. Sommers, 2008, Great Interpersonal Skills. Published by the Rosen Publishing Group, Inc Edward L. Thomdike, Psychology and the Science of Education: Selected Writings of Edward L. Thomdike (New York: Teachers College Press, 1967), p. 61. Stephen P. Robbins, 2009,Organizational behavior: global and Southern African perspectives, Creda communications, chapter 16 Quotes, F.Bills ,1898, Yili People’s Press |