Create a Curiosity creating, SEO optimized article title "CONFLICT ANALYSIS
Introduction
	Conflicts are inevitable in the business organization irrespective of their size. Katz & Kahn, (1978) defined organizational conflicts as, “A disagreement among employees, departments, managers, or groups of people within a business entity based on antecedents, causing tension, stress, and negative attitudes of one group toward another that range from passive resistance to overt aggression" Conflicts can stem from past rivalries, personality differences, ideological differences, limited resources, task interdependence, incompatible goals, and communication problems but I believe that organizational mergers are one of the greatest causes leading to organizational conflicts. 
	When two separate companies merge, the merger brings together two groups of people, cultures, missions, roles and responsibilities, work styles, and team dynamics, and it happens at every level of the organization. In most cases, people lose real things like status, money, and incentives (Eben, W. 2016). Some people may lose their jobs, and others their roles. This loss of incentives, monetary benefits, and power causes several conflicts within organizations. These conflicts can be intrapersonal conflict within an individual, interpersonal conflict between two parties, intergroup conflict between two or more groups, and inter-organizational conflict between two or more organizations. 
Positive and Negative Effects of Conflict
	Organizational conflict often has a negative connotation, but the consequences of conflict within an organization can be both positive and negative. Through timely and effective conflict management, conflicts can turn into opportunities for an organization. Conflicts can lead to problem-solving, creativity, and innovation, while little or no conflict can cause stagnation, poor decision-making, and reduced productivity. 
Negative Impacts of Conflict
1.	Waste of Time and Resources
	When engaged in conflicts, instead of focusing on achieving their goals, employees waste time on distractions. Idle time at work causes extra expenses in terms of salaries. Other resources such as machinery and equipment are not fully utilized which causes delays in projects and reduced output. Arguments, stress, and emotional confrontations reduce the productivity of workers and ultimately the profitability of the business.
2.	Mental Health Problems
	Conflict within an organization can cause members to become frustrated if they feel as if there is no solution in sight, or if they feel that their opinions are not recognized by the management or other group members. As a result, members become stressed, might avoid sharing their feedback, or show aggression. Such conditions adversely affect their professional and personal lives.
3.	Decrease in Productivity
	When an organization spends most of its time dealing with conflict, members are not focused on the main goals they are supposed to achieve. Conflict causes members to focus less on the project at hand and more on gossiping about conflicts or venting frustration. As a result, organizations lose money, donors, and access to essential resources. 
4.	Employee Turnover
	Organizational members who become increasingly frustrated with the level of conflict within the organization may choose to quit their job. This is particularly damaging when members are part of the executive board or top management. As members begin to leave, the organization must recruit new members and appoint replacement board members. In extreme cases, when several members leave or the executive board resigns, organizations are at risk of dissolution.
5.	Escalation of Conflict and Violence
	If conflict is left unresolved, it has a greater possibility to escalate. When conflict escalates without mediation, intense situations can arise between organizational members such as bullying, trolling or insulting other members, or disobeying the management. It is unfortunate, but organizational conflicts can cause violence among members, which can result in legal problems for members and possibly the organization.
Positive Effects of Conflicts
1.	Conflict Accelerates Change
	The absence of conflict results in stagnation and the creation of a comfort zone while conflict accelerates organizational change and innovation, especially in small businesses where it is easy to formulate and implement new policies. When pre-existing structures or agreements don't work, something new has to come into play. Change is hard. It creates discomfort. For an organization to grow, the entire foundation of the organization must be rigorously analyzed, discussed, negotiated, and fine-tuned. Conflict is the back door to reinvention and innovation. Conflict leads to changes in policies, reporting structures, and operating procedures in the organization. In cases of extreme conflict, the organization may conduct a complete overhaul of its leadership and bring in managers with new ideas.
2.	Conflicts Lead To Healthy Competition and Creativity
	Conflict, which leads to healthy competition, fosters innovation and ingenuity among employees. Conflict at the desired level can inspire out of box thinking and creativity in problem-solving and conflict resolution (Abiodun, 2014). In times of conflict, there is a high sense of urgency that leads to differences of opinion among employees. Employees usually feel they have to develop new strategies and ways of doing business to keep up with the internal competition of their peers.
3.	Sharing Enhances Employee Motivation and Improves Future Communication
	Open communication among the employees of the organization and management is vital for organizational success. When organizational members work together to resolve conflict, they are more willing to share their opinions with the group which leads to devising innovative solutions. Conflict can also cause members to come closer, and actively listen to each other as they work to achieve organizational goals. By learning about each other's opinions on topics relevant to the organization's growth to understanding each member's preferred communication style, conflict in an organization can provide members with the tools necessary to easily resolve conflicts in the future.
4.	Improves Job Satisfaction
	If conflicts and disagreements are dealt with effectively, rather than repressively, employees begin to recognize that their voice is listened to and recognized more than they originally thought. In other words, an employee who felt powerless, experiences resentment and frustration while all they needed to do was speak up and explain their point. By effectively resolving conflicts that arise within your team, you can empower employees to use effective communication strategies and let them know you are listening. 
5.	Identification of New Leadership
	During the conflict and conflict resolution process, members actively participate in every meeting, enjoy working on multiple committees, and have an opinion on every topic the group discusses. Some members seem to contribute little to the group and observe more than talk. Conflict within an organization can inspire normally silent members to step up their leadership skills and offer meaningful solutions to a problem facing the group. Conflicts thus provide management with a better chance of identifying potential employees who would advance into a key business role matching their skills.
How I Resolved the Conflict
	Conflicts can be resolved in a variety of ways, including negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and litigation (Katie, 2022). To resolve this conflict, I decided to follow a mediation strategy. In mediation, a neutral third party helps the parties involved in the confection to reach a consensus. Mediators work with the parties together and separately and try to help them find a solution that satisfies the interests of both parties, that is voluntarily sustainable and non-binding. I resolved this conflict in the following steps.
1.	Individual Meetings with both parties to explore what and why of conflict
	To resolve a conflict, it is vital to know the true reason for the conflict. Afzalur Rahim (2002) accentuates that effective management of organizational conflict involves proper diagnoses and intervention in the conflict. For this purpose, I held informal one-on-one meetings with each team member involved in the conflict to hear their concerns in a safe and confidential environment. I asked the same questions to all the members to get their opinion. One-on-one meetings made my employees feel that their concerns are heard and their confidentiality is also cared about.
2.	Brought Everyone to the Same Table
	Now that I had a better understanding of the conflict and everyone's perspective, I set up a meeting together with the relevant parties and acted as mediator. I encouraged all team members to listen to each other, respect each other's opinions and not interrupt or make personal comments. This meeting brought them all together and cleared up their misconceptions about management and each other.
3.	Shared Organizational Vision and Mission and Defined Clear Goals
	A shared vision helps creates a sense of unity within the organization and ensures coherence in different activities. People who truly share a vision are connected and united by a common desire. To make everyone aware of the principles of the organization, I shared the organizational vision with the employees for their proper guidance and set clear goals for both the team managers so that they know what exactly is expected from them.
4.	Linked Team Performance with Rewards and Salary Increments
	After asking the parties to detail the agreed steps for reconciliation and seeking their agreement and commitment to the strategy, I drew up a timeline of actions. To ensure better cohesion and collaboration among all team members, I linked salary increments and awards to team performance and achievement of team goals rather than individual goals. As they have to sink or swim together so they will do a collective effort for team achievements and organizational gains
5.	Follow Up
	I created a follow-up plan to meet with staff every month to make sure the conflict was resolved and to avoid any risk of such a potential conflict in the future. It will also help me get feedback from employees about the ground realities of the business and customers, and the other related matters that I cannot observe directly. By including employee feedback, the organization will have a better chance of success. Follow-up will provide me with continuity and regularity in effective conflict management within the organization.


References
Abiodun, A. R. (2014). Organizational conflicts: Causes, effects, and remedies. International journal of academic research in economics and management sciences, 3(6), 118.
Afzalur Rahim, M. (2002). Toward a theory of managing organizational conflict. International journal of conflict management, 13(3), 206-235
Eben,W.(2016). Managing conflict in organizational mergers. Department of conflict resolution, human security, and global governance, Retrieved from: https://blogs.umb.edu/mccormack-speaks/2016/10/31/managing-conflict-in-organizational-mergers/, Retrieved Dated [03-06-2023]
Katie, S. (2022). What is conflict resolution, and how does it work? How to manage conflict at work through conflict resolution, retrieved from: https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/conflict-resolution/what-is-conflict-resolution-and-how-does-itwork/#:~:text=Conflicts%20can%20be%20resolved%20in,mediation %2C%20arbitration%2C%20and%20litigation. Retrieved dated [March-03-2022]
Katz, D, & Kahn, R. L. (1978). The social psychology of organizations (2)528. New York: Wiley.


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