In this paper, I will discuss the broad area of conflict resolution and how it relates to team-building exercises primarily in the workplace of a typical organization. In regards to the workplace, conflict resolution is a variety of methods for alleviating or eliminating sources of conflict. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with the term dispute resolution or alternative dispute resolution. Processes of conflict resolution generally include negotiation, mediation, and diplomacy. Conflict resolution is any lessening in the severity of a conflict. It may require conflict management, in which the parties continue the conflict but take on less extreme tactics; resolution, in which they reach agreement on enough issues that the conflict stops; or removal of the underlying causes of the conflict. In the text the author stated, "Formal conflict resolution and grievance programs are helpful. Overly political people should not be hired, and employees who get results without playing political games should be publicly recognized and rewarded" (Kinicki, p341, 2009).
In team building, you will hear people say that conflict is good for teams, and so they encourage it. According to an article online, about team building, the author stated, "The most important principle for building a successful and productive team is the development of trust among the team players. No team can build on any higher tasks without first establishing a sense of trust among all the team members. Trust is the first and foremost component that must be established for a successful team" (Garavaglia, 2010). To the contrary, I have realized that conflict has an emotional component that tends to be destructive, whereas, disagreement is a non-emotional presentation of differing viewpoints. The words conflict resolution has probably come up a lot in a person's life, but what exactly is conflict resolution? To answer this, conflict resolution is generally the way of resolving an argument or disagreement between two groups using methods that are non-violent to come to an agreement between the two parties.