Conflict Management Styles Paper
Brittany Robinson
CJA/444
May 28, 2015
Mrs. Elliston
Conflict Management Styles Paper
As lives in the general population we experience conflict in some form, whether it’s a home, work, school, or even just doing normal activity on the daily bases. The way that people resolve conflict will let them and others know what type of person they are and who they are going to be in the forthcoming. In this paper a general examination will be taken at how the agency or place of work that the general population is currently employed by choose the handle and approach conflict management. We will also see if this approach is similar or different to the way that we would handle conflict. Conflict is something that will always arise but as people we must find a way to handle conflict and also figure out how conflict arises in the work place and our general lives.
Conflict Management Approaches in the Police Agency
Being a police officer and working for an agency is some people dream profession. Being an officer can bring on many conflicts, whether it’s patrolling the streets, in an office setting, or just sitting on duty at a station. Conflicts will arise in this field and they come very quick, so as an officer you have to stay on top of what is going on around you and your co-workers. As an officer you must know the conflict styles and how to use them when you are in trouble or if a bad situation comes up. How officers respond to and resolve conflict will limit or enable their success in the criminal justice field and the agency they are working for. Some conflict management styles would be goals, personality conflict, scarce resources, styles, and values (Mier, 2014). Others would be accommodating, avoiding, collaborating, competing, and compromising (Mier, 2014). As an officer conflict can happen as a result of conflicting priorities and goals. Personality conflict is when you and another officer may not have the same things in common and there is no chemistry there. If there is no chemistry in the relationship, which would be a co-worker relationship then conflict will arise. As an officer you must know how to deal with different people and their personalities because that is your job on the daily bases.
Personality conflict can come along in the office or even on the street. Example: If there is an officer who may be a female and she is paired with a male officer there may be some conflict. Men are macho and women are soft and sensitive. As a male officer he would probably want someone like him when a situation comes up when they are on patrol. Men tend to be more aggressive while women tend to be more observing. A male officer may think that a woman cannot help him in a life verse death situation while on patrol in the streets. This can be a personality conflict or even a gender conflict. Most women have the same things in common and most men have the same things in common so being with an officer that is the opposite sex of you on a nine to ten hour shift can be very difficult for both counterparts. Conflict styles will come in the police agency but if you know your styles and what to do when they come up everything will work out just fine. When it comes to values there will always be some kind of conflict because everyone’s values are not the same as yours and other don’t hold their values on peddle stole as you may do. According to J.D. Miers particular businesses, groups, or cultures may not be a good fit for some people (Miers). This is also why “birds of a feather flock together” and why “opposites attract, but similarities bend (Miers).
Five Conflict Management Styles
According to Thomas Kilmann, the five conflict management styles would be accommodating, avoiding, collaborating, competing, and compromising. The accommodation styles is when you cooperate to a high degree and this may happen at your own expense. Avoiding is when you simply try to avoid any situation that may