Team Dynamic

There are many aspects to team dynamics. One aspect of having a successful team is conflict resolution. Conflict is a natural part of life. Everyone will be faced with a conflict at some point. It is how you deal with the conflict that will determine whether or not you succeed, or reach your objective. This applies when working in teams also. By identifying different strategies of conflict resolution and by identifying those conflicts early, teams will often benefit in a variety of ways from conflict that is effectively resolved.

The first step in understanding how to deal with conflict is to know what it means. The Encarta dictionary (2007) defines conflict as a disagreement or clash between ideas, principles, or people. In a team setting, you could have one or all of these. Conflict could arise from a number of sources. It all starts with the fact that in a team setting, each team member has their own set of ideas. Every individual has brings their own personality to the team. This is one source of conflict. Personality differences can be both good and detrimental to a team's success. Each team member needs to remember that each person comes from a different background. This means that if there are five people in a group, then their will be five different personalities with varying opinions. Sometimes a person could have such a dominate personality that it could destroy the chemistry of the whole team. For example, if one team member is extremely overbearing, the other team members could become defiant, or even submissive. This could severely hinder any progress that the team has toward reaching its goal.

Another source of conflict could be procrastination. This is where a team member does their part at the last minute. Some team members would prefer to get things done right away. While others live for the pressure of imminent deadlines (Dejanasz, Dowd & Schneider, 2001). This type of conflict can really hinder a team's success. The team should not have to suffer through one person's unwillingness to get the job done on time. The key word is team. It should be established at the first team meeting what the deadlines are for each step of the objective. Everyone should have a scheduled deadline of all assignments or projects so that there are no misunderstandings. The team has to make sure that everyone has checked their own schedules to be sure that they can meet each deadline. Also checkpoints could be placed into the schedule so that there is availability to check on the progress of each team members work (DeJanasz et al.). This way the team could keep a watchful eye on the procrastinator.

Teams may also be forced to deal with absentee members. Things can happen in life without warning. A team could have everything going in the right direction. Then suddenly, one of the team members stops coming to the meetings. The remaining team members will be left to evenly distribute their departed teammates work. This can be a common issue among teams in an academic setting. An academic team could be assigned a project. There could be 5 team members with designated parts of the project. Weeks into the assignment, one team member drops the class or has a distraction at home that conflict with them being able to concentrate on their work. According to DeJanasz et. al (2001), the team should discuss the situation with the absentee member to see if they still have the necessary time to devote to the project. If there is a way to lessen that team members load, then that would be a quality outcome. If not, then the team will need to move on and finish the assignment without that team member.

Just as there are different types of conflict, there are different ways of resolving conflicts. Conflict resolution is when the team can discuss and resolve their differences (University of Phoenix, 2007). When a team can resolve its issues, things will be accomplished in a greater form. There are several ways and strategies of handling conflict within a team setting. One such way is avoidance. This is where nothing will be said concerning the conflict. Team members choose to ignore the problem and hope that it will just work itself out. This type of resolution could potentially backfire. Sometimes if a situation isn't dealt with head on and is allowed to simmer, thing could blow up and get out of control.

Competing is another form of conflict resolution. Bateman & Snell (2003) feel that this type of resolution can be healthy if it promotes positive motivation. Competing is when a team member puts more emphasis on their own priorities than any one else's on the team. This can also cause tension where as the other team members may feel like this team member is in it only for self gain as opposed to team success. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there is accommodation. This is where a team member cooperates