Conflict is a persistent fact of organizational life. Much of it, however, rarely becomes public and instead is expressed `behind the scenes' in such forms as avoidance, toleration, gossip and vengence. This book takes examples from a number of organizational settings and makes the case that far from being an occasional occurrence, conflict is embedded in their very fabric. The authors go on to illustrate the frequency of conflict, show how conflicts are actually handled and suggest that these conflicts can be better managed for organizational effectiveness.

Conflict is a persistent fact of organizational life. Much of it, however, rarely becomes public and instead is expressed `behind the scenes' in such forms as avoidance, toleration, gossip and vengence. This book takes examples from a number of organizational settings and makes the case that far from being an occasional occurrence, conflict is embedded in their very fabric. The authors go on to illustrate the frequency of conflict, show how conflicts are actually handled and suggest that these conflicts can be better managed for organizational effectiveness.

"Resolving Personal and Organizational Conflicts and Disputes offers specific methods for assisting disputing parties to communicate their problems without sinking into the twin traps of demonization and victimization. In addition, the authors show how to encourage people and organizations in conflict to identify new ways of sustaining supportive relationships and transforming anger into awareness, dialogue, and reconciliation."--BOOK JACKET.

Comprised of a series of lectures sponsored by the National Communication Association and the Smithsonian Associates in Washington DC, this book contains the research of leading communication scholars working on conflict theory and practice.

Here is a completely updated edition of the best-selling Resolving Conflicts at Work. This definitive and comprehensive work provides a handy guide for resolving conflicts, miscommunications, and misunderstandings at work and outlines the authors’ eight strategies that show how the inevitable disputes and divisions in the workplace actually provide an opportunity for greater creativity, productivity, enhanced morale, and personal growth. This new edition includes current case studies that put the focus on leadership, management, and how organizations can design systems to change a culture of avoidance into a culture of creative conflict. The result is a more practical book for today’s companies and the people who work in them.

Challenging the common belief that conflict in groups and organizations should be prevented or resolved to maintain or enhance performance, Using Conflict in Organizations offers an alternative perspective by presenting the increasing knowledge on how conflict can enhance individual achievement, the quality of group decision-making and productivity in organizations. Part One provides a general framework which links conflict management to performance and shows how this relationship can be understood. The second and third parts develop and illustrate this framework in a series of thematic chapters. Part Two focuses on performance following intragroup conflict, covering topical areas such as dissent, groupthink a