Constructive Conflict Research Articles

Could Emotional Intelligence Make Patients Safer?

: The vast majority of medical errors occurring each year involve faulty communication. For this reason, it's essential that we identify skills that support accurate communication and information transfer as well as optimum patient-centered care, team function, and patient safety. Research in nursing and other disciplines has demonstrated that emotional intelligence abilities improve communication, support constructive conflict resolution, and improve individual and team performance. Although further studies are needed, these findings suggest emotional intelligence ability can positively affect patient safety.

Zoonoses, One Health and complexity: wicked problems and constructive conflict.

Infectious zoonoses emerge from complex interactions among social and ecological systems. Understanding this complexity requires the accommodation of multiple, often conflicting, perspectives and narratives, rooted in different value systems and temporal–spatial scales. Therefore, to be adaptive, successful and sustainable, One Health approaches necessarily entail conflicts among observers, practitioners and scholars. Nevertheless, these integrative approaches have, both implicitly and explicitly, tended to marginalize some perspectives and prioritize others, resulting in a kind of technocratic tyranny. An important function of One Health approaches should be to facilitate and manage those conflicts, rather than to impose solutions.This article is part of the themed issue ‘One Health for a changing world: zoonoses, ecosystems and human well-being’.

Different roles of control mechanisms in buyer-supplier conflict: An empirical study from China

Using transaction cost economics and contemporary insights from the literature on relationship contracts as a base, this paper focuses on how control mechanisms (contracts and trust) affect relationship conflicts in buyer-supplier relationships, and investigates the moderating effects of environmental uncertainty. Based on a sample of 162 Chinese buyers, this paper shows that contracts have a U-shaped effect on destructive conflict and an inverted U-shaped effect on constructive conflict, while trust has a negative effect on destructive conflict and a positive effect on constructive conflict. In addition, environmental uncertainty strengthens the U-shaped effect of contracts on destructive conflict, but weakens the inverted U-shaped effect of contracts on destructive conflict and strengthens the effect of trust on both types of relationship conflict. Our findings reveal the “double-edged sword” nature of contracts, especially the “dark side”, and highlight the importance of trust in buyer-supplier relationships in contexts of environmental uncertainty. These findings also have important implications for buyer-supplier relationship management research and managerial practices, particularly in regard to governance structure and conflict management in dynamic contexts.

Leadership for team learning: the case of university teacher teams

Teacher team involvement is considered a key factor in achieving sustainable innovation in higher education. This requires engaging in team learning behaviors that should result in new knowledge and solutions. However, university teachers are not used to discussing their work practices with one another and tend to neglect any innovation in their tasks. Team leadership behavior is often considered essential for stimulating team learning behavior, but it is unclear how this transpires. Therefore, the present study explores university teacher team members’ perceptions of team learning behavior, their assigned task, and leadership behaviors in their team. Interviews were conducted with 16 members of different teacher teams at a university of applied sciences. Findings included that the vast majority of the team learning behaviors only involved sharing ideas; engaging in constructive conflicts and co-constructions was not observed. Only a few teams combined all three team learning behaviors. In these teams, members observed that existing methods and solutions were no longer adequate, with leaders appearing to combine transformational and transactional behaviors, but operating from a distance without actively interfering in the process. Furthermore, these team members shared leadership behaviors while focusing on the team as a whole, instead of solving problems at individual level. This strongly indicates that task perception and specific vertical and shared team leadership behaviors play a role in stimulating teachers in seeking controversy and co-constructing new knowledge.

Further Testing Hope’s Role in Constructive Conflict Communication

Using three waves of data, this study examined the relationship between dispositional hope and constructive conflict communication (i.e., “voice” behaviors) in adult romantic relationships. The primary goal was to test if dispositional hope directly predicted voice or if the hope–voice link is mediated by the more relationally proximal variable of conflict efficacy. Results of cross-lagged panel model analysis showed that hope directly predicted voice, even when controlling for variables, such as optimism, general self-efficacy, commitment, and alternative forms of conflict communication. Implications for hope theory-based relational interventions and future research of hope and conflict communication are discussed.

Employee job satisfaction and organizational performance: The role of conflict management

Organizational conflict is often thought of as a malady to be avoided or quickly resolved. Such views neglect the potential value of conflict—that is, the constructive management of conflict—to organizational outcomes. Managerial practices resulting in too little conflict may shape and reflect an organization hypersensitive to discord, dissent, and innovation. But management practices promoting excessive conflict may overload an organization with information, rendering it incapable of reaching timely decisions, generating animosity, or creating other unproductive outcomes. This paper examines constructive conflict management, which gives employees voice and encourages authentic participation in decision-making. We hypothesize that such an approach is positively related to employee job satisfaction and organizational performance. However, given the potential for “too much of a good thing” when it encouraging conflict, we also test for a curvilinear relationships between conflict management and organizational outcomes.“To work in an organization is to be in conflict. To take advantage of joint work requires conflict management” (Tjosvold, 2008, p. 19).

Team Leader Structuring for Team Effectiveness and Team Learning in Command-and-Control Teams.

Due to their crucial and highly consequential task, it is of utmost importance to understand the levers leading to effectiveness of multidisciplinary emergency management command-and-control (EMCC) teams. We argue that the formal EMCC team leader needs to initiate structure in the team meetings to support organizing the work as well as facilitate team learning, especially the team learning process of constructive conflict. In a sample of 17 EMCC teams performing a realistic EMCC exercise, including one or two team meetings (28 in sum), we coded the team leader’s verbal structuring behaviors (1,704 events), rated constructive conflict by external experts, and rated team effectiveness by field experts. Results show that leaders of effective teams use structuring behaviors more often (except asking procedural questions) but decreasingly over time. They support constructive conflict by clarifying and by making summaries that conclude in a command or decision in a decreasing frequency over time.

Wise heads fend off confrontation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to examine age differences in conflict management strategy use, effectiveness and in exposure to customer stressors in service interactions.Design/methodology/approachModerated regression and mediation analyses were conducted to test hypotheses in a sample of 444 German service employees from different service branches with frequent customer contact.FindingsResults revealed that older service employees experienced fewer customer stressors. Customer stressors mediated the negative relationship between age and burnout. Age was associated with use of passive avoidant (avoiding) and active constructive (problem-solving) conflict management strategies. Furthermore, older employees used those strategies more effectively. Especially when avoiding conflicts, older employees reported more professional efficacy than younger colleagues. In contrast, younger employees benefited considerably less from strategy use and reported higher levels of burnout in general. Thus, results suggest older employees’ effective conflict management and their positive perception of customer stressors contribute to lower levels of burnout.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to examine age-related conflict management skills with regard to customer conflicts, employee health and effectiveness of strategy use. It replicates existing findings on age and conflict management and extends them in several ways thereby ruling out alternative explanations for age effects.

Marital relationship, parenting practices, and social skills development in preschool children

BackgroundThis study examined the pathways by which destructive and constructive marital conflict leading to social skills development in preschool children, are mediated through negative and positive parenting practices.MethodsMothers of 2931 Japanese children, aged 5–6 years, completed self-report questionnaires regarding their marital relationship (the Quality of co-parental communication scale) and parental practices (the Alabama parenting questionnaire). The children’s teachers evaluated their social skills using the Social skills scale.ResultsPath analyses revealed significant direct paths from destructive marital conflict to negative parenting practices and lower scores on the self-control component of social skills. In addition, negative parenting practices mediated the relationship between destructive marital conflict and lower scores on cooperation, self-control, and assertion. Our analyses also revealed significant direct paths from constructive marital conflict to positive parenting practices, and higher scores on cooperation and assertion. Positive parenting practices mediated the relationship between constructive marital conflict and higher scores on self-control and assertion.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that destructive and constructive marital conflict may directly and indirectly influence children’s social skills development through the mediation of parenting practices.

PEMELIHARAAN HUBUNGAN ANTARA ORANGTUA YANG BERCERAI DAN ANAK (STUDI KUALITATIF DESKRIPTIF KOMUNIKASI ANTARPRIBADI ANTARA ORANGTUA YANG MEMILIKI HAK ASUH DENGAN ANAKNYA)

Family is the smallest social unit in the society. Family also has an important role in the personal development in a child. However, today divorce rate in Indonesia has increased and divorce will harm people involved, including children. Divorce triggers weakens relationship between parent and children. In relational maintenance there are several behaviors used to maintain relational maintenance between parent and children. So the researcher was interested to know relational maintenance behaviours between divorced parents who had custody of their children with their children. In this study the researcher used qualitative research method and purposive sampling as the sampling technique. The informants were: divorced man or woman who has custody of their child and the man or woman’s child. Three people were from each group were interviewed, totaling in 6 informants. The method to test data validity has source triangulation method by comparing interview and observation result from all data sources, and only selecting consistant data which has then used as data. The result of this showed that the applications of relational maintenance behaviours between parent who had custody of their children with their children consisted of several types,including positivity, openness and routine talk,assurances, task and sharing, supportiveness,joint activities, humor, and constructive conflict management. However not all relational maintenance behaviors do by divorced parents who had custody of their children with their children. Some relational maintenance behaviors performed by divorced parents who had custody of their children with their children were: positivity, supportiveness, joint activities, humor, and constructive conflict management. Meanwhile, relational maintenance behaviors that is not performed by divorced parents who had custody of their children with their childrenwere: openness and routine talk and task and sharing that based on the lack of frequency of face-to-face between parents and children. Generally, relational maintenance performed by parent who had custody of their children with their children.

Constructive conflict and translation of perspective in the positive psychology research

Constructive conflict and translation of perspective in the positive psychology research

ВНУТРІШНЬООСОБИСТІСНИЙ КОНФЛІКТ НА СТИКУ КОНФЛІКТОЛОГІЇ, ПРАКТИЧНОЇ ТА КЛІНІЧНОЇ ПСИХОЛОГІЇ

The article shows the essence of interpersonal conflicts. This conflict considered as problematic for its carrier state that: 1) is extremely important, and certainly associated with the choice between alternatives equal in strength for him (even if the alternatives are not understood); 2) subjectively experienced as a insoluble problem and so is extremely, uncomfortable, tense, frustration and painful feelings about their inferiority; 3) tends to deepen, strengthening, totalization andno adaptivecourse. Analyzed and summarized a some number of scientific concepts about interpersonal conflicts and understanding of its basic type described in professional literature. The features of the subject of interpersonal conflict in conflictology, total, practical and clinical psychology are shown and the model of interdisciplinary study this conflicts are proposed. The attention to constructive (adaptive) and unconstructive (no adaptive) intrapersonal conflicts is accented. The features of intrapersonal conflicts in the area of the individual motivation are shown. Particular attention is paid to motivating interpersonal conflicts with non-adaptive and destructive forms of current. Features of no adaptive motivational conflict and possible consequences of these conflicts for intrapersonal and interpersonal (social) life of a person are shown.

The Direct and Indirect Relationships between School Attachment, Constructive Conflict Resolution Behavior and Aggression

The Direct and Indirect Relationships between School Attachment, Constructive Conflict Resolution Behavior and Aggression

Innovative Ways of Conflict Management in Schools: Integration Mediation in Social Pedagogy

In the modern society it is increasing attention to the effective conflict management in schools, but in Lithuania there is one of the biggest scale of bullying in Europe, children and youth aggression which shows that there is still not found appropriate measures to solve these problems. The aim of this article is to discuss innovative methods of conflict management in schools integrating mediation in social pedagogy. Research methods: analysis of the literature, documents and the questionnaire of social educators (questionnaire). The study on the social teachers’ approach to the existing school conflicts working in various schools of general education, their management techniques and mediation integration in social pedagogy possibilities revealed that at schools they daily faced with the disagreements of the students (this was stated by almost half of the respondents), and to the solution of these disagreements the social teachers devoted considerable time: a third of respondents devotes 4 hours for the conflict management or more hours a week, a quarter – 2–3 hours a week. These results reveal the need of the innovative ways of conflict management in schools, integrating mediation in social pedagogy, to ensure a constructive conflict management and a consistent and long-term effect. Keywords: mediation, conflict, school, social pedagogy. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15823/su.2016.13

Eficácia negocial, autoconceito e variáveis sociodemográficas: estudo em contexto escolar

Nowadays, we assist to the development of the study and implementation of alternative conflict resolution in school context, among which we signal negotiation as a mean of constructive conflict management. The main objective of this research was to analyse the influence of the academic self-concept in the student´s negotiation efficacy when solving conflicts. Sample was composed by 505 individuals of different grades school (7th to 12th year) on north Portugal, who were applied as evaluation instruments the School Conflict Negotiation Efficacy Questionnaire (QENCE), the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale-2, and a brief questionnaire of personal and school data. Results show that self-concept has a positive influence on negotiation efficacy of the students of our sample and also suggest that variables as sex, grades school, time of study and school goals contribute to the student´s self-concept.

Competitive marketing through Confucian values in Malaysia: a case study

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to stimulate debate about the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating Confucian values in personnel and marketing practices of a manufacturing firm in an ethnically diverse, emerging economy of Southeast Asia. Design/methodology/approach Primary data from the direct experience of the company’s manager were combined with secondary sources of information on the business landscape of Malaysia. Key lessons were developed from discussion and reflection on experiences of people involved with the company. Findings Cultivating warm, long-term relationships with customers through product dependability and gifts contributed to the firm’s marketing success. Family-like bonds between employees, “not strictly professional by Western standards” succeeded in keeping the turnover low. The paternalistic leadership style, however, came at the expense of a possible loss of constructive conflict through participatory decision-making. Research limitations/implications Analysis is restricted to the experience of a single company. Research findings are thus highly context-specific. Originality/value The case shows an example of successful implementation of key Confucian values in multiple business areas. The interplay between the East Asian values and the diverse ethnic context of Malaysia is also examined.

Captain Brain versus Mister Mind. Une histoire américaine

ObjectiveVery often, the brain and the mind are objects of controversy in the world of psychiatry. The history of American psychiatry is instructive in this respect. From an early date, the United States embraced psychoanalysis, invented behaviorism, promoted biological psychiatry, used biometry and produced a highly successful classification of mental disorders. The objective of this paper is the study of this history. MethodThe paper proposes a detailed study of the theories, practices and ideological debates in the field of American psychiatry since the 18th century, and of federal mental health policies. ResultsPsychiatry in the United States has distinctive features linked to the concept of manifest destiny, Protestantism and pragmatism, to the manner in which the nation was constructed (slavery, conquest of the West, economic liberalism) and to the ceaseless wars, from the War of Independence to the Middle Eastern wars, not forgetting the Civil War and two World Wars. As the nation succeeded in integrating its immigrants, it also assimilated their different cultures and their discoveries in the field psychiatry. Many theories and practices that later diffused by globalization were instigated by the nation, among others the DSMs, part of the cultural, scientific, economic and political development of the nation. Lay people were early protagonists in the constructive shifts, conflicts and anti-psychiatry tendencies. DiscussionThis paper examines the growing success of psychoanalysis in the 1950s and the causes behind its loss of influence in the 1970s. It does not attribute this loss to the DSM-III, but to the psychoanalysts themselves. It sets out to demonstrate that the DSM-III and later DSMs did not result in a paradigm shift in the meaning of Thomas Kuhn. ConclusionThe history of American psychiatry proves that there is little chance of seeing an end to the conflicts between advocates of the brain, still poorly understood, and upholders of the mind, often poorly defined, as long as our knowledge in the field of mental disorders remains as slim as it is today.

In Search of Modifiable Risk and Protective Factors for Teen Dating Violence.

The present research explores the additive and interactive effects of anger or hostility (A/H), acceptance of violence (AoV), and constructive conflict resolution strategies (CRS) on the perpetration of physical and sexual teen dating violence (TDV). Adolescents completed surveys assessing physical and sexual TDV perpetration, A/H, AoV, and positive CRS. While the findings require replication with longitudinal data, the results suggest that developing interventions to modify AoV and A/H may have the potential to prevent instances of TDV perpetration among both boys and girls. The results for CRS were mixed and necessitate further exploration. These cross-sectional data provide insight into potentially fruitful areas of exploration for the development and tailoring of prevention strategies for teens at risk for physical and sexual TDV perpetration.

Participant characteristics and outcomes of relationship education in the transition to parenthood

The study investigated characteristics of couples who chose to attend a relationship education (RE) program offered nationwide in Norway for couples after having their first child, and how participants in RE developed compared to non-participants. Prospective longitudinal data were collected pre- and post-intervention in a sample of 398 Norwegian couples. While the situational and demographic characteristics of the couples did not appear to affect the likelihood of RE participation, couples who chose to participate (121 couples) were characterized by initial high conflict frequency and high destructive conflict behavior. No positive effect of RE participation was detected, while a tendency for reduced constructive conflict behavior was found for participants compared to non-participants. The results are discussed with regard to whether this may reflect selection effects or ineffectiveness of the program. Possible consequences for the practice and implementation of RE in connection with the transition to parenthood are suggested. From a cost-effectiveness perspective, it is suggested that it may prove more sensible to target at-risk parents with a more extensive program.

Gesunde Führung – »Arbeit im und Arbeit am System«

Healthy leadership – working in and on the system. Experiences about the development of personal and organisational competence for healthy leadership How to remain healthy in a demanding and often stressful work environment is not a new question. But the statistics show that absents as a result of depression and burnout are increasing within the last decades. Obviously it’s not because work is physical harder, but the increasing complexity and volatility of organizations, workflows, markets, that’s causing psychological pressure and stress for both employees and managers. To meet the challenge of this critical development organizations have to create new ways of maintaining and supporting health in the workplace – research shows that the role of health promoting leadership is crucial in this issue. The development towards a health promoting leadership-culture is a learning process for individual managers and the organization as a whole, that goes beyond a traditional training for stress management – it requires an approach of organizational development that supports different dimensions of learning: self-management regarding health and dealing with stress, leadership and social competences such as appreciative communication, feedback culture and constructive conflict management – and finally a system related competence that enables managers to reflect the effects of workplace design and the quality of cooperation within and in between working teams and design organizational change on a small scale. Finally the article shows a case study development where different methods and approaches are bound together in an organizational development-architecture.