Possible organizational issues and causes for the caustic exchange in the email
Task Interrelation. The first possible cause is observed in the existence of interdependencies between tasks. In fact, the greater the degree of role interdependence between persons, the greater the probability of conflict between entities if there are different expectations or objectives since interdependence makes it harder to prevent confrontation. This happens in essence because the strength of relationships is enhanced by high task interdependency. A minor dispute may therefore be blown up into a big problem quite quickly. In this scenario, since the eight individuals working in different departments have to work together to achieve a similar goal, they may disagree on many issues until responsibilities are well communicated.
Ambiguities of Jurisdiction. Disagreement can also arise from jurisdictional ambiguities, where precisely, where responsibility for anything lies is uncertain. The primary issue for a variance from the team was the location of the meeting and whether the protocol can be violated. Since there were no clear directions on this, the team brought in different perspectives that brought conflict among them.
Problems with the Communication process. Rest assured that the numerous issues or ambiguities can facilitate conflict in the process of communication. An individual often reacts with anger and frustration when there is a misinterpretation of a message or excluded information. Mathew was frustrated from the misunderstanding that some members of the team did not take the flooding seriously.
Personal Variations. Finally, interpersonal relationships can be affected by individual differences, such as unique abilities, characteristics, and skills. Individual superiority, aggressive behaviour, authoritarianism, and uncertainty tolerance all affect how a person deals with possible conflict. The team is made up of different personality, therefore explaining why it is highly likely that disputes arise.
Assumptions regarding the scenario
As a team leader, I have analyzed the scenario and came up with assumptions that may help resolve the conflict. I have gone through the email thread and noted a few issues or rather beliefs as discussed below;
Varied Personalities. It is worth noting that the team is made of very diverse people. The Emergency team requires that each department is well represented and therefore, we have to work with the team as it is. The team comprises people who handle different roles in the county, even though most roles will depend on one another in this exercise. It is, therefore, possible that we have a variety of personalities to deal with. This issue will affect how conflicts will arise within the team and how the conflicts will be resolved. Even from looking at the email responses, I could tell that some people are quick to anger and some are very calm.
Clear Direction. It is evident from the email chain that the initial communication did not give a clear direction on how the meeting will take place. It was highly likely that such a thread would have come up, analyzing how the email was written. There are some visible gaps i.e. the venue of the meeting and also the time. The team was given too much power to discuss the two items which in turn brought disagreement. The email should have stated clearly that it is aware of the floods and route problems, but everyone should make a way to attend physically and at the required premises. In the email, it should have been clear that things like time might be discussed, but not the venue.
Stress Management. The team suffers from a lack of proper stress coping skills. This is quite evident from the way most of the team members responded to the conflict. At first, the communication was calm but grew tense as the team continued to discuss. It is clear that some team members, i.e. Mathew, are quick to anger. This is judged from the tone of his email, the use of capital letters and exclamation marks. When such things happen in a team, some people may be provoked, and things get out of hand. It is essential to handle stressful situations well and communicate professionally at all times.
Justification of my conflict response approach
After identifying the possible causes, having in mind the organizational issues, I plan to discuss several things with my team. One of them is how conflicts come about in an organization and the possible ways to resolve them. I will use the most commonly accepted conflict process model by Kenneth Thomas to illustrate the stages of a conflict. It is essential to educate the team that conflict will be part of some of the challenges they will encounter while working in this assignment. It should, however, not be a hindrance to achieving the goals of the team.
In my email, I will illustrate ways of effectively dealing with conflict. I will communicate clearly and address each point of conflict. This will ensure that the team remains aware even in the future. It also ensures that the team can resolve conflicts early enough and on their own to prevent future confrontations. I will define each member’s responsibilities and expectations to avoid future conflicts from shared responsibility. I will also educate the team on the importance of teamwork, which can be easily killed by too many conflicts. I will also mention that as much as it is good to prevent conflict, we cannot do away with it, and we should take conflict as a time of learning and evaluating the team.
I am aware of the five possible ways of dealing with conflict. I plan to use each style when it appropriate and when the outcome will be beneficial to achieving the team’s goal. Competing, collaborating, avoiding, compromising, and accommodating are effective ways of resolving a team conflict. However, different outcomes arise from the use of each style. The situation also informs what style to use. In this situation, being that it is an emergency and does not give a lot of time for discussion, I will use the competing style to state what needs to be done and close any discussions on that issue.
Dear team,
I must say, that I am excited to lead such a determined and highly interactive team in ensuring that the residents of Brown Trout Bay have portable water after they were recently affected by floods. I am confident that we all got communication regarding the EOC meeting proposed at Brown Trout Bay Courthouse room 224 at noon. After going through the email thread on the same, I realized that some issues regarding the meeting had caused disagreement among the team. I acknowledge the concerns raised by some team members, and I hope my email addresses them correctly.
I want to mention that this is just one of the many conflicts that the team might encounter. As much as we would love to avoid conflict, it is impossible to do away with it altogether. It is, therefore, healthy to note that we may experience many and even more complicated conflicts. However, our responsibility is to resolve them satisfactorily to avoid the effects of running through our performance as a team.
As mentioned above, we have effective ways of dealing with conflicts among us. I would be glad to educate you more on this during our meeting. Some of the ways being a clear distribution of responsibilities and expectations, I will ensure that these are part of our plan during the session. Every one of us will leave with a clear description of what is expected of them.
I would, however, discuss here our point of conflict on the above subject. I understand that commuting to the venue of the meeting might be tedious for some of us. I also note that technology might solve the problem. We might consider this in future meetings but not on the 1st emergency meeting. We will be required to observe the protocol regarding the venue and meet physically this time around.
I would also like to express my disappointment in the exchange witnessed in the email. I want to mention that all team members are expected to address other members with respect and find better ways to disagree with opinions. I do not expect a repeat of the same since it does not portray professionalism.
We will discuss more of this during our meeting. I am looking forward to seeing you.
Best regards,
DeArya Fisher.