Conflict can be from a variety of different aspects, conflict is usually brought on when two differences meet and a contrast in opinion is displayed.

My job can be used as an everyday example of conflict at work. On this occasion as a customer service advisor, the other customer service advisors at work and I were not happy with the performance the main management were giving to us as part of a team, there was no organisation no professional handling of matters when needed and overall we lacked reliable management within our workforce. This issue grew to be so severe that certain employees started to leave and leave us as a whole short staff and in trouble of running the company professionally. To deal with this matter formal strategies were used as head office began to be introduced to the matter and organised a number of interviews along with formal warnings and records of conversations made about this matter as they were provided with a number of complaints about the management in our business environment, which was later resolved as more staff began to be employed and the warnings were taken note of moreover as a result certain members of management quit their job role at there own choice and left the business.

Sources of power:

(Laurie J.Mullins,management and organisational behaviour,pg 388)

Coercive power-Relying on the use of threats, manipulation and the ability to punish another to bribe them enough to negotiate, for example food as a source of
control.

Reward power-relying on rewarding as a bribing technique e.g manipulating pay,recognition and promotions as a reward.

Expert power-Based on the clear knowledge and expertise of the leader in power, an example of this power is having the knowledge of which another will not have and in result makes them stronger in the result of power.

legitimate power-The hierarchy of the status of an individual makes them in control of a situation and what they say goes as a result of their status, for example a supervisor and a customer service assistant must abide by the given instructions from a supervisor or member of management as a result of status.

referent power-the preferred individual will benefit as a result of unfairness in this power, for example a manager that gains respect of another may be seen as the most preferred individual than any other.

5 Strategies an organisation can use to overcome conflict at work?

• Fairness
• Equality
• Good reward systems to keep motivated at work
• Keeping organised and on top of things
• Attitude towards work

A situation of conflict I have witnessed in the X factor, resulted in a strategical approach to resolve the matter. The approach and strategy was taken when two acts were equally as poor as each other and the last judge, Simon decided to make the decision of taking the option of the public vote to vote off the most poorest contestant. This strategy was effective as it was a fair and equal approach to solve the matter as a whole as he did not like either. Other strategies that may hav e been useful in this case would be for Simon to vote off the most obvious poorest contestant that performed that night, but as a result this would not have been a fair approach.