10 Argumentative Essay Topics on Managing Conflict

If you are tasked with writing about conflicts and management, you need to include some useful information. That is why you will find 10 facts that might be of use to you in your next writing task:

1. There are many forms of management. Inside of each is a different way to handle conflicts in the workplace. In some cases, management styles borrow from one style. They then adapt another to suit the needs their organization has. This is done so that conflicts are mitigated and resolved.
2. When companies seek to manage conflict among employees/employers it is important to follow human resource policies. This requires the appropriately trained and designated human resource representative. They must be in charge of all conflict management processes within the workplace.
3. In conflict management, there are various outcomes possible, including that of win-lose, lose-lose, or win-win. It is the goal of good conflict management to discuss all options. It is the goal to encourage compromise between the affected parties in order to ensure a win-win outcome.
4. The majority of office place policies for managing conflict revolve around mediation. This is where the affected parties are able to find a safe space. They are able to discuss their respective sides, in search of finding common ground. This revolves around positive communication. Communication is often the cause of the problem related to office conflict. This means that employees will make statements which are misinterpreted or not clearly stated to other employees. This leads to poor communication on top of poor communication. In many professional cases, simply having a space where misconceptions can be discussed and acknowledgements for mistakes made resolves the issues. It is natural for people to seek acknowledgement that a boss. For example, was unclear in directions and that is what led to a project not being followed as the boss wanted rather than the boss telling the employee they made a mistake when they in fact did not.
5. In the modern workplace, men still earn an average of 30% more than women. This is due to two things. The first is that women take more days off for personal reasons. The second is that men negotiate more aggressively during salary negotiations. Men also prove more aggressive during promotional negotiations. This raises conflicts among groups where diversity exists. Men directing women in the workplace with a command are not respective of the sexism or misogyny in their tones or word choices. Women, as a result, are forced to either tolerate the impropriety or stand up for themselves. When women stand up for themselves in the workplace it is perceived that they are “emotional”. Other choice explicative words are used to describe headstrong women in this situation as well. This creates conflict between team members. This also creates conflict between leaders. This conflict requires conflict management. This is administered by human resources. If no human resources department exists companies must find leaders among their staff. Executives—for example—can be tasked with mediating conflict.
6. With the rise of online communication, cyberbullying in the workplace is more prevalent than ever. More than three million jobs were posted on the most highly ranked freelance website in the world last year. This figure has only risen with time. All signs suggest it will continue to do so. That being said, those who hire freelancers often use the lack of face-to-face communication for bullying. This bullying comes in many forms. Some people are rude online because they have no HR representatives to hold them accountable. Others are rude or unprofessional. They do this because they believe that paying someone for a simple job gives them control over that person. Others know they will not be held accountable for their lack of action. Some know they will not be held accountable for their actions. In such cases people may use aggressive demands, threats, or cursing when communicating. This conflict does not always get settled. If there are no proper channels or HR representatives to help mediate, resolutions may be non-existent. Such behavior leads to high rates of turnover among freelance individuals and those clients hiring them.
7. Another issue involved in freelance workplace conflicts is that of gender. Men and women alike behave and communicate differently to men versus women. Women and man alike will avoid excuses and be respectful, professional, and kind toward those bosses or clients they believe are men. When it is known that the freelancer or client is a women, other women will provide excuses and be lackadaisical in their work. Men, on the other hand, will be more condescending. This form of cyber bullying causes conflicts too.
8. Diversity is something for which companies strive. This same diversity leads to many workplace conflicts. People who come from different backgrounds have different cultural principles and behaviors. In the modern workplace, a man from an Eastern European or Middle Eastern culture may think it perfectly acceptable to treat women differently. They may have been raised to treat women as a second class. This creates severe workplace conflict among gender diverse teams. Those same men will talk down to women. They will overlook them when it comes to promotional opportunities. They will give them more administrative and menial tasks in a group project. All of this stems from differences in culture. The problem arises when more than one culture is forced to work together. In such situations, the prevailing belief that women are beneath men ruptures between the team members. This creates a conflict which falls upon the shoulders of management to resolve.
9. Workplace conflicts exist when individuals do not feel that their voices are heard. If a boss provides unclear parameters for a project the employee has only that to use. They might complete the project to the best of their abilities. The boss might then include new parameters and demand changes. The individual may seek simple acknowledgement from the boss that the boss was responsible for not providing explicit instructions. In such cases the boss often ignores this, fails to administer acknowledgement or an apology, and the conflict erupts.
10. Not apologizing or accepting responsibility for actions causes a great deal of workplace conflict. This can be resolved by guilty parties simply acting in mature/professional fashions and apologizing. Having HR can be a big help here.

These facts should provide you with solid foundation to write your argumentative essay on managing conflict. Don’t forget to check our 20 topics together with a sample essay and guide on how write one, we have those too!

References:
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Hubbartt, William S. The New Battle Over Workplace Privacy. New York: AMACOM, 1998. Print.
Lebedun, Jean. Managing Workplace Conflict. West Des Moines, IA: American Media Pub., 1998. Print.
Martindale, N (2011). “Leadership Styles: How to handle the different personas”. Strategic
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McConnon, Shay, and Margaret McConnon. Conflict Management In The Workplace. Oxford: How To Books, 2008. Print.
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