Week Iv

Alexandra’s interest for this week is the topic of conflict resolution in teams. I found this to be the most interesting part of the class. The importance of working in teams and learning how to do it is a difficult aspect of working in a team. The diversity in teams is good, but at the same time it brings conflict. At the same time conflict is good because it brings change. An important factor in a team is communication from the sender to the receiver and vice versa. Both individuals should be open to listening, to communicating, and receiving feedback. “Conflict can arise from numerous sources within a team setting and generally falls into three categories: communication factors, structural factors and personal factors” (Townsley pg 1). During this class I learned that my strategy in problem solving can be diverse, depending on the situation. Competition and compromise may be those that I mostly use. On the other hand one that I seldom use is avoidance. My perspective on avoidance is that if one avoids the problem it is not going to go away. I have learned that situations have to be confronted to bring change. One of the best techniques to resolve conflict is to bring the team together and discuss the solutions to the problem, setting standards, rules, and boundaries. This standards, rules, and boundaries must be clear to each member of the team.

Alexandra’s challenge this week is learning how to work as a team. I understand the importance of working in a team and collaborating. At the same time my challenge is obtaining people to listen and to be open to feedback. I am struggling with getting my point across to the sender of the message. I understand that I need to learn better techniques on how to assist the other individual to be open to feedback. I believe that most of conflicts are caused by the lack of communication. “Barriers to communication are among the most important factors and can be a major source of misunderstanding”...