Introduction to Conflict Resolution Essay

â€Å"Conflict is one of the drivers for improved team performance. Managed well, conflict can lead to better decisions, more creative ideas and higher quality output from the team. Managed badly, it can stop teamwork and hinder individuals from achieving their personal goals. † (Conflict Resolution: For Team Members (n. d. ) taken from TeamTechnology. co. uk http://www. teamtechnology. com. uk/conflictresolution. html) The assignment presents a situation in which a conflict occurred and what happened. Also, the assignment discusses on what should have been done and which was the wronged party. The conflict presented is between the two groups of the recruits that are undergoing training in the VP-92 navy P-3 squadron. The recruits were divided into two groups for a mock target attack mission: one was responsible for identification of the targets and informing the other group about the location of the targets and the second group was supposed to strike the targets. The problem arose when the area surrounding the vessel was foggy and the targets could not be identified clearly by the first group. Hence, the second group, whose performance was dependent on the first group, could not aim and shoot the targets. This was followed by an argument and a ‘conflict’ between the two groups which was resolved by the officers. Then the writer says which side he would have chosen and why and what actions he would have taken. The conflict, however small it was, was genuine and both the parties were justified and neither one is to be blamed. Title: Introduction to Conflict Resolution Part I – The Organization The organisation that is to be discussed below is VP-92. It is navy P-3 Squadron where the navy conducts its operations. The navy also provides training to its new recruits. â€Å"A Navy is the branch of a country’s military forces principally designated for naval warfare, namely lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includes operations conducted by surface vessels (ships), submarine vessels, and seaborne aviation, as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields; recent developments have included space-related operations. â€Å" (en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Navy) Part II – The Conflict The conflict at VP-92 was between two groups of the marine crew at an assignment of mock target attack mission. One group, consisting of five crew-members, was responsible for identifying targets to be hit, while the other group, also consisting of five crew men, was responsible for hitting the targets in the assigned target areas to them. The conflict arose when the group that was supposed to identify targets could not identify the targets to be hit on time due to the fog and mist that was blurring their visibility and making it hard for them to locate their targets. As the targets could not be identified on time, the group that was supposed to strike the targets could not perform their duties on time. As a result a conflict arose between the two groups. Basically the ‘striker’s work depended on the ‘identifiers’ and the second group could not perform well because ‘identifiers’ had a problem with identifying the targets. The ‘strikers’ could not rightly strike their targets and their aim was wrong and not rightly focused. Hence, they put all the blame of their bad performance on the first group. Part III – Choose a Side I choose to be on the side of the group that could not properly identify their targets due to the bad weather and the mist that was blurring their view and became a hindrance to performing well. How Was it Managed? The group that was supposed to identify the targets in the mock target attack mission, informed the other group about the weather situation. However, when they persisted that targets should be identified, the assignment was not called off. The ‘ identifiers’ were asked to continue with their searching, which they did but spent a lot of time due to the lack of clarity of vision causes by fog. However, when the ‘strikers’ could not rightly strike their targets, they blamed the ‘identifiers’ for wrongly identifying their targets and also spending a lot of time on searching for targets. I think the conflict was very much genuine and there were no personal reasons for this conflict. The conflict was substantive because the group that was supposed to locate the targets to be struck could not be identified due to external factors such as the weather. Another reason may also have been the location of the ship where the fog was more and the targets were not visible. There was no negative impact on the goal attainment of the organisation or even the personal/ working relationships between the two groups. Since this was a mock assignment that’s aim was to train the new recruits in the navy to properly identify and aim their targets. In my view, the weather condition provided a flavor of the real target attack missions faced by the navy. The goal of this assignment would have been achieved if both the groups became experts in their tasks in variable whether conditions. However, expertise comes with practice and experience. Hence, I think this assignment and conflict was the first step towards attaining the goal. Even though this conflict arose out of a blame game for the two groups, one blaming the weather and the other blaming the first group, the argument was purely professional and not personal. There was a heated debate between the two groups, but this ended when the officers arrived after few minutes to give their remarks. After both the groups had presented their points of view to the officers, they were told that it was a part of the navy life and the navy assignments and no particular group was to be blamed for the failure to aim the target properly. Hence, this argument did not produce any hard feelings between the groups.