In the previous chapter, we looked at interpersonal conflict resolution techniques. In addition to them, structural methods of conflict resolution also play an important role. They mainly affect the participants in organizational conflicts arising from the incorrect distribution of functions, rights and responsibilities, poor work organization, unfair system of motivation and incentives for employees, etc. Thus, structural methods are the prerogative of the organization's administration, which can use the following four main methods:

1) Clarification of the requirements for the work of a subordinate and the results of his work, that is, each employee must clearly understand what his duties, rights are, and an explanation of what results are expected from each employee and unit. Parameters such as the level of results, the system of authority and responsibility should be mentioned here. Policies, procedures and rules must be clearly defined.

Thus, the method is implemented through the development of appropriate job descriptions, regulations, documents regulating the distribution of functions, rights and responsibilities. This allows you to avoid many misunderstandings in the relationship between subordinates and superiors, and thereby significantly reduce the likelihood of conflicts G.A. Golovanov "Fundamentals of Management". - St. Petersburg, 1993. - p. 48.

2) Use of coordination mechanisms. This method consists in involving the structural divisions of the organization or officials who, if necessary, can intervene in the conflict and help eliminate the causes of the dispute between the conflicting parties. One of the most common mechanisms is the effective use of the hierarchy of powers. It allows you to streamline the interaction of people, decision-making and information flows within the organization. If employees have disagreements on any issue, the conflict can be avoided by contacting the general manager with a proposal to make the necessary decision.

Thus, the principle of one-man command makes it easier to use the hierarchy for managing a conflict situation, since subordinates are obliged to comply with the decision of their boss "Organization personnel management" ed. .A. Y. Kibanova, - M: INFRA-M, 2001. page 532

Leaders seeking to stabilize the social state of the team should not lose sight of such an opportunity, since this method can be a fairly effective means of preventing the emergence of a conflict situation.

3) Promotion of a common strategic goal. Leaders striving for high performance of their organization, not only develop and implement its overall strategic goal, but also by all available means propagandize the expediency and usefulness of this goal not only for the organization, but also for each of its members separately G.A. Golovanov "Fundamentals of Management". - St. Petersburg, 1993. - p. 48. For example, if three shifts of a production department conflict with each other, you should create goals for the entire department, and not for each shift separately.

This method creates good conditions for reducing the causes of conflict situations.

4) Application of a rational system of remuneration. The idea behind this direction is simple and obvious. It lies in the fact that workers should be rewarded for their work strictly in accordance with its quantity and quality. The manager must strive for objectivity in assessing the results of work: he must evaluate the equivalent achievements of various employees in the same way, regardless of his personal sympathies or antipathies towards them. Otherwise, one of the workers will feel deprived, will reduce the intensity and quality of work, tensions may arise between the evaluated workers of B.E. Zel'dovich, N.M. Speranskaya, M.I. Faenson "Practical Management: Textbook" - M: Publishing house MGUP, 2001

Unfortunately, in real life, subjective factors interfere with this process, leading to a violation of such correspondence and thereby creating conditions for the emergence of conflict situations. Their management is impossible without strict observance of objectivity in the remuneration system. For example, rewarding sales executives solely on the basis of an increase in the volume of merchandise sold may conflict with the targeted profit margins. The leaders of these departments can increase sales by offering unnecessarily large discounts and thereby lowering the average profit of the company.

Thus, it is equally important that the reward system does not encourage non-constructive behavior by individuals or groups.

But, people who contribute to the achievement of cross-organizational goals, help other groups in the organization, and try to approach the problem in a holistic manner, should be rewarded with gratitude, bonus, recognition or promotion.

Summing up, we note that the system of a rational reward system can be used to manage a conflict situation, since fair remuneration has a positive effect on people's behavior and avoids destructive conflicts.

Interpersonal and structural methods are basic, and allow for a more rational approach to conflict management, with the help of which the conflict situation can be resolved favorably. But there are also methods such as:

Intrapersonal - which affect an individual and consist in the correct organization of their own behavior, in the ability to express their point of view without causing a defensive reaction from the opponent. This method allows a person to defend their position without turning an opponent into an opponent. The intrapersonal method is especially useful when a person wants to convey something to another, but does not want him to perceive it negatively and go on the attack.

Negotiations are a joint discussion by the conflicting parties with the possible involvement of a mediator of disputed issues in order to reach an agreement. Thus, the negotiation process in a specific form - with the participation of a mediator - is the most universal and successful form of resolving differences with the help of a third, independent mediator A. Isaenko. New in the theory and practice of personnel management. - USA: Press, 2007. - p. 198 ..

Negotiations act as a continuation of the conflict and at the same time serve as a means of overcoming it. Negotiations are possible subject to: the interdependence of the parties involved in the conflict; the absence of a significant difference in the powers of the parties to the conflict; the depth of the development of the conflict, allowing negotiations; as well as participation in negotiations of parties with real powers.

Reactive aggressive actions are methods that are extremely undesirable for overcoming conflict situations, since the use of these methods leads to the resolution of a conflict situation from a position of strength. However, there are situations when conflict resolution is possible only by these methods.

Also, methods of conflict management are subdivided on the basis of belonging to the direction of conflict management. There are areas of conflict management:

b Method of avoiding conflict. This method is used when this conflict is unnecessary, for example, when the costs of a possible conflict are very high. It is also useful when the problem underlying the conflict is commonplace. A variation of the method of avoiding conflict is:

1) The method of inaction - everything happens spontaneously. Inaction is justified in conditions of complete uncertainty of events.

2) Method of concession - in this case, the administration makes concessions by reducing its own requirements. This method is used when the administration finds out that they are wrong.

3) Method of smoothing - used in organizations focused on collective methods of the labor process. Common interests are emphasized here.

The method of avoiding conflict should not be resorted to in cases where the underlying problem is very important, or when there is a prospect of a sufficiently long existence of the foundations of the conflict.

b Conflict suppression includes:

1) The method of covert action is used when the confluence of economic, political, social or psychological circumstances makes it impossible for an open conflict due to fear of loss of image; it is impossible for one reason or another to involve the opposite side in active counteraction, the lack of parity in the resources of the conflicting sides exposes the weaker side to increased risk or causes unnecessary costs.

2) The method of quick solution - is that the decision on the problem that caused the conflict is made as soon as possible, almost instantaneous agreement. This becomes possible in the event of an acute shortage of time; a significant change in one of the conflicting parties in its position; mutual desire of the conflicting parties to participate in the search for more acceptable options for agreements, etc. "Personnel management of the organization" ed. .A. Y. Kibanova, - M: INFRA-M, 2006. pp. 533-535

As a result, to manage the conflict, the most rational and justified is the use of the whole complex of methods of influencing the conflict situation and the behavior of the participants in the conflict.

With the appropriate experience of acting in conflict situations, potential conflicts can be generally prevented, or resolved. And even used as a source of improving relationships with other people and self-improvement. The challenge is not to get away from conflict, which is potentially possible in all social relations and situations of internal choice, but to recognize the conflict and control it in order to obtain the best possible outcome.

Thus, it becomes clear that the conflict process in the organization is quite manageable. Accordingly, the head must choose a conflict management strategy from the point of view of the optimal balance of the consequences of a conflict situation for the organization or its structural unit.

A conflict can arise between members of the same team or between two or more teams.

Conflict is an interaction between subjects, which is characterized by their confrontation based on oppositely directed motives (needs, interests, goals, ideals, beliefs) or judgments (opinions, views, assessments) (see Fig. 22).

Conflict helps to reveal a variety of points of view, provides additional information, and allows to identify a larger number of alternatives and problems. This makes the decision-making process in the group more efficient.

Intragroup and intergroup conflicts can arise for a number of reasons:

• limited resources to be allocated;
• interdependence of tasks, incorrect distribution of responsibilities;
• poor communications;
• inconsistency of service requirements with personal needs, goals, values;
• inconsistency between the norms of behavior adopted in the group and the norms of behavior that the employee adheres to;
• change in the balance of power in the group due to a change in leadership;
• the emergence of an informal leader;
• differences in power and status;
• the emergence of coalitions.
• differences in goals, values, methods of work;
• psychological incompatibility;
• different levels of education, professionalism;
• low level of performing discipline;
• unfulfilled expectations;
• unequal contribution to the cause;
• bad moral and psychological climate in the team;
• violation of ethical standards (rudeness, arrogance, ignoring someone else's opinion);
• violation of labor laws.

Rice. 22. The concept of conflict. 49

Conflict management is a purposeful impact on the causes of the conflict in order to eliminate (minimize) them or to correct the behavior of the parties to the conflict or to maintain the level of conflict within controllable limits to ensure the required level of organizational performance. Conflict management methods are divided into two groups: methods of conflict prevention and methods of influencing a conflict situation in order to resolve it (see Fig. 23).

Methods of preventing conflicts in a group represent a set of methods of influencing a group, which reduces the likelihood of intra-group and inter-group conflicts. They include all structural methods of conflict management, elimination of the object of conflict and the negative assessment formula.

Rice. 23.

Structural Methods change the structure of tasks for employees or the structure of a group, an organization as a whole. Structural methods of conflict resolution include the following.

• 1. Clarification of job requirements. Employees should know the parameters and the level of expected results from them, the system of authority, responsibility and interaction with other members of the group and management, the rules and procedures used to perform tasks.
• 2. Using coordination and integration mechanisms, which improve consistency between departments and individuals. These include:
  • distribution of powers, which streamlines the interaction of people, decision-making and information flows within and between groups;
  • special services providing communication between functional units;
  • meetings common to several groups;
  • cross-functional and target groups;
  • curators who, if necessary, can intervene in the conflict and help resolve controversial issues;
  • merging different departments and endowing them with a common task.
• 3. Setting comprehensive goals in front of the units. Their implementation requires the joint efforts of two or more groups, departments, divisions. The idea behind these comprehensive goals is to bring groups together and direct the efforts of all participants towards a common goal.
• 4. Using the reward system to encourage behavior aimed at avoiding the negative consequences of conflicts. In a broader sense, the system of rewards and incentives for work can be seen as the basis for conflict prevention. These forms of labor incentives include the following:
  • reconstruction of the labor process: expanding the set of labor functions, creating attractive jobs, intellectualization of labor;
  • participation in decision-making: participation in the development of the group's production policy, expanding the independence of groups and their employees in solving problems that arise in groups;
  • developing a sense of ownership: participation in profits, participation in the capital of the enterprise;
  • flexible working hours: flexible working hours, part-time working week.

Elimination of the object of conflict involves bringing one of the conflicting groups under the rejection of the object of the conflict in favor of the other side.

One of the most effective methods of conflict prevention is negative evaluation formula. In order for a negative assessment of a subordinate's actions to be effective and not lead to a conflict, the manager's statements should contain four main points:

• fixing an overall positive assessment of the employee as an employee and a person (for example, you can say: “I have always respected you for your thoroughness and reliability in your work”);
• formulating a critical assessment (a proposal may look like this: "But today, after reading your report, I see that you are mistaken ...";
• recognition that the employee is a good professional, despite the fact that he made a mistake (for example, there may be such a phrase: "Everyone is wrong. Your high business qualities are beyond any doubt for me");
• building a positive perspective for the future (you can say: “I am sure that tomorrow you will be able to correct everything and continue to avoid such mistakes”).

Methods of influencing a conflict situation include three groups of methods: administrative, interpersonal and mediation.

Administrative methods presuppose the use of the resource of the leader's power to change the composition of the group, enter one of the conflicting groups as an observer, increase the available resources, or conduct negotiations with the conflicting parties as a mediator.

Interpersonal Conflict Resolution Techniques were proposed by K.U. Thomas and R.H. Killman in 1972. They identified five methods of conflict resolution (Fig. 24), presented in the form of a matrix, which is built on the basis of two variables: interest in oneself and interest in others. Interest is measured as low and high. The level of focus on one's own interests or the interests of an opponent depends on three conditions:

• 1) the content of the subject of the conflict;
• 2) the values ​​of interpersonal relationships;
• 3) individual psychologists with great personality traits.

Rice. 24.

• 1. Dodging, avoiding conflict associated with the group's lack of desire to defend their rights, express their position, cooperate with others or solve the problem itself. This method involves avoiding responsibility for decisions. The group still has the opportunity to get out of the conflict interaction without prejudice to its interests, however, without resolving the conflict itself.
• 2. Coercion, conflict resolution by force characterized by an active struggle of the group for their interests, but without taking into account the interests of the other side.
• 3. Smoothing. The group's actions are aimed at maintaining or restoring favorable relations with the opponent by smoothing out differences at the expense of their own interests.
• 4. Compromise characterized by moderate consideration of the interests of each of the parties. The implementation of this method is associated with negotiations, during which each of the parties makes concessions, a certain middle way of interaction between opponents is found, more or less satisfying both.
• 5. Cooperation based on the recognition of differences in the opinions of opponents, and the willingness to familiarize themselves with different points of view in order to understand the causes of the conflict and find methods of solving the problem that are acceptable to both sides. In this case, there is a search for the best solution to the conflict situation.

Mediation (mediation). In this case, a third party - an intermediary (mediator) - is involved to resolve the disagreement. This can be a team leader, a higher-level manager, a specialist from the human resources department, or a corporate mediator. The mediator can discuss the essence of the problem with each of the conflicting parties and propose his solution. If it is not possible to find an option that suits both parties, the parties should contact the mediator with a request to act as a judge in their dispute.

In Russia, this is a fairly new method, although, for example, in the United States, it has been used for about 30 years. Mediation can be used both when considering commercial disputes, conflict situations, and labor, social, domestic, interpersonal conflicts, etc. The corporate mediator has long been part of the top management of leading Western companies. This person focuses on the introduction of alternative methods of resolving internal corporate (labor) disputes, organizes appropriate training, assesses disputes in terms of their media value and, if necessary, selects an appropriate third neutral person to resolve the situation, sometimes, however, he himself acts in this capacity. Mediation is a voluntary procedure - the decision on the settlement of the conflict is made by its participants themselves. In this regard, it is necessary to understand which situation is mediaable and which is not. It is important to take into account that the mediator does not offer his own solution, it must be determined by the parties. The disadvantage of this method is the duration of its implementation - the whole process of mediation takes from several hours to 2 - 3 days.

With radical changes (in the conflict between the individual and the group), effective organizational and procedural manipulations. These include:

• the formation of the primary setting;
• provision of materials only the day before;
• avoidance of re-discussion;
• the heat of the atmosphere by the "aggressors";
• priority voting continuity;
• suspension of the discussion on the desired option;
• selective loyalty in adherence to regulations;
• decision making "pseudo de jure";
• a break in the discussion;
• letting off steam on irrelevant issues "
• "Accidental" incomplete set of documents;
• excessive information;
• “Loss” of documents and others.

• Compiled by according to: Fundamentals of Management / V.R. Vesnin. - 3rd ed., Add. and rev., M: LLC "T.D." Elite-2000 "" ", 2006. С.363

To resolve organizational conflicts, the so-called structural methods conflict management within the organization. These methods are associated with the use of changes in the structure of the organization to resolve conflicts that have already developed. They are aimed at reducing the intensity of the conflict.

The group of these methods includes:

Methods associated with the use by the head of his position in the organization (order, order, directive, etc.);

Methods associated with the "separation" of parts of the organization of the parties to the conflict or reducing their interdependence;

Methods associated with the creation of a certain "reserve" in the work of interdependent departments (stock of materials and components);

Methods associated with the introduction of a special integration mechanism for conflicting units (general deputy, curator or coordinator, etc.);

Methods associated with the merger of different departments and endowing them with a common task (for example, the merger of the labor and wages department and the personnel department into a personnel development department, designed to deal with the development of each individual employee in terms of his growth, and not just accounting and accounting functions).

Conflict situation- a situation in which there are uncoordinated interests. A conflict situation develops into a conflict as a result of the actions of one person to limit the ability of another person to realize their interests. To restrict another person in achieving his goals, it is necessary to use force in one form or another, for example, physical, legal, moral.

Conflict is a spontaneously arising confrontation between different parties, the behavior of a person, group or organization, which prevents or restricts another participant in achieving his goals.

If there is opposition, but there are no negative feelings, or, conversely, negative emotions are experienced, but there is no opposition, then this is not a conflict, but a pre-conflict situation. Thus, as mandatory components of the conflict, negative feelings and opposition of the subjects are assumed, which is reflected in the definition of A. Ya. Antsupov and A. I. Shipilov: subjects of the conflict and usually accompanied by negative emotions. "

It is important to take into account that the action can be viewed both externally and internally.

At the same time, any conflict is an actualized contradiction, that is, opposing values, attitudes, and motives embodied in interaction. It can be considered quite obvious that for its resolution the contradiction must necessarily be embodied in actions in their collision. Only through a clash of actions, literal or imaginary, does the contradiction reveal itself. "

An interesting definition is offered by N. V. Grishina: "The conflict acts as a bipolar phenomenon - a confrontation between two principles, which manifests itself in the activity of the parties, aimed at overcoming the contradiction, and the parties to the conflict are represented by an active subject (s)."

The concept of "conflict" is synonymous with the following concepts:

Dispute, rivalry - friendly competition or hostile struggle to achieve a goal;

Combat - an armed conflict;

Struggle is a clash of individual rivals;

A scandal is a public confrontation or a rowdy quarrel.

In the conditions of a joint life, work or similar business, the interests of all participants cannot be consistent all the time. The main points of misalignment are: - interests;

- lack of balance between rights and responsibilities. The main causes of conflicts in existing organizations:

Allocation of resources (no matter what) - even in the largest organizations, they are always limited, people always want more, not less, so the need to share resources almost inevitably leads to various types of conflict;

Interdependence of tasks - the possibility of conflict exists wherever one person or group depends on the performance of tasks from another person or group (for example, in violation of the principle of one-man management);

Differences in perceptions and values ​​- instead of objectively assessing the situation, people can only consider those views, alternatives and its aspects that, in their opinion, are favorable for the group or the realization of personal needs;

Differences in behavior and life experience, in age, level and specifics of education, in the manner of dressing - people can behave in ways that are not accepted in the team, for example, aggressive and hostile, they are ready to challenge every word, which creates an atmosphere around them that is fraught with conflict;

An increase in the need for specialists and the dependence of managers on the professional knowledge of specialists (conflicts between staff specialists and administrative and management personnel) - administrative personnel and specialists consider each other and assess their roles in the organization from different positions, for example, with an increase in the importance of technical knowledge and experience in In all areas of the organization, the role of technical specialists is increasingly expanding, which leads to exacerbation of conflicts between technical and administrative personnel, but the increasing degree of complexity, specialization and competition in the activities of most organizations leads to the fact that conflicts between specialists and managers become the main concern of management in managing the behavior of the organization as a whole;

Unsatisfactory communications - reasons such as: ambiguous quality criteria, inability to accurately define the job responsibilities and functions of all employees and departments, presentation of mutually exclusive job requirements, poor communication of information - can serve as both a cause and a consequence of the conflict, they can act as its catalyst making it difficult for an individual or a group to understand the situation or point of view of others.

The emergence of points of mismatch of interests is a constant process, therefore, conflict situations, and therefore conflicts, are inevitable and inevitable. They are a natural part of the life of any team, so the emergence of a conflict - this is normal. The complete absence of conflict within the organization is a condition not only impossible, but also undesirable.

Conflict does not always and does not necessarily lead to destruction. On the contrary, it is one of the main processes serving to preserve the whole. Under certain conditions, conflict can help maintain the vitality and resilience of an organization. Conflict should not be perceived as an unambiguously destructive phenomenon and should not be assessed as unambiguously.

Conflict contains potential positive opportunities: conflict, change, adaptation, survival. The value of conflict is that it is a stimulus for change, it is a challenge that requires a creative response.

The conflict can be managed, and it can be managed in such a way that its negative, destructive consequences can be minimized or eliminated, and the constructive possibilities can be strengthened. This means that conflict is something to work with. Dealing with conflict should be perceived by the manager as a common social and personal interest.

Conflict helps to reveal a variety of points of view, more alternatives or problems, provides additional information, etc. This makes the decision-making process more effective for the group, and also gives people the opportunity to express their thoughts and thereby satisfy personal needs for respect and power. In addition, the presence of conflict can lead to more effective implementation of plans, the development of strategies and projects.

Conflict can be functional, leading to increased organizational effectiveness, or dysfunctional, resulting in decreased personal satisfaction, group collaboration, and organizational effectiveness. The role of the conflict depends mainly on how effectively it is managed. To do this, you need to know the reasons for its occurrence, the type and possible consequences, which allows you to choose the most effective method for resolving it.

There are many methods of conflict management. Enlargedly, they can be divided into several groups, each of which has its own field of application:

• intrapersonal;
• structural;
• interpersonal;
• negotiation;
• retaliatory aggressive actions.

Intrapersonal methods affect an individual and consist in the correct organization of their own behavior, in the ability to express their point of view, without causing a defensive reaction from the opponent. The method of transferring to another person this or that attitude to a certain subject without accusations and demands, but so that the other person changes his attitude (the so-called "I-statement" method) is often used. This method allows a person to defend their position without turning an opponent into an opponent. "I-statement" is especially effective when the person is angry, dissatisfied. It allows you to express your opinion about the current situation, to express the fundamental provisions. This method is especially useful when a person wants to convey something to another, but does not want him to perceive it negatively and go on the attack.

Structural Methods affect mainly the participants in organizational conflicts arising from the incorrect distribution of functions, rights and responsibilities, poor organization of work, an unfair system of motivation and incentives for employees, etc. Clarification of corporate objectives, establishment of sound remuneration systems:

1. Clarification of job requirements is one of the most effective methods of preventing and resolving conflicts. Each employee must clearly understand what his duties, responsibilities and rights are. The method is implemented through the preparation of the appropriate job descriptions (job description) and the development of documents regulating the distribution of functions, rights and responsibilities by management levels.
2. Using coordination mechanisms consists in the involvement of structural divisions of the organization or officials who, if necessary, can intervene in the conflict and help resolve disputes between the conflicting parties. One of the most common mechanisms is the hierarchy of authority, which organizes the interaction of people, decision-making and information flows within the organization. If employees have disagreements on some issue, the conflict can be avoided by contacting the general manager with a proposal to make the necessary decision. The principle of one-man command makes it easier to use hierarchy to manage a conflict situation, since subordinates are obliged to follow the decisions of their leader.
3. Developing or refining corporate goals allows you to combine the efforts of all employees of the organization, direct them to achieve the set goals.
4. Create sound reward systems can also be used to manage conflict situations, since fair reward positively influences people's behavior and avoids destructive conflicts. It is important that the reward system does not reward negative behavior from individuals or groups.

Interpersonal methods suggest that when creating a conflict situation or the beginning of the deployment of the conflict itself, its participants need to choose the form, style of their further behavior in order to minimize damage to their interests. Along with such basic styles of behavior in conflict as accommodating (yielding), evasion, confrontation, cooperation and compromise, attention should be paid to coercion and problem solving.

Coercion means trying to force someone to accept their point of view at any cost. The one who tries to do this is not interested in the opinion of others. A person using this approach usually behaves aggressively and uses power through coercion to influence others. The disadvantage of this style is that it suppresses the initiative of subordinates, creates a greater likelihood that some important factors will not be taken into account, since only one point of view is presented. This style can cause resentment, especially among the younger and more educated part of the staff.

Solving a problem means recognizing differences of opinion and a willingness to familiarize yourself with different points of view in order to understand the causes of the conflict and find a course of action that is acceptable to all parties. The one who uses this style does not seek to achieve his goal at the expense of others, but rather is looking for the best way to overcome the conflict situation. In difficult situations, where a variety of approaches and accurate information are essential to making sound decisions, the emergence of conflicting opinions should be encouraged and the situation managed using a problem-solving style.

Negotiation, as a method of resolving conflicts, is a set of tactical techniques aimed at finding mutually acceptable solutions for the conflicting parties. In order for negotiations to become possible, certain conditions must be met:

• the existence of interdependence of the parties to the conflict;
• the absence of a significant difference in the capabilities (powers) of the parties to the conflict;
• correspondence of the stage of development of the conflict to the possibilities of negotiations;
• participation in negotiations of the parties who can make decisions in the current situation.

Retaliatory aggressive actions- methods that are extremely undesirable for overcoming conflict situations. The use of these methods leads to the resolution of a conflict situation from a position of strength, including the use of brute force and violence. However, there are situations when conflict resolution is possible only by these methods.

***
Practice shows that there are three directions (methods) of conflict management:

• avoiding conflict;
• suppression of conflict;
• the actual conflict management.

Each of these areas is implemented using special methods. Let's take a look at some of them.

Avoiding conflict... The advantage of this method is that the decision is usually made promptly. This method is used when this conflict is unnecessary, when it does not fit the situation in the organization, or the costs of a possible conflict are very high. It is also advisable to apply it in the following cases:

• the platitudes of the problem underlying the conflict;
• the presence of more important problems that require their solution;
• the need to cool the inflamed passions;
• the need to gain time to gather the necessary information and avoid making an immediate decision;
• connecting other forces to resolve the conflict;
• the presence of fear of the opposite side or impending conflict;
• when the timing of an impending conflict is unfortunate.

A variation of the method of avoiding conflict is the method of inaction. With this method, the development of events is at the mercy of time, goes with the flow, spontaneously. Inaction is justified in conditions of complete uncertainty, when it is impossible to foresee the options for the development of events, to predict the consequences.

Another variation of this method is concessions or accommodations. In this case, one side makes concessions by reducing its own requirements. This method is used when a party finds itself wrong; when the subject of the collision is more important to the other side; if it is necessary to minimize losses, when the superiority is clearly on the other side, etc.

Suppressing conflict in turn involves the use of various methods. For example, the covert action method is used in cases when:

• coincidence of circumstances makes open conflict impossible;
• there is no desire to deal with open conflict due to fear of losing face;
• it is impossible, for one reason or another, to involve the opposite side in active counteraction;
• the imbalance of power, the lack of parity in the resources of the conflicting parties exposes the weaker party to increased risk or causes unnecessary costs.

The techniques used in these cases include both "gentlemanly" and far from them forms of influence on the opposite side. Here, behind-the-scenes negotiations and a divide-and-rule policy can take place. It is not uncommon to create additional obstacles in the form of latent or open resistance.

***
General algorithm on the impact on the conflict situation can be summarized as follows.

1. Acknowledge the existence of a conflict, that is, the presence of opposing goals, methods of opponents, to determine the participants in the conflict. In practice, these issues are not so easy to solve, it can be difficult to admit and declare out loud that you are in a state of conflict with an employee on any issue. Sometimes the conflict has existed for a long time, people suffer, but there is no open recognition of it; each chooses his own form of behavior towards the other, but there is no joint discussion and search for a way out of this situation.
2. Determine the possibility of negotiations... After recognizing the existence of a conflict and the impossibility of quickly resolving it, it is advisable to agree on the possibility of holding negotiations and to clarify which negotiations: with or without a mediator; who can be a mediator who equally suits the conflicting parties.
3. Agree on a negotiation procedure: to determine where, when and how the negotiations will begin, that is, to stipulate the terms, place, procedure for negotiating, the time of the beginning of the joint discussion.
4. Identify the range of issues that make up the subject of the conflict... The challenge is to determine what is the subject of the conflict and what is not. At this stage, joint ways to solve the problem are worked out, the positions of the parties are clarified, the points of greatest disagreement and points of possible convergence of positions are determined.
5. Develop solution options... The conflicting parties offer several options for solutions with the calculation of costs for each of them, taking into account the possible consequences.
6. Make an agreed decision... As a result of mutual discussion of options for decisions, the parties come to a common decision, which is advisable to present in the form of a communique, resolution, cooperation agreement, etc. Sometimes, in especially difficult or important cases, documents can be drawn up and adopted at the end of each stage of negotiations.
7. Implement the decision in practice... The conflicting parties must think over how to organize the implementation of the decision, determine the tasks of each of the conflicting parties in the implementation of the results of the negotiations, fixing it in an agreed decision. The inability to defuse a conflict situation, to understand mistakes and miscalculations can cause constant tension. The main reason for the conflict is that people depend on each other, everyone needs sympathy and understanding, the location and support of the other, you need someone to share his beliefs. A conflict is a signal that something has happened in communications or that some significant disagreement has arisen.

• the ability to distinguish the main from the secondary. It would seem that which is easier, but life shows that it is quite difficult to do it. If you regularly analyze conflict situations, the motives of your behavior, if you try to understand what is really important and what is just ambition, then over time you can learn more and more effectively to cut off the insignificant;
• inner calmness. This principle does not exclude the energy and activity of a person. On the contrary, it allows you to become even more active, to react to events and problems without losing composure even at critical moments. Inner calmness is a kind of protection from all unpleasant situations in life, it allows a person to choose the appropriate form of behavior;
• emotional maturity and resilience: in fact, the ability and willingness to act worthy in any life situations;
• knowledge of the measure of influence on events, which means the ability to stop oneself and not “press” or, conversely, accelerate the event in order to “master the situation” and be able to adequately respond to it;
• the ability to approach a problem from different points of view, due to the fact that the same event can be assessed in different ways, depending on the position taken. If you look at the conflict from the position of your “I”, there will be one assessment, but if you try to look at the same situation from the position of your opponent, everything may seem different. It is important to be able to evaluate, compare, connect different positions;
• the readiness for surprises, the absence (or restraint) of a biased line of behavior allows you to quickly rebuild, timely and adequately respond to a change in the situation;
• striving to go beyond the problem situation. As a rule, all "unsolvable" situations are ultimately solvable, there are no hopeless situations;
• observation, necessary not only to assess others and their actions. Many unnecessary reactions, emotions and actions will disappear if you learn to observe yourself impartially. It is much easier for a person who knows how to objectively assess his desires, motives, motives from the outside, to control his behavior, especially in critical situations;
• foresight as the ability not only to understand the internal logic of events, but also to see the perspective of their development. Knowing “what will lead to what” protects against mistakes and wrong line of behavior, prevents the formation of a conflict situation;
• the desire to understand others, their thoughts and actions. In some cases, this means reconciling with them, in others - correctly determining your line of behavior. Many misunderstandings in everyday life happen only because not all people are able or do not take the trouble to consciously put themselves in the place of others. The ability to understand (even without accepting) the opposite point of view helps to anticipate the behavior of people in a given situation.

Ardalion Kibanov

Structural methods of conflict management include: clarifying job requirements; formation of coordination and integration mechanisms, corporate goals; use of reward systems.

• - Clarification of job requirements. One of the best management practices for preventing dysfunctional conflict is to communicate what results are expected from each employee and department. It should mention such parameters as the level of results to be achieved, who provides and who receives the various information, the system of authority and responsibility, and clearly defined policies, procedures and rules. Moreover, the leader understands all these issues not for himself, but so that his subordinates understand well what is expected of them and in what situation.
• - Coordination and integration mechanisms. This is the application of the coordination mechanism. One of the most common mechanisms is the chain of command. In conflict management, integration tools such as management hierarchy, use of inter-function communication services, cross-functional teams, task forces, and inter-departmental meetings are very useful. Research has shown that organizations that have maintained the level of integration they want have done better than those that have not. For example, a company where there is a conflict between interdependent departments - sales and production departments - managed to solve the problem by creating an intermediate service that coordinates the volume of orders and sales. This service liaised between sales and production and dealt with issues such as sales requirements, capacity utilization, pricing and delivery schedules.
• - Organization-wide integrated goals. Setting corporate cross-cutting goals is another structural method for managing a structural situation. The effective implementation of these goals requires the combined effort of two or more individuals, teams or departments. The idea that is embedded in these higher goals is to direct the efforts of all participants to achieve a common goal.

For example, if three shifts in a production department conflict with each other, you should formulate goals for your department, and not for each shift separately. Likewise, setting clear goals for the entire organization will also encourage department leaders to make decisions that benefit the entire organization, not just their own functional area. The statement of the highest principles (values) of the organization reveals the content of complex goals. The company strives to reduce the potential for conflict by setting out corporate overarching goals to achieve greater coherence and performance across all staff.

The structure of the reward system. Rewards can be used as a method of conflict management by influencing people's behavior to avoid dysfunctional consequences. People who contribute to the achievement of cross-organizational goals, help other groups in the organization, and try to approach the problem in a holistic manner should be rewarded with gratitude, bonus, recognition or promotion. It is equally important that the reward system does not encourage non-constructive behavior by individuals or groups.

The systematic and coordinated use of a system of rewards and rewards for those who contribute to the achievement of corporate goals, helping people understand how they should act in a conflict situation in order to meet the wishes of management.