MSLD 520 Module 6- Conflict Resolution

Pursuing a bachelor’s degree was not only academically challenging, but also challenging in terms of maintaining social relationships. While many of my conflicts revolved around roommates, more complex disputes occurred during group assignments. Since my past university mainly focused on aviation and aerospace, one challenge I constantly faced were the “language” and information used in group projects. Unlike most students, I was in the minority group that studied general business administration. Whether I was in a simple math or management course, aviation and aerospace related terminology were often used, which caused a lot of confusion and conflicts.

I got into a very unfortunate situation one year where a course titled “Airport Management” was the only elective course available during my last two terms before graduation. The course was mainly designed for students studying aviation business administration: the other version of my field of study. Due to the aviation focus (and many students prefer this degree program), many of my classmates were familiar with their aviation-related terminologies. Some of the students were also pilots. 

During the last few weeks of class, my professor assigned us a group project where we analyzed a real-life airport's operations. The group that I was randomly assigned to were all pilots. As a result, I was often confused by their unfamiliar vocabulary and data. Due to my lack of knowledge, I constantly asked for clarification. Over time, my constant habit of asking annoyed my team members: causing them to ignore or refuse my ideas. The conflict got worse after I received an email from my professor: where someone in the group made a complaint on my work effort. After providing some clarifications and other information to the professor, I decided that it was time to talk directly to my team members.

Since my group members often ignored or halted me from talking, it was very complicated to start the negotiation process. Wanting to avoid making the situation worse, I approached them slowly and kindly asked if I can have a quick word with everyone. Surprisingly, my group members stopped and paid attention. After informing them that I was not a pilot or in the aviation business field, they were shocked and became very apologetic. In the end, the group and I were able to sort and work things out. 

For this conflict, it was clear that informational deficiency was the primary issue. None of my group members were aware that I was a pilot or in the aviation business administration program. As Whetten and Cameron stated, it is important to clarify the areas that are being misunderstood to resolve conflict (2016). In addition, I believe that I was able to resolve this conflict by approaching them calmly and having something in common. 

McDonald and Messinger states that people often responds back the way they were approached (n.d.). For this case, I didn't want any further anger, yelling, etc. to occur, so I knew that it was important to approach them with kindness. To do this, I maintained calm tone and expressions. Just like William Ury's ideas, I was likely able to resolve the conflict by finding a common ground. Despite having different fields of study, we all had something in common: finishing the project. By informing my care of the project, the group was able to realize that I was not trying to avoid doing my portion(s) of the project, and was willing to cooperate (some believed that I was making the group do my work). 

In summary, I was able to resolve conflict by informing my group about my situation. Due to the lack of information at the start of the project, my group ended up making assumptions that ultimately caused confusion to the group. If I were to face a similar in the future, I should have acted faster and identified the situation and inform my group before further complications occur.

References:

McDonald, N., & Messinger, D., (n.d.), The Development of Empathy: How, When, and Why. Retrieved from http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/c_c/rsrcs/rdgs/emot/McDonald-Messinger_Empathy%20Development.pdf

Ury, W. (2010). Willaim Ury: The walk from no to yes. TED. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/william_ury/transcript?language=en

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills. Boston: Pearson Education.