Chapter 1
Studying Business Grade 12
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Asking the question “Why?” may also offer the opportunity to ask “How do you propose we solve this problem in a fair manner?” Once again this focuses on the problem and prevents people attacking one another based purely on emotions.
4.6 Values and Ethics – Perceived or Real Training and open communication can help to overcome conflict due to a lack of understanding and help to encourage flexibility and create empathy that can help people to accommodate and even celebrate differences.
5. Recommendations for Conflict Management 5.1 Stimulating Functional Conflict – Devil’s Advocate Conflict can stimulate creativity and prevent ‘group think’ in teams. Group think occurs when team members do not want to criticise one another because of their desire to get along. This then hampers critical thinking. When a person assumes the role of Devil’s Advocate he criticises the proposed plan of action in order to encourage analytical thinking and to test the proposed plan of action. This deliberate introduction of criticism is known as programmed conflict and is used in order to elicit debate and different opinions.
A Case in Point
Exercise 1.4: Ethical Values Think about the frustration experienced by Westerners when they are doing business in eastern countries because these value systems differ from their own. Could this be a potential source of conflict? What is the best way to handle a conflict situation? Should one compromise one’s own ethical values to obtain business deals in this manner?
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