ABSTRACT
Project conflicts are differences that spiraled or elevated beyond mere disagreements, and its impact on project, whether conflicts are constructive or destructive, can be profound. Constructive conflicts are those disagreements that ultimately lead to better solutions. Conflicts can create much needed energy on projects, and when channeled positively, the extra energy can invigorate discussions, create fresh and innovative ideas, push the boundaries of the thought process, and reduce and mitigate group think. More importantly, as project teams overcome conflicts and learned to work with each other, constructive conflicts can be an invaluable and strategic tool to create high-performance teams. For research and development projects or projects that require creative ideas, project managers should intentionally wield the positive power of conflict management.
On the other hand, the negative and destructive power of conflicts is all too real as well. Conflicts stir emotions, and emotions can easily spiral negatively into heated disagreements and confrontations. Destructive conflicts can erode respect, destroy reasoning, obliterate trust, and create a corrosive atmosphere for team work. When unmanaged, destructive conflicts can spiral out of control and pull additional negative energy into the mix that can cause irreparable damage to projects including dooming some projects.
In most of the writing on project conflicts, the tendency is to focus on interpersonal conflicts. While important, there are other major sources of conflicts 224to consider. This chapter addresses the three important questions in conflict management:
Why are conflicts?
Why are they important?
How to manage conflicts?
