131 results for "conflict resolution"

Conflict resolution is the process through which two or more individuals or groups settle a dispute by coming to a peaceful agreement. In the workplace, occasional clashes are inevitable, but unresolved conflicts can cause a loss of motivation and trust that leads to decreased productivity and increased turnover rates. Effective conflict resolution is important to an organization’s success because it can foster greater communication and ensure a healthy work environment.

Interpersonal skills such as active listening, empathy, and creative problem solving can resolve many types of conflicts. For example, identifying win-win opportunities for collaboration may offer paths to satisfy the needs of each party involved, and facilitation techniques can be used by team leaders to draw focus away from individual desires and instead emphasize group success. However, more serious conflicts that involve sexual harassment or discrimination may be handled by mediation from human resources, outside arbitration, or even litigation.‎

As the heads of teams and departments, managers of all types require adept conflict resolution skills to maintain harmony in the workplace. As organizations grow more culturally diverse, managers can also benefit from cross-cultural communication skills that enable conflict resolution to succeed despite differing assumptions, perceptions, and attitudes.

As the link between employees as well as between employees and management, human resources management is the central hub of conflict resolution within an organization. Human resource (HR) managers negotiate with employees, mediate disputes, and oversee the organization’s implementation of equal employment opportunities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they earn a median salary of $116,720 per year, and these jobs are expected to grow faster than average due to the increasing complexity of employment laws and employee benefits.‎

Yes! Coursera has a wide range of online courses and Specializations on conflict resolution and associated topics like intercultural communication, negotiation, and positive psychology. You’ll be taking courses from top-ranked institutions like the University of California Irvine, Emory University, and the University of Colorado Boulder, so you won’t have to sacrifice the quality of your education to learn online. And, with virtual office hours and collaborative group projects, you’ll have the opportunity to develop the interpersonal skills that are so important to conflict resolution.‎

The skills and experience you may need to already have before starting to learn about conflict resolution include basic communication skills such as active listening, negotiation, and facilitation between parties. It may be helpful if you have experience handling a working environment where there are frequent complaints and criticisms. You may want to have some collaboration and fact-finding skills, as well. That’s because conflict resolution is also a process that involves getting the right facts to come to a positive resolution. Learning about conflict resolution helps you to enhance your listening and negotiation skills, appropriate and strategic verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and how to assemble a conflict management plan likely to yield beneficial resolutions in the workplace.‎

The kind of person best suited to learn about conflict resolution is one who is interested in learning how to turn conflict into a positive experience rather than a negative one. Someone learning conflict resolution may want to learn the most workable, effective strategies to promote shared understandings, collaboration, and mediation that need to happen oftentimes between difficult people, groups, or organizations who are in disagreement or experiencing competition. A person interested in learning how conflict can open up underlying opportunities for constructive change may find conflict resolution beneficial. Someone best suited to learning about conflict resolution may also be open and willing to self-assess and explore how and why they respond to conflict in certain ways.‎

Learning about conflict resolution may be right for you if you want to know how to strengthen relationships and address conflict more effectively and efficiently. You may want to learn about conflict resolution if you are seeking a leadership or management role in your organization or community where you will need to address conflicts between individuals while having difficult conversations. Studying conflict resolution may be right for you if you participate in global and cross-cultural transactions or have an intercultural workplace. Learning about conflict resolution can ease global interactions that often happen through technology and which can complicate the nuances of communication. If these topics interest you, learning about conflict resolution may be a good fit for you.‎