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Online Conflict Resolution Training: Current Products and Approaches
The Costs of Conflict Are High
Workplace violence in America cost than $4.2 billion, according to the National Safe Workplace Institute (http://www.workviolence.com), which published the results of a 5-year study in 1993. During the 90s, figures fluctuated, but remained high into the new millennium. It is estimated that more than 100,000 violent incidents per year are committed in work environments, with as many as 1,000 deaths nationwide in a bad year.
According to firms specializing in mediation, such statistics under-represent the true costs of conflict. Factors such as lost time, loss of productivity, high employee turnover, and the failure to attract and keep good personnel create an entire suite of hidden costs. Such costs can be calculated with the help of software which can either be downloaded onto one’s computer or entered into via an interactive website. Mediationworks.com offers an integrated solution, demo’d on their website: http://www.mediationworks.com/mti/cost.htm
The results can be truly staggering. According to a case study, a rather small dispute at a telecommunications company resulted in more than $168,000 direct and indirect costs.
Needless to say, most companies would prefer to control conflict before it reaches the costly litigation, mediation, or arbitration stage (or the SWAT team stage).
The desire to keep conflicts from escalating has created a healthy industry in conflict resolution and mediation workshops, training, seminars, computer-based, and web-based (or web-enhanced) training. The software products range from CD-ROM packages to install on a PC or a network, to web-based training consisting of various modules in a pay-as-you-go arrangement.
These sounds nice, but do they work?
Both course developers and corporate clients are betting on their efficacy. However, it’s virtually impossible to find studies or evaluations of the training. Given the urgency and the gravity of the phenomenon of workplace conflicts escalating to workplace violence, it is important to have at least two or three product and program evaluations.
In the meantime, here are a few of the more well-known products and their instructional design and underlying philosophy.
Skillsoft (www.skillsoft.com)
Skillsoft’s self-paced, self-contained modules are intended to require between 3 - 5 hours to complete. The goal is to familiarize students with the basic conceptual framework, provide practical examples, and to apply the knowledge to situations likely to be familiar to the target audience. For example, Skillsoft offers the following six modules in their “Hostility and Aggression in the Workplace” bundle:
Workplace Aggression: The Scope of the Problem
The Three Stages of Aggressive Behavior
Potential Powderkegs: Identifying and Defusing Them
How to Make Your Company Safer
Keeping Your Company Out of Legal Trouble
Managing a Violent Crisis
The contents are prescriptive, and there is no discussion of competing theories or explanations of behaviors. Although it is useful to have training, such rigidity could limit employees’ ability to respond appropriately or flexibly to a situation. They will have a cookie-cutter approach. That can be a positive thing. On the other hand, a person trained in a “one way only” approach will not have the flexibility required to develop on-the-spot customized approaches which better respond to unique situations.
To respond to that challenge, companies such as EDI (Executive Development Inc.) have developed software that can be used anywhere.
Decision Focus 5.0 by EDI (Executive Development Inc.)
Cost: $245.00 per person
$5,500.00 for a 25-user site license
According to the Decision Focus website, “Our systematic tools for decision making, problem solving and group performance are targeted to both the individual and the organization. The FOCUSfamily of workshops and software products are delivered by EDI employees and FOCUSpartners in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia.”
Ïnteractive scenarios give the student practice in
- situation analysis
- decision analysis
- problem analysis
- problem prevention
Decision Focus 5.0 provides the student with information, analytical approach, and collaborative tools. It suffers from the fact that it cannot be customized to fit a specific situation, and that there is not a personal guide, counselor, or mentor on the other side of the connection. For that, one would need to pay a consultant. Nevertheless, Decision Focus provides a strategy for conflict resolution. Again, an evaluation of its overall effectiveness is highly recommended.
Facilitate.com
According to facilitate.com: “Unresolved conflict causes lost productivity, creativity and cooperation in organizations both large and small. A culture of collaboration and open discussion prevents misunderstandings from turning into long running disputes or costly grievance procedures. Using collaboration to resolve conflict, based on an exchange of interests and concerns, offers a new and productive way to move past differences and find solutions that are a win for all sides.”
Facilitate.com’s approach is to use software as an analytical tool to develop a methodology for conflict resolution, and to assign weights and relative importance to the various elements within the decision.
The components include the following:
- Issue Definition
- Interests
- Options
- Criteria
- Evaluting Options
- Action Plan
- Feedback
This is an excellent approach, and it provides individuals and organizations with an excellent strategy for analyzing and resolving issues. There are a few glaring omissions. The partipant is not asked to identify the organization’s mission, core values, goals, and objectives. These are critical in developing priorities and understanding how to propose, frame, and evaluate options.
Online Inventories: Styles of Conflict
A number of websites contain interactive forms that allow an individual to take an online inventory that allow insight into one’s personality, stress management techniques, and conflict resolution styles. Payment is usually made directly online, and results are sent to an individual’s personal e-mail address. These can be a valuable component within an overall training program because they allow for self-discovery and the development of a cognitive therapy-based approach. Again, their main flaw is that they can be misunderstood and misused if not applied under the guidance of a trained professional.
Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
online // self-graded $15.50 each
The forced-choice, self-scorable TKI instrument provides individual information about one’s conflict-handling style compared to five distinct modes:
• Competing: High assertiveness and low cooperativeness. The goal is to “win.”
• Avoiding: Low assertiveness and low cooperativeness. The goal is to “delay.”
• Compromising: Moderate assertiveness and moderate cooperativeness. The goal is to “find a middle ground.”
• Collaborating: High assertiveness and high cooperativeness. The goal is to “find a win-win solution.”
• Accommodating: Low assertiveness and high cooperativeness. The goal is to “yield.”
Queendom.com Conflict Management Instrument
online test, $6.20 each
Are you able to manage conflict in a healthy, productive way - or do you find yourself getting defensive or angry? Conflict resolution is a valuable skill for life success in career, love, and relationships with friends and family. While everyone argues, there is a way to approach conflict that is not damaging. Being aware of your own fighting style can help you work on any harmful tendencies you may have. The Conflict Management Test assesses your conflict management style in several areas of your life.
Examine the following situations and indicate your most likely response, should you find yourself in such circumstances. After finishing the Conflict Management Test, you will receive a detailed, personalized interpretation of your score that includes diagrams, information on the test topic and tips.
Suggestions for Future Work
Suggestion 1: At this point in time, although there are many companies offering conflict resolution software and consulting, very few offer online training with a “live” instructor. Further, few actually attempt an integrated approach, which would involve customizing the curriculum to fit specific situations. I would like to see more “live” instructor-guided courses that could be used in conjunction with the modules and prepackaged exercises.
Suggestion 2: There are not very many instruments that integrate social values, personal values, and ideas about the organizational mission. However, the clashes and asymmetries in these areas are key precipitators of conflict. It would be very useful for a professional to develop such an instrument and offer it online.