Resolving Conflicts at Work: Ten Strategies for Everyone on the Job

by Kenneth Cloke, Joan Goldsmith

The classic text on resolving workplace conflicts, fully revised and updated Resolving Conflicts at Work is a guide for preventing and resolving conflicts, miscommunications, and misunderstandings at work, including dozens of techniques for revealing how the inevitable disputes and divisions in the workplace are actually opportunities for greater creativity, productivity, enhanced morale, and personal growth. In the third edition of this text, all chapters are completely infused with additional content, updated examples, and new case studies. Like its predecessors, it identifies core strategies for preventing and resolving both intermittent and chronic conflicts in the workplace. In addition, the book This definitive and comprehensive work provides a handy guide for managers, employees, union representatives, human resource experts, and consultants seeking to maintain stable and productive workplaces.

Genres: School, Business

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 8, 2011

Reviews

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit more wordy than it needs to be, still, very valuable points and lessons about conflict. Skim the verbose and highlight the insights. Good for everyone from a person in conflict to a professional mediator. This was a book for an ASU class I took on conflict and applying Aikido principles and modern Western techniques to conflict.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one of those books that could be 1/3rd as long. However I found this book to be way more useful than say 'Getting to Yes' and other books within the genre.

Strategy #6 - Solve Problems Paradoxically and Creatively is great. It reminds me of 26 years ago when I listened to a song that fundamentally altered my relationship with what is possible within the structure of a song.

I was at the UM School of Music library and put on a record by Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. He covers a pop song called 'Live To Tell' by Madonna. When I heard this, it put a stake in the ground of Jeffrey pre-Bill Frisell cover of ‘Live To Tell’ and Jeffrey post-listens-to-Bill Frisell cover of ‘Live To Tell.’

Frisell takes this pop song and approaches it with both a paradoxical and creative method that is described in the chapter of the book I mentioned. I mean, man, that song was already performed incredibly by Madonna, it was a massive hit, it was/is ‘perfect’ so if it ain't broke, why fix it? Why would a jazz musician play a pop song, that is not how jazz musicians play music. Stay in your lane, you could just make things worse, how dare you…

Reminds me of Albert Hirschman’s insights in his book The Rhetoric of Reaction in which he explores the rhetorical techniques used primarily by conservatives and those who wish to prevent change and creative problem solving. Amazing book, was written in 1991 and looks at the rise of the rhetoric that is associated with Reagan conservatism and why so many things are purposefully dismissed that could help people. Hey if it ain’t fixed why would we do that?!’ He breaks these down into the Theory of Perversity, Theory of Futility, Theory of Jeopardy, as any action to better society will break us out the universalizing logic of the Invisible Hand of the market and could actually make our lives worse (perversity) would be a waste of time and energy and money (futility) and could actually break the world which is great right now and wonderful (if you are a white conservative Christian male) and that Jeopardizes the great thing we built (Jeopardy). These three arguments are used ad nauseum to prevent true creative social justice programs from ever being implemented...

I digress back to Frisell and Live to Tell....->

Frisell’s interpretation of this pop song showed me that there is no right way to interpret or perform a song, there are many ways to the truth of the beauty of the matter. We are only bounded by our specific self-imposed limitations and our orientation to the possible.

[Gordon Mckinlay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conflict is normal and conflict in the workplace is likely. When we understand this and understand the causes of conflict we are better equipped to engage positively with the issues when they arise. This is a really helpful and practical book for anyone who has any form of managerial responsibility for other people. It is easy to read and provides very practical approaches which will work in the real world.

[B.B. Jeanette Fricks-Chavez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was redundant at times (how often do books we read for class feel like this) but genuinely helpful as a first generation college student/immigrant navigating the corporate world for the first time. Helpful terminology and clearly delineated indicators of a functional company make red flags more apparent. Good stuff.

[Louise Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done, my students Lionel it.

[Emanuele Gemelli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fun at all of the book; if the topic was interesting, the development of it was really not.

[Andrea Hintz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for a college course years ago and still use these techniques in the workplace today.

[Emma Sonck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was course material for a class I am taking at OU. Not something I normally read, but I did learn a lot.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a textbook for an organizational leadership class I am taking. I appreciated the approach of looking at conflicts for the root causes and finding solutions that are not one sided.

[Robert Bogue]

Conflicts are everywhere. They’re at home, at work, in our politics, and in our communities. Resolving Conflicts at Work: Ten Strategies for Everyone on the Job focuses on only work conflicts but delivers real thinking and tools that can be used in all the conflicts we face.

Read more

[Alex Gleason · Rating 1 out of 5]

I struggled through a couple hundred excruciating pages in an apparently futile attempt to think like a bureaucrat. Can't wait to give this baby back to the library.

[Jacqueline Skorich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Game changer

Read this book for class and it was amazing I learned a lot. With the aikido way it was amazing I highly recommend it

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book for work.