Is conflict harmful or essential for innovation? How can managers resolve conflict in their organization?

Conflict is any kind of opposition or hostile behavior among individuals or groups, and the statement contrasts the traditional view that conflict is harmful with the modern view that conflict is essential for innovation. My opinion and the ways managers can resolve conflict are discussed below:

1. Traditional view: conflict was traditionally seen as destructive and harmful, to be removed at any cost.
2. Modern view: nowadays conflict is seen as constructive, providing ideas and knowledge to solve problems and making the organization innovative.
3. Problem of too little conflict: when conflict is too low, people passively accept the status quo, so some conflict is needed to spark improvement.
4. Functional conflict: a manageable level of conflict stimulates ideas, innovation, and problem-solving.
5. Dysfunctional conflict: excessive conflict damages relations and hinders progress, so only unmanaged conflict is truly harmful.
6. Which argument I agree with: I agree with the modern corporate view — conflict at a manageable level is essential because it drives creativity and innovation, while only excessive conflict is damaging.

The ways managers can resolve conflict are:

1. Problem solving: bringing the conflicting parties together to share their problems, avoid misunderstanding, and find common interests.
2. Compromising: bargaining on a "give and take" basis to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
3. Avoiding: intentionally avoiding the conflict issue when it is very minor and not worth pursuing.
4. Reducing interdependence: lowering the dependence between departments that share scarce resources reduces the potential for conflict.
5. Exchange of personnel: rotating employees between interdependent departments improves mutual awareness and understanding.
6. Appeal to higher authority: when parties cannot resolve conflict themselves, the matter is referred to a superior for decision.

In conclusion, I agree that manageable conflict is essential to make an organization innovative, and when managers face conflict they can resolve it through problem solving, compromising, avoiding, reducing interdependence, exchanging personnel, and appealing to higher authority.