Can conflicts be positive? It can also be argued that conflicts are not necessarily bad. The progress we have made so far in our civilization is due to the conflict between nature & man. Conflict releases energy at every level of human activity- energy that can produce positive, constructive results. Conflicts tend to have a motivational value; they drive or energize an individual to tackle a situation. To resolve a conflict one might explore different avenues or alternatives of action, which make him/her more knowledgeable. Conflicts also provide opportunities to test one’s own abilities.

While successful resolution of a conflict adds to one’s self-confidence, unsuccessful attempts make one more realistic & resourceful to seek better alternatives& thereby improve one’s skills. It is perhaps so in everyone’s experience. For example, think of any of the personal or organizational problems that you may have faced in near future. It was probably difficult for you to resolve them at that time. But if the same problems were to recur, surely you would have more confidence to tackle them at present than you had earlier when they first occurred. It may even be amusing to think that such problems bothered you then, even though they appear so simple now.

Every organization must have faced internal & external conflicts from the time of its inception. However, organizations that resolved their earlier conflicts in positive & constructive ways have survived, grown & prospered because they benefited from their learning experiences. In certain instances they have also emerged as the captains of the industry. Similarly, in organizations, when individuals find themselves in critical situations, they often come up with workable & novel solutions because of the stakes involved for themselves & their department. Given below is the list of consequences of conflict.

Beneficial Consequences

- Motivate individuals to do better and to work harder. One‘s talents and abilities come to the forefront in a conflict situation.

- Satisfy certain psychological needs like dominance, aggression, esteem and ego, and thereby provide an opportunity for the constructive use and release of aggressive urges.

- Provide creative and innovative ideas. For example employee benefits of the preset day are an outcome of the union –management conflicts over the past decades.

- Add variety to one’s organizational life, otherwise work life would be dull and ‘boring.

- Facilitate an understanding of the problem, people and interrelationships between people, better coordination among individuals & departments, in addition to strengthening intra-group relationships, etc.

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