Effective Conflict Management

All companies experience conflict on some level, whether it is on the shop floor or in the boardroom. Left unresolved, tensions can harm a company’s performance, paralyse a board and deter investors. In G8 countries, it is estimated that unmanaged conflict incurs a huge financial cost. In the UK alone, conflict costs businesses upwards of £33 billion each year.

Implementing effective dispute resolution processes for preventing and resolving corporate governance disputes is essential in the successful company. Just as companies must have crisis management plans, so too should they have developed and adopted dispute resolution strategies and policies.

Difficult conversations are a natural part of human interaction and working life. Depending on how they are approached and how they proceed, they can present an opportunity to improve and make things work better, or they can lead to damaged relationships and lost business efficiency.

This book is a guide to good conflict management and will answer a number of important questions:

• When conflict occurs, what should be done about it?
• How should you manage conflict?
• Who do you turn to for help?
• How can you recognise conflict at an early stage?

Each chapter in this book deals with a specific area of dispute resolution or conflict management, and includes charts, diagrams and an in-depth real-life case study of a conflict and how it was managed successfully.

Also includes are checklists, further reading lists and a directory.