A certain degree of disagreements and conflicts are part of any team's functioning. However, if not properly managed, disagreements and conflicts resulting from group-thinking, narrow-mindedness, overconfidence, or complacency can lead to cycles of dysfunction within organizations. The increasing globalization of businesses and greater diversity in organizations are trends that also fuel the need for managing disagreements effectively. Conflict can spark creativity, energy, and personal improvement when it is managed in constructive ways. However, conflict that grows out of proportion can be destructive, sapping energy, destroying creativity, and weakening interpersonal relationships.

Can you identify a specific conflict that you were part of and write about your personal experience, identifying its causes, and, if you could go back in time, stating the appropriate management strategy you would have chosen to manage the conflict and why.