Workplace conflict: a strategic leadership imperative

People must interact and communicate with each other in order to accomplish organizational and personal goals. Ideally, these interpersonal relationships would be productive, cooperative, and satisfying. However, the reality is that they are not always this way. Conflict is an inevitable fact in personal and professional lives. Conflict has been defined, described, and classified in various ways, including the extent to which the conflict is functional or dysfunctional. This study addresses conflict functionality as well as triggers/ causes and results of conflict and the perception that conflict is inherently negative. In addition, the proposed conflict model allows people to systematically diagnose, manage and resolve conflict.