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A Dynamical Approach to Conflict Management in Teams

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Mathematical Modeling of Social Relationships

Abstract

In this chapter, we argue for the relevance and application of the dynamical systems framework in the study of conflict management processes in work teams and present some preliminary research that explores three key questions: First, can meaningful, distinct patterns of conflict management approaches – cooperation, competition, and avoidance – emerge within and across intact work teams and in ways that distinguish higher-performing teams from lower-performing ones? Can some fundamental dynamical properties, such as time evolution, self-organization, and attractor states, be observed in the phenomenon of team conflict management? And finally, how do temporal patterns of team conflict management dynamics change and vary in relation to external influences or critical junctures over the course of team interaction? Based on our preliminary research, we observed that a critical difference between high- and low-performing teams may lie in the consistent yet flexible (or attractor-like) reliance of both highly cooperative and avoidant strategies relative to competitive strategies over time; further, an adaptive use of competitive strategies around critical junctures in the team’s life span also appeared particularly crucial to team success. We also discuss implications of our tentative findings, limitations of the current study, and possible directions in future research in the chapter.

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Correspondence to (Rae) Yunzi Tan .

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Tan, (.Y., Michaels, J.L., Strawinska-Zanko, U. (2018). A Dynamical Approach to Conflict Management in Teams. In: Strawinska-Zanko, U., Liebovitch, L. (eds) Mathematical Modeling of Social Relationships. Computational Social Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76765-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76765-9_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-76764-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-76765-9

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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