Paralegal Career Paper

5.. Discuss work place conflict, possible causes of such conflict, and ways of resolution.

There are many causes of workplace conflicts. Most common conflicts can be resolved with a friendly meeting that resolves both parties' conflicts. Some of the more common conflicts in the workplace are different personal values, lack of defined responsibility, and communication misunderstandings.

Personal values can be very conflicting in a diverse workplace. What is acceptable to one person may be offensive to another. Employees should try to approach conflicts with an open mind. Conflicts should be resolved on common ground, one person should not have to give in to another, employees should try to understand others' point of view and try to place themselves in the other employees' position; this approach may also deter any future conflict situations. Communication is a key element in resolving conflicts with fellow workers. Some work places offer a diversity program to act as a mediator for conflicts between employees.

Responsibility is team effort. If one person is lagging in their duties, the other employees must make up for that persons slack. This may cause a conflict between employees that already have a large workload. Not doing a fair share of work may cause other employees to resent another, and if a resolution is not reached, it may escalate into a verbal argument. The best way for this to be resolved is for a clear outline of each employees duties and when they should have them completed. This should make sure everyone is working the same amount of hours and putting equal effort into their projects.

Communication is essential for all employees; this includes verbal communication and communications via e-mail and memos. To be a successful communicator you have to listen and also be open to listen to other team members opinions objectively. You should make sure when you are talking with others that you communicate your message clearly and cover all areas needed, to be sure the message is clear and defined so there will be no confusion. Web- based communication is no different than face-to-face. Using a company based online services have become more common in the workplace. E-mails allow for confirmation of meetings, expansions on ideas, or to give detail to a previous assignment. Internet communications should be written with proper language and punctuation to convey a professional attitude toward the situation.

3. Three possible problems associated with team projects and how these problems can be avoided or solved.

Three common problems associated with team projects are confused goals, anti-team culture, and poor feedback . Small groups are frequently used in the business world to complete single tasks. Group projects provide better decisions; because more than one person is working on the project, the group can make more informed decisions from different perspectives. Team projects also have increased productivity; because they are closer to the consumer, they can better point out opportunities for improved productivity.

When individuals form a group for a new project, there is often confusion with what each person's role is for the project. Team members should appoint a team leader, or make a fair decision on who should work on what. A good idea to avoid confusion is to make an outline of what each person should be working on and