Without conflict, work efficiency will be reduced, often timid, pursuing superficial harmony, indifference and mental slack will be everywhere, which is more terrible than conflict.
When many Japanese companies talk about "cooperation" or "knowledge", they usually bury their personal opinions. But Akio Morita, president of Sony, always encourages people to express their opinions publicly. The more different opinions, the better, because the final conclusion will be more brilliant. Akio Morita thinks that many Japanese companies like to use words like "cooperation" and "* * * knowledge", because they don't appreciate maverick employees, so they often talk about "cooperation" and try to take advantage of employees' different opinions. Sony's success is largely due to the ability of Sony managers at all levels to turn conflict into cohesion.
When Akio Morita was the vice president, he had a conflict with Tadao Zhizhong, the then chairman. Tadao is responsible for all the royal affairs, and is an old-fashioned family. Some of Akio Morita's views angered him, but Akio Morita persisted until he opposed them. Finally, Tadao said angrily to Akio Morita, "Morita, you and I have different views. I don't want to stay in this company that does everything according to your wishes. This Gensonnie sometimes quarrels about these things. "
Akio Morita replied very bluntly, "Sir, if you and I agree completely, we don't need to stay in the same company and get two salaries. One of you and I should resign. It is precisely because you and I have different views that the risk of company mistakes will be reduced. Please don't get angry first, and consider my opinion. If you want to resign because you disagree with me, it is disloyal to Sony. "
Akio Morita realized from his own management practice that it is not unfortunate to stimulate benign conflicts and let employees express their dissatisfaction and criticize the enterprise, but it is beneficial to let the organization take less risks. Akio Morita used to have dinner with many young middle-and lower-level executives almost every night, and talked late. Once, he noticed that a young man was depressed, so Akio Morita encouraged him to speak his mind. After a few drinks, he began to talk: "Before joining Sony, I thought it was a great company and the only company I wanted to join, but my position was very low." I work for my boss, Mr XXX, but I don't work for Sony. My boss is the company. He represents the company itself. This man is an idiot, but he has the final say in what I do or suggest. I am very disappointed with Sony's future. " Akio Morita believes that venting this dissatisfaction is beneficial to the company's progress, and he has been learning about the company by understanding these conflicts.
Jack Welch also attaches great importance to the positive role of constructive conflict in team building. He believes that open, frank and indiscriminate constructive conflicts are the basic elements of the success of teamwork. Team members must oppose blind obedience, and every employee should have the freedom and confidence to express opposition, which is the so-called constructive conflict open debate style.
When it comes to conflict, people often think it is bad. They associate conflicts with unreasonable troubles, destruction and violence. Even regard conflict as a sign that the enterprise is about to close down or fail in management, so everyone is trying to avoid conflict. This view was very popular in the past management practice, but with the improvement of the quality of management objects in the era of knowledge economy, this backward and incomplete view obviously needs to be re-examined. It is true that conflicts in enterprises are more manifested as active struggles between employees and between employees and management, but we should fully and correctly understand conflicts.
Because there are various differences between people (including knowledge, experience, position, source of information, angle and method of looking at problems, environment, etc.). ), there will be different views and ways to deal with the same problem, so contradictions arise, and the intensification of this contradiction is conflict. Conflicts can be divided into two categories according to their nature: one is constructive conflict or benign conflict; One is destructive conflict or vicious conflict. Generally speaking, conflicts with the same purpose but different means or approaches are mostly benign conflicts, which are conducive to the realization of goals. Vicious conflicts are often caused by disagreement between the two sides. Therefore, it is necessary to correctly distinguish between benign conflicts and malignant conflicts. The main characteristics of benign conflict are: both sides are concerned about achieving the same goal of the enterprise; Willing to know each other's views and opinions; Everyone is centered on the controversial issue; Pay attention to exchanging information in conflict.
Benign conflict can improve the enthusiasm of team members and mobilize their work enthusiasm. In order to work efficiently, we should pay attention to the scale of conflict and guide the conflict constructively.
Leonard, a professor at Harvard Business School, and Ms. Strauss, a management consultant, wrote in Harvard Business Review that from the perspective of biology, psychology and epistemology, companies should establish a "constructive conflict" corporate culture. If we have people with different personalities, such as rationality and sensibility, logic and uniqueness, sociality and opposition, this diversified corporate culture will release infinite wisdom and vitality when the market environment changes greatly.
Now that we have realized the positive role of benign conflicts, how should an efficient person use certain skills to induce and trigger benign conflicts?
Triggering a benign conflict can start from the following aspects:
1. Encourage benign conflicts.
To stimulate benign conflicts, enterprises should first create an atmosphere that encourages benign conflicts. Managers should vigorously advocate benign conflicts in enterprises, introduce benign conflict mechanisms, and give great rewards to those individuals who dare to challenge the status quo, put forward new ideas, put forward different views and make original thinking. We should not criticize, accuse, laugh at, satirize or dig at the views and opinions of a few people in the process of conflict, but should analyze them with a calm attitude and deeply think and demonstrate the reasons for the conflict. It is also necessary to provide necessary information to both sides of some conflicts, so that different viewpoints can collide, and generate will spark new ideas and guide the in-depth development of benign conflicts.
Use communication
Good communication is the best way to stimulate benign conflicts. As a manager, you should take the lead in communication, which will directly lead to a benign conflict.
3. Introduce competition
We should consciously increase the competitiveness of enterprises and create a "catfish effect". The important inducement of conflict is competition, and it is impossible for enterprises without internal competition to induce benign conflicts.
Step 4 change the organization
The traditional enterprise organizational structure, especially the linear functional organization, is particularly easy to induce destructive conflicts, which is not conducive to the realization of enterprise goals. Therefore, it is necessary to transform the traditional pyramid control organization into a flat network organization.