In all instances where people are involved, it helps to accept the fact that there is always potential for conflict. If two people want the same parking spot, everyone wants to work the same hours in a 24-hour operation, or one employee thinks that another is being favored, you have a conflict brewing. Depending on how the people involved choose to react, the results of conflict can be positive or negative.

We’ll explore this topic in terms of three basic conflict management strategies:

• The win/lose strategy: One individual wins over the other.
• The lose/lose strategy: Both individuals lose something or everything.
• The win/win strategy: Conflict is resolved to all parties’ satisfaction, usually through a step-by-step, problem-solving process.