Trust and Conflict Resolution

Trust and Conflict Resolution

Trust is the most important component in conflict resolution. It is consistently shown as a central dilemma when trying to solve a conflict. Trust is not a feeling that one party has toward another, it is an inner assurance that an individual or an organization develops. It is an expectation that another party will not harm or allow you to be harmful when you areyou are vulnerable. The willingness to trust another party is based on the kind of history you have had with the other party or your personality. Trust is a very important element in any organization, but sometimes it is broken. It is something that is built with time, and through interaction; however, it can also be broken. When trust is broken, it is not the end, it can still be repaired if both parties are willing. The paper will discuss on trust-building and repair in conflict resolution.

Conflict arises as a result of two or more parties getting into a disagreement or dispute or when trust is broken. Conflict resolution entails the parties involved in the dispute agreeing to solve it, which can only happen when their trust (Sztompka,2016). Trust is important because in an organization because it helps create a good working relationship between employee, which is reflected in better production. The production in an organization increases because the employees feel they trust to make a certain decision. It is also important because it helps reduce resistance to change in an organization. When employees trust their employers or manager, they have no need to resist in case of any change because they trust the changes will be of importance to them.

Trust also leads to collaboration among individuals in an organization. Collaboration enables the employees to share ideas and work together, which creates a good working environment. Trust is also important because it helps in conflict resolution in case a dispute arises. Trust is what allows parties to sit together and agree to resolve a conflict that arises in an organization. Trust is a very important intangible asset in an organization that helps in promoting commitment, information exchange, and continuous improvement in production.

Trust is not something that just happens in an organization it requires building through the party’s interaction. Building trust in any organization comes form the actions and policies that it sets for their employee( Elgoibar,2016). Trust can be built by investing in the employees, where the organization provides benefit packages which act as a symbol of concern for their wellbeing. It can also be built by promoting open communication among the employees. When there is good communication different parties feel that their input in the organization is valued which fosters trust. It can also be built by Behaving in an ethical and socially responsible manner. When the manager follows all the ethical values that are set the employees trust is build, they feel valued.

Building of trust is very important in conflict resolution because it creates a basis for relationship building. Building trust enables the employees in an organization to work together which aid in knowing an individual weakness and strengths (Kramer,2010). Hence, in case of a conflict it is easy to solve it. S Building trust is also important because it enables different individual to bond. Therefore, in case of any conflict arising it can be easily be resolved and the trust repaired.

When trust is broken in a serious relationship it should be repaired. Trust is something developed through commitment to build It (Coleman,2014). Trust therefore when violated can be repaired by the violator asking for forgiveness and making reparation. For trust to get repaired both parties must accept that the violation of trust has occurred. The parties must also agree on the victim perspective the kind of violation that has occurred and the major cause of the broken trust. The violator must also accept that they violated the trust and he or she must be ready to offer reparation. Trust is not something that dies after being broken in most case and therefore repairing it may be hard process but it is important for an organization grow. Repairing trust is important in conflict resolution because both parties agree and make an effort to build back the broken trust.

Case Scenario

I have observed trust being broken and I tried to repair it although it was hard. Two of my Friend Jeremiah and Dominic decided to get into partnership each with equal shares. The had a small fast food restaurant and since Dominic was still in school, he trusted Jeremiah to manage the business and share the profits equally. Dominic would not always check the books to verify the amount that Jeremiah gave him because he trusts him enough. One day when Jeremiah was sick and Dominic had to run the restaurant, he realized that the restaurant made more than what his partner claimed. He felt betrayed because he trusted Jeremiah to give him the correct amount. They got into a conflict because trust had been broken.

As their friend I was involved in repairing the trust by making Jeremiah accept that he had violated Dominic trust. Jeremiah apologized for not giving the rightful amount to Dominic and he was ready for reparation. Dominic granted Jeremiah forgiveness but, on a condition, that he was paid all the amount that Jeremiah had taken. Jeremiah agree to pay back the amount that rightfully belonged to Dominic and they both agreed that he should continue running the restaurant but Dominic would constantly check the book. Trust in this condition was repaired because of their long history and Jeremiah accepting that he had violated their trust.

Implication of trust for successful conflict resolution

Successful conflict resolution is attained if there is trust. Existence of trust is what make the resolution easier and effective. Trust is mostly the causality of conflict. S when conflict occurs trust in which a relationship was built on is broken (Coleman,2014). When the distrust occurs on several occasion the trust is completely broken hence a conflict cannot be resolved. Success of any conflict occurs because the parties are ready to trust the other party not to cause harm to them again (Sztompka,2016). Trust is the element that enables the parties to agree to resolve a matter and work together again. When conflict is successfully resolved in leads to better working relations because there is team work and collaboration. It also eliminates cases of resistance to change because the employees have trust on whatever changes the employer makes.

In my daily working environment, I will apply the concept of effective conflict resolution. Trust is important in the success of any organization. However, in most cases the trust is broken (Kramer,2010). knowing how to repair the trust is an important technique that I will apply in my working environment. I will work on ensuring that trust is build in my working environment as a way of increasing production and creating better working relationship. I also ensure that I do not get involved in any activities that is likely to destroy trust like not doing what I promised I would. I will also ensure that incase of any conflict arising because of broken trust, it is successfully resolved. I will also encourage my colleagues to build trust in one another as a means of growing and having better production.

In conclusion, trust is a valuable intangible asset in an organization. It is something that is build overtime and can easily be broken. However, when broken it can still be repaired if the violator is own up to it and is ready to make reparation (Elgoibar,2016). Trust is the key element in conflict resolution in any organization. Therefore, without trust, conflict cannot be successfully resolved. Trust is what promotes teamwork, empowerment, creativity and leadership in times of uncertainty. Thus, parties should work on ensuring they build on trust and incase it is broken, they should work on making sure it gets repaired.