REPLY FROM SHANE BENNER Thank you for your insightful discussion post, Shaquality. I found your pos ...
REPLY FROM SHANE BENNER Thank you for your insightful discussion post, Shaquality. I found your positions easy to read as they were articulated clearly and effectively. An area of emphasis that I wanted to highlight was your stance on communication, noting the differing approaches to communication styles being influenced by cultural standards. Aggarwal et al. (2020) indicated that while communication styles may appear effective within an organization and in cultural harmony, conflict can become an obstacle to efficient expression. The authors note that the role of communication is to be guided towards achieving the organizational aims. You noted in your post about experiences where, in attempting to achieve this, leadership potentially overstepped by disregarding the differing communication styles within a group, to facilitate the desired results, possibly imposing an artificial ethical superiority that resolved the conflict. An alternative approach for future leadership would be to maintain open discussions, balance perspectives, and incorporate cultural insights. By doing so, leadership properly communicates the desired outcome and helps personnel aim in a common direction toward a future state, providing a landing position to help promote accord (Aggarwal et al., 2020). What other actions can a leader participate in to guide conflict to an outcome, yet resist the appearance of control in ensuring collective insights are shared? Your discussion post notes “groupthink” and how collaborative perspectives can prioritize solidarity over effective decision-making (Johnson, 2020). While this too is a leadership opportunity, Damanik and Wening (2024) recognized that if not governed well, groupthink can negatively impact the merit of decisions by diminishing the diversity of thoughts and disparaging opinions. Is managing “groupthink” more challenging, as it can give an appearance of choosing a perspective at the conclusion that may prioritize one cultural opinion over the other in importance? By sharing a desired outcome from the outset, a leader can strive to strike a healthy balance between encouraging participation and considering the full range of options (Damanik & Wening, 2024). When proposing leadership guidance for addressing conflict, it is essential to recognize that constructive conflict is a necessary part of the process. Thus, the ability to lead is crucial for sharing perspectives and seeking a desired solution (Siniksaran, 2024). References Aggarwal, R., Verma, T., & Agarwal, K. (2020). Conflict management - a challenge to resolve through various communication styles. International Journal of Environment Workplace and Employment, 6(1/2), 40-55. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijewe.2020.113089Links to an external site. Damanik, F. A., & Wening, N. (2024). Groupthink, leadership and cohesiveness as contexts for quality of decision making: A systematic literature review. Asian Journal of Management, Entrepreneurship and Social Science, 4(01), 1017-1029. https://doi.org/10.63922/ajmesc.v4i01.688Links to an external site. Johnson, C. E. (2020). Organizational ethics: A practical approach. SAGE Publications. Siniksaran, E. (2024). Overcoming cognitive biases in strategic management and decision making. IGI Global.
