Ariel Avgar is an Associate Professor at the ILR School at Cornell University and Associate Director for Research and Student Engagement with the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution. His research focuses on two primary areas within employment relations. First, he explores the role that employment relations factors play in the healthcare industry. As such, he examines the effects of a variety of workplace innovations, including new technology, delivery of care models, and innovative work practices, on patients, frontline employees, and organizational performance. Second, he studies conflict and its management in organizations with a focus on the strategic choices made by firms. He seeks to better understand the consequences of conflict for employees and employers. In addition, his research investigates the adoption and implementation of organizational level conflict management practices and systems. His research has been published in a number of journals including: Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Industrial Relations, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, International Journal of Conflict Management, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Negotiation and Conflict Management Review, Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations, Health Services Research and Medical Care. He received the 2008 Best Dissertation Award and the 2013 John T. Dunlop Scholar Award, both from the Labor and Employment Relations Association and serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the association. His paper (with Eric J. Neuman) titled “Blind spots and mirages: A dyadic approach to the study of team conflict” received the 2012 Best Paper: New Directions Award from the Academy of Management Conflict Management Division. He received a Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from the ILR School at Cornell University and a B.A. in Sociology and an LL.B in Law from Hebrew University. He served as Law Clerk for the President of the Israeli National Labor Court before being admitted into the Israeli Bar. Prior to joining ILR, he was an associate professor (2014-2016) and assistant professor (2008-2014) at the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Course Overview
In this course, you will develop practical skills to effectively manage workplace conflicts by understanding their complexity, timing, and various dimensions. You'll distinguish between beneficial conflicts that drive innovation and damaging conflicts that harm organizational relationships, enabling you to make analytical assessments of conflict situations as they arise.
Through self-assessment tools and case studies, you will identify your default conflict management styles and understand how others approach conflict differently, allowing you to adapt your approach when working with peers, supervisors, and clients. You'll utilize interest-based conflict resolution techniques that move beyond determining who is right or wrong to focus on understanding and addressing the underlying needs of all parties involved.
This approach will enable you to transform potentially damaging conflicts into opportunities for organizational learning and growth while developing practical strategies to prevent unnecessary conflict escalation in your workplace.
Key Course Takeaways
- Evaluate and manage conflicts
- Recognize your default conflict management style and the conflict management styles of others
- Apply interest-based conflict management strategies that focus on understanding and addressing all parties' underlying needs
How It Works
Course Author
Who Should Enroll
- Frontline employees
- Customer service representatives
- Food servers
- Individuals working in a non-manager role
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