No matter what type of company culture we develop, even the very best will eventually have to deal with conflict. The biggest mistake any of us can make is to ignore them.
It's better to get into things right away and not let them grow into larger problems that can extend to many others, and sometimes possibly outside of the company borders into the media. The other result of ignoring conflict is that company morale can drop to low levels and you can lose employees, and possibly even clients as a result.
When the problem is between two individuals, the best thing to do is to just hear them out and let them each tell their side of the story. It's best not to interfere or give your input at this stage; but just listen. There can never be a solution until everything has been put on the table.
Now in the case of conflict within groups of people, most of the time it's only a matter of finding the one that is not giving in to being reasonable. It is there that you have to focus your attention. If you don't do it that way, you'll be putting out endless brushfires without ever getting to the core of what's going on.
Once you do find who it is, then you can talk to them to find out what it is that is really keeping them from being willing to agree to a solution.
When you find that out, then it is as simple as developing a solution that everybody can live with.
Has there been any one strategy that you've used to help deal with conflicts?
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