Talking about conflict, most people would think about bad results. However, Louis Pondy (1967) observed that "conflict may be functional as well as dysfunctional for the individual and organization", which means it may result in either positive or negative outcomes.

In general, conflict tends toward different purposes reflects dysfunctional conflict. For example, A's idea is to shut down the factory while B's one is to expand the producing system to be more competitve. Dysfunctional conflict is often characterized by coercion, including manipulation, hidden agendas, or misused power, etc. 

In contrast, functional conflict is the interactions that lean toward integration. For example, A and B both want the company to go international. However, A wants to take the advantage of the current law and jump into global business right away while B plans to go after at least 6 months annalyzing. The functional conflict will result in greater trust, stronger relationships, mutual commitment, and positive outcomes more satisfactory to all parties.

After all, conflict is not always a bad thing. The point is that we need to be strong enough to handle every situation that we're caught in and transform it from negative to positive. Optimistic people are those who always see opportunities, not threats.