Constructive Conflict By Louis Kriesberg

1044 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Conflict management models

To begin, it’s in our nature and being, to face conflicts in our lives. We have all faced challenges at least once in our lifetime; this is what makes us human. There are many varieties of conflicts such as an inner-conflict, conflict between oneself and nature, God and oneself, man versus man, and social conflict. The book [“Constructive Conflicts”] by Louis Kriesberg and Bruce Dayton, defines: “Social conflicts occur when two or more persons or groups manifest the belief that they have incompatible objectives” [pg. 1-25]. In this paper, I will analyze strategies for solving a social conflict (Man vs. Workforce). This conflict takes place at Nordstrom Rack; at which, I started working three months ago. Myself and many other employees are conflicted about the way the store manager treats the employees. The conflict discussed is the presumption of my managers lack affiliation and appreciation towards the employees, in our role of purpose …show more content…

Having the satisfaction of being heard and understood by having the employer reiterate what has been said can deescalate a disagreement from arising [Getting To Yes, pg. 36]. In addition, Professor Tom Hastings exemplified in [Week 2, Lecture] of a small Muslim woman at a riot, was able to effectively communicate to an angry “alpha” man by actively listening to his negotiation. She de-escalated the situation by calming the man down by listening and acknowledging what he has said, which also allowed the man's pack to also listen in on the women’s wisdom because of the noticeable result of being heard and understood. This effective approach of listening illustrates a great image of what it is to be an active listener. In the workforce, it is natural to look at our boss(s) as the alpha of the (pack) company, it can be intimidating to communicate and listen effectively to someone who is in

Show More
Related

  • Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    Communication skills are important in professional negotiations and in personal life. This book discusses why we find some dialogue difficult, why we avoid it, and why we often address it ineffectively. Most important, the authors suggest methods for more effective, productive, and rewarding, interaction.

    Read More

  • Overview of the Management of Workplace Conflict

    3079 Words  | 7 Pages

    O’Rourke, J. & Collins, S. (2008). Managing Conflict and Workplace Relationships. New York: Cengage Learning.

    Read More

  • Conflict Management in Nursing

    1854 Words  | 4 Pages

    It has been estimated in a study by the American Management Association that managers spend between 20% to as much as 50% of their times dealing with conflict among their employees (American Sentinel, 2012). When workplace conflicts are left unresolved they can lead to dissatisfaction, depression and other problems such as aggression and violence (Whitworth 2008). The negative, sometimes hostile, environment created by unresolved conflict has been recognized to be a hazard not only to staff, but also to patient care (The Joint Commission 2008).

    Read More

  • Conflict Theory And Karl Marx's Conflict Theory

    1867 Words  | 4 Pages

    Theory can be described in many ways, and most of the times are used to label certain traits, features or characteristics of a particular person, group, or category. According to Miller (2005), “A theory is a well-substantiated explanation of an aspect of the natural world that can incorporate laws, hypotheses and facts” (para. 1). In the simplest of terms, theories are concepts or more of a collection of concepts about an area of concern or interest which facilitate and give an explanation, prediction, or intervention which is gathered by research and experiments. Theories in criminology help to explain why and how deviant and criminal behaviours occur as they do. This helps to understand and determine factors that contribute a person to engaging

    Read More

  • Conflict And Conflicts In Two Kinds, By Amy Tan

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the beginning of time, mothers and daughters have had their conflicts, tested each other’s patience, and eventually resolved their conflicts. In the story “Two Kinds,” written by Amy Tan, Jing-Mei and her mother are the typical mother-daughter duo that have their fair share of trials. Jing-Mei is an American Chinese Girl who struggles to please her mother by trying to be the “Prodigy” that her mother wishes for. Her mother has great ideas to make her daughter famous with hopes that she would become the best at everything she did. Throughout the story, the mother and daughter display distinct characteristics giving the reader insight of who they are, how they each handle conflict, and helps define how their relationship changes over time.

    Read More

  • Conflict Resolution

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people enjoy working or participating in a group or team, but when a group of people work together chances are that conflicts will occur. Hazleton describes conflict as the discrepancy between what is the perceived reality and what is seen as ideal (2007). “We enter into conflicts reluctantly, cautiously, angrily, nervously, confidently- and emerge from them battered, exhausted, sad, satisfied, triumphant. And still many of us underestimate or overlook the merits of conflict- the opportunity conflict offers every time it occurs” (Schilling, nd.). Conflict does not have to lead to a hostile environment or to broken relationships. Conflict if resolved effectively can lead to a positive experience for everyone involved. First, there must be an understanding of the reasons why conflicts occur. The conflict must be approached with an open mind. Using specific strategies can lead to a successful resolution for all parties involved. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument states “there are five general approaches to dealing with conflict. The five approaches are avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise, and collaboration. Conflict resolution is situational and no one approach provides the best or right approach for all circumstances” (Thomas, 2000).

    Read More

  • Educational Pension Benefits and Conflict Management

    1375 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although there is a plethora of possible sources of conflict in any workplace, the ones in this case are rather explicit. These include personal differences, Informal deficiencies’, role incompatibility, environment stress, perceptions, and expectations. Personal differences could be related to personal values, physiognomies, family bonds or ties, and material belongings.

    Read More

  • Employee Engagement And Disengagement

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is this capability of the management to cultivate communication that is important towards effective engagement with the employee (Albrech, 2011). It is not just a one-sided affair of a company engaging employee, but also mutual loop where the employee is also engaging the company. After all, it takes two hands to clap. “Voice must be approached in a genuine and authentic way, and treated as more than just a cosmetic exercise. An authentic use of voice means that when the employee is invited to speak up, the company in return will both listen and will respond to what the employee says, even if just to explain why they cannot carry out a request for change. Feedback is vital and action must be seen to follow.” (Dromey et al, 2012, p.17).

    Read More

  • Conflict Theory Essay

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    Conflict theory are perspective in sociology psychology that accentuate the social, political, or material inequality of a social group, that analysis the broad socio-political system, or that weaken from structural functionalism and ideological conservatism. With conflict theory, you will see tensions, status, and power are unevenly distributed between groups in society, which these conflicts become the purpose of social change. Conflict theory usually arise due to competition and limited resource that is feed by domination and power, rather than consensus and conformity. This is seen a lot on macro level. As a social worker, you will see and use conflict theory throughout your professional.

    Read More

  • Effective Listening

    1502 Words  | 4 Pages

    Finally, as Nichols’ accurately accounted for “listening is hard work” (1961) and I believe that it is a skill that must be proactively developed and honed over time requiring concerted and focused effort (Nichols, p. 124). Works Cited Bolton, R. (1979). The 'Bolton'. People skills: How to assert yourself, listen to others, and resolve conflicts.

    Read More

  • Reflection Paper On Conflict

    1777 Words  | 4 Pages

    We each possess unique ideas, opinions, beliefs, and feelings about specific situations in life. This uniqueness is a large part of what makes us human. Because we all have our own individual way of looking at things, we each have a different viewpoint on what is proper or improper. With all that variation in society conflict is inevitable! Conflict is antagonistic in nature and we all must find ways to work through conflict issues both at work and at home. This paper describes different types of conflict, the influences I personally had in learning to deal with those conflicts, some of the conflicts that I commonly experience, how I go about dealing with those conflicts, and how conflict affects me on a personal level.

    Read More

  • Literature Review On Conflict Management

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    (Asawo, 2011). Conflict can occur in any setting and as leaders in organizations guide and

    Read More

  • Dysfunctional Conflict Essay

    839 Words  | 2 Pages

    Let employees at all levels of your organization know that their voices will always be heard, and respond promptly and reasonably to employees’ issues. This can prevent bad feelings from festering and growing into resentment and bitterness. Conflict is best handled quickly and openly. (Ingram, n.d.)

    Read More

  • Conflict In The Workplace Case Study

    1310 Words  | 3 Pages

    Conflict exists in every organization as a result of incompatible needs, goals, and objectives of two people while aligning to the overall business requirements. Though disagreement is linked with negative impact, the approach has healthy considerations (Leung, 2008). For instance, some conflicts create an avenue for the exchange of ideas and creativity to meet the set organizational purposes. However, damaging disagreement in organizations results in employee dissatisfaction, turnover, and poor services and reduced productivity. The paper establishes different types of interpersonal conflict and key resolution strategies used to address the problem. Human resource managers need to have the capacity to identify different levels of conflicts and the best methods to negate them.

    Read More

  • Reaching an Agreement

    571 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the workplace, disagreement or arguments may arise due to several reasons. This can further result into a state of antagonism or opposition, resentment, avoidance, verbal assaults, and inability to work together. Such may arise due to personality clashes, differences in style, differences in leadership, interdependence conflicts and differences in the background or gender. With reference to the conflict between Norm and Norma, disagreement arose due to differences in styles. This is because Norma was after quick result from the initiated project while Norm believed he could work from home and still meet the expected standard. However, Norma expected full commitment from all the staff under her. For good working relations, conflicts should always be resolved and hence improve good working relationship among the employees both the juniors and seniors. Professionally, conflicts can be solved via two models; circle of conflict and triangle of satisfaction (Susan Holton, 1998).

    Read More

More about Constructive Conflict By Louis Kriesberg

Open Document