Conflict Management Strategies for the Workplace

Question 1 

The Barnlund's views in interpersonal communication involve different opinions regarding how people engaged in a conversation view each other. The illustrations provide a proper ground for explaining and analyzing a conflict based on how the conflicting people see themselves. An example of a battle I experienced provided ground for investigating the 6views depicted by Barnlund in his study involving interpersonal communication. The conflict involved a situation where, as a teenager, my parents would often quarrel and deny me permission when I asked to go and have fun with my peers. As a teenager, I thought it was unfair that my parents were stringent on me in aspects that concerned peer interaction. The situation created a significant conflict between the parents and me, which led to misunderstandings and disagreements. The most prevailing view depicted within the conflict situation was how you view the other person, considering that I saw my parents be strict on the issue concerning interactions. On the other hand, the view of how you believe the different person views you were inaccurate based on my perceptions that my parents viewed me as irresponsible.

Question 2 

I believe that conflict can be positive, considering the consequences that arise following a given dispute. Based on the mentioned conflict regarding my parents and me, I think that conflict may serve as a situation that helps in assisting individuals in analyzing different factors concerning the source of the conflict. Considering that the dispute arose from the fact that I did not receive as much freedom as I thought was necessary to me, I believe that the conflict played a significant role in shaping my destiny and defining who I am. The conflict, in this case, was positive considering that my parents wanted the best from me thus the pressure to focus on education rather than engaging in the social aspect that may have ruined my vision of excelling in the professional world. Considering that some of my peers turned out to abuse drugs due to peer pressure, I believe the conflict as positive protected me from ruining my education.

Question 3 

During a conflict, perception plays an essential role in shaping the outcome of the conflict, considering that it is an influential phenomenon during interpersonal communication and conflicts. Firstly, during a battle, people often act based on their perceptions, which means that individual perceptions are a significant determinant of how people act and respond to different kinds of conflict. Secondly, knowledge plays a significant role in the interpretation of conflict and the critical issues associated with conflict. Solving a conflict requires the conflicting parties to identify and interpret factors related to the conflict to come up with practical solutions that may resolve the dispute. Lastly, individuals in an interpersonal conflict implement the use of their perception to determine how fast a conflict is solved. In that case, perception influences the ability to determine the urgency to resolve the conflict, thus defining how long the interpersonal conflict lasts based on the facts and issues related to the conflict.

Question 4 

Based on personal observations, the behavior is influenced by both natures and nurture, considering that the two aspects have a significant impact on behavioral development in any given individual. In a personal observation involving identical twins that were born smart, which is an aspect that is associated with nature, considering that it requires the genes of intelligent parents. In that case, the identical twins developed behaviors that were related to their quality of being smart and intelligent. The identical twins would engage in studying hard and doing individual assignments to excel in their studies. On the other hand, the aspect of nurture is depicted by the positive environmental and external inputs that helped in shaping the positive behaviors of twins with regards to engaging in positive learning behaviors. The community's values and religious elements played a significant role in shaping their, focusing on engaging in different aspects of life. The details of nature and nurture differ, considering that nature is defined by factors that are beyond control, while nurture involved external inputs with an individual’s physical environment.

Question 5 

Field Theory suggests that there are forces that drive conflicts and others that restrain conflicts within any given situation. The existence of the given forces results in the development of tension, thereby leading in three different kinds of conflict. The first type of conflict, in this case, is the approach-approach conflict that entails a situation where there are two choices of equal value. An example, in this case, may involve a job where a company focuses on eliminating a given position in an organization and allows the holder of the position to be promoted in another rank within an organization. The second type of conflict entails the avoid-avoid conflict, which involves a situation where there are two choices of negative equal value. An example, in this case, consists of a situation where an organization decides to eliminate some job positions and does not provide opportunities for other roles but rather to look for another job. Lastly, the approach-avoid conflict entails a situation where there are opposing positive and negative values that results in a conflict of interest within any given situation.