Conflict resolution refers to the process involved while restoring peace among parties having a disagreement. For a conflict to be resolved, several stages take place to reach a consensus. First, an analysis of the prelude should be done in which conflicting parties are identified, what triggered the conflict is distinguished, after which initiation to bring calm to the parties involved is done. Then, there is the differentiation stage in which each of the party states their different opinion, which is then concluded by reaching the conflict resolution stage. Conflict resolution may differ depending on the superiority of the parties involved, how assertive they are, and their willingness to reach a consensus. This paper analyzes five strategies developed by Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann used during conflict resolution by parties, such as collaboration, reconciliation, withdrawal, competition, and accommodation (Jit et al., 2016). In addition, the paper discusses conflict situations where the different strategies are applicable.
Collaboration can be used as a strategy to resolve a conflict when the involved parties are both willing to cooperate but, at the same time, want to hold on to their opinions. Using this strategy, both parties make contributions to a new dimension of opinion in which both will feel equally satisfied. For instance, during a divorce, partners may conflict with the parenting of their children. Using the collaborative conflict resolution strategy, both partners may reach an ultimatum on parenting schedules that are equally satisfying to them.
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Reconciliation or compromising strategy can be used for conflict resolution in cases where the parties involved are moderately assertive, whereby each party wants to hold on to a certain opinion, but also they are willing to cooperate to reach an ultimatum. Using this strategy, each party has to let go of some of the demands, and none of them gets all they requested. For instance, health workers may demand an instant pay increase from the government. The government may argue there are insufficient funds available for the increment, which may result in a strike by the health workers. To resolve the conflict, a reconciliation strategy may be used in which the government may compromise the lack of funds stand with a future agreement promising to increase salaries after a particular period. Also, the health workers will compromise their instant demand on salary increment to a negotiated future stated time (Piryani, & Piryani, 2018). Using this strategy, a fair ultimatum is reached, although none of the parties is completely satisfied.
Withdrawal or avoiding strategy can also be used to bring calm during a conflict in which parties involved are of different superiority. Also, this strategy is applicable when one of the conflicting parties realizes that the ultimatum rewards are less in comparison to the distress experienced during the confrontation. For instance, in a conflict between an employer and employee, the latter may choose to withdraw from the uncomfortable situation, which ultimately brings the conflict to an end (Jit et al., 2016). However, using the withdrawal strategy only brings calm to the conflicting parties, not a solution to the problem.
Competition strategy is applicable to parties that are entirely assertive and are not willing to cooperate. Using this strategy, conflicting parties come with the demand of either winning or losing. For instance, during a criminal law case, both the lawyers representing the defendant and the plaintiff shows up in a courtroom with an ultimate winning goal. Using this strategy, negotiation is not applicable, and the ultimatum satisfies only one party.
Accommodation strategy can be used in conflict resolution whereby one party gives in to the opinion of the other party. This strategy is applicable when one party realizes how its dimension of argument is wrong in comparison to the other party's opinion. Basically, one party surrenders to another, and the conflict comes to an end. During wars, one of the teams involved may apply this strategy to bring the war to an end. However, using this strategy only ends the conflict, but no solution to the problem is developed.
In conclusion, various dimensions of conflict resolution can be taken depending on the willingness to cooperate or the assertiveness of the parties involved. When both parties are willing to cooperate, either collaboration or reconciliation strategy can be used. If only one of the parties involved is willing to cooperate, a withdrawal or accommodation strategy can be used. Lastly, if both parties are assertive, a competition strategy can be applied to get one winner.
References
Jit, R., Sharma, C. S., & Kawatra, M. (2016). Servant leadership and conflict resolution: a qualitative study. International Journal of Conflict Management .
Piryani, R. M., & Piryani, S. (2018). Conflict management in healthcare. Journal of Nepal Health Research Council , 16 (41), 481-482.
