The recognition that different types of face play diverse roles in conflict resolution is impressive. A positive face, at its core, is the desire to be likable and admired. For example, when one admires the other for their values or personality, a cheerful face is involved. On the other hand, an autonomous face is one’s desire for recognition, privacy, and independence (Merkin, 2017). In marriage, for example, an autonomous face is involved when one partner recognizes the other's downtime need. A situation that impacts one’s independence or privacy will interfere with the autonomous face. This can be challenging when resolving a conflict as it could worsen the situation further.
From a professional experience, I have realized that this happens all the time. When one member is not pulling their weight into the department, conflicts are experienced. Yet, the member who fails to participate in teamwork creates chaos and cause the entire department to fall behind for several weeks. There is a recognition that we all have different talents, strengths, and weaknesses. However, trying to tell such an individual to take part in teamwork actively creates conflicts. This is because they think we do not recognize and admire their independence and different abilities. From a personal experience, a positive face resulted in conflicts when I failed to appreciate my sister’s cooking skills for a meal; she had taken a significant amount of time to cook.
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To resolve issues in the two faces, we calmly talked with the colleague, and in my sister’s case, I apologized. The strategies applied in the two cases are different. For my colleague’s situation, I used the corrective facework strategies. This was through explaining the importance of teamwork at the department instead of working independently (Merkin, 2017). On the other hand, I applied the supportive facework strategies to make my sister feel appreciated for preparing us a god meal.
Reference
Merkin, R. S. (2017). Saving face in business: managing cross-cultural interactions . Springer.
