DJ Didericksen

Jodie Jones
COMM 1080
12/13/2020
Conflict Management

Overview
Conflict Management is the main reason that I chose this course to begin with, so

naturally I will discuss it. Conflict happens every day, whether it is driving to and from work,

conflict in the workplace, and even conflict at home. These are just a few cases out of many

where conflicts can occur. I would like to discuss some of the ways these conflicts affect us, and

how we can try to mediate conflict in our daily lives. The concept can be overwhelming when

analyzing every conflict that may happen from day to day. I feel the best way to share a thought

is to write about an experience in one’s life about the subject. The reflection can add some

insight and offer tools learned throughout this course to mitigate the damages that can come

from a bad conflict situation.

THEORY/CONCEPT

“Conflict Management is the process of limiting the negative aspects of conflict while

increasing the positive aspects of conflict. The aim of conflict management is to enhance

learning and group outcomes, including effectiveness of performance in an organizational

setting.” (WIKI 2012) We have learned about the non-productive strategies of Conflict

Management, such as avoidance, minimization, blame and so on. (Jones 2020) The traits of

each of these non-productive strategies are very noticeable, and easy to pick out. The real issue

is applying the right productive strategy to help yourself deal with your problem and discuss
effective ways to fix the conflict in a constructive manner. A very helpful tool to productive

conflict is applying the “I”- statements. The “I - statements personalize the conflict by owning

up to our feelings rather than making them the responsibility of the other person” (CAHN,

ABIGAIL 2014 pg. 88) Claiming responsibility for ones actions takes the blaming scenario out of

the conflict which is one of the main triggering mechanisms of non-productive conflict.

None of us are mind readers so conversation is a key element between people. We all

think differently than one another so we are bound to have conflicts. A bad outcome can resort

to a person feeling animosity, belittled, or flat out hatred toward the other person. Long term

effects can cause mental health concerns, and drain your personal energy. Some conflict is

necessary and unavoidable but taking the right steps will help to avoid major problems in the

future, mainly to our mental state. Depression and avoidance caused by conflict can cause us to

be less productive in the workplace as well. There are many great articles in books and on the

internet that discuss workplace conflict and how to mitigate them.

Analysis

This has been on rough year and one of the biggest conflict issues we are dealing with

right now is Covid19. Everywhere you go right now people are on edge, and it doesn’t take

much to push them over that edge and a major conflict could potentially happen. There has

been so much confusion spread about the disease, wear a mask, and don’t wear a mask. Every

restaurant, grocery store, or government entity will have different rules (many of them specific

to the individual place you may be visiting). What this is leading into was an interaction that I

had with a woman at Smith’s. I couldn’t tell you the last time I had been in the store before this
interaction, point being I didn’t know their new rules. I had a lady get upset with me over not

walking the right way down the aisle. I didn’t know what was going on in this woman’s life, or

how any of the new changes were affecting her. Maybe she had somebody, or knew someone

that was battling the disease so it was more of a personal issue to her. All I knew was that it

wasn’t worth arguing over. Perfect opening for the “I”- Statements. I told her that I was sorry I

hadn’t noticed the signs on the floor, I was looking up to read the sign to see what products

were down the aisle. Why the store put the signs on the floor didn’t make sense to me. It was

much easier to accept that I may have unknowingly infringed on her right to a safer shopping

experience then to cause a huge stink about it, and further ruin both of our days. (Pg 88) After

stating that I realized I had done something wrong, she seemed to be forgiving about the entire

episode and any further conflict was avoided. This was a productive conflict interaction.

(Hocker, Wilmot 2011 pg. 21) A great quote from this reading that sums up this interaction is as

follows. “You do not know what other people are thinking unless you enter into honest

dialogue. You don’t know their intention without dialogue. You can’t read minds. Conversation

is the best approach.”

Reflection

I read a short paper that lists 5 stages of a conflict. It is easy to follow, and will really

create a better sense of awareness in future interactions. The first step is the Latent Stage,

where people don’t know if a conflict exists, maybe one party is experiencing issues that have

not come to light yet. Second is the Perceived Stage, this is where the actual conflict emerges.

Third is the Felt Stage, where the actual feeling of the participants is experienced. The Manifest
Stage is explained as the conversation between the two parties. The tools of conflict

management are implemented, and this can affect the outcome of the conflict itself. Aftermath

is the last stage, where it either ends on a positive or a negative note. (Garant, Carlson, 2012) It

is beneficial to be able to know all of the stages, for each one has an impact on our emotional

state. I believe that the root of conflict comes from people looking for fairness in an unfair

World.
 References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_management, (April 2012.)

Jones, J. (2020). Nonproductive interpersonal conflict strategies.

Comm. 1080, Power Point Slideshow.

Cahn. D. D. & Abigail, R. A. (2014). Responding to conflict: A practical guide to managing your

own conflict (5th ed.). Upper Saddle NJ: Pearson Education.

Hoker. J. L. & Wilmont W. W. (2014). Interpersonal conflict (9th ed.).

New York, NY: McGaw-Hill Companies Inc.

Garant. A. & Carlson. R. (2012). Conflict management 101.

https://sites.google.com/site/conflictresolution101/home