Stage 1: Potential for conflict 

The first stage in the conflict process is the presence of circumstances that have the potential for conflict – a pre-conflict situation.

The circumstances do not necessarily result in conflict, but at least one of these circumstances needs to be present if a conflict is to occur.

The sources of conflict can be categorized into three groups of issues.

where problems can arise:

• Communication
• Structure
• Personal variables.

 

Communication 

While communication problems are not the cause of all conflicts, they are the most frequently cited source of interpersonal conflict. Barriers to effective communication can include:

•  The use of language that is incomprehensible to the receiver of the message
• The emotional states of the sender and receiver
• Filtered or inadequate information from the sende
• Selective hearing and perception by the receiver.

 

Structure

The word ‘structure’, as one of the groups of issues where conflict can arise, is used in the context of interpersonal relationships to describe, for example:

• An asymmetrical relationship between individuals (e.g., teacher and student, parent and child)
• Essential differences in power (e.g., the differences in social power between oneself and one’s peers, the youth development worker, and a young person)
• The roles and role-related activities that are assigned to people.

In a group context, the term is used to include:

•  The size and organization of the group, including definitions of roles and the authority allocated to each group member in a specific situation.
•  Style of leadership.
•  Range and compatibility of group members’ goals (e.g., there is a potential for conflict if members of a netball team have vastly different goals in being part of the team, such as some wanting just to socialize and others to compete and win, particularly when the team is failing to perform in the league).

 

Groups within organizations, associations, or communities have diverse goals. Within a youth organization, some groups may be primarily interested in sporting activities – and would like, for example, to see the acquisition of a volleyball net. Other groups may be interested in conducting a fund-raising event to send a representative to a United Nations Youth Forum. Others may want to run training workshops on environmental issues.

 

Personal variables 

Obviously, within a particular cultural norm, each individual has a unique value system and personality characteristics that are an aspect of individual differences. Differences in both value systems and personality characteristics are significant potential sources of conflict within any group.

 

Stage 2: Recognition of conflict 

The kind of situations described in Stage 1 can generate feelings of disappointment, frustration, or anger. But the circumstances described only lead to conflict when one (or more) of the parties identifies the grounds for conflict and is affected by it. The parties involved must perceive the latent conflict in a situation for conflict to develop. However, just because they perceive the source of conflict does not mean that this will affect them enough emotionally to cause them anxiety and provoke pre-conflict behavior.

At the end of this stage, the conflict tends to come out into the open: latent conflict becomes an overt conflict. Overt conflict incorporates a wide range of aggressive behaviors on micro and macro levels. For example:

•  Co-workers are arguing about having a desk in their office, then coming to blows.
•  National strikes turning into riots.
•  Disputes lead to wars between neighboring countries.

This emphasizes the point that conflicts have the potential to intensify, escalate, and erupt into extreme violence when the conditions are appropriate. We have seen this in, for example, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and the Solomon Islands.

 

Stage 3: Conflict handling styles 

How do people deal with conflict? Which conflict-handling styles or strategies are successful at defusing conflict? Which are inappropriate and unsuccessful? These styles or strategies are the bridge between people’s perceptions and feelings and their actual behavior. Such strategies may result from conscious decisions that people make to handle a particular conflict in a certain way and may result from their training in conflict resolution. But they could also be intuitive strategies that may or may not be appropriate. It is essential to recognize that there is no one correct way to handle conflict: it depends on the specific conditions of the situation. Nevertheless, depending on the situation, a particular type of conflict management style is likely to be the most appropriate.

It is essential to recognize that making a deliberate choice of conflict-handling style is a distinct and necessary stage in successfully managing conflict. Before responding to the behavior of the other protagonist/s in a conflict situation, you need first to hypothesize quickly about what their intentions are likely to be and to base your strategy on that analysis. Careful analysis is necessary because many conflicts are intensified by one party inferring the wrong intentions from the other party’s actions. It would be best to remind yourself that a person’s behavior does not always accurately reflect their intentions, particularly when emotions are running hot.

 

Dimensions of conflict handling styles 

Kenneth Thomas, in his book Conflict and Negotiation Processes in Organisations, developed a model with five conflict-handling styles using two dimensions. These dimensions are:

1.  Cooperativeness – the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy the needs or wants of the other party involved in the conflict.
2. Assertiveness – the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy their own needs or wants.

The five conflict-handling styles that can be used to resolve conflict include: 

• Competing
• Collaborating
• Compromising
• Avoiding
• Accommodating.

 

Stage 4: Conflict behavior 

When most people think and talk about conflict situations, they tend to focus on this fourth stage because it is where conflict becomes visible. It is the first time that there is an interaction between the parties after the conflict has been recognized.

Minor disagreements, challenging another person’s perspective or position, verbal attacks, threats, fighting, and bloodshed are all types of conflict management styles. They are overt manifestations of peoples’ attempts to implement conflict management goals. But once embarked upon, these behaviors have a life of their own. They can heighten the conflict – as a result, for example, of inadequate communication of intentions – and may press the other party’s anger and hostility buttons.

 

Stage 5: Conflict outcomes 

The consequences and end results of interaction between conflicting parties are many and varied. Sometimes these outcomes are functional: for example, the conflict has resulted in the group being more effective than before the conflict, or there may be an improved relationship between countries in conflict. This may, for example, have happened in the case of North Korea and its conflict with America, though it is possibly too early yet to be specific. Sometimes the results are dysfunctional, as is the case when conflict results in armed struggle and subsequent civil terrorism, as in Iraq.

 

By Dr. Kumar