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Pedro Milan

Edward Wallington

ENC 1101

April 8th, 2020

Conflict Resolution

Why do people resort to conflict? Conflict is the psychologically derived solution for a problem to which an immediate solution cannot be achieved in the case that self-control cannot be exercised. People are inclined to incur the consequences of a brawl that will physically frustrate an opponent as long as this would disadvantage the latter by bringing him down to a pitiful state from one where he or she was in control. It is a form of oppression that is prompted by the pressure to act to elevate oneself from a position of personal disadvantage or even low esteem and the lack of exercise of self-control. Conflict is a destructive element since it poses adverse consequences while the benefits it incurs are limited and short-lived. In a bid to understand the issues that lead to conflict as part of a community where members of the society actively participate in conflicts from a domestic level as is the case in a family unit to a political and economic level where resources such as wealth, raw material and natural resource are the factors that spark conflict, I resorted to research on the factors that would minimize these conflicts within my community.

Fair competition can be used to overcome conflict. By subjecting two conflicting parties to the same competitive environment where no individual party bears a strategic advantage over another, conflict can be avoided. The environment built around fair competition erodes any need for alarm that an opponent may be acquiring favors to overpower oneself. Both parties are given an equal chance to battle it out within themselves and provide a winner. The winner gets the benefits. Fair competition is ineffective in curbing conflict based on this outcome. The winning party cannot hold on to his or her spot for long before the losing party thinks that there was foul play or that they were duped into competing so that they could find no reason to vent out their disappointment in the case that the results were doctored from the beginning. Rather than preventing conflict, fair competition is set to spark more outrage based on the winner takes all strategy that it imposes on the competing parties. An example of fair competition in action is a scenario where an exam is set to grade students as average performers, weak students or brilliant minds and this ranking is to be used to place them into the next academic level, such as when a second-grader transits into third grade. A student that tops the third grade in the first test after this schism but was ranked as an average performer may argue out that due to differences in brain development that warrants his or her ability to comprehend studies, he or she is viable to be ranked as a brilliant mind was unfairly placed in the initial stage. As illustrated in this example, the results of fair competition are chaotic.

Compromise may be used to disfavor both parties thereby evading conflict. This methodology involves sacrificing interests of both parties in an equal capacity so that no party gains an advantage over another because of the evasion of particular interests and any win that may be used to derive a winner is partial. The objective of this methodology is that no individual party is guaranteed an absolute win, thereby evading conflict. It overcomes the shortcomings of the fair competition methodology by giving each party some credit, even if the winning party gets more benefits when compared to those presented to the less victorious party. The compromise methodology, just like the fair methodology, is equally insufficient in conflict resolution. It creates dissatisfaction especially to the less victorious side in the sense that if a specific attribute in which this party excelled in were to be included, they would have been the victors. An example of the compromise methodology in action is when boys are placed in a home science class and expected to compete alongside girls. The boys would excel in strenuous and physically challenging exercise within the home science class, but the victory would be predetermined since girls excel in more activities within this class than their counterparts. The boys would feel dissatisfied in the perspective that if more physically challenging exercise were to be included within the home science class, they would have outdone their feminine counterparts.

Finding an alternate solution to the common problem is another way of preventing conflict. By providing an alternative means of approaching a problem, the conflicting parties may decide as one to bury the hatchet and coexist peacefully. The alternative should capture the interests of both parties and be equally effective towards satisfying the need that would otherwise plunge them into conflict to satisfy. An example where this methodology applies is where when two rival companies compete for the same natural resource such as charcoal to be used as fuel, proposing green energy to replace charcoal which has a toll on the environment due to deforestation would resolve the conflict. This methodology, like all others, has a downside in the sense that satisfaction may be achieved by a single party while another may reject it. Such a scenario is illustrated when the capital cost of setting up the infrastructure that taps green energy is significantly high and cannot support the need behind the use of charcoal. The outcome will be the frustration of one or both parties which takes both conflicting parties to the drawing board.

Denial can be categorized among the methodologies that are utilized in conflict resolution. This methodology merely involves forgetting that there are specific needs that warrant an individual, group of people with similar interests or even an alliance of different corporations to actively engage in conflict. This methodology is categorized to be the most ineffective since the possibility that both conflicting parties lose interest in the factor that causes conflict is extremely low. Conflict cannot be swept under the rug since it is set to resurface as it cannot be concealed for long. Humans are social beings and by socializing, they vent out their frustrations, and even a difference of opinion is something which can reinitiate conflict which was for a time settled.

Conflict resolution is crucial as it involves each member of the society and the various methodologies provide a haven for those who find themselves in conflict-stricken incidences. These methodologies propose solutions to conflict, with collaboration being the most favorable, as it does not incite dissatisfaction, does not present short-lived outcomes, and does not seem biased to both of the conflicting parties. It strikes a bargain that prevents putting either party in a position where there is a difference of opinion. The least favorable methodology is lurking in denial as problems that spark conflict remain unattended. All other methodologies such as finding another best appealing solution to a problem and compromise come secondary to the collaboration methodology and should be used after exhausting the chances it is applicable.

References

Curșeu, Petru Lucian, and Sandra GL Schruijer. "Stakeholder diversity and the comprehensiveness of sustainability decisions: the role of collaboration and conflict." Current opinion in environmental sustainability 28 (2017): 114-120.