Conflict & Technology

Overview

Your ability to properly analyze and respond in a conflict-related situation is foundational to your success in personal and professional life.

This brief is designed to help you refine the art of communicating to maximize impact, professionalism and constructive outcomes by considering the possibilities of “conflict transformation.” The goal is to get you thinking about how to “map” conflict as it happens in this digitally driven world.

The integration of form and content is the same as in the first brief; it will push you to research thoroughly and write for brevity and impact. However, the content of this assignment will challenge you to consider the intersection of conflict, communication and technology for practical, yet transformative outcomes.

The audience for this brief is organizational leadership in current or desired business, so look for good ideas but keep the presentation practical, relevant and accessible. It should be written as though you are submitting it to this group. No first person permitted. Write this like a professional document.

Instructions

Begin by reading Ledarach’s book and watching his lecture. Then apply what you’ve learned to synthesize a strategic recommendation in response to the question: What strategic insights from “Conflict Transformation” and the work of John Lederach are most valuable for addressing conflict in our digital (and social media) world? How should the be engaged today?

1. Length of assignment: 1000 words

2. Content of assignment. The Conflict Brief is to include the following components.

a. Cover Page (not included in word count)

b. Executive Summary that serves as a preview to the content found in the brief (250 words). An Executive Summary is NOT an academic abstract. The Executive Summary previews the brief by giving away the key insights or findings in the brief. Think of this as a one-page cheat sheet or as the “spoiler alert,” providing the audience with the main ideas clearly stated in an easy-to-read format. Follow the details below to prepare this part of your brief.

c. Professional, thoughtfully analyzed response to the questions above (750 words)

d. Reference page (not included in word count)

3. Format of assignment: Follow APA Style, paying close attention to the formatting of in-text citations, the reference list and headings. Creative business formatting as found in Word templates is permitted if APA style is adhered to in in-text citations and references. Use of first person is NOT permitted in this assignment.

4. Number of citations: 5

Here’s how to prepare an Executive Summary.

· ASK YOURSELF: If my target audience could only read this one page to understand my brief, what do they need to know? By the time the reader finishes the Executive Summary, they should be able to:

· State the main idea.

· Clearly identify the key insights or significant points made in your brief.

· Accurately recap the next steps based on your findings.

· WHAT TO INCLUDE: Follow these guidelines to ensure that the content is complete.

· Clear statement of purpose. This is your thesis (your WHY) for the brief.

· Key insights. Be specific, not vague. Share your findings here.

· Next steps. Be specific. List what you’ve learned that’s relevant to your audience.

· Concise writing. Stay focused and on point with your content.

· Professional language. Write for your audience. Aim to be clear, not clever.

· Easy-to-read formatting. Use bullet points to emphasize key ideas.

· APA citations. Use APA style if source support is provided.

· MORE ON HOW TO WRITE AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Use the general structural recommendations in these sources for additional insight into how to prepare an Executive Summary. These are only guides. Emulate aspects of these sources that help you frame your brief well. You can find links to these articles on the Brief Assignment pages under Brief Resources.

GOOD STYLISTIC APPROACH: This will help you think through how to be compelling in this part of your brief.

GOOD GENERAL OVERVIEW: This will help you think through how to format for impact.

GOOD ACADEMIC ABSTRACT vs. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY REVIEW: This will help you avoid writing the more traditional academic abstract, which serves a similar function in scholarly papers/publications.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

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