WHILE WE ARE KEEPING SOCIAL DISTANCE AND HAVE A LOT OF TIME ON OUR HANDS, LET’S DO SOME CONFLICT RESOLUTION…MONDAY CONFLICT CONCEPTS Show
The Five Stages of Conflict Conflict has predictable stages We become aware of conflicts in a wide variety of ways.
In whichever way they begin, conflicts tend to have similar paths going through five distinct stages. Stage One- Latent A conflict has an early quiet stage. In conflict resolution theory it is called the latent stage, meaning the participants are not yet aware of the conflict, but there may be hidden frustrations and they may surface at any time. Sometimes these brewing or buried conflicts never find their way to the open air. Other times the conflict is looming and evident. And sometimes conflicts come without warning. Stage Two- Perceived and Felt Once a conflict develops and it is known, it goes through the perceived and felt stage. Parties may go through this stage simultaneously or at different times, depending upon events. Once they are aware that a conflict exists, individuals begin to feel stress, anxiety and/or hostility. Stage Three- Conflict Approach Next each person involved in the dispute adopts an approach. These are based upon their conflict style choice and their own intention for handling the conflict. In Day 2 we learned about the basic conflict styles of Compete, Avoid, Accommodate, Compromise, and Collaborate/Creative Problem Solve. These approaches make a difference in what happens next. Stage Four- Stalemate or Negotiate Depending on what strategy is used in Stage 3, the conflict will either move forward, negotiate toward an agreement; or the dialogue will be shut down and a standoff will develop. Stage Five- Aftermath The outcome of the conflict can range from a fully positive resolution to the alternate; a relationship dissolution. In conflicts that are a one time event, this may be the end. For those with ongoing relationships this process looks less like a singular mountain, like the figure above and more like an ongoing loop. Why pay attention to stages? Our work is to know more about conflict in order to address these situations in a thoughtful and enlightened way. When you are thinking about how to handle a conflict, looking at where things stand along the typical route, can help. Do this:
Learning OUtcomes
The conflict process—that is, the process by which conflict arises—can be seen in five stages. Those stages are:
Potential Opposition or IncompatibilityThe first stage in the conflict process is the existence of conditions that allow conflict to arise. The existence of these conditions doesn’t necessarily guarantee conflict will arise. But if conflict does arise, chances are it’s because of issues regarding communication, structure, or personal variables.
Cognition and PersonalizationIn the last section, we talked about how conflict only exists if it’s perceived to exist. If it’s been determined that potential opposition or incompatibility exists and both parties feel it, then conflict is developing. If Joan and her new manager, Mitch, are having a disagreement, they may perceive it but not be personally affected by it. Perhaps Joan is not worried about the disagreement. It is only when both parties understand that conflict is brewing, and they internalize it as something that is affecting them, that this stage is complete. IntentionsIntentions come between people’s perceptions and emotions and help those who are involved in the potential conflict to decide to act in a particular way. One has to infer what the other person meant in order to determine how to respond to a statement or action. A lot of conflicts are escalated because one party infers the wrong intentions from the other person. There are five different ways a person can respond to the other party’s statements or actions.
We’ll talk about this a little more in the next section when we use these styles to manage conflict. BehaviorBehavior is the stage where conflict becomes evident, as it includes the statements, actions and reactions of the parties involved in the conflict. These behaviors might be overt attempts to get the other party to reveal intentions, but they have a stimulus quality that separates them from the actual intention stage. Behavior is the actual dynamic process of interaction. Perhaps Party A makes a demand on Party B, Party B argues back, Party A threatens, and so on. The intensity of the behavior falls along a conflict oriented continuum. If the intensity is low, the conflict might just be a minor misunderstanding, and if the intensity is high, the conflict could be an effort to harm or even destroy the other party. OutcomesOutcomes of a conflict can be either functional or dysfunctional:
Practice QuestionManaging conflict in today’s business world is a must. We’ll look next at how that’s done. Contribute!Did you have an idea for improving this content? We’d love your input. Improve this pageLearn More Which phase of the conflict process is associated with frustration?Stage 1: Frustration.
As we have seen, conflict situations originate when an individual or group feels frustration in the pursuit of important goals.
Which phase of the conflict process is associated with frustration awareness Mcq?Conflict Management Skills. What are the 5 stages of conflict process?The conflict process—that is, the process by which conflict arises—can be seen in five stages.. Potential opposition or incompatibility.. Cognition and personalization.. Intentions.. Behavior.. Outcomes.. What are the phases of conflict?Conflict Stages. No conflict.. Latent conflict.. Emergence.. Escalation.. (Hurting) Stalemate.. De-Escalation.. Settlement/Resolution.. Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Reconciliation.. |