Conflict Identification and Conflict Resolution

Introduction Conflict occurs in our everyday lives. When we go to work, school or market place there are always two people of a different opinion. Human being live in conflict since on our day to day lives we encounter experiences that do not satisfy us. Logically, there is always a concern as to whether we can live in peace given that we are so diverse. It might not be easy but we go out of our way to be good to people and avoid conflict.

The cause of a conflict is difficult to identify. There is sometimes a buildup of events that sparks up a massive one. Negativity though is the main cause of a conflict since naturally, if someone disagrees with you, you are bound to be at loggerheads. This is a natural phenomenon as earlier stated so the only way to handle is to identify sources of conflicts and manage them effectively. In many workplaces, conflicts do occur between workers since many have different personalities, egos and ideas.

This also caused by anger which is a secondary emotion with underlying fear. As a manager, it is your role to train yourself how to manage conflicts at work. They can be as little as an abusive word to stealing a parking space at work, they need to be addressed effectively to be able to solve the problem.

In the workplace where I am situated, some colleagues Peter and Paul, who come from lower and upper social classes, always disagree on who to seduce the coffee girl and this is the problem. Peter wants to take the girl to lunch but Paul doesn’t want that since he claims to have made advances first. The girl is in a quagmire since she is the cause of the conflict.

The manager has to identify this conflict to be able to set a baseline on the next step to take. This is a self-esteem and power conflict. Both Peter and Paul want the same woman and none is willing to come to a compromise, what will the manager do? As a team you need a clear guideline on how to handle conflicts in a work environment since violence as a last resort always leads to people losing their jobs.

This usually so since people ignore the basic principles of conflict resolution as a means to solve problems. One should not be quick to anger; restraint is always key and most importantly always negotiate and come to a compromise to be able to resolve the conflict. In the case of Peter and Paul, the best way to handle the situation is to put up rules in the office of no involvement among co-workers.

It should be made clear that failure to abide by this rule is subject to review and one risks losing their job. Moreover, the girl can be called to assist in the conflict resolution. In order for a conflict to be address effectively all parties must be present, there must be a mediator and guidelines on conflict resolution process have to be followed to the latter. The solutions to this conflict have to be addressed there and then to be able to reduce tension among both parties.

Once the girl had been interviewed and she addressed the problem, then Peter and Paul are obliged to give their sides of the story. A mediator, in this case the manager, has to listen to both parties in order to get the whole picture of resolving the conflict and his decision will be determined by this. The issue can be resolved if one or all the parties agree to a compromise. In this case, the girl feared losing her job so she refused any further advances by Peter and Paul.

As for Peter and Paul, it was agreed upon for them to quash their conflict, apologize to each other for the misunderstanding and continue with work. There is plenty of fish in the sea so go and explore. This is a light phrase to say that other women are available outside of the work environment. In 2008, Kenya experienced post-election violence which rocked the nation hard. The issue emerged that two political parties were at war with each other and had failed to reach an agreement.

The late Kofi Annan was a major figure in the United Nations and was tasked with the role of a mediator and he followed the guidelines to the latter since a matter of this magnitude he could not afford not to follow the rules. As a third party in the process, he had to apply all the rule to ensure no violence, no loss of sensibility and to ensure all the parties aggrieved found a viable solution that everyone was satisfied with.

In terms of following the rules, this is always an important aspect of the whole process. The steps are necessary since they guide the mediator, who sometimes does not know the parties personally but is trained in the process such that they are able to identify the problems and help them come up with viable solutions to solve the conflict. Conflicts get complicated when one party does not want to compromise and disrupts the whole process or the mediator loses their cool and resorts to verbal attacks.

Abandoning the rules at the last hour always spoils the process and the desired outcome. It is important to always stick to the plan. Human being are complicated and to be able to resolve conflict, human emotion must be put to the side. A clear conscious is needed to be able to solve a conflict. Diversity in culture, politics, socio and economic situations always make it a complicated process since everybody has their views on issues differently.

In conclusion, there are five steps to resolving a conflict effectively · Identifying the sources of the conflict with a question of whether the conflict began with the parties involved or an external factor. There might be many sources of the conflict that drag the process thus a need.