Conflict Resolution

Conflict Resolution
Merriam-Webster (n.d) defines conflict as, “the opposition of persons or forces that gives rise to the dramatic action in a drama or fiction”. Interpersonal conflicts, whether they are between family members, students and teachers, employees and supervisors, or groups, have certain elements in common. Coser (1967) asserts that conflict is "a struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power, and resources, in which the aims of the opponents are to neutralize, injure, or eliminate the rivals." (p. 8) Coser’s definition grew out of the cold war, when conflict between the United States and the former U.S.S.R. dominated Western method to conflict. Conflict was viewed as a win-lose solution.
According to Dana (2001) there are only three ways to resolve any conflict; power contests, rights contests, and interest’s reconciliation. Power contest is based on Coser’s (1967) win-lose situation. Each party views their point as right each wanting power over the other. Rights contest is an orderly system which has rules, regulations, policies, precedents and a hierarchy of authority which is used in order to “win” again this model is a win-lose resolution. The solution to conflict resolution is interest reconciliation. This approach enlists support from both parties to find the best solution. All parties win with interest reconciliation model as their solution.
Conflict in the workplace is a condition between or among two or more workers whose jobs are independent, who feel angry, who perceive the other(s) as being at fault, and act in a way that causes a business problem. Conflict has three elements feelings (emotions), perceptions (thoughts) and actions (behaviors). “Psychologists consider these three the only dimensions of human experience. So, conflict is rooted in all parts of the human nature” (Dana, 2001, p. 5) some confuse conflict with indecision, disagreement, stress, or some other common experience that may cause

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