Why Is Conflict Interdependent

Conflict as defined by Floger, Poole, and Stutman is the interaction of interdependent people who perceive incompatible goals and interference from each other in achieving those goals. The word that was reiterated was interdependent. The author states that there cannot be conflict if you do not have interdependent people because the non-interdependent people will give up and walk away. Conflict does not always end in a negative result; there can be productive and positive resolution from conflict as well.
Without interaction there could be no conflict. It takes interdependent people that perceive that their goals are most important and someone else is interfering with them reaching their goals. Perception and interpretation of one’s behaviors and attitudes can cause conflict. A good example the book used was the employee that didn’t want to step one someone’s toes so they were perceived as being cold and distant. The employee probably thought that he was doing his coworker a favor by staying out of his and way and giving him space. The other coworker perceiving his behavior as cold and distant probably didn’t understand why he was acting cold and
It is a relaxed environment and is a realistic conflict where the parties are able to address and resolve incompatibilities (p394). Productive conflict is competitive and both parties have a strong belief and goal they strive for however the outcome is a feeling that both parties have won something. Destructive conflict is the opposite. The parties involved have no intention on negotiating, in fact they will avoid and look for way to defeat and hurt others (p394). Destructive conflict is a nonrealistic conflict and is an expression of aggression (p394). It is a belief that one side must win (p395). The more productive the conflict the more range of resolutions there