Power affects each of us in every part of our lives. We often find ourselves wrapped in conflicts with little or no idea how to resolve them (Fisher & Sharp, 2004). The most challenging phase of conflict would be learning how to resolve them and manage them. Conflict can be defined by just having differences among two people. Although we as people differ about a lot of things which doesn’t necessary, lead to conflict (Wood, 2007). Throughout life we go through conflicts in school as an adolescent, at work with co-workers, in our families with siblings, and also conflicts amongst different cultures and beliefs. Now, we will journey through the different types of conflicts on how to resolve and manage them in our lives.
Conficts on the Job
Conflicts on the job is said to be normal, natural, and sometimes even necessary for continued growth and development (Withers& Wisinski, 2007). However resolving conflict focuses on managing conflict with in your own professional life. People I work with feel it is best to avoid conflict. Which it maybe best at times, it is not always recommended. The main issue with conflict is not so much that it occurs, but how you manage it when it does (Withers& Wisinski, 2007).
Most often at work, conflicts seem to be about resources, turf boundaries, or conflicting goals (Withers& Wisinski, 2007). Many of the work conflicts I have encountered have been about conflicting goals and what I feel is right seem to be wrong in another co-workers opinion. When dealing with a work related conflict it is necessary to identify the core of the problem, determine the size and scope of the problem, and the easiest way to resolve the problem (Withers& Wisinski, 2007). By identifying the core problem of the conflict, it would exclude any other factors contributing to the conflict and just focus on the main one. Determining the scope of the problem would lead to the severity of the problem and if the problem