Conflict Resolution

Navigating Conflict 

Conflict form part of people’s livelihood, every moment of time people conflict in ideas and opinions. There exist many types of conflicts; some of the most common types include domestic conflicts, where people of a given family or household engage in constant loggerheads with each other (Deutsch & Coleman, 2000). Causes of such may be land issues, inheritance, and leadership among others. Another type of conflict is the social conflict. This is where a person is at conflicting interest with certain aspects in the community. These may include norms, rules, and regulations, social cultures among other things.

Effective conflict resolution is the solution to all these types of conflicts. The best approach to any successful conflict resolution is putting in place proper communication strategies (Jandt, 2003). Such strategies will ensure that both conflicting parties achieve their interests fairly and in the most peaceful way possible. A good communication strategy ensures fairness and justice during the process of the conflict resolution.

One of the best ways for effective conflict resolution is by communicating in a manner that will facilitate the problem solving process. This means that both the conflicting parties and the arbitrator must talk in the direction that is leading towards finding a solution. The arbitrator should also avoid being bias towards one party; all communications must remain neutral for effectiveness to be achieved.

Another important strategy is to be open and not withdraw from the conflict. People are often cowered during conflicts and therefore they are tempted to withdraw in effort to find quick remedies. The best way out is to be open in all communication. Each party needs to air its views in the presence of the arbitrator independently and openly. The arbitrator then will form an opinion as to which party is right and which is wrong.

During this process, one needs observe what what he/she says, and the manner in which they say these words. Communication is very important in instances as these. The manner in which certain words are spoken can depict different meanings, depending on the context (Lincoln, 2002).  This implies that the arbitrator needs to advise both parties on the importance of proper communication during the entire process. Anger and stress can be triggered by certain words and they can also be quenched by certain words.  The choice of words is therefore deemed paramount.

Active listening is also encouraged during conflict resolution. Both the parties need to make each other fully aware that they have in-depth understanding of the situation at hand. This can only be achieved through proper listening.  It is also through this that the arbitrator will find grounds for settling the conflicting parties.  The arbitrator should play an active role in informing these persons about the importance of listening keenly and carefully to each other.

During the process of communicating their grievances, both the conflicting parties need to periodically summarize what they have discussed. This will help them not forget the very important aspects of their discussion (Mayer, 2000). Making a summery of the communication can lead to fast solution since each party will know the progress of their petition.

Abiding by these simple communication strategies can lead to a great breakthrough during conflict resolution.  It is worth noting that communication is the only easiest and the most effective means of settling any form of dispute. Withdrawing from the dispute or maintaining silence will even worsen the situation at hand.  The above simple resolution methods can lead to very excellent outcome.


Reference:

Deutsch, M., & Coleman, P. T. (2000). The handbook of conflict resolution theory and practice. San Francisco, Calif.: Jossey-Bass.

Jandt, F. E. (2003). Conflict resolution through communication. New York: Harper & Row.

Lincoln, M. (2002). Conflict resolution communication: patterns promoting peaceful schools.

Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press.

Mayer, B. S. (2000). The dynamics of conflict resolution: a practitioner's guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.