Part I: Conflict Awareness
Factors Affecting Conflict
When conflict surfaces, it is influenced by many factors that affect the character, direction, and outcome of the conflict and determine whether the conflict escalates or de-escalates. The following factors should be considered to determine how to best implement a collaborative approach to the conflict:
Individuals involved
Personality, self-image, and personal history.
Personality, self-image, and personal history.
Relationship
Nature and importance of the relationship, roles each person plays, assessment of each other’s motivations, level of interdependency, degree of negativity towards one another, degree of understanding and trust between the parties.
Nature and importance of the relationship, roles each person plays, assessment of each other’s motivations, level of interdependency, degree of negativity towards one another, degree of understanding and trust between the parties.
Approach
Conflict style, attitude to the conflict and use of power.
Conflict style, attitude to the conflict and use of power.
Nature of the conflict
Scope and importance of the conflict, complexity of the conflict, number of issues, degree of differences, number of people involved, perceived consequences, and history or related issues surrounding the conflict.
Scope and importance of the conflict, complexity of the conflict, number of issues, degree of differences, number of people involved, perceived consequences, and history or related issues surrounding the conflict.
Context
Setting, social conditions, culture, roles, and systems within which the conflict occurs.
Setting, social conditions, culture, roles, and systems within which the conflict occurs.
Time demands
Amount of available time, degree of freedom from commitments.
Amount of available time, degree of freedom from commitments.
Power
Perception of resources that each person has or controls, access to information, access to support, role or social status.
Perception of resources that each person has or controls, access to information, access to support, role or social status.