After reading the chapter on conflict management from Palestini’s Educational Administration: Leading With Mind and Heart and an article written by Bushan (2005) entitled “Conflict Behavior In An Organisation”, one hereby aims to provide the appropriate response to the question: what is the best way to resolve a conflict?
Conflict resolution techniques are varied and the best way to resolve a conflict is contingent on the situation, the factors that were apparently contributory to the conflict, the time needed to resolve it, and the objectives or aims of the conflicting parties (Palestini, 2011;
. Thus, although several conflict resolution strategies that have been enumerated, noted, and discussed; including: use of authority, avoidance, smoothing, compromising, problem-solving, medication, and even competitive bargaining or negotiation.
The terms could be different between authors and across diverse studies on conflict management and resolution, the first step to resolve a conflict would be to determine the root cause of the conflict and the arguments presented by the conflicting parties. At this point, the scenario could be manifested in such a way that the conflicting parties could try and resolve their issues by themselves and therefore, when all the cards and objectives have been laid out, conflict resolutions strategies that offer solutions which benefit both parties would be most preferred. Otherwise, third party mediations could be opted, where supervisors or an external party could assist through soliciting crucial information on the conflicts, the objectives or demands of each conflicting side, the time frame for resolution, among others.
References
Bhushan, A. (2005, October 8). Conflict Behavior In An Organisation. Retrieved from Conflict Management Help Center: http://conflict911.com/cgi-bin/links/jump.cgi?ID=6042
Palestini, R. (2011). Conflict Management. In R. Palestini, Educational Administration: Leading With Mind and Heart (pp. 111-131). Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
