Free Intercultural Conflict Essay Sample

Conflict exists in our relationships with other people. Conflicts arise when people differ in terms of their ideas and opinions on issues that involve them. In reference to intercultural conflict, conflicts occur because of difference in expectations, values and processes between the two parties from different cultures. The intercultural conflicts often arise due to miscommunication, which leads to misinterpretations of the communicated ideas.
I have experienced intercultural conflict before. I had conflict with my fellow classmate. The conflict was because of misunderstanding in the language. The student was an international student from Africa. The conflict happened in the classroom. The class had a debate and as i presented my argument, the international student rose and said I had insulted him. The debate was on the importance of having intercultural marriages. The conflict arose because; the student did not fully understand the English language. What presented did not hit on the African culture negatively but the other student did not understand my argument.
The other student from my culture understood what I was trying to pass but the other international students did not like it. My culture did not have issues with the debate because of ethnocentrism and stereotyping. Ethnocentrism is having a belief that our culture is superior to the African culture. This led to intercultural conflict. The differing languages and the values we possess lead to perceptions that the culture of others is inferior.
Effective management of intercultural conflict requires us to understand and respect other cultures. In this multicultural society, having knowledge on the different cultures enables us to deal and manage the intercultural conflict effectively. Understanding that people have different opinions is important. If understood the African culture well, the conflict could not have arose. Understanding the cultures of other people enables us to avoid intercultural conflict. It eliminates the belief that our culture is superior to the culture of our fellow members of the society.