Tracy J. Lancaster
Ohio Christian University
Almost every conversation between people, who are dealing with a certain problem and trying to find the most suitable solution, is connected with the clash of ideas and involves a great deal of emotions. Despite the general belief, conflicts should not necessarily be a negative phenomenon and those that are properly handled can result in a balanced and result-oriented discussion.
If people, who get into an argument, can put aside their personal ambitions and opt for an open discussion based on the principles of mutual respect and positive interaction, they find themselves in a constructive conflict. The potential of such discussion is immense, because at the end both parties can have a re-defined idea that will necessarily have benefits for the whole team. In my opinion, the practice of “brain storming” ideas is any working environment can be a bright example of constructive conflict because the participants of communication usually voice their ideas, complement each other and come to the joint conclusions. Though sometimes brainstorming can lead to heated debates, they are always directed into the desirable direction of solving the task. At the same time, we can outline the characteristics of destructive conflicts, the main among which are the attitude of aggression, distribution of power and apparent confrontation between the parties, which are not eager to listen to each other. Sometimes we can observe destructive conflicts when politicians are holding public debates because their primary goal is not to reach a compromise but to foreground their stance as the most favorable and beneficial.
