Managing Conflict Creative Writing Examples

There are five members discussing about how to go about their project and make a presentation. Mose, a young man begins the discussion by declaring that he has difficulty in expressing his thoughts in writing. Vicky listens to him sympathetically, while another young woman in yellow interrupts their exchange, and reminds them that they have just forty minutes to work. Mose then expresses his doubts about the insufficiency of time alloted for individual presentations and Vicky explains that they just needed to make one presentation and all they had to do was make a list of barriers. Delia is surprised to hear this because she had also been under the same impression as Mose. The fifth member in the group is a young man who does not contribute much. He appears to hold a view that they are helpless and need leadership, while Mose appears vulnerable by talking about his weakness.
The young lady in yellow views herself as superior and does not show empathy for others. She emphasises her superiority by unnecessarily clarifying the misconception that there were four individual presentations to be made, even after Delia and Mose had accepted Vicky’s explanation that only one had to be made. Her supercilious smile and the comment irks Delia, who retaliates by using emotional language, but tries to be positive in the end, saying that their mistake would probably helpthem decide who could present what.The young man in white feels he is need of help and the group is confused, although that. He creates the main conflict by suggesting they have a leader, whose decisions the group could abide by. The girl in yellow offers to be the leader after commenting sarcastically that they had not accepted her offer the previous week to lead the team.
Vicky plays a calming and assertive role by showing empathy, by making clear explanations and by repeating that they did not need a leader. Delia too makes good suggestions on how they should go about their work and agrees with Vicky, but Moses aggravates the situation by asking Delia to be the leader. The young man in white seconds the proposal. Although Delia says they don’t need a leader, at one point she offers to be one, if everyone wanted her to be. Vicky says plainly that they did not need a leader, but the girl in yellow comments sarcastically, that a leader should have experience and other personal qualities, implying that Delia did not have them. Delia strikes back saying that she did have experience, and that the group needed a colloborative one, and not a dominating one, implying from her side, that the girl in yellow was aggressive. The latter picks up the cue and makes a negative comment that the presentation was going to be a failure. Her overall attitude that the group is not good enough for her is one of the reasons for the conflict.
The conflict in the process is actually being worked out in the team. Although the member had different ideas in the beginning, they had sorted the differences out and had started moving forward with their presentation. It is the relationship conflict that needs to be managed. The conflict can be resolved if the members were proactive, instead of reacting and retaliating. Both Delia and the lady in yellow should realise that they are reacting emotionally, which is slowing down their work. The lady in yellow should be adviced to give up her superior attitude,while Delia can ignore her comments and concentrate on what had to be done. Mose should be encouraged to be more confident and the young man in white should be motivated to think and participate in the actual work. Vicky could be creative and bring about a resolution, as she seems to have clear ideas about the process and the relationships.