Working Through Conflict Summary

Conflicts are challenges faced by people, which in turn helps them to succeed in their lives. In the novel The First Stone by Don Aker, Chad Kennedy faces different types of conflict that lead to positive personal growth. Chad was unable to cope with the death of his grandmother. His depression and anxiety led him to be unkind towards others.

As humans, we each face conflict in our everyday lives. Conflict is basically anything that happens that a person may disagree with, or not be happy with. Conflict could be something as little as losing your pencil, or something as horrible as the holocaust. For example, Anne Frank was forced into hiding at the age of 13. There was nothing that she could do about it, so she kept her thoughts on the positive side by writing in her diary once or twice a month, and hoping for the best.

I think the most important conflict in the novel, A Lesson Before Dying is person versus self (Grant versus self). Grant struggles with self-doubt, unsure if what he is doing within his community is truly making a difference. This uncertainty is evident when Grant questions himself in relation to his teaching at the local church, “What am I doing? Am I reaching them at all?... Is it just a vicious circle?

In life you come to find yourself in many struggles, but there is always a sense of accomplishment over such problems. Conflict is used in the book, Speak, to support my interpretation of the quote. Conflict is used in the book, Speak, to support my interpretation of the quote. Conflict is the problem in the story or any struggle between opposing forces.

Bob’s Meltdown In today’s workplace communication is key, collaboration crucial and teamwork a top management buzzword. These facets encourage knowledge sharing, co‐operation and a joint sense of purpose. However, such an increase in interpersonal relationships too often creates an unwanted side effect: conflict. (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/14777280310795784)

Throughout history, we have had to deal with conflict. How we deal with conflict can be most challenging of all. We all can find our strength to make it through treacherous times. A positive attitude can help a tremendous amount when dealing with conflict. An example of this can be found in The Diary of Anne Frank.

Ronald Reagan once stated “Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means”. In the passage “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank, a story of how a young girl responds to conflict by staying optimistic. In “Dear Miss Breed”, written by Joanne Oppenheim, Japanese children of all ages write letters to Miss Breed that explain the conflicts that the individuals have and how the children overcome and resolve it. Others may say that the most effective way to respond to conflict is to stand up for what a person believes in, however, the best way that people can respond to a conflict is to have a positive outlook because it helps to not focus on the hardships in an individual’s life, alleviates stress, and affects other people 's attitude. If an individual has a vigorous and encouraging outlook on something, it will help not to focus on the ominous events going on in their life.

Black and White, a novel written by Paul Volponi, tells the story of two teenagers by the name of Marcus and Eddie. Marcus, who is black, lives on the rough side of town, while Eddie, who is white, lives on the nice side of town. Despite their differences in looks and social class, the two quickly become the best of friends. The two are inseparable, they share love for basketball and are teammates on the high school squad. Their brotherly bond has earned them the nicknames, Black And White.

Conflict can control what actions and decisions a person chooses. Conflict can cause big problems for some people. How does conflict Influence someone's decision or action? Sometimes conflict can cause a person to exchange harsh words towards another, also it may result in physical contact between one another. In the face of adversity what causes someone to prevail and others to maybe fail.

A Long Way Gone Forest fires engulf tall rows of trees, turning green leaves and the homes of animals into ashes. Although fires leave a destructive trail of darkened groves, they create a chance for new life to develop. Nutrients find their way through the ashes into new soil, a new life begins to flourish, and old wreckages create new homes. Ishmael Beah, the author of ‘A Long Way Gone’, tells his readers his story that one man could never forget; new opportunities and chances for a better life often flourish in the ashes created from past challenges. The book ‘a long way gone’ is based on true events experienced by the author.

It is in observing how people deal with and react to conflicts that we see clear differences between cultures. Some cultures view conflict as a positive thing, while others view it as something to be avoided. In the United States, conflict is not usually desirable; nonetheless, conventional wisdom in this country encourages individuals to deal directly with conflicts when they do arise. In fact, face-to-face encounters are usually suggested as the way to work through whatever problems exist. By contrast, in many Asian countries, open conflict is experienced as embarrassing or demeaning.

Conflict resolution as a field of study as indicated has formed hypothetical bits of knowledge into the nature and source of conflict and how conflicts can be resolved through peaceful systems to effectuate a dependable settlement. Morton Deutsch, was the first to form and understanding into the helpful results of collaboration as a scholastic enquiry. In his view, various variables like the way of the debate and the objectives every group in a conflict goes for are crucial in deciding the sort of introduction a group would convey to the negotiation table in its endeavor to unravel the conflict (Morton Deucth, 1985, p.24). To him, two essential orientations do exist. These are competitive and cooperative.

A individual use of conflict should be used by many strategies impacted by the culture of the organization or institution but also by the personal beliefs and values. “The variables surrounding the conflict must be examined to understand and alter the choice of a particular behavioral approach to conflict”(Thomas,1976). When deciding the choice of outcome of a problem you should examine the facts and stay away from the assumptions. When managing conflicts, strategies should be utilized and reviewed so that the conflict can come to an collective solution. Some strategies to obtain during a conflict is the first strategy which is understanding that rushing to end the conflict will cause you to not be able to gather the appropriate information.

Conflict theory can best be defined as viewing self interest as a basic human motivation. This human motivation comes from the will to survive and a strong desire to fulfill one’s needs and desires in life. It is said that conflict typically arises between individuals, groups or family members out of competing interests. Conflict theory doesn’t see conflict as being problematic, instead conflict theory suggests that conflict is necessary and often desirable to produce change (Chibucos, Leite & Weis, 2005). When it comes to the family unit, conflict theory argues that power among family members is unequally distributed with the male figure typically having the most power within the family.

Introduction Conflict is unpleasant, but inevitable throughout life. In any situation involving two or people, conflict may arise. Conflict can be defined as, “any situation in which incompatible goals, cognitions, or emotions within or between individuals or groups lead to opposition or antagonistic interaction” (Learning Team Toolkit, 2004, pp 242-243). People come from different backgrounds and live through different life experiences therefore, even when working towards a common goal, they will not always agree. Major conflict that is not dealt with can devastate a team or organization (Make Conflict Work, 2008).