Discussion Post: Building a Better Dialogue
Building a better conflict dialogue involves becoming more familiar with the content issues, being aware of the characteristics of both parties to the conflict and understanding the processes that will move the conflict along. This course has focused on the intangibles and communication strategies for enhancing positive conflict. These are the places where you gain more confidence and the ability to act intentionally and proactively in conflict situations.
You have learned about your preferred conflict style. What are your second and third most often used styles, your back-up styles? These are the styles most easily used when you determine that your primary style is not the most appropriate for a given situation. Although you may not have yet put any of this into practice in real time, it often helps to have options and tools that prepare you to enter into a situation. Let's take a look at how this information has affected your confidence and willingness to engage in conflict.
The conflict management tools that have been explored address self-management, management of the relationship with others, and management of the climate for conflict. Consider how your approach to each of these has shifted?
Homework:
Post a cohesive response based on your analysis of the Learning Resources and your professional experience. Be sure to discuss the following: Be sure to discuss the following:
i. Share your preferred style of engaging in conflict, and two other styles that you could most easily employ when it is necessary to style flex. How easy or difficult do you expect this transition to be? Why?
ii. What you have learned about building a trusting relationship and managing face that will help you be stronger in these two areas of relationship management. To what extent do you think they contribute to cooperative relations in a conflict setting?
iii. Consider the toxic elements that can sometimes characterize conflict situations. What experience do you have with these? Which conflict climate management strategies will help to mitigate them and contribute to creating a supportive environment?
iv. Think back to how you felt about and experienced conflict at the beginning of this course. Overall, how much more comfortable and prepared are you to enter into conflict armed with the knowledge and skills learned so far? What opportunities have you taken to put into practice what you have learned about leading or managing conflict? Be sure to support your ideas by connecting them to the week's Learning Resources as well as other credible resources you have read or to what you have observed and experienced.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
i) The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
ii) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
iii) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
Reference:
i. Positive Juice. (2010, February 27). No. Don't hurry up. Think it over and take your sweet time [Blog post].
ii. Yu, L., &Zellmer-Bruhn, M. (2018). Introducing team mindfulness and considering its safeguard role against conflict transformation and social undermining. Academy of Management Journal, 61(1), 324-347.
iii. TED. (Producer). (2012, June). Margaret Heffernan: Dare to disagree [Video file].
iv. Cahn, D. D., & Abigail, R. A. (2014). Managing conflict through communication (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.