Interpersonal Conflict Case Study

Interpersonal conflicts take place every day in our lives to a level where they can become a part of our daily routine. However, some people can experience it more than the others, depending on a lot of factors including their social skills. So what is a conflict? Donohue defines a conflict as “a situation in which interdependent people express differences in satisfying their individual needs and interests, and they receive interference from each other in accomplishing these goals” (Donohue, 1992). Conflict is always present in human interactions. A conflict is not always a negative thing. Sometimes if it is handled properly, it will result in broadening one’s mind or giving one a chance to grow and change. On the other hand, if people were

It is when the party is uninterested in the other party’s opinion or views and there will be a state of denial that there is conflict in the first place (Barki, Hartwick, 2001). Another word to describe it would be disengaging. In this style neither the problem nor the preferences of the individuals is approached (Roark, 1978). Therefore, no one involved in the conflict will win anything. These five management styles result from interpersonal conflict. Some of them are cited as being optimal but this not completely true. Theoretically, they are preferred. For example problem solving is more holistic and suits a lot of conflicts. It is challenging to choose the best style especially when the conflict needs to be resolved in the shortest time possible. If the conflict is crucial, how does one choose the best style? To work through a conflict, a third party’s assistance is usually used. The best individuals to perform this role are counselors. They are trained professionally to perform this role. Their experience in counseling provides an invaluable base for resolving and managing conflicts. Their main role is to turn the conflict into a constructive thing and decrease the tension around it as much as possible. They do that by minimizing the intensity of the conflict until communication takes place between the two parties. At that point, the conflict can be analyzed entirely and the suitable management style can be chosen (Roark,