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Chapter 10 Managing Conflict

PLEASE NOTE: This book is currently in draft form; material is not final.

Introductory Exercises

  1. If you could eliminate conflict from every group’s activities, would you? Why or why not?
  2. Identify someone you know who is particularly skilled at operating in conflict situations. Based on your experience with the person, identify some of the person’s specific effective behaviors in such situations.
  3. List the headlines of stories on the first five pages of a recent newspaper. Identify which of the items describe conflict of some kind and write a brief description of three of the conflicts. What approaches do the parties to the three conflicts seem to be taking? What prospects do you feel each conflict has of being resolved? What is it that makes you see the prospects as you do?

I exhort you also to take part in the great combat, which is the combat of life, and greater than every other earthly conflict.

Plato

Introduction

PLEASE NOTE: This book is currently in draft form; material is not final.

In this chapter, we’ll explore the nature, leadership implications, and prevalence of an enduring human reality: conflict in groups. We’ll also consider a variety of styles whereby people can engage in conflict and review some strategies for managing conflict effectively. You will learn how to deal with conflict in the workplace and how to create and implement a crisis communication plan.