Unit 7 CM310 Discussion Understanding Conflict
As a method of analyzing conflicts, systems theory tend to go beyond and focusing on specific individual goals and behaviors rather than focusing on specific patterns of interactions between people as a part of an entire institutions. It also focuses on specific role that people have within an institution. This theory tend to analyze conflicts specifically from the individual perspective. However, it also looks at all people within a system in general, with a primary aim of coming up with a solution or resolution (Stetter, 2007). To ensure effectiveness and positive outcomes, this theory will focus on specific actions particularly from each person to understand how these actions contribute to reactions from another person. By analyzing these actions, effective and productive decisions can be made within the whole system to cause the chain of reaction. Systems theory is important and play a major role in learning skills required to manage conflicts, helps in understanding how different conflicts works and most importantly promote the ability to predict specific outcomes of conflicts and general management processes. For example, when growing up, I would argue with different people, like my father and mother. Each of them had a different style of negotiation and handling conflicts. I started using these styles, thus learning new conflict skills by involving in conflict and understanding the whole picture.
The conflict triangle pattern explores mainly specific impacts and most importantly causes of conflict. It highlight three main and important aspects related to a conflict situations. At the top of the triangles is behavior which focuses on people’s beliefs, feelings and most importantly prejudices. It also focuses on the context or contraction of a conflict (Gallo, 2013). The last aspect can be defined mainly by inequality, economic arguments and territorial arguments. Through the conflict triangles, one can analyze different types of conflict situations, including those with different actors and example of conflict solved through the conflict triangle patter is mainly ethnic or religious hatred which can be related mainly to people’s attitudes.
In the case study of Eye to Eye, there are different pattern related to micro-events. Monica in the case provides a glimpse into some pictures that helps one to understand the bigger picture. She discusses her family conflicts and the procedures into engaging with her husband, Enrique and particularly over similar things. She uses common languages used by her parents during their engagements.
References
Gallo, G. (2013). Conflict theory, complexity and systems approach. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 30(2), 156-175.
Stetter, S. (2007). Territorial conflicts in world society: modern systems theory, international relations and conflict studies. Routledge.
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