Q & A Table of Contents
Influence of Variables on Conflict Resolution
From: Nelson, Hong Kong
Question: How do variables such as location, people around you, personality,
social status, gender, familiarity to each other, nature of conflict,
cultural differences affect conflict resolution?
Response: Each of the variables you describe can have a significant
influence on the negotiation or conflict resolution process. I will use a
few examples for each issue you raised; the range of possibilities is
considerable:
Location: Who chooses the location? Does a negotiation on 'my turf'
make me stronger? If the location is on 'your turf', does that give you
advantages?
People around you: Are you negotiating in public? Do the people around
you provide you support, help in decision-making, criticism, the comfort of
knowing that they make the person with whom you are negotiating feel
isolated?
Personality: One crucial test is to examine how much each party's ego
is tied to the outcome of the discussion.
Social Status: The relative importance of social status is a very
culturally-based issue. In some countries it may be based on family
background, in another on financial condition. The underlying question is
how social status differences are recognized and acknowledged in the way
different people communicate with each other. Negotiation works best when
people can be honest and clear with each other; if social status presents an
obstacle, that makes such communication more difficult.
Gender: In some societies, there are few apparent differences between
the genders as regards rights and powers. However, gender differences may
exhibit themselves in communication styles. Thus, for example, in some
places men hate to be interrupted, while women are far less threatened by
it. Asking questions and listening carefully can help one avoid making
serious errors.
Familiarity with each other: Most people negotiate with the same group
of people constantly: family, colleagues, neighbors, etc. Understanding one
another's style can 'streamline' the negotiation process and make it simpler
to communicate. Nonetheless, one must never assume that because you know
someone well you know everything about them. Always listen closely for
hints of the unexpected.
Nature of conflict: One might argue that business issues are treated
differently from those in the family, between close friends, etc. What is
the history of the relationship between the parties? What are the
culturally-acceptable means of problem-solving? Are peaceful processes as
likely to work on a football pitch as around a dinner table?
Cultural Differences: It is important to pay attention to cultural
differences, but to avoid falling into the trap that you can predict another
person's behavior because of their cultural description. In the
globally-connected world, people are exposed to an incredible variety of
cultural options and as a result it is the individual upon whom we should
focus rather than their physical/cultural characteristics.
I hope this has been helpful,
Steve
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