The Three Views of Conflict: How Criminal Justice Agencies Function in the Midst of Conflict

There are many types of conflict; some are beneficial while others are detrimental. All types of conflict fall into three major categories (Engleberg, Wynn, and Schuttler, 2003; Stewart, Manz, and Sims, 1999). Relationship-oriented conflict, also known as affective conflict, is brought about when team members experience interpersonal incompatibilities. Relationship conflict is usually detrimental as team members have different perceptions of communication and social skills. Whereas Task-oriented conflict, also referred to as cognitive conflict or procedural conflict, occurs when team members disagree about

Conflicts can be regarded as a strong disagreement between people, groups etc. Or as differences that prevent agreement. Conflicts are not just about power and resources but are rooted in the denial of human needs such as identity, security, respect and recognition. (Barbara A, 2007).

What is conflict? Even something as basic as a universal definition for the word conflict seems to vary from source to source. A literature review focusing on conflict defined it as “the interaction of interdependent people who perceive incompatibility and the possibility of interference from others as a result of this incompatibility” (Brinkert 2010). Often times the disagreement results not from a concrete difference, but rather a difference in perception (Ellis & Abbott 2012). One of the most important factors effecting conflict management is the resolution style used. The most often used tool for classifying how conflict is managed is the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (Iglesias & Vallejo 2012).

As many of us has stated, how we handle conflict determines whether the outcome is a negative or a positive one. Majority of us also stated that if conflict is

Conflict is part of our human disposition; consequently, it is customary within organizations. “Left unanalyzed and unchecked, it can be a destructive force that consumes time, money and human resources. Learning the various ways that people resolve conflict and expanding their conflict resolution styles can lead to better results” (Sadri, 2012). Within organizations employees have personal beliefs, styles and attitudes, and backgrounds that at times can cause disagreements, inconsistencies and ultimately, conflict. It is the intent of this paper to examine the archetype of conflict as an

Conflict perspectives are often viewed as the opposite of the structure-functional viewpoint; meaning, not all family practices are good or beneficial for each family member. Conflict is often viewed in a negative manner, but there are many benefits of having healthy conflict in the home. In my family experience, conflict has brought compromise, solutions, and opportunities to learn other's perspectives. Conflict has also brought a better understanding of how to improve relationships and solve disagreements.

Conflict occurs in our everyday lives through the major decisions we make. For example choosing whether to have a child or through the minor decisions like whether to have a mocha or a chai latte.

Conflict is generally considered a typical part of human interactions and is not in itself essentially damaging. Rather, it is how conflict is managed that determines whether or not the outcomes are going to be constructive or damaging (Deutsch, 2006). Thus, conflict management, the method of managing a dispute and associated conflicts, is very important in producing satisfactory or disappointing outcomes. It is therefore vitally important to know your conflict management style, along with its inherent strengths and weaknesses, as a leader of a healthy organization, in order to deal with conflict in a positive manner.

There are many was that people experience conflict throughout their day. This can include conflict in the work place, at home, or even on video games. All these opportunities to collide with conflict can make it difficult to determine what type of conflict is occurring, and reach the best possible solution to the problem. There are certain cues that can be seen when dealing with realistic, and nonrealistic conflict. These include then end goals related to the conflict, flexibility, and the interests of the parties involved within the conflict. Also, the appropriate response to a non-realistic conflict is to use force or coercion to resolve the issue. First realistic conflict produces different cues from nonrealistic, and these can be used in determining the type of conflict that is being dealt with.

Conflict is a fact of life - for individuals, organizations, and societies. The costs of conflict are well-documented - high turnover, grievances and lawsuits, absenteeism, divorce, dysfunctional families, prejudice, fear. What many people don't realize is that well-managed conflict can actually be a force for positive change.

The text book describes conflict as “a process that begins when one party perceives another party has or is about to negatively affect something the first party cares about.” There are different views on dealing with conflict. There is the traditional view that seeks to eliminate any conflict and the interaction group that seek to use conflict as a stepping stone to greater things. Conflict can arise in any situation and, following the managed conflict view, it is not necessarily something to be push under the table but something to

The difference between functional and dysfunctional conflict is that functional serves a purpose in the organization such as the interest and dysfunctional serves no purpose but to threaten the organization ((Kinicki A. Kreitner R.2008 p. 277).

Conflict is defined as the behaviour due to which people differ in their feelings, thought and/or actions. Collins (1995) states that the conflict is a ‘serious disagreement and argument about something important’ and also as ‘a serious difference between two or more beliefs, ideas or interests’ (cf. Kumaraswamy, 1997, p. 96). In general it is believed that conflicts are the underlying cause of disputes. In other words, dispute is a manifestation of the deep rooted conflict. A dispute is defined as ‘a class or kind of conflict, which manifests itself in distinct, justifiable issues. It involves disagreement over issues capable of resolution by negotiation, mediation or third party adjudication’

Conflict is a "state of disharmony brought about by differences of impulses, desires, or tendencies" (Rayeski & Bryant, 1994). Although many people and organizations view conflict as an activity that is usually negative and should be avoided, conflict is a natural result of people working

The traditional view of conflict is that conflict is intrinsically negative, produces negative consequences, and has a detrimental effect on organizations. Like the other two viewpoints, the tradition al view realizes that conflict is essentially inevitable. However, this viewpoint strives to minimize if not outright avoid conflict because it deems it to produce noxious consequences. This outright avoidance of conflict is not necessarily adhered to in the human relations view of conflict. This viewpoint posits the notion that conflict is and of itself natural, or organic in nature. Whereas the traditional viewpoint of conflict is that it is always bad, the human relations viewpoint sees conflict as a natural