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Defining Conflict and Identifying Personal Mediation Skills

From a sociological point of view, conflicts are a common occurrence in human relationships because of the fact that humans hold varied views and perceptions towards common things and issues. In a work environment, human conflicts are common and have diverse impacts on the performance of the affected employees. Basically, a conflict refers to a state of opposition that occurs when individuals carry out activities that are not mutually consistent. Usually, it is characterized by a form of disagreement in which the parties involved consider the opposing views to be a threat to their concerns, interests or needs. The respective individuals may want to do a similar thing using different ways or may want to pursue different things that are incompatible.

The conflict situation is usually resolved when inherent differences are reconciled and made consistent to each other. Within a social context, the causes of conflicts are wide and varied. In addition, their magnitude is different and the implications that they have on the holistic wellbeing of the individuals in work environments are diverse. Generally, it is widely agreed that conflicts can be potentially harmful if they are allowed to persist. For this reason, various approaches are employed in addressing the conflicts.

In his review, Moore (2003) indicates that the manner in which a conflict is approached directly influences the nature of its management. For this reason, it is important for relevant parties to review the conflict scenario and adopt approaches that would enhance resolution as opposed to escalation. To begin with, the collaboration approach reviews the perceptions of warring parties while asserting authoritative views at the same time. In particular, collaboration reviews the main differences between the involved parties, identifies the major issues and seeks to find a solution through mutual agreement. This is sustainable because the conflicting parties contribute equally to the ultimate solution.

A conflict can also be approached through compromising. In this regard, the warring parties are made to forego certain needs in order to resolve the problem. The accommodating approach on the other hand involves one party accepting the perception of the other party in a bid to reinstate a stable relationship. In certain instances, Boulle, Colatrella and Picchioni (2008) indicate that a conflict can call for avoidance. In this respect, one or both parties delay their response to the conflict or simply withdraw from it. This usually works well in cases where individuals or organizations are very angry and wish to withdraw in a bid to cool off in order to be able to approach the conflict in a more rational manner. Notably, all these approaches are vital in different contexts and are useful for managing a variety of conflicts.

Perhaps the most sustainable and useful approach to conflict resolution pertains to mediation. Cahn and Abigail (2007) contend that the process of mediation is very complex and technical and as such, it requires certain specialized skills. An analysis of my personal competencies of negotiation shows that I have certain mediation skills that have enabled me to resolve a couple of conflicts in an organizational environment. Statistical evidence ascertains that organizations are liable to conflicting scenarios because of the different nature of their human resources. One of the most important mediation skills that I consider myself to be proficient in is active listening. In this regard, I have the ability to give my full attention to whatever the warring parties say. I take sufficient time to understand the various points and assertions made by the respective persons and make inferences accordingly. Whenever I do not understand any point being made by an individual, I ask appropriate questions and request for clarification accordingly. Most importantly, I refrain from frequent interruptions in order to give the warring parties a chance to express their claims with ease.

Then, I have superb skills pertaining to reframing and summarizing whatever the warring parties have said. Through summary, I am always able to clarify understanding of main concerns, strictly focus on key issues, allow the warring parties to change whatever they previously said and correct disordered statements and assertions. In most cases, I seldom stop summarizing until the respective party agrees with whatever I have noted down. According to Boulle et al (2008), this implies that the party in question agrees to what it has said. Most importantly, it gives the party a chance to undertake reflection and enables me to adjust or clarify interpretations. On the other hand, reframing of statements gives me an opportunity to adjust, reorder or change statements or words in order to clarify their meanings and understand the underlying intentions of the parties.

Also, I have critical thinking skills that are useful for effective interpretation of meanings. McCorkle and Reese (2004) argue that use of reasoning and logic is of paramount importance in any mediation process. This ability has been particularly important in enabling me to evaluate the credibility of alternative conclusions, strategies or solutions that can enhance problem resolution. In addition, it has been useful for enabling me to analyze and interpret the views and perceptions of the warring parties objectively. In this regard, Wilmot and Hocker (2007) assert that objectivity is very important as it eliminates incidences of favoritism that undermine the credibility of the decisions arrived at.

Nonetheless, there are certain negotiation skills that I am not proficient in and which I require further development. At this point, it is worth acknowledging that attainment of negotiation skills is progressive. Individuals wishing to perfect their negotiation skills require a significant period of time as well as sufficient experience. In essence, negotiation is a learning process that requires patience and consistency. One of the fundamental skills that I consider myself to be lacking pertains to memorization. In particular, I am incompetent in remembering information, pictures, words and procedures with utmost clarity. This in some cases makes it difficult to complete the process of mediation within the stipulated time and attain the desirable quality of results.

Then, I also lack sufficient inductive reasoning skills that are imperative for making inferences accordingly. Basically, inductive reasoning empowers a mediator to establish general rules and be able to reach at viable conclusions. Bush and Folger (2004) indicate that mediators with this ability are creative and can establish relationships between events or statements that are unrelated. This ability is also useful in identifying flaws in statements and determining the credibility of assertions that conflicting parties make. This hastens the mediation process as factual information can be easily be filtered from a pool of false or flawed statements. In addition, inductive reasoning enables a mediator to make timely and effective decisions regarding the process. Developing the preceding skills is essential and it would enable me to attain the highest level of competency in mediation.

References

Boulle, L., Colatrella, M. & Picchioni, A. (2008). Mediation: Skills and techniques. New York: LexisNexis

Bush, R. & Folger, J. (2004). The promise of mediation: The transformative approach to conflict. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Cahn, D., & Abigail, R. (2007). Managing conflict through communication. (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

McCorkle, S. & Reese, M. (2004). Mediation theory and practice. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon

Moore, C. (2003). The mediation process: Practical strategies for resolving conflict. (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Wilmot, W., & Hocker, J. (2007). Interpersonal conflict. (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.