COSERE | 101 Conflict Management: What it is? Conflict can be defined as an opposition, or competition, between two or more parties; the reasons may be different (incompatible goals, rival views, explicit and/or implicit needs, etc.) In line with the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, we can imagine a scenario where there’s a disagreement between students over who gets to pick the game for recess. Some might want to compromise and find a game everyone likes, while others might avoid the conflict altogether by letting someone else decide. Then some might compete to win the argument, while some might collaborate and work together to find a solution that makes everyone happy. By understanding how people handle conflicts, we can create a chill school environment where everyone feels heard and conflicts get resolved smoothly. It’s all about learning how to deal with disagreements in a positive way. In situations where people are always around each other, like in school, and they’ve been hanging out for a while, understanding where a conflict is at is pretty helpful. According to the experts, there are six typologies: Unresolved Conflict This is when a problem hasn’t been sorted out yet. For example, when students keep arguing about who gets to lead a project. Latent Conflict It’s like when there’s tension building up, but nobody has noticed it yet. Maybe there’s some competition between students for a spot on the sports team. Perceived Conflict This is when people start realising there’s a problem. Like, maybe students notice they’re not seeing eye-to-eye on a class project. Felt Conflict At this point, folks start feeling some emotions about the situation. Like when students start getting upset during a disagreement. Manifest Conflict Now, things start to get real. It’s when arguments start flying or people are getting into it over something. Conflict Aftermath This is what happens after the dust settles, as if students start avoiding each other after a big blow-up.
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