CONFLICT DIAGNOSIS:Who Needs to Know About Conflict Diagnosis?, Steps in Conflict Diagnosis

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Conflict Management HRM624

Lesson 6

CONFLICT DIAGNOSIS

Quotation

If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.

(A Chinese proverb)

Do not find fault, find a remedy. (Henry Ford)

In this lecture will we will try to understand the various perspectives of conflict in order to diagnose the

conflict. We will also familiarize with the concept of ADR which might be new for you people.

Introduction

Conflict

Conflict is everywhere. It is part of everyday life. Some periods of conflict provoke periods of great

creativity. Competition is a form of conflict and it helps individuals, groups, communities, societies, and

countries to outpace others; and excellence comes out, as a result. Conflict may be constructive as well as

destructive. We already have discussed a lot about the conflict in previous lectures.

Conflict Diagnosis

Conflict diagnosis is a structured process for understanding and responding to interpersonal conflicts,

disputes, and transactions. Conflict diagnosis provides a rigorous and clear framework for understanding

and appreciating the multiple facets of any conflict. It also serves as a clear guide for the development of

strategies for addressing conflict, including the selection of dispute resolution processes and providers. In a

sense, conflict diagnosis provides the basis for designing methods of producing maximally good conflict in

any conflict situation. Conflict resolution poses the most pain and the least gain when the parties are able to

cooperate rather than having adversarial approach.

Perspectives on the Handling of Interpersonal Conflict

An evaluation of interpersonal conflict depends on how it is handled. Conflict diagnosis allows the user to

choose the best blueprint and the best tools to handle a conflict well.

Conflict can have positive and negative consequences. Perspective is critical in discussing positive and

negative consequences of interpersonal conflict.

a. Time perspective

. Short-term

. Intermediate-term

. Long-term

b. Person perspective

. Individual-disputant

. Joint-disputant

. Systemic

. Institution or society-wide

c. Issues perspective

. Process versus outcome

. Narrow versus broad focus

. Monetary or economic versus non monetary, tangible or intangible

. Prospective versus retrospective

Conflict Management HRM624

Who Needs to Know About Conflict Diagnosis?

Everyone can benefit from understanding conflict diagnosis. Legal and dispute professionals, such as

lawyers, paralegals, professional negotiators, and others involved in dispute resolution, need to know the

principles of conflict diagnosis, so that they can do their job intelligently.

I. Conflict gamers and conflict phobics

Conflict gamers love interpersonal conflict and feel the most alive when up to their necks in it. They don't

seem to meet to prepare for a negotiation- their innate personality and temperament alone seem to be

preparation enough. They jump at the chance for a rumble. In a negotiation, they seem utterly fearless. They

are always ready to inflict punishment on their adversaries. After litigation is over, win or loose, over drinks

or lunch conflict gamers express what a profound pleasure it all was, what a rush, and how it resembled the

happy days, they once spent in high school.

On the other hand for a conflict phobic, the conflict diagnosis has many important advantages to offer. It

will give a clear guidance when conflict arises. It will help the conflict phobic to understand what to do

when he/she feels unprepared and don't know how to prepare.

II. Conflict professionals

Conflict diagnosis is also for conflict professionals and professionals-in-training seeking to enrich their

understanding of their field. For example for a lawyer, a judge, a paralegal etc. the course will help a lot in

diagnosing conflict and applying ADR techniques for conflict management. Applying theses techniques to

conflicts enable conflict professionals to find the magic keys to unlocking their clients' potential power to

settle their differences.

Why Conduct Conflict Diagnosis?

Conflict diagnosis empowers and calms "conflict phobics". It provides additional options for "conflict

gamers". It allows better choice of dispute resolution processes.

Steps in Conflict Diagnosis

1. Describe/map the conflict

2. Identify sources

3. Analyze interests

4. Characterize the conflict

5. Consider trust

6. Identify impediments to settlement

7. Address negotiation styles and preferences

8. Consider power

9. Identify/maximize the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)

10. Consider diversity issues

1. Describe/map the conflict

Map out the conflict, identifying the roles of the participants.

2. Identify sources

Identify the sources and the causes of the conflict

3. Analyze interests

Identify each participant's aspirations, positions, interests, principles and values and basic needs and

consider how they interrelate logically. Identify any linked conflicts and consider how the conflicts affect

one another.

Conflict Management HRM624

4. Characterize the conflict

Characterize the conflict as cooperative, competitive or in between. If a cooperative conflict identify

attributes of the situation that could cause it to become competitive.

5. Consider trust

Analyze the kinds and level of trust present in the relationship between the disputant and other participants

in the conflict.

6. Identify impediments to settlement

Identify any impediments to cooperative settlement.

7. Address negotiation styles and preferences

Access the negotiation styles of the participant in the conflict, consider how these styles have an impact on

the conflict, and if possible develop plans for encouraging cooperation and collaboration among the

participants.

8. Consider power

Analyze each participant's power. Analyze the sources of power, the ways in which each participant could

exercise each source of power, the likely impact of its exercise, and ways that this source of power could be

increased.

9. Identify/maximize the Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA)

Develop a list of alternative to a negotiated agreement, including the best alternative to a negotiated

agreement, or BATNA. If you are a disputant, agent or an advocate, develop plans for clarifying these

alternatives and improving them.

10. Consider diversity issues

Choose a dispute resolution processes, or a series of processes, appropriate to the conflict diagnosis. Select

practitioners best able to meet your goals in the processes. If necessary, negotiate the dispute resolution

selection processes with other conflict participants.

Using Conflict Diagnosis Ideas to Understand the ADR Movement

ADR as Movement (in USA and in India)

Some forms of ADR, such as religion-based or community-based mediation and commercial arbitration,

have been around for centuries. In USA, mediation and other forms of ADR have been used for legal

disputes since about 1970 and became mainstream in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Efficiency and radical perspectives on ADR

Efficiency perspective

In this root of the ADR tree, ADR is seen primarily through the prism of efficiency.

ADR is useful for cutting costs, speeding settlements, and avoiding overburdening the courts. From this

perspective, the type of ADR used is less important than the availability and use of ADR in any form.

Radical perspective

Radical wing of ADR takes a very different perspective. ADR is useful for improving the resolution of

conflicts, allocating resources among disputants, improving disputant relationships and reforming overall

cultural attitudes about conflict resolution.

Prevalence of efficiency perspective

Economic forces tend to support ADR to save time, money, and court resources. The efficiency wing has

been more influential, and because this wing cares less about the form of ADR used, certain looseness with

ADR terminology is rampant.

Traditional culture has influenced the development of language about ADR.

Conflict Management HRM624

Efficiency of ADR is important. ADR is controlled by the invisible veil, structure, or wisdom. Conclusions

about ADR tend to be colored by the invisible veil or wisdom.

Radical-wing Concerns

Differences (even small ones) among ADR processes matter greatly in terms of quality of the process (so

understanding these differences matters greatly). A lack of rigor in defining, identifying, and understanding

distinctions in ADR processes has led to marketplace confusion. Individual users of dispute resolution

processes and providers can become better-informed consumers using conflict diagnosis.

Society as a whole is not benefiting from the full panoply of options for dispute resolution.

Use of non-adversarial ADR can lead to positive macro-system changes and should be encouraged.

Quality of ADR

Though saving time and money are important goals, if the process is flawed, long-term efficiency is lost, and

so the quality of dispute resolution process and outcome must be considered.

There is little evidence that this longer-term assessment of long-term efficiency and effectiveness is taking

place.

Assessments of the quality of ADR are confounded by the lack of empirical research to adequately

discriminate among forms of ADR.

Conflict diagnosis ideas will also help researchers and policy makers to design better studies and to interpret

studies more effectively.

The ADR Revolution

"Efficiency wing" adopts ADR to save time and money, divert cases out of litigation

"Radical wing" adopts ADR to attain better conflict resolution.

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