Commun 101: Introduction to Interpersonal Communication Analysis Paper №1: Conflict and Power

Commun 101: Introduction to Interpersonal Communication
Analysis Paper № 1: Conflict and Power.
Zoyirov Otabek
Conflict can be defined in many ways and can be considered as an expression of hostility, negative attitudes, antagonism, aggression, rivalry and misunderstanding. It is also associated with situations that involve contradictory or irreconcilable interests between two opposing groups. Conflict is the result of a disagreement between actors on the basis of perceived incompatible goals. According to conflict theory, those with  power try to hold on to it by any means possible. A basic premise of conflict theory is that individuals and groups within society will work to try to maximize their own wealth and power. In the context of conflict power is defined as the ability to get one’s needs met. For a conflict to exist each of those involved must have some degree of power and the ability to influence the outcome of the conflict.
As everyone in the world I encountered with lots of conflicts with different people and it stills happens sometimes. In different situations I had to choose different methods in order to resolve the conflict. And now in this analysis paper I am going to analyze 3 different conflicts in which I was involved in.

The first conflict situation was at work. I used to work in call-center and it was in construction firm called “Discover Invest”. The conflict happened between me and one of clients. He asked me information about 2 room apartments in one of our projects. I told him the full information about this project and how he can buy a 2 room apartment. The client was interested in price, but as we in call-center are not able to give exact information about the price I invited him to visit our sales office, after which he became angry and started yelling. The prevailing power currency was obviously personal. This is because as an experienced operator I have faced with such people a lot and I started explaining him why I could not to tell him the price. I intelligibly explained to him that the price varies depending on the floor, layout and location of the apartment. After that I made an appointment with the manager for him. So the conflict was resolved.

The second conflict situation happened when I was studying at academic lyceum. One day I was late for class and teacher decided to not let to the class. As it was essential for me to attend I tried to persuade him to let me into class 3-4 times, but he did not agree as he is very strict. I decided to wait for some time and come up with a solution. When I was in corridor the teacher left the classroom and started talking to someone on the phone. I accidently heard what about they were talking. Their conversation was about some scientific research and from the speech I understood that it was in English. As my teacher did not know English very well I understood that it was my opportunity. When he finished his conversation I went up to him and first of all asked for forgiveness. And then I asked him to let me into class, in return for which I offered him my help. Then he thought about it and asked me how well I know English. I replied that I had enough knowledge to help him and then he agreed. The prevailing power currency was obviously expertise. After the class I stayed with him to help him with translation and some good ideas as well. And so we finished his work. He thanked me for help and we agreed that if help is needed we will help each other. This was the situation when my knowledge helped me not only get out of the situation, but also to help my teacher and get on well with him.

The third conflict situation I have involved in happened at work as well. It was in call-center when I worked in mobile networking company called “Humans”.

When I worked in that company there were too many angry clients calling and asking why their internet is not working. As “Humans” was new company with new technologies and methods, not everyone could handle and use it. One of clients was old man, who was not able to check his balance. He was angry as it was not easy for him to find settings and change it. I intelligibly explained him to do it step by step and finally his internet worked. He asked me for forgiveness as he yelled me. The prevailing power currency was obviously social networking.

In conclusion, I think that resource currency generates the most conflict situation. One of the clear reasons why I do think so is that when someone uses this power currency he or she does not think about others, he or she does not care what other person or people think or feel about it. And this may lead to misunderstandings and aggression. Video for resource currency is the clear example that it causes for people’s annoyance and aggression.

Compromise and collaboration are the approaches that I use most often. One of the obvious reasons why I think so is that other approaches may cause another conflicts and problems and they are not suitable for me and for my character. Another reason is that other approaches do not seem as a solution to conflict.
The person who has more power tries to influence in situation more. And power may help to manage conflict.
I have learnt about the power currencies and the approaches to manage the conflict. Before I did not know what methods do I use in different conflict situations, but now I use other ways of managing the conflict and understood the role of power in managing conflict.