Effective School Management

7
Managing Conflict

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EFFECTIVE SCHOOL MANAGEMENT
REASON AND EMOTION IN CONFLICT
Most conflicts have both rational and emotional components and lie
somewhere along a spectrum between genuine conflict of interest on the one
hand and personality clash on the other.
Examples of genuine conflict of interest occur, for example, where the
vendor of a house seeks the highest price, while the purchaser wishes to pay
as little as possible. There is also a genuine conflict of interest between
employer and employee about the question of salary.
In both the above cases it is in the interest of both parties to resolve the
conflict – otherwise there is no sale in the first case and a strike in the second.
In order to negotiate a solution it is necessary to
(1) listen to and understand the point of view and needs of the other party
(don’t waste time reiterating your own point of view) – try to be fair;
(2) look for trade-offs, i.e. is there something that I can concede to the other