Key Elements of Conflict

Conflict and interdependence
Perceived incompatible goals
Perceived scarce resources
Interference

Interference

People who are interdependent, have incompatible goals, and want the same scarce resource still may not meet the conditions for conflict. Interference, or the perception of interference, is necessary to complete the conditions for conflict. If the presence of another person interferes with desired actions, conflict intensifies. Conflict is associated with blocking (Peterson 1983), and the person doing the blocking is perceived as the problem. 

For instance, a college sophomore worked in a sandwich shop the summer before her junior year abroad. She worked two jobs, scarcely having time to eat and sleep. She was invited to a party at a cabin in the wilderness, and she really wanted to go. She worked overtime on one day then asked for a day off from the sandwich shop, but the employer was reluctant to say yes, since the student was the only one the employer trusted to open the shop and keep the till. For an angry moment, the employer – who was interfering with what the student wanted to do – and the student each seemed to the other like the source of the problem. Goals appeared incompatible, no one else was available to open (scarce resource), and the two parties were interdependent because the student needed the job and the owner needed her shop opened and the cash monitored. She was about to say, "No. I'm sorry, but I can't cover you." The student volunteered to train someone else, on her own time, to cover for her. The problem was solved, at least for this round, and the conflict was avoided. But if the student had quit in disgust or the employer had said no, both would have sacrificed important goals.

The student’s and the employer’s willingness to look beyond the immediate obstacle to how they could get around it enabled them to resolve the immediate conflict. Management of future conflict, however, involves developing long-range goals and a process for achieving them.

Reprinted with permission of the publisher.
William W. Wilmot and Joyce L. Hocker, Interpersonal Conflict, 5^th edition (copyright 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.). McGraw-Hill and the CIOS site author make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy of any information contained in the McGraw-Hill Material, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall McGraw-Hill have any liability to any party for special, incidental, tort, or consequential damages arising out of or in connection with the McGraw-Hill Material, even if McGraw-Hill has been advised of the possibility of such damages.