About Criticisms

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Conflict resolution can be defined as the informal or formal process that two or more parties use to find a peaceful solution to their dispute. A number of common cognitive and emotional traps, many of them unconscious can exacerbate conflict and contribute to the need for conflict resolution. The traps are:

Self-serving interpretation of fairness; rather than deciding what’s fair from a position of neutrality we interpret what would be most fair to us, then justify this preference on the basis of fairness.

Overconfidence; we tend to be overconfident in our own judgment, a tendency that leads us to unrealistic expectation;

Escalation of commitment to the chosen course of action is another trap;

Conflict avoidance is natural but also represents a potential problem; because negative emotions cause discomfort and distress.

Ways for conflict resolution:

1.    Draw principles of collaborative negotiation; explore interests of underlying parties; determine the best alternative to negotiate agreement; brainstorming options; look for trade off across issues. Outcome may be satisfying without the aid of outside parties.

2.    Mediation: Enlist trained, neutral third party to help. These professional mediators work with parties together or desperately help to reach a resolution that is sustainable, voluntary and non-binding.

3.    Arbitration: Resembles a court trial except that a neutral third party serves as a judge and makes decisions to end the dispute.

4.    Civil Litigation: A defendant and a plaintiff face off before either a judge or a judge and jury, who weighs the evidence and makes a ruling.

      It makes sense to start off with less expensive, less formal conflict resolution procedures, such as negotiation and mediation; arbitration and litigation demand large commitments to money.

Source: Katie Shonk, "What is conflict resolution and how does it work?”

The Hindu, 12^th November, 2015