Conflict of interest in business: when it can arise and how to prevent it

All people sooner or later become participants in a conflict. Moreover, they can be its initiators or victims of circumstances. The ability to resolve controversial situations helps a person avoid unnecessary disputes and scandals.

In this article we will look at different types of conflicts, find out the reasons for their occurrence and analyze effective techniques to help prevent them and resolve disagreements. Psychology buffs will find it interesting.

So, here are the types of conflicts.

Causes of interpersonal conflicts

In society, millions of interpersonal conflicts flare up every day; there is no person who does not participate in them at least once. If an individual is not the instigator of the confrontation, then he can be drawn into it even against his will. This is facilitated by various causes of interpersonal conflicts, which can be divided into five groups:

1. Information reasons, which are based on information unacceptable to one of the parties. These may include incomplete or inaccurate facts, rumors, misinformation, the release of unsolicited or confidential communications, misinterpretations, or controversial issues in existing laws or regulations.
2. Confrontation between people often arises against the background of behavioral factors. Rudeness, aggression or selfishness of one of the parties.
3. Dissatisfaction with the relationship between the parties. This can be either dissatisfaction with the existing interaction, or a proposal for its development or continuation.
4. Value reasons. This may include those personal attitudes and beliefs that are accepted by one side but rejected by the other.
5. Structural factors or stable circumstances that exist regardless of the will of a particular individual, that is, those that he cannot change. System of government or justice, gender, age, etc.

Types of conflicts by area of ​​manifestation

The types of conflicts are determined by the areas of their manifestation, which are based on:

1. Political.
2. Social.
3. Economic.
4. Organizational.

Political conflicts occur during the struggle for power, on a small or large scale. This type of conflict occurs when two or more political alliances confront each other.

Social conflict arises against the background of human disagreements, manifested in different areas: rallies, strikes, armed confrontations.

Economic conflicts occur when contradictions arise in economic terms: the struggle for the division of property, benefits or resources.

Organizational conflicts are considered as a consequence of hierarchical relationships and the regulation of human activity, as well as the application of the principle of distribution of human relationships. This type of conflict includes the implementation of established rules, assigning a number of responsibilities to an employee, etc.

Analysis of the conflict

Rarely do those in conflict try to make a detailed analysis of the situation. Although only in this case contradictions in the interests of each side can become a source of development and contribute to better mutual understanding.

The conflict resolution technique described above is based on their analysis. This is not the only parsing method, but it is very effective. To quickly solve a problem, you need to learn how to formulate it correctly. Analyzing a difficult situation helps this.

This article provided an example of a conflict and its solution. Regardless of its type (interpersonal, intercultural, pedagogical), the path to resolution is approximately the same.

Situational approach

This approach is focused on external factors, the situation that determines the emergence and specifics of the conflict. Thus, in the research of the Turkish psychologist Muzafer Sherif, it was found that the hostility of one group towards another is significantly reduced if, instead of competitive conditions, they are provided with cooperative conditions (the need to perform joint activities in which the result depends on the common efforts of all participants). Thus, Sherif concludes that the factors of the situation in which groups interact are decisive in determining the cooperative or competitive nature of intergroup interaction.

Conflict Management

The presence of multiple causes of conflicts increases the likelihood of their occurrence, but does not necessarily lead to conflict interactions. Sometimes the potential benefits of participating in a conflict are not worth the costs. However, having entered into a conflict, each party, as a rule, begins to do everything to ensure that its point of view is accepted, and prevents the other party from doing the same. Therefore, in such cases, conflict management is necessary to make their consequences functional (constructive) and reduce the number of dysfunctional (destructive) consequences, which, in turn, will affect the likelihood of subsequent conflicts.

There are structural (organizational) and interpersonal methods of conflict management.

Towards structural methods

include:

• A clear formulation of requirements, that is, an explanation of the requirements for the work results of both each individual employee and the department as a whole, the presence of clearly and unambiguously formulated rights and responsibilities, rules and performance of work.
• The use of coordinating mechanisms, that is, strict adherence to the principle of unity of command, when the subordinate knows whose requirements he must fulfill, as well as the creation of special integration services that should link the goals of various units.
• Establishing common goals and developing common values, that is, informing all employees about the policies, strategies and prospects of the organization, as well as the state of affairs in various departments.
• Using a reward system that is based on performance criteria, eliminating conflicts of interests between various departments and employees.

Attitude to the concept of “conflict”

Most often, conflict is a very negative phenomenon that causes negative emotions. Until recently, it was believed that any kind of conflict does not lead to anything good.

However, modern management representatives are increasingly convinced that certain types of conflicts are very appropriate even in leading companies where employee relations are worthy of the highest marks.

The main thing is to learn how to manage conflict.

Classification of conflicts according to the specifics of the opposing parties and the conditions for the development of the conflict

According to the specifics of the opposing sides and the conditions of development, conflicts can be internal, external and antagonistic.

Internal conflicts are characterized by the interaction of two or more opposing entities within a community or group of people.

EXAMPLE: An excellent example of internal conflict is intra-class struggle, for example the struggle for leadership.

External conflicts - represent the interaction of opposites that relate to different objects (groups, classes, etc.).

EXAMPLE: An example of an external conflict is the confrontation between man and natural elements or the struggle of the body with the external environment.

Antagonistic conflicts are one of the most acute conflicts, because are interactions between social groups that are irreconcilably opposed to each other. What is unique is that the very concept of “antagonism” is very common in medicine and biology - antagonism of teeth, muscles, microbes, drugs, poisons, etc. can occur. In addition, in mathematical science, antagonism is considered as an opposition of interests. In its pure form, antagonism is presented in social processes.

EXAMPLE: A striking example of an antagonistic conflict is war, market competition, revolution, sports competition, etc.

In addition to all of the above, a correct understanding and interpretation of conflicts, as well as their functions, features, essence and consequences, is impossible without typology, i.e. without identifying the basic types of conflicts based on identifying their similarities and differences and ways of identifying them with the commonality of the main differences and characteristics.

To make it possible to choose an adequate method of influencing and managing a conflict (which you will learn about in our next lessons), it is necessary to classify conflicts according to their main characteristics: methods of resolution, areas of manifestation, direction of influence, degree of expression, number of participants and violated needs.

It is on the basis of typology that both types and varieties of conflicts are determined. The type of conflict as a variation of conflict interaction is distinguished according to certain characteristics.

Two types of conflicts

Based on their impact on the work of a group or organization, conflicts are divided into:

• constructive,
• destructive.

Constructive conflicts are incidents that ultimately lead to positive consequences. Below are their distinguishing features.

• The disagreement is resolved in a manner that is entirely satisfactory to the participants. Each of the parties feels its merit in resolving the conflict that has arisen.
• The joint solution is implemented quickly and easily.
• The participants in the incident find mutual understanding, thanks to which they can avoid similar problems in the future.
• If a disagreement arises between a boss and a subordinate, the latter has the opportunity to express without fear his point of view, which differs from the leader.
• Relations between employees are becoming warmer.
• Both sides look at disagreements as completely normal things.

An example of a constructive conflict: imagine that an ordinary employee cannot find a common language with his boss regarding any issue. After an open conversation, they manage to find a compromise and improve their relationship.

Destructive conflicts are incidents that lead to negative consequences. In such cases, both parties are unable to find any compromise to solve the problem.

Moreover, the parties to the conflict begin to experience hostility towards each other. The consequences of this type of conflict include:

• competitive relationships between subjects;
• reluctance to make contact;
• viewing another object as an enemy, other people's views are wrong, but your own are always correct;
• desire to reduce or stop any joint work with the warring party;
• the belief that winning a dispute is more important than finding common ground;
• pessimism, negative emotions, grumpiness.

There are quite a few examples of destructive conflicts: military confrontations, crimes, fights, etc.

Examples of interpersonal conflicts

Professionals argue that interpersonal conflict in psychology is an integral part of life in human society. It is caused by a large number of reasons mentioned above. Which is why examples in real life can be found everywhere:

1. The boss gives an interview to a local newspaper about the activities of his company. After the issue is published, he realizes that many facts have been distorted by the journalist. The parties meet and the editorial staff member refuses to issue a retraction, citing his interview notes.
2. Students in one dorm room argue over who should do the cleaning. One believes that everyone should take turns cleaning up, while the other is sure that the one who litters the most should clean up more often.
3. A husband and wife cannot find a common language regarding raising their son. An interpersonal conflict flares up when a preschooler refuses to dress himself, asking his parents to do it. The father forbids the mother to dress her son, but she still helps the child.

Motivational approach

From the point of view of this approach, the hostility of a certain individual or group is primarily a reflection of its internal problems. So, for example, from Freud’s position, autogroup hostility is an inevitable condition of any intergroup interaction, having a universal character. The main function of this hostility is a means of maintaining internal stability and cohesion of the group. Political conflicts occupy a special place in this case. Examples can be found in the history of the formation of the fascist movement in Germany and Italy (the idea of ​​racial superiority), as well as in the history of the fight against “enemies of the people” during the period of Stalinist repressions. Freud associated the mechanism of formation of auto-group hostility towards “strangers” with the Oedipus complex, the instinct of aggression, as well as with emotional identification with the leader of the group - “father”, etc. From a moral point of view, such facts cannot be considered as a constructive conflict. Examples of racial discrimination and mass terror, however, clearly demonstrate the possibility of uniting members of one group in the process of confrontation with others.

In the theoretical concept of aggressiveness by American psychologist Leonard Berkowitz, relative deprivation is one of the key factors in intergroup conflicts. That is, one of the groups assesses its position in society as more disadvantaged compared to the position of other groups. At the same time, deprivation is relative in nature, since the disadvantaged position in reality may not correspond to reality.

Rivalry

This strategy is typical for most people, in which the interlocutor tries to pull the blanket to his side. Only their own interests are valued, other people's needs are not taken into account, and opinions and arguments are simply ignored. The competing party is trying to force people to accept their point of view in every possible way.

Position and power can even be used for coercion in this style of behavior. Participants in the conflict representing the opponent are often not satisfied with the solution, and they may sabotage it or abandon the relationship. Therefore, competition is ineffective and rarely fruitful. Moreover, the decision made in most cases turns out to be incorrect, since other people’s opinions are not taken into account. When is competition effective in conflict?

• When there is authority and sufficient power, and the proposed solution seems obvious and the most correct.
• There is no other choice and nothing to lose.
• If the interlocutors (often subordinates) prefer an authoritarian style of communication.

Pros of conflicts

There are also a number of positive aspects in conflict situations:

• A person draws attention to his feelings, dissatisfaction, emotions.
• The nervous system is discharged and conflict makes it possible to prevent more serious situations.
• You can find people who think exactly like you.
• Conflict itself accelerates self-awareness.

But, even despite this state of affairs, try not to get into such situations. And if you still couldn’t avoid the conflict, then remain objective.

The main causes of conflicts in an organization are the following:

1. Limited resources and distribution. In the largest organizations, resources are always limited, so management must decide how to allocate financial, human resources, raw materials and supplies among various groups in order to most effectively achieve the organization's goals. The need to share resources almost inevitably leads to various types of conflicts.

2. Task interdependence. Where one person or group depends on another person or group to complete a task, there is always the possibility of conflict. All organizations are systems consisting of interconnected elements; if one unit or person performs inadequately, the interdependence of tasks can cause conflict.

3. Differences in goals. Conflict increases as organizations become more specialized and divided into departments

Specialized units, in turn, formulate their own goals and can pay more attention to achieving them than the goals of the entire organization.

4. Differences in ideas and values. People's perceptions of a situation may be completely different depending on their goals. Instead of assessing a situation objectively, people may consider only those aspects of the situation that they believe are favorable to their group and personal needs. Differences in people's values ​​are also a very common cause of conflict.

5. Differences in behavior, life experience and level of education. Research shows that people with personality traits that make them highly authoritarian, dogmatic, and indifferent to other people's opinions are more likely to engage in conflict. Differences in life experiences, values, education, work experience, age, dress style and social level reduce the degree of mutual understanding and cooperation between people in an organization.

6. Poor communications. Poor communication is both a cause and a consequence of conflict. Poor communication can act as a catalyst for conflict, preventing individual workers or a group from adequately assessing the situation and understanding it from the perspective of other workers. Conflicts can also arise and worsen due to the inability of managers to develop and communicate accurate job descriptions to subordinates.

What actions can lead to conflict

The causes of conflicts are as numerous as the conflicts. The main causes of conflicts in organizations are as follows:

1. Limited resources distributed in the organization. As you know, resources in any economic system are limited, but people’s needs have no limitations. Therefore, even the largest and richest organizations always experience a shortage of resources. The need to distribute them inevitably leads to conflicts. People want to get more and more and are looking for ways to satisfy their own needs that seem quite reasonable to them. What is an obstacle to accessing resources will be a cause of conflict for them.

2. Task interdependence. Potential for conflict exists wherever people depend on each other to perform common tasks. In organizations, line and staff personnel are closely interconnected. Failure to satisfy mutual demands leads to conflicts.

3. Differences in goals. The likelihood of conflicts of this kind increases as the organization increases and specialized units are allocated. For example, the newly created “Marketing Department” at the enterprise has the goal of ensuring the organization receives as large a volume of orders as possible with the prospect of selling products on the most favorable terms. Production divisions have their own goal - to produce products that do not require the introduction of new technologies, retraining of personnel, etc. Top management has their own goals - to update the order portfolio and spend less on innovations. Individual employees of an organization often pursue their own goals that differ from the goals of others.

4. Differences in views and ideas. Managers and executives may have different views on ways and means of achieving common goals, even in the absence of conflicting interests. Everyone defends their point of view, considering it the only correct one, and can take their opponent for an enemy.

5. Poor communications. Conflicts in an organization are often associated with inaccurate and incomplete transmission of information or the lack of necessary information or its incorrect interpretation. For this reason, it is very difficult to manage conflict.

6. Frustrated hopes. Promises made to people are not kept.

7. Differences in the psychological characteristics of people

An important cause of conflicts may be differences in temperament, character, needs, motives and other psychological characteristics of people. These differences are especially often the causes of interpersonal conflicts.

Sometimes there are people who constantly show aggressiveness, hostility, and negatively perceive what they are told about. They constantly either “attack” or “defend”, challenging every word without delving into the meaning of what their opponent said.

Classification of conflict agents

Striving for Excellence:

• Direct manifestations of superiority (orders, threats, criticism, accusations, ridicule, sarcasm);
• Condescending attitude;
• Categorical;
• Imposing your advice;
• Interrupting your interlocutor.

Manifestation of selfishness:

• Deception or attempted deception;
• Shifting responsibility to another person;
• Withholding information to “control the situation.”

Violation of ethics rules:

• Neglect of responsibilities;
• Insubordination.

Rules for eliminating conflictogens:

• A critical attitude towards yourself and your actions;
• Tolerance for the actions and words of opponents;
• Trust in the interlocutor (if there are no objective reasons for mistrust)

Types and types of conflict situations in the business environment

The most common are clashes of interests in organized groups, namely in workers' collectives, among teachers in schools, in organizations made up of individuals of different ethnic backgrounds. In this case, the following types of conflicts are considered:

• Intrapersonal. It is formed in connection with the dissatisfaction of an individual with the requirements imposed on his activities. That is, if a person is forced to do something against his will, or the fulfillment of a given task contradicts the foundations and values ​​of the individual, an intrapersonal conflict situation arises.
• Interpersonal. Most often, interpersonal conflicts arise in groups. Their manifestation is directly related to the lack of any resources to achieve set goals, the desire to “curry favor” with superiors (higher positions), as well as to the character traits of each group member. Basically, “friction” in a team arises due to the radical dissimilarity of individuals, the difference in their worldview and different temperaments.
• Between the individual and the group. The emergence of a conflict of this kind is caused by defending the opinion of one individual in front of a group. That is, a person who disagrees with the opinion of the majority tries to defend his idea, while creating a conflict situation.
• Intergroup. Any team consists of at least 2 groups: formal and informal, between which conflicts periodically arise. Basically, the basis for this is the unfair attitude of the authorities towards the informal group that unites to protect and defend its interests.
• Managerial. It develops during the work process, during the distribution of resources. Managerial conflict arises due to a mismatch in the temperament of subordinates, divergence of values ​​and goals.

Types of conflicts by direction of impact

Similar types of conflicts are divided into:

1. Vertical.
2. Horizontal.

In vertical conflicts, the amount of actual power decreases along the vertical axis from top to bottom, defining different starting conditions for both sides of the disagreement (clarification of the relationship between a manager and ordinary employees or a teacher and a student).

Horizontal conflicts arise when equal forces take part in an incident: neighbors, military personnel of the same rank, students.

Intrapersonal conflict

It implies a subjectively experienced mismatch of certain tendencies in a person’s self-awareness (evaluations, attitudes, interests, etc.), interacting with each other in the process of development (Mitina L. M., Kuzmenkova O. V.). In other words, we are talking about a collision of certain motivational formations that cannot be satisfied (realized) at the same time. For example, a person may not like his job, but be afraid to quit because of the prospect of remaining unemployed. A child may feel a desire to skip class and at the same time be afraid of being punished for it, etc.

In turn, this type of conflict can be of the following types (Antsupov A. Ya., Shipilov A. I.):

• motivational (“I want” and “I want”);
• conflict of inadequate self-esteem (“I can” and “I can”);
• role-playing (“must” and “must”);
• conflict of unfulfilled desire (“I want” and “I can”);
• moral (“I want” and “need”);
• adaptive (“need”, “can”).

Thus, this classification identifies three main components of the personal structure that come into conflict with each other: “I want” (want), “I must” (must) and “I am” (can). If we compare this concept with the well-known personality structure developed by Sigmund Freud within the framework of psychoanalysis, we can observe a conflict between the Id (I want), the Ego (I can) and the Super-Ego (I must). Also in this case, it is advisable to recall the transactional analysis of Eric Berne and the three personality positions he identifies: Child (I want), Adult (I can), Parent (I need).

Political conflict

Anti-constructive actions caused by differences in the interests of political groups (interest means the totality of interests of group members).

Political conflict is one of the possible options for interaction between political subjects. It can be defined as a type (and result) of competitive interaction between two or more parties (groups, states, individuals) challenging each other's power or resources. The concept of political conflict means the struggle of some subjects with others for influence in the system of political relations, access to making generally significant decisions, disposal of resources, monopoly of interests and recognition of them as socially necessary, for everything that constitutes power and political dominance. Conflicts, reflecting the rivalry of certain subjects (institutions) with some forces, as a rule, express their cooperation with others, stimulating the formation of political coalitions, alliances, and agreements. Thus, political conflicts presuppose a clear formulation of the positions of the forces participating in the political game, which has a beneficial effect on the rationalization and structuring of the entire political process.

The leading role in the emergence of conflicts is played, as recognized by conflict studies, by social factors. Among this type of determinants, there are three main reasons underlying political confrontations:

• various forms and aspects of social relations that determine the discrepancy between the statuses of political subjects, their role assignments and functions, interests and needs for power, lack of resources, etc. These, relatively speaking, objective sources of political conflicts most often determine the contradictions between the ruling elite and the counter-elite , various pressure groups fighting for parts of the state budget, as well as between all other political subjects of the power system. The external orientation of such conflicts, as a rule, can be extinguished quite easily. However, it is possible to eradicate the sources of conflict disposition of the parties involved in various ways in the political struggle only through transformations, either changing the very organization of power in society, or reforming the socio-economic foundations of the political activities of competing subjects;
• differences between people (their groups and associations) in basic values ​​and political ideals, in assessments of historical and current events, as well as in other subjectively significant ideas about political phenomena. Such conflicts most often arise in those countries where qualitatively different opinions about ways to reform statehood collide, the foundations of a new political structure of society are being laid, and ways out of the social crisis are being sought. In resolving such conflicts, finding a compromise is often very difficult;
• processes of identification of citizens, their awareness of their belonging to social, ethnic, religious and other communities and associations, which determines their understanding of their place in the social and political system. Conflicts of this kind are characteristic, first of all, of unstable societies, where people have to recognize themselves as citizens of a new state and get used to non-traditional norms of relationships with the authorities. The same contradictions arise in those countries where tensions in relations with the ruling structures cause people to defend the cultural integrity of their national, religious and similar groups.

How to behave in different situations

In a conflict situation, you should avoid excessive emotionality - this can complicate it. It is necessary to remain calm and restrained, to maintain respect for the opponent. Mutual negativity will make it impossible to resolve controversial issues.

There are certain strategies for human behavior in a conflict situation:

1. Rivalry. A tough strategy when you need to win by any means in an open struggle for your interests. There is a dangerous “who will win” principle at work here.
2. Cooperation. Joint decision making that satisfies both parties.
3. Compromise. Between the parties to the conflict, in the form of a discussion, a compromise solution is sought by analyzing disagreements and mutual concessions.
4. Avoidance. Participants in the conflict ignore its danger, do not want to take responsibility for making decisions, and want to quietly get out of the situation. With this strategy, the solution to the problem can be postponed to another time.
5. Device. This is a method of smoothing out disagreements by neglecting one’s own interests and completely accepting all the demands of the opposite side.

Each confrontation has its own characteristics, and there are no identical ways out of it. To avoid stress, you need to adhere to certain rules of behavior and response. Psychologists give the following recommendations to simplify the resolution of all types of conflicts:

1. Behave with restraint, watch your movements, speech and facial expressions, avoid closed poses.
2. You cannot immediately and sharply deny someone else’s opinion, interrupt, or raise your voice.
3. Listen carefully and tolerantly to the interlocutor, repeat his words to confirm that he has been heard.
4. After listening to the opposite side, present your arguments in a soft, friendly manner. This will disarm a negative opponent.
5. You should not take verbal abuse seriously and take it personally.
6. During a developing conflict, restrain the response, be sure that you have understood your opponent correctly.
7. It is necessary to beware of entering into disagreements with individuals who have mental disabilities or a low level of intelligence. A reasonable ending is excluded in this case.

Additional Information. Distracting your opponent with questions on other topics will help buy time to think about further behavior.

Table with main types

Since the classification of conflicts into types is rather arbitrary, without clear boundaries, other types periodically arise against the background of complex social relationships. Unsatisfied human needs make life unthinkable without disagreements and contradictions. The ability to resolve conflict situations makes life easier in many ways.

What causes social conflicts

Here are examples of common objective reasons:

1. economic: high level of inflation (how is that?), unemployment (what is that?), delays in salary payments;
2. social: unequal opportunities for the poor and rich, discrimination against certain groups (how is that?), unviability of public institutions (for example, trade unions);
3. religious: infringement of the rights of religious minorities, imposition of a common worldview for all citizens;
4. political: instability of the system, violation of promises by officials, usurpation of power by a tyrant.

Scientists include the contradictions between the interests of different subjects, the discrepancy between social norms and the real needs of people, the imperfection of human nature (in particular, selfishness), and a low level of intelligence (which interferes with the search for a compromise) as subjective reasons.

Many people confuse reasons with reasons. The latter only serve as a trigger when a conflict situation has existed for a long time.

Thus, the reason for the Second World War was the Gleiwitz Incident, when SS men dressed in Polish uniforms staged an attack on a German radio station.

Compromise

This is a less constructive style of behavior in conflict. Compromise nevertheless occurs, especially when it is necessary to quickly relieve accumulated tension and resolve a dispute. The model resembles “collaboration”, but is carried out at a superficial level. Each side is inferior to the other in some way. Therefore, as a result of a compromise, the interests of opponents are partially satisfied. Reaching a common solution requires effective communication skills.

In what cases is compromise effective?

• When the interests of both parties cannot be fulfilled at the same time. For example, opponents are applying for one position.
• If it is more important to win something than to lose everything.
• The interlocutors have equal power and present equally convincing arguments. Then cooperation gives way to compromise.
• A temporary solution is needed because there is no time to find another one.

Conflict between individual and group

This type usually occurs when an individual in a group refuses to act in the same way as the rest of its members, thereby demonstrating nonconformist behavior. Or he commits a certain act that is considered unacceptable in this group, which provokes a conflict. An example is Rolan Bykov’s feature film “Scarecrow” (1983), in which the main character, Lena Bessoltseva, comes into conflict with class. Also a striking example of nonconformist behavior in a group, provoking conflict, is the tragic fate of the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno.

The most common types of conflicts

More often than others, interpersonal and intrapersonal clashes, as well as clashes between a group and an individual, occur in a person’s everyday life and activities. An example of a conflict between two people can be found in any school class, team, or family:

• Failure to accept a new group member based on external criteria. For example, a student comes to class who does not correspond to the group’s ideas about appearance; they do not notice him, push him away, and do not invite him to participate in joint games and discussions. Here there is a conflict between a group and an individual.
• A dispute over raising a child is an interpersonal conflict.
• An order from management to increase working hours for a specific specialist. This is fraught with the emergence of an intrapersonal conflict situation.

Forms of conflicts

This category implies the presence of a certain specificity of actions that form the conflict. Among the main forms in which a conflict can occur, the following can be identified (Samsonova N.V.): dispute (controversy), claim, condemnation, boycott, strike, sabotage, strike, abuse (swearing), quarrel, threat, enmity, encroachment , coercion, attack, war (political conflicts). Examples of disputes and polemics can also be found in scientific communities, which once again proves the possibility of a constructive nature of the conflict.

In relation to all types of conflicts, three main theoretical approaches can be considered:

• motivational;
• situational;
• cognitive.

Strategies for dealing with conflict

Kenneth Thomas identifies the following effective strategies for human behavior in conflict:

• rivalry;
• device;
• evasion;
• compromise;
• cooperation.

Some scholars also identify two additional effective conflict resolution strategies: suppression and negotiation.

Rivalry is the main strategy that most people choose when conflict arises. When competing, a person assumes that he is obliged to defend his point of view, but if he takes into account the point of view of another person, he has the opportunity to lose

The opposite position is not taken into account by him

Advantages of the “Rivalry” strategy:

• Establishing strict control over the development of the conflict and the actions of the opponent.
• Rigidly defending your position, taking into account your own interests.
• Improving the quality of your personal performance through the use of a competitive strategy.

Disadvantages of the “Rivalry” strategy:

• The possibility of using deception, cunning in order to create an advantage in one’s favor, provoking an opponent, which can lead to negative consequences.
• The use of this strategy is impossible in cases where long-term relationships, friendship, love are implied between the subjects; it is necessary to take into account the interests of the other person.
• Rivalry indicates a party’s reluctance to enter into a constructive dialogue due to their own insecurity.

Adaptation characterizes a special way of human behavior in a conflict, when the subject puts his personal needs and interests into the background, makes concessions to the opponent, and aims to prevent further development of the conflict.

Advantages of the “Adaptation” strategy:

• The ability to save personal resources.
• Due to the content of victory, the opportunity to gain the upper hand, to assert oneself, in the absence of claims to victory and resistance.

Disadvantages of the “Accommodation” strategy:

• The subject is forced to constantly agree with the opponent’s demands, please him, and demonstrate a passive position in active ways.
• The subject is forced to take and indulge the opponent.
• Due to the subjective side, the use of this strategy is impossible in cases where the cause of conflicts is something significant. Otherwise, the conflict will not be resolved; negative emotions arise, which again lead to conflict.

The avoidance strategy is that a person tries in any way to postpone the conflict and making important decisions until “later.”

Advantages of the Avoidance strategy:

This strategy is useful when no further relations with the opponent are planned or the essence of the conflict is not particularly important for the parties. It implies a refusal to use force and a denial of the importance of the conflict.

Disadvantages of the Avoidance strategy:

• Demonstrates the opponent's fear of making a counter move.
• It is not applicable in cases where the relationship with a person is important for the opponent; the avoidance strategy in this case will only worsen the situation, leading to a break in the relationship.

Compromise acts as a partial way to satisfy the needs of the parties.

Advantages of the “Compromise” strategy:

• The parties occupy equal positions.
• The parties can offer their options for resolving the conflict.
• Opponents strive to find a mutually beneficial solution that takes into account the interests of both parties. The decision must comply with the principle of fairness.

Disadvantages of the Compromise strategy:

• Compromise is an intermediate stage of conflict resolution that does not exhaust all problems.
• Sometimes parties use cunning or flattery to induce good intentions in the other party.

The cooperation strategy provides for resolving the conflict in a way beneficial to both parties

Moreover, it is important not only to take into account the opponent’s position, but also to strive to be as satisfied as possible with the results of conflict resolution

Advantages of the “Collaboration” strategy:

• Complete collection of information about the subjects of the conflict, the causes and conditions of the conflict.
• Using sufficient resources to resolve the conflict between the parties:
• The opportunity to openly discuss the conflict and objectify it

Disadvantages of the Collaboration strategy:

• It is not applicable when the essence of the conflict is not important for the parties, the parties measure their strength.
• It is not applicable if one of the opponents is not inclined to cooperate, in which case the conflict will not be resolved, at best, its resolution will be delayed for an indefinite period.

Figure 1. Options for behavior in conflict situations. Author24 - online exchange of student work

Types of conflicts depending on violated needs

Similar types of conflicts are divided into:

1. Conflicts of interest.
2. Cognitive conflicts.

Conflicts of interest involve people between whom there are disagreements based on some interests (two children cannot share a toy; spouses, having one tablet or computer in the house, want to use it at the same time).

Cognitive conflicts are conflicts of knowledge or opinions. Often, each side tries to convince its opponent that only his views are the only correct ones: disputes or discussions, during which subjects try to impose their views or ideas on people.

Consequences of intrapersonal conflicts

It is believed that intrapersonal conflict is an inseparable element in the formation of the individual’s psyche. Therefore, the consequences of internal confrontations can have a positive aspect (that is, be productive) for the individual as well as a negative one (that is, destroy personal structures).

A confrontation is considered positive if it has the maximum development of opposing structures and is characterized by minimal personal costs for its resolution. One of the tools for harmonizing personal development is constructively overcome intrapersonal confrontation. The subject is able to recognize his personality only by resolving internal confrontation and intrapersonal conflicts.

Intrapersonal confrontation can help develop adequate self-esteem, which, in turn, contributes to personal self-realization and self-knowledge.

Internal conflicts that aggravate splitting of personality, turn into crises, or contribute to the formation of reactions of a neurotic nature are considered destructive or negative.

Acute internal confrontations often lead to the destruction of existing interpersonal interactions at work or family relationships. As a rule, they become the causes of increased aggressiveness, restlessness, anxiety, and irritability during communicative interaction. Long-term intrapersonal confrontation hides a threat to the effectiveness of activities.

In addition, intrapersonal confrontations are characterized by a tendency to develop into neurotic conflicts. Anxieties inherent in conflicts can transform into a source of illness if they begin to occupy a central place in the system of personal relationships.

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Examples of conflict typology

As N.V. Grishina notes, in everyday consciousness, examples of conflicts include a fairly wide range of phenomena - from armed conflict and confrontation between certain social groups and up to marital disagreements. It does not matter whether we are talking about a debate in parliament or a struggle of personal desires. In modern science, one can find a huge number of different classifications, but there is no clear differentiation between the concepts of “types” and “kinds” of conflicts. Examples from both groups are more often used as synonyms. Meanwhile, in our opinion, it is more expedient to highlight three main aspects in the typology of conflicts:

• types of conflicts;
• types of conflicts;
• forms of conflicts.

The first aspect seems to be the broadest in scope. Each type may include several types of conflicts, which, in turn, can occur in one form or another.

Classification of conflicts

Constructive (functional) conflicts

lead to informed decision making and promote relationship development.

The following main functional

consequences of conflicts for the organization:

1. The problem is solved in a way that suits all parties, and everyone feels involved in its solution.
2. A jointly made decision is implemented faster and better.
3. The parties gain experience in cooperation in resolving controversial issues.
4. The practice of resolving conflicts between a manager and subordinates destroys the so-called “submission syndrome” - the fear of openly expressing one’s opinion that differs from the opinion of one’s seniors.
5. Relationships between people improve.
6. People stop viewing the presence of disagreements as an “evil” that always leads to bad consequences.

Destructive (dysfunctional) conflicts

hinder effective interaction and decision making.

Major dysfunctional

the consequences of conflicts are:

1. Unproductive, competitive relationships between people.
2. Lack of desire for cooperation and good relationships.
3. The idea of ​​the opponent as an “enemy”, his position as only negative, and his position as exclusively positive.
4. Reducing or completely stopping interaction with the opposite party.
5. The belief that “winning” a conflict is more important than solving the real problem.
6. Feeling resentful, dissatisfied, bad mood.

Realistic conflicts

are caused by the failure to satisfy certain demands of the participants or the unfair, in the opinion of one or both parties, distribution of any advantages between them.

Unrealistic conflicts

have as their goal the open expression of accumulated negative emotions, grievances, and hostility, that is, acute conflict interaction here becomes not a means of achieving a specific result, but an end in itself.

Intrapersonal conflict

occurs when there is no agreement between various psychological factors of the individual’s inner world: needs, motives, values, feelings, etc. Such conflicts associated with work in an organization can take various forms, but most often it is a role conflict, when different A person's roles place different demands on him. For example, being a good family man (the role of father, mother, wife, husband, etc.), a person should spend evenings at home, and his position as a manager may oblige him to stay late at work. Here the cause of the conflict is the mismatch between personal needs and production requirements.

Interpersonal conflict

- This is the most common type of conflict. It manifests itself in different ways in organizations. However, the cause of the conflict is not only differences in the characters, views, and behavior patterns of people (that is, subjective reasons); most often, such conflicts are based on objective reasons. Most often, this is a struggle for limited resources (materials, equipment, production space, labor, etc.). Everyone believes that it is he, and not someone else, who needs resources. Conflicts also arise between a manager and a subordinate, for example, when a subordinate is convinced that the manager makes unreasonable demands on him, and the manager believes that the subordinate does not want to work to his full potential.

Conflict between individual and group

occurs when one of the members of the organization violates the norms of behavior or communication that have developed in informal groups. This type also includes conflicts between the group and the leader, which are most difficult with an authoritarian leadership style.

Intergroup conflict

is a conflict between the formal and (or) informal groups that make up the organization. For example, between the administration and ordinary employees, between employees of various departments, between the administration and the trade union.

- this is the emergence of a contradiction between any components of the social structure (people, social groups) or a clash due to the similarity of the desire to possess something valuable for the conflicting parties. Subjects of the conflict (participants): Instigators.

Signs of conflict

Every conflict has its own characteristics. Let's look at the most obvious of them.

1. Bipolarity

Bipolarity (opposition) is usually understood as parallel opposition and interconnectedness, which contains the internal potential of the existing conflict. However, the presence of bipolarity does not indicate any form of disagreement.

1. Activity

Activity here is perceived as struggle. For its appearance, a “push” is needed coming from one of the parties to the conflict.

1. Subjects of the conflict

The subject of the conflict acts as an active party interested in clarifying the relationship. Most often, the subjects of the incident are characterized by conflict thinking.

Constructive and destructive conflict - difficulties of assessment

It is worth noting that the confrontation between individuals or their groups is quite difficult to assess. It is not always possible to determine the variety due to the following objective factors:

There are no clear criteria according to which constructive and destructive conflict are distinguished. Most often, this can only be done after the confrontation is over, when the consequences can be assessed (and even then the answer may not be clear-cut). Most conflicts, regardless of the environment in which they arise, are characterized by both constructive and destructive functions simultaneously. The characteristics of the confrontation can vary significantly depending on what stage it is at. A constructive conflict can become such only after an acute phase or, conversely, move into the realm of destruction. When assessing a conflict, it is always worth considering the subjective side. So, one side may consider it constructive, but for the other it will be destructive.

In addition, it is important to take into account the interests of third parties who may initiate confrontation

Structure and specificity of the conflict

L. Coser is considered the founder of the conflict paradigm in general in the humanities. One of the strengths of his theory is the recognition of the fact that there are examples of conflicts of positive functional significance. In other words, Coser argued that conflict is not always a destructive phenomenon; there are cases when it is a necessary condition for creating internal connections of a particular system or a condition for maintaining social unity.

The structure of a conflict is formed by its participants (opponents, warring parties) and their actions, the subject, conditions/situation of the conflict (for example, a crush on public transport) and its outcome. The subject of the conflict, as a rule, is closely related to the needs of the parties involved, for the satisfaction of which the struggle takes place. Generally speaking, they can be combined into three large groups: material, social (status-role) and spiritual. Dissatisfaction with certain needs that are significant for an individual (group) can be considered as a cause of conflicts.

Cognitive approach

In this case, the emphasis is on the dominant role of the cognitive (mental) attitudes of the conflict participants relative to each other. Thus, in a situation of intergroup conflicts, the hostility of one group towards another is not necessarily due to an objective conflict of interests (as was stated in the realistic theory of conflicts within the framework of the situational approach). Accordingly, it is not the cooperative/competitive nature of the situation that becomes the decisive factor in interpersonal and intergroup interaction, but the group attitudes that arise in the process. The common goals themselves lead to the resolution of conflicts between opponents - it depends on the formation of social attitudes that unite groups and help overcome their confrontation.

Tajfel and Turner developed social identity theory, which argues that conflict between groups is not necessarily a consequence of social injustice (contrary to the motivational approach). When faced with this injustice, individuals have the opportunity to independently choose one or another way to overcome it.

Reasons and functions

How to motivate yourself - set a goal and do everything to achieve it

The cause of an aggravation of a conflict situation can be anything that affects the interests of an individual or group or limits activities.

Main causes of conflicts:

• a distorted idea of ​​oneself, the current situation, other subjects;
• different characters and temperaments;
• discrimination on various grounds;
• a battle for place or benefits when they are limited.

The functions determine the dynamics of the conflict and its impact on the external environment and psychological climate. There are constructive and destructive conflicts.

Constructive performs the following functions:

• defusing a tense situation;
• informational and connecting (the emergence of new information about subjects);
• team building;
• prioritization;
• stimulation for further development;
• open expression of thoughts;
• relationship diagnostics.

Destructive performs negative functions:

• decreased performance;
• deterioration of relationships;
• emotional burnout;
• underestimating the importance of the opponent;
• emotional craving for further struggle.

Types of conflicts

All people are unique individuals with their own beliefs, interests, and needs. That is why human relationships are so complex and multifaceted. Conflicts in society are almost inevitable. They manifest themselves in various fields of activity, personal, business and social relationships, politics, and economics.

The literature gives different definitions of a social phenomenon with an emphasis on contradictions. That is, a conflict is an acute manifestation of objective or subjective contradictions based on divergent views, inconsistency of judgments, interests in the process of social interaction.

Conflicts are usually perceived as an undesirable phenomenon and associated with negative emotions, disputes, aggression, and hostility of opposing parties. The notion has taken root that they should be avoided or resolved immediately.

Negative conflicts

Important! All types of conflicts in modern psychology are considered not only in a negative, but also in a positive way, as a generator of new ideas, a way of developing an individual, group, or organization.

A universal scheme for describing the conflict has not yet been developed. There are some disagreements in the created conceptual groups. To facilitate the classification of a complex social phenomenon, supporting concepts and basic characteristics are introduced.

Structure of the conflict:

• the object is the problem itself of the dispute that has arisen (resources, statuses, spiritual values);
• subjects – direct participants (individuals, groups, organizations);
• conditions – (family disputes, business environment);
• scale (interpersonal, regional, local);
• behavior strategies;
• final results.

Sometimes parties to a conflict are outsiders, who may be instigators, leaders, or accidentally involved people.

In a conflict, four stages of its development can be distinguished:

• the process of forming a conflict situation;
• identification and awareness of contradictions;
• choice of behavior tactics;
• permission.

To manage a conflict, a targeted influence on its development is required. This is possible by determining the cause of the disagreement, the features and the method of resolution. All efforts are directed toward achieving compatible goals.

Conflict management

For a correct understanding of the essence, features, functions and consequences, the main types of conflicts are distinguished.

For reasons:

• difference in goals and vision of what is desired;
• lack of resources;
• differences in views and thoughts on the issue raised;
• features of mental development, differences in feelings and emotions that irritate the participants.

By resolution method:

• antagonistic;
• compromise.

By areas of manifestation:

• social;
• foreign policy;
• economic;
• organizational;
• ethnic.

Political conflicts

By duration:

• short-term;
• protracted.

In the direction of influence:

• vertical - opposite sides are at different levels of the hierarchical system;
• horizontal – occur between subjects of the same level;
• mixed.

Depending on the number of participants, conflicts in society and their types are divided into:

1. Intrapersonal - occur within one individual, often due to a discrepancy between a person’s actions and his internal attitudes. Accompanied by psychological stress and negative emotions.
2. Interpersonal – the most common. A clash of goals, values, and behavior of two or more opponents in the process of social communication.
3. Intergroup. Confrontation between groups on a professional or emotional basis can lead to intra-organizational conflict.
4. Between the individual and the group. They arise when a new person in a team does not accept the terms of communication.

Interpersonal conflicts

Different types of conflict situations for various reasons can arise in the sphere of trade and services, structural divisions, and social institutions. There are innovative conflicts related to the development of certain organizations.

Stages of conflict

There are 4 stages of conflict development:

1. The formation of a conflict situation, that is, a potential conflict (not always realized by the subjects themselves).
2. Awareness of contradiction. Moreover, it can be adequate (real vision of the situation), inadequate (distorted vision of the situation), unclear (tension is obvious, but the reason is not clear), false (“made a mountain out of a molehill”).
3. Choosing conflict behavior tactics. The goal is to block the intentions and achievements of the opposite side.
4. Conflict resolution. Occurs due to a change in the situation or the attitude of the parties to it. Partial (external signs of conflict have been eliminated, but the parties still have internal motivations for confrontation) and complete (external and internal elimination of conflict behavior and motivations) resolution is possible.

Ethnonational conflict

These are contradictions between countries and peoples. The causes of such conflicts include:

• territorial disputes;
• cultural, historical, economic and social divisions;
• competition in the division of labor;
• struggle for resources.

Ethnonational conflicts develop longer than others. They are characterized by a latent period (putting forward demands), a manifestation stage (sanctions, the beginning of actions), an active period (attacks, strikes) and, in fact, the result (consequences).

As a rule, such conflicts are resolved first by force, then by finding a compromise and cooperation. These are political issues, so I don’t want to get into this jungle in more detail. Let's talk about something more mundane and smaller-scale.

Conflict Prevention

Prevention is always more effective than elimination. Therefore, they offer several methods to reduce the tension of the situation:

1. Consent, or common cause. If it is obvious that, for example, a conflict is brewing between children, then they need to be united in something that satisfies the interests of both. Being passionate, they will find other common topics and learn to collaborate.
2. Development of empathy, the ability to empathize.
3. Forming a respectful attitude and understanding of the value of each individual.
4. Relying on your opponent's strengths. It's important to highlight the differences, but in a positive way. “I know how to present material creatively; you can arrange it in a structured way.”
5. Relieving psychological stress with the help of “strokes” (holidays, presentations, joint recreation).

You need to undergo trainings yourself or the organizers conduct trainings, events, courses on the general development and strengthening of interpersonal relationships, improving communication skills.

Conflict culture of personality

Regardless of whether there are international conflicts, examples of which most clearly demonstrate the destructive nature of the conflicting behavior of the parties; or we are talking about a minor quarrel between work colleagues, the optimal way out seems extremely significant. The ability of the opposing parties to find compromises in a complex disputed situation, to restrain their own destructive behavior, to see possible prospects for further cooperation with real opponents - all these factors are the key to a possible favorable outcome. At the same time, no matter how important the total role of state policy, economic and cultural-legal systems in society is, the origins of this trend are in certain specific individuals. Just like a river begins with small streams.

We are talking about a conflictological culture of personality. The corresponding concept includes the ability and desire of an individual to prevent and resolve social conflicts (Samsonova N.V.). In this case, it is advisable to recall the concept of “constructive conflict”. Examples of modern conflicts (given their aggravated and large-scale nature) demonstrate, rather, the absence of any constructiveness in conflict interaction. In this regard, the concept of conflictological culture of the individual should be considered not only and not so much as one of the conditions for the optimal resolution of controversial situations in society, but also as the most important factor in the socialization of the personality of every modern individual.

General conflictology

1.1. The concept of conflict, its types and types

A conflict is a confrontation between two or more parties that are interconnected but pursuing their own goals. Conflicts can arise wherever there is development, both in living and inanimate nature, and accordingly the term “conflict” is used in the analysis of biological, physical and social phenomena.

In accordance with the subject of consideration, we are interested in conflict not just in living nature, but specifically in society. Conflict appears where mutual agreement cannot be reached. If tension arises between the parties that does not have an antagonistic basis, it can be overcome. Even if it is not possible to reach complete agreement on all issues, then quite often the parties do not move to the level of escalation of the conflict. That is, even in this case, tension does not develop into conflict, since a certain agreement promotes a tolerant attitude of the parties towards each other even on issues on which disagreements remain.

Conflict

(from Latin
conflictus
- collision) - the process of development and resolution of inconsistency of goals, states, relationships and actions of people, communities, determined by objective and subjective reasons. Conflict is a manifestation of connections and relationships between people, an individual and a social group, as well as between different groups.

The classification of the main types of conflicts is a theoretical, purely abstract procedure. As G.V. Plekhanov noted at one time, thanks to the process of abstraction, various aspects of the social whole take the form of separate categories, and various manifestations and expressions of human activity turn in our mind into special forces, supposedly causing, conditioning this activity, being its last reasons. Only in theory is it possible to isolate one or another type of conflict relations, and even more so their certain aspects, from a single social whole.

There have been many attempts to create a typology of conflicts. The complexity of typologization from a theoretical point of view is caused by the lack of uniform generally accepted scientific principles and the strong difference in cognitive prerequisites among different authors. From a practical perspective, typology can help in developing specific criteria for intervention in conflict situations. Typology is no less important from the point of view of analyzing the causes of a particular conflict. The organizational and technological complexity in this case is that the classifications already created by well-known and recognized scientists make it difficult to introduce new bases, which will certainly lead to some overlap with the criteria of other authors.

Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor at Salzburg and a number of other European universities, head of the consulting firm TRIGON

(Vienna) Friedrich Glasl outlined the purpose of typologization as follows: “Typology should help us first to outline the main elements of the conflict and roughly localize them, for example, to exclude in advance certain issues and possible actions. By identifying the type, it is possible to decide in advance in which field it is appropriate to carry out an intervention so that it does not cause harm... In most cases, rapid intervention in a conflict situation is required, which brings quick relief or, at least, prevents further spread of harm. But every diagnostic intervention is at the same time an introduction into a conflict situation.”

F. Glasl conventionally divided conflicts into three categories: by the subject of the dispute, by the forms of manifestation, by the properties of the conflicting parties, their positions and mutual relations. In addition, he compiled typologies focused on action and conflict frames.

In this textbook we consider only conflicts that are social in nature.

Social conflict

most scientists interpret it as “the highest stage of development of contradiction in the system of relations between people, social groups, social institutions, and society as a whole, which is characterized by the strengthening of opposing tendencies and interests of social communities and individuals.” These are conflicts between social actors: individuals, groups, organizations. The subject of study of the sociology of conflict can be the causes and dynamics of social conflicts, ways of resolving and preventing them.

The definition of the main types of social conflicts depends on what will be taken as the basis for the classification. A. G. Zdravomyslov considers needs, interests, and values ​​as the driving forces of conflict, cross-analyzing them in the main spheres of life: economics, politics and spiritual life. V.N. Amelin also classifies conflicts according to a cross-sectional scheme, taking as a basis the forms of conflicts (role, administrative, political) and their participants (interpersonal, intergroup, institutional).

N. F. Fedorenko and V. P. Galitsky consider the duration of the flow, the content of the conflict, its object, the force of influence on the participants, the form of manifestation, the source of occurrence, consequences, etc. as signs of typology. O. N. Gromova classifies conflicts “depending on a number of factors: the method of their resolution, the scope of manifestation, the direction of the impact, the degree of expression, the number of participants, the presence of an object of conflict, the needs affected.”

Conflicts in society can be divided simultaneously depending on the interests of the parties involved in the conflict, and on the spheres of society in which they arise and develop. For example, both conflicts that arise in politics and conflicts that arise for political reasons can be called political. Similarly, conflicts developing in the economic sphere of society and those caused by economic reasons are called economic. All conflicts that exist in society are social in nature, because they arise and develop on a social basis - between specific people or their various formalized or informal groups. However, the concept of “social conflict” should be analyzed in a narrower interpretation, considering the social as part of the public sphere along with other areas: economic, political, spiritual and cultural. Let us examine in more detail the main types and types of conflicts that arise in society.

Social conflicts

arise both in the sphere of work and during non-working hours in the process of communication between people and social groups. The authors of the textbook agree with the broadest definition of social conflict given by the already mentioned Friedrich Glasl: “Social conflict is an interaction between parties (individuals, groups, organizations, etc.), in which at least one party is aware of incompatibility in thinking/perception/ perception, and/or in feeling, and/or in will with the other party (other parties) in such a way that in implementation it encounters opposition from the other party (other parties).”

A. Ya. Antsupov and A. I. Shipilov “social conflicts include: interpersonal, between an individual and a group, between small, medium, large social groups, interstate.”

An important role in the analysis of conflicts is played by the question of the motivation of the conflicting parties. Depending on motivation

Researchers identify three blocks of social conflicts:

1) arising in connection with the distribution of power and positions;

2) regarding material resources;

3) regarding the values ​​of the most important life attitudes.

Determining the main types of social conflicts is necessary not to differentiate them in practice according to some special specific characteristics, but in order to take into account as much as possible the reasons for its occurrence and possible options for its development when overcoming a specific conflict. Specific conflicts and their system for a particular social group are a single whole because the active stage of a social conflict is preceded by social tension, which manifests itself primarily at the socio-psychological level. As the conflict situation develops, the state of tension between the parties can change both upward and downward. In every social group, even in societies at a low level of development, a more or less dynamic process of social stratification can be found. Various contradictions appear between the emerging layers, which can cause various conflicts. Conflicts that arise between individual segments of society involve not only economic, but also social interests, such as considerations of prestige. The subject of a separate conflict may be everything that concerns the life of a particular social stratum.

Economic conflicts

represent a certain set of conflicts based on the economic interests of individuals, groups, and organizations. The economic activities of people, especially the production of goods that satisfy multiple needs, influence the development of production relations and certain social structures within which various interests collide. In this interaction of interests one can find the sources of many conflicts that play a significant role in the life of society, which is clearly confirmed by historical material. Economic conflicts arise, for example, in areas related to economic renewal, where there is a struggle for property, various resources, loans, and benefits received from the state. Economic conflicts arise both at the federal, regional and local levels of government.

Political conflicts

— a clash between political actors regarding the distribution of the sphere of political influence. These include, for example, confrontation between political parties, groups, movements, organizations, as well as individual politicians. The existence of such complex social organisms as the state, as well as peoples with their inherent special aspirations and inclinations (the idea of ​​a special “historical mission”, “chosenness”, etc.) creates conditions for the emergence of various political conflicts of an international nature. Thus, in addition to class conflicts of a political nature that occur within states, one can also distinguish various interstate conflicts, which often result from a significant expansion of contradictions between states.

Conflicts in the sphere of culture.

The contact of people representing different cultures gives rise to various conflicts aimed at “containing” foreign cultures that differ in ideals and lifestyles. For example, we can name the conflicts that arise on this basis between residents of cities and villages, between the indigenous population and immigrants, between the old intelligentsia, especially the humanitarian ones, and the new, technical one. Often the initiators of conflicts are marginalized people. The subject of these conflicts are various values, or rather, their recognition by one or another carrier.

In the four areas described, other conflicts appear that are of a public nature and simultaneously cover all spheres of society. For example, these are ideological, national-ethnic, axiological, etc.

Ideological conflicts

can arise both between classes and within the same class, for example, ideological conflicts between believers and non-believers, as well as between separate groups, for example, on a religious, racial, ethnic basis. The subject of such conflicts is the different ideological values ​​of social groups.

Differences that exist between social classes cause class conflicts

, or class struggle, which can manifest itself in economic, political and ideological areas. These are the most important social conflicts among all that take place in class societies, because they determine social development. These conflicts reflect different class interests.

Both in each individual type of conflict in society, and in their intersection, communities of people united on one or another basis can be involved. Thus, conflicts can arise both within national-ethnic formations and between different ethnic groups and/or nations.

National-ethnic conflicts

arise due to differences in language, economic and psychological structure, religion among different peoples and ethnic groups and other reasons. Within family, clan, religious and other associations formed on the basis of common values, so-called axiological conflicts arise.

Axiological conflicts.

Opposing values ​​and goals realized by different social groups (family, clan, religious, etc.) can also be sources of social conflicts. And since in every developed society a person participates in the life of many social groups, he may find himself in a conflict situation arising from the difficulties of coordinating opposing values ​​and goals programmatically implemented by individual groups. Internal conflicts arise between individuals, the subjects of which can be very diverse.

Various types of conflicts that arise in the process of life.

There are a huge number of reasons that cause conflicts; accordingly, many conflicts can be identified. Let us consider the main ones that are most widespread or of greatest importance in society. The most common conflicts that arise during work activities (social and labor conflicts).

Social and labor conflicts

, arising in the sphere of labor activity, represent a confrontation between participants in the labor process (employers and employees, as well as employee(s) with other employee(s)) in the course of performing labor operations and other official duties, i.e. in the process professional activity. Their reasons may be business conditions, a confluence of unfavorable circumstances for the functioning of organizations, problems of labor motivation associated with remuneration, the content and prestige of work, relationships that arise in the process of work between individuals and social groups, structural inconsistencies, dissatisfaction with decisions made, psychological emotional and other features.

Environmental conflicts

appear as a result of divergence of goals and interests of various groups, layers, personalities that arise in the process of life activity that violates the natural environment. Environmental actions of human communities are carried out in opposition to man-made pressure on the environment. The placement and organization of work of an increasing number of people in areas with an artificially created environment (technosphere) increases the potential for conflict in the sphere of relations between man and nature, which requires not only a careful attitude towards nature, but also the constant reproduction of the natural environment.

Organizational-hierarchical (positional) conflicts

are types of conflicts caused by divergence of goals and interests that objectively appear due to the organizational regulation of the life of an individual, the hierarchy of relationships, i.e., the functional assignment of rights and responsibilities to employees and departments of enterprises, organizations, institutions.

Classification of conflicts according to the method of their resolution, degree of expression and communicative orientation, composition, interests of the conflicting parties.

Well-known conflictologist in our country E. A. Utkin divides conflicts according to the method of their resolution

:

• antagonistic - can be resolved only by destroying the structures of all conflicting parties, except one, or by refusing to participate in the conflicts of all parties, except one. This side wins (war to victory, complete defeat of the enemy in the dispute);

• compromise - they allow several options for their resolution due to mutual changes in the goals of the parties to the conflict, terms, and conditions of interaction. For example, the supplier does not deliver the ordered product to the plant on time due to lack of funds for transportation of the goods. The plant has the right to demand compliance with the delivery schedule, but the conditions of the subcontractor have changed. If there is mutual interest, it is possible to reach a compromise: change the delivery time, help with a loan, enter into negotiations.

Antagonistic conflicts are characterized by instability and irreconcilability of the parties, while compromise ones allow for several options for their resolution by bringing together the views and interests of the parties.

According to the severity of the confrontation

conflicts can be open (dispute, quarrel, etc.) and hidden (not manifested externally). Some conflicts can be prepared, pre-planned or provoked, others arise spontaneously. Moreover, the first of them may either have no expediency or turn out to be inevitable and, to a certain extent, natural.

By communication focus

conflicts are divided into vertical, horizontal and mixed. Vertical conflicts (“top-down”, “bottom-up”) - conflicts between workers of different hierarchical levels and influence. Horizontal conflicts involve people who are not subordinate to each other. A mixed conflict is a situation where its participants in some cases are not bound by one or another type of subordination, but in others such subordination arises. Mixed conflicts also include conflicts that have both vertical and horizontal directions. For example, a scientist from one university, who is not subordinate to a scientist from another university, is a member of the dissertation council, which the latter heads. During the period of his duties as a member of the council, he reports to its chairman, and while leading the work of the city duma committee to which both scientists were elected, their roles change.

Conflicts classified according to the composition of the conflicting parties

. These include intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup conflicts. Intrapersonal conflicts are a clash of different motives, needs and interests of an individual due to the impossibility of satisfying them at the same time or the need to make a choice between opportunities and desires. Interpersonal conflicts arise between people or when an individual clashes with a group. These conflicts most often involve intimate problems that concern only one of the conflicting parties. Their resolution means ending the confrontation or localizing the contradiction. Intergroup conflicts affect two or more groups or units involved in the conflict. During the period of conflict itself, groups most often manifest themselves as a single whole.

When classifying conflicts, the question of the balance of interests of the parties

. It is customary to distinguish between two types: zero-sum conflict and non-zero-sum conflict. If the interests of the parties to the conflict are completely opposite, i.e., the realization of the interests of one participant means that the interests of the other will not be realized at all, then such conflicts are called zero-sum conflicts. In them, the gain of one side is exactly equal to the loss of the other, and in the end the sum of the gains turns out to be zero. Hence the name “zero-sum conflict.” The most striking examples of situations in which the interests and goals of the parties are opposite, and the result of resolving the contradictions is zero, are sports games: chess, football, tennis, etc. If we are talking about major social, political, international conflicts, then some researchers are inclined believe that civil wars are described by a situation with a sum close to zero. In civil wars, as a rule, the participants either win or lose completely. Similar to these conflicts are conflicts related to territorial disputes or determination of the status of a particular territory.

And yet, for the most part, political, ethnic, and international conflicts are described as non-zero-sum situations. The goals and interests of the parties in them, although contradictory, are not absolutely opposite, i.e., when they are implemented, the final sum will not be equal to zero. These types of conflicts are sometimes called mixed-interest conflicts.

There are conflicts with a negative sum, when there is neither a winner nor a loser. The most striking example here is a hypothetical global nuclear conflict, which cannot end except in the mutual destruction of all parties.

There are as many conflicts as there are us, and even more, since most people are somehow involved in a number of conflicts at the same time. A person, when involved in a conflict situation, introduces new features into it. The types and manifestations of conflicts are diverse, as are the forms of organizing the life of society.

Classification of conflicts taking into account motivation, perception of the situation, environment of manifestation.

Taking into account the motivation of the conflict and subjective perceptions of the situation

There are three types of conflicts:

1. False conflict - the subject perceives the situation as a conflict, although there are no real reasons.

2. Potential conflict - there are real grounds for a conflict to arise, but so far one of the parties or both, for one reason or another (for example, due to lack of information), has not yet recognized the situation as a conflict.

3. True conflict is a real clash between the parties. In turn, true conflict can be divided into:

• constructive - arising on the basis of really existing contradictions between subjects;

• accidental - arising from a misunderstanding or coincidence;

• displaced - arising on a false basis, when the true cause is hidden. For example, a student, dissatisfied with a low assessment of his knowledge, looks for any reason to enter into confrontation with the examining teacher;

• an incorrectly attributed conflict is a conflict in which the true culprit, the subject of the conflict, is “behind the scenes” of the confrontation, and the conflict involves participants who are not related to it. For example, a person is accused of a crime that he did not commit. Of course, the above classifications, like any attempt to dissect social phenomena, are conditional. In real life, everything is interconnected. Conflicts in the world of work may arise due to national reasons or due to different political positions. Confrontation between different individuals in the family and everyday sphere, in ideological and interethnic relations is often due to different levels of culture, the degree of assimilation and acceptance of generally valid norms and traditions. In the newly independent states that formerly made up the USSR, all social conflicts, as a rule, have a political overtones. Society seemed to be divided into several militant subsystems, depending on the attitude towards the past of the country and its leaders, towards the current situation and direction of social development. Analysis and assessment of conflicts, development of measures to resolve them require their classification not only by the nature of their occurrence, but also on other significant grounds. All of the above types of conflicts can occur in territories of different size and location, have different scales (local, general) and duration (short-term, medium-term, long-term, or, in other words, protracted), involve different numbers of people and groups in the process of confrontation, arise for objective and subjective reasons (outside the will and desires of the participants or because of the deliberate aspirations of a particular subject of social relations).

In the literature one can find classification on other grounds, and within each type of conflict further classification is also possible. The task of the discipline being studied does not include a detailed examination of all types of conflicts, but only consideration of those that mainly affect social development, social mobility, social and social-labor relations, and social management.

The variety of types and types of conflicts is determined by the very structure of the social elements of society that interact and, in certain cases, find themselves in a conflict situation.

Of great importance when analyzing social conflicts and determining their main types is the question of their social consequences, that is, the impact of conflicts on the environment where they occur. According to this criterion, conflicts can be divided into successful and unsuccessful. The first includes conflicts, as a result of which the goals of all parties are achieved to some extent. A conflict is called unsuccessful when at least one of the parties exceeds the permissible “price” for victory. Depending on the social environment of manifestation

Stuart Chase back in the early 50s. last century identified the following types of conflicts:

• individual quarrels occurring between husband and wife, servant and master, etc.;

• conflicts between families;

• confrontation between clans and similar communities;

• disputes between different communities: villages, cities, etc.;

• disputes between regions (eg northern and southern regions in many countries);

• conflicts between employees and managers of enterprises - disputes may take place here between different categories of workers and managers at different levels;

• electoral struggle between political parties;

• racial conflicts, for example between whites and blacks;

• religious conflicts, for example, between Protestants and Catholics;

• anti-Semitism as a manifestation of antagonisms arising from religious, cultural and racial aspects;

• ideological struggle that arises between representatives of different ideologies;

• disputes between professional groups: between workers and technicians, between engineers and technicians;

• competition within one industry, for example, among textile and automobile manufacturers;

• competition within different industries, for example, between oil producers and automakers;

• rivalry between individual nations, which can take place in different areas: struggle for markets, spheres of influence, rivalry in the field of weapons, sports, etc.;

• conflicts between different cultures, for example, between the culture of different regions, the culture of the city and the countryside;

• cold war, carried out without weapons as opposed to conventional war;

• the struggle between East and West or North (developed capitalist countries) and South (third world countries).

4.2. Causes of conflicts

The question of the causes of conflicts is extremely complex and insufficiently studied.

In the 1990s. A new paradigm for conflict research has emerged - an adisciplinary approach, or structural theory of conflict. The teaching of this direction is based on the fact that people and groups have a number of universal social needs that, in principle, cannot be eliminated. They consider the shortcomings of the social order and the imperfection of the legal system to be global sources and causes of conflicts. The inability to satisfy the needs of existence within the framework of existing social institutions becomes the main cause of various conflicts and instability in society.

Therefore, when resolving conflicts, it is necessary to carefully analyze the degree to which the needs of existence of individuals or social groups are met, as well as the shortcomings in the functioning of social institutions. Containing or partially resolving conflicts without structural changes in the institutional system of society is not productive.

Analysis of numerous specific conflicts in various areas of work, social and personal life allowed scientists to identify and describe the most common causes of conflict situations.

First of all, we can name the reasons that are caused by objective circumstances. They include: the natural clash of interests of people in the process of their life; poor development and use of normative procedures for resolving social contradictions in Russia; lack and unfair distribution of material and spiritual benefits that are significant for the normal life of people; the very way of life of Russians, associated with material instability and radical large-scale, rapid changes, etc.

There are also organizational, managerial, socio-psychological and personal causes of conflicts, which are of an objective-subjective nature.

Organizational and managerial causes of conflicts are related to the creation and functioning of organizations, teams, and groups.

• Structural and organizational reasons. Inconsistency between the structure of the organization and the tasks being solved (mistakes were made when designing the structure of the organization; the tasks and activities of the organization are constantly changing).
• Functional and organizational reasons. The functional connections of the organization with the external environment, between the structural elements of the organization, and between individual employees are not well established.
• Personal-functional reasons. Incomplete compliance of the employee with professional, moral and other qualities with the requirements of the position held.
• Situational and managerial reasons. Mistakes made by managers and subordinates in the process of solving managerial and other tasks.

Organizational and managerial factors, according to a study of industrial conflicts, are the cause of 67% of conflicts in work teams.

The socio-psychological causes of conflicts are determined by the direct interaction of people and their inclusion in social groups.

• Loss and distortion of information in the process of interpersonal and group communication. A significant part of the information is contained at the level of the unconscious and is not expressed in words at all; some information is lost due to the limited vocabulary of a particular person; some information is hidden by the speaker, etc.
• Unbalanced role interaction between people. Partner A considers himself senior, and partner B – junior; Partner B, in turn, considers himself senior, and partner A – junior.
• Different approaches to assessing the same complex events. Interaction partners often approach a problem from different angles. People are sensitive to points of view that differ from their own.
• Choosing different ways to evaluate performance results. When assessing the activities of others, people more often focus on the ideal, the norm, on those who have done similar work perfectly; The employee usually evaluates his own results by what he has done, comparing them with the beginning of the activity, with those who performed similar work worse.
• In-group favoritism. Preference for members of one's own group over representatives of other social groups.
• The competitive nature of interaction with other people.
• Limited ability to decenter, that is, to change one’s own position as a result of comparing it with the positions of other people.
• The desire to receive more from others than to give to them.
• The desire for power.

Personal causes of conflicts. Caused by the individual psychological characteristics of the participants in the interaction.

• Subjective assessment of a partner's behavior as unacceptable. In the process of interaction, a person has a certain range of options for expected behavior on the part of a partner - desirable, acceptable, undesirable, unacceptable; if the partner's behavior is assessed as unacceptable, conflict arises. In a specific situation, a person must understand or feel what behavior on his part the partner may consider unacceptable and take this into account at the beginning of interaction.
• Low conflict resistance. A person does not have sufficient psychological resistance to the negative impact of stress factors of social interaction on the psyche.
• Poorly developed ability for empathy, i.e. understanding the emotional state of another person, empathy and sympathy.
• Inadequate level of aspirations. Inflated self-esteem usually causes a negative reaction from others; the consequences of low self-esteem are increased anxiety, lack of self-confidence, the desire to avoid responsibility, etc.
• Some psychological characteristics of personality. Aggressiveness; lack of communication; demonstrativeness, i.e. the desire to be the center of attention; irritability; neglect of the interests of others, etc.

Ways to end conflicts

A conflict can be resolved in different ways: resolved, settled, extinguished, eliminated the cause, or found a compromise that suits both parties. Sometimes a conflict ends because a new one arises in its place. Let's consider the main options for ending conflicts.

Permission

This outcome usually results from the mutual desire of the parties to the dispute to peacefully resolve the situation. It includes the following steps:

1. Determining the parties to the conflict.
2. Determining the motives of each side.
3. Determining the true cause of the dispute.
4. Joint clarification of how the parties see the conflict.
5. Gathering outside opinions.
6. Finding and implementing the best conflict resolution strategy.

Settlement

This option implies the involvement of a disinterested person who is trusted by both participants in the disputable situation. The regulator must weigh all the arguments and find a solution that will be fair for both parties to the conflict. Typically this process includes the following steps:

1. Determining the true causes of the conflict.
2. Determining the powers of the involved regulator.
3. Search for real motives for the conflict (to understand not only the reasons, but also the goals of the participants).

Attenuation

Often the conflict simply gets boring for the participants and fades away, but this does not mean that it has stopped. Usually it simply goes into a latent form, and tension remains between the parties. Typically, attenuation occurs for the following reasons:

1. reducing the significance of the object of dispute;
2. distracting the parties to other problems;
3. exhaustion of the parties.

Eliminating the cause

Everything is obvious here. In some situations, discussion allows you to understand the problem and simply eliminate it in a way that suits all parties to the conflict. Sometimes the solution can be quite radical. For example, if two employees have a conflict, one of them may be transferred to another department.

Transformation

Sometimes during a conflict a new conflict situation arises. The participants switch to it, partially or completely forgetting about the old object of the dispute.

How to manage conflict

If you want to become a third party mediator in resolving a conflict, here are 16 simple steps to manage conflict:

1. Based on the information you have, present a general picture of the conflict and determine the essence, assess the needs and interests of both parties.
2. Have a conversation with the participant whose position seems more justified to you. Find out his vision of reasons, fears and desires. From his words, compose his vision of the opponent’s interests, desires and fears.
3. Talk to the second opponent in the same way.
4. Have a conversation with your first opponent's friends. They will help you create a more accurate picture of your interests, fears and aspirations.
5. Do the same with the friends of the second opponent.
6. Discuss the vision of the conflict (reasons, methods of regulation and possible consequences) with the informal leaders of the group.
7. Discuss with formal leaders.
8. Find out the real reason and distance yourself from the participants.
9. Identify their subconscious motives.
10. Indicate where each opponent is right and what is wrong.
11. Describe the possible best and worst possible outcome of the situation for each position. Find out if a compromise is possible.
12. Assess all possible, including hidden, consequences of your intervention.
13. Prepare and propose approximately four options for joint efforts of opponents to solve the problem. Moreover, there is a maximum program and a minimum program.
14. Discuss programs with friends and leaders, make changes if necessary.
15. Stick to your chosen plan, try to involve your opponents' friends.
16. Evaluate the positive and negative aspects of your experience.

As you may have noticed, this is a general plan for resolving conflict, universal for different species. Of course, it needs to be adjusted taking into account the specific situation and type of conflict. In its pure form, it is more suitable for resolving organizational conflicts.

When the conflict is considered intractable and unmanageable

A conflict is considered intractable when:

• participants perceive it as a struggle;
• participants consider the interests of the parties to be mutually exclusive;
• the participants initially have different values ​​or interpretations of the conflict, which is what causes disagreements;
• The parties are social institutions (for example, family and school).

A conflict is considered unmanageable when:

• the parties are determined to maintain the conflict;
• constructive interaction is impossible due to the emotional intensity or characteristics of the participants;
• the conflict that has arisen is part of the subjects’ broad rejection of each other.