Abstract
How to resolve social conflicts is a continued debate. Little is known of what contributes to social conflicts in business. This paper provides a brief insight into the process of conflict resolution. A brief review of the article related to conflict resolution is performed. The implications of conflict resolution in business environment are discussed. The paper provides recommendations for the future research.
Conflict Resolution and Peacemaking
How to resolve social conflicts is a continued debate. The factors of conflict are numerous and varied, from social dilemmas, to competition for scarce resources and perceived social injustice (Myers, 2002). Conflict resolution and peacemaking is one of the most popular topics in social psychology.
Conflicts produce a multitude of negative effects on social relations, and it is imperative that the ways of resolving them be understood. The current state of knowledge about conflicts suggests that conflicts are handled through contact, cooperation, communication, and conciliation (Myers, 2002).
Simultaneously, conflicting parties face considerable difficulties in their way to establishing contact and achieving conciliation. Cooperation and trust are the necessary preconditions for resolving most, if not all, social conflicts. It is through trust and rapport that conflicting parties can successfully develop and use cooperative methods of conflict resolution, to achieve a workable consensus.
In her article, Eszter Balogh (2005) discusses the ways of resolving social conflicts between companies. Business is an arena of numerous conflicts and disagreements, which have far-reaching implications for the stability and profitability of entrepreneurial ventures. The level of trust in inter-company relationships is essential for the companies’ future intentions.
Inter-company conflicts reflect an extremely narrow aspect of conflict resolution and peacemaking, but the importance of the subject for business cooperation is difficult to underestimate. This is one of the reasons why Balogh (2005) tries to develop and evaluate the most common methods of resolving conflicts between companies.
According to Balogh (2005) the strategies and techniques of conflict resolution vary, depending on the company type. In multinational companies, the complex internal organizational structure is a serious impediment to using quick, constructive conflict resolution techniques (Balogh, 2005).
Simultaneously, companies that are totally interdependent i.e., the supply and demand for their products is low, are more likely to use offensive strategies to resolve inter-company conflicts (Balogh, 2005). Yet, irrespective of conditions and circumstances in which companies operate, negotiations are the primary means of resolving inter-company conflicts: companies demand quick solutions and seek to protect long-term relationships with their partners and suppliers (Balogh, 2005).
Balogh suggests that trust is a crucial factor of successful conflict resolution in business, a factor, which many scholars continuously ignore. Myers (2002) is correct in that conflicting parties may find it extremely difficult to establish contacts and develop effective cooperation in their way to peace. It is through trust and rapport that companies can improve their chances to arrive at a workable agreement and preserve their business relations in the long run.
More often than not, contact and cooperation are primary elements in any conflict resolution strategy: the conflicting parties must contact and cooperate to achieve a solution that benefits them. Conflict resolution and peacemaking are never a zero-sum game. Simultaneously, little is known of how to contact and develop cooperation in conflict situations. Drolet and Morris (2000) write that the prevailing majority of social conflicts are of mixed-motive nature.
Simply put, companies are willing to cooperate, but their self-interests prevent them from doing so (Drolet & Morris, 2000). As a result, trust rapport and facilitate cooperation and mutual positivity, without which conflict resolution would have been impossible (Drolet & Morris, 2000). Balogh (2005) supports this thesis: trust shapes the basis for interest-based dialogue and creates possibilities for constructive conflict management.
The significance of Balogh’s (2005) findings for conflict management cannot be overstated. First, Balogh (2005) adds to the current knowledge of conflict resolution techniques. Apparently, contact, cooperation, and communication alone cannot suffice to bring the conflicting parties to a workable consensus.
Rather, trust is the definitive feature of cooperation and collaboration success, which promotes quick and constructive conflict resolution. Second, trust facilitates communication and holds a promise to reduce offensive conflict resolution strategies in business. Companies are inherently oriented at developing and sustaining mutually productive relations, and trust will help them to find a common language.
Here, several questions require further analysis. To begin with, it is not clear how inter-personal trust affects relations between companies. Second, the role of trust in resolving conflicts between companies that break business norms are poorly understood (Balogh, 2005). It goes without saying that conflict resolution techniques are extremely flexible and dynamic, and the future knowledge of conflicts, their factors and antecedents will help to improve the quality and efficiency of social relations in all business sectors.\
Conclusion
Conflict resolution and peacemaking is one of the most popular topics in social psychology. The factors of conflict in various social environments are numerous and varied. The most common elements of the conflict resolution process include contact, cooperation, communication, and conciliation (Myers, 2002).
However, contact and cooperation alone cannot bring the conflicting parties to a workable consensus: it is through trust and rapport that companies can pave their way for peace. Little is known of how trust and rapport work in inter-company relations, and the future research must lead to the development of effective conflict resolution methods for companies and entrepreneurial ventures.
References
Balogh, E. (2005). Inter-company conflicts and conflict resolution methods. Review of Sociology, 11(1), 81-104.
Drolet, A.L. & Morris, M.W. (2000). Rapport in conflict resolution: Accounting for how face-to-face contact fosters mutual cooperation in mixed-motive conflicts. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 36, 26-50.
Myers, D.G. (2002). Conflict and Peacemaking. In D.G. Myers, Social Psychology, 7th ed, Columbus: McGraw-Hill.