Understanding that people have different personal values is the best way to handle value conflicts. Everyone believes their value is the right value, and a dispute arises when they are put into a difficult situation that tests their values. Our values are shaped differently based on the influences we are subjected. To handle internal values and value conflicts, you must prioritize your core values and make difficult choices to build and manage relationships with yourself and others.
Internal conflicts exist when one chooses between two firmly held values. B. Reece and M. Reece (2) said, “how you resolve internal value conflicts depends on your willingness to rank your core value in the order of their importance.” For example, I have terminated a friendship built on material benefits. I benefited from that relationship because I had no money to party every weekend. Religious influences shaped my value, and I value integrity. The question that kept ringing in my mind while in the company of friends on those party nights was whether what I was doing was right or wrong per the religious teachings. I realized I had to take responsibility and end the friendship that eroded religious values that I strongly believe in or ignore the values and compromise my integrity. The right way to handle internal values conflicts is to make a moral call and the right ethical choice.
When you put fruits together in one basket, they will have to collide; the same happens when people meet and interact with others. To effectively handle value conflicts with others, you need to understand one another. “Taking responsibility for relationships is an absolute necessity” to resolve value conflicts with others (B. Reece and M. Reece 1). When dealing with people with different experiences and expectations, it prompts you to take steps and act accordingly to avoid compromising your integrity in what you value. It is your call to air your grievances when people subject you to what contradicts your values. Striking an agreement on respecting each other’s values and establishing trust is the first step toward a long-term relationship.
Having a good relationship with others does not mean your values would not conflict with theirs. When your values conflict with others, you can become indignant or do nothing (B. Reece and M. Reece 3). Becoming indignant is the best option because “confronting others’ lapses in character, we are strengthing our integrity,” and “when we ignore unethical and immoral behavior,” we are compromising our integrity (B. Reece and M. Reece 3). You need to hold your values firmly and fight for what is right even when the odds are against you.
Handling internal value conflicts and value conflicts with others, you need to take responsibility to make hard choices between your core values and make the right ethical choices. Internal value conflicts concern dealing with values that you hold. Prioritizing them and making a hard choice determines your willingness to find peace with what you value most. Handling value conflict with others involves magnifying your values to uphold your integrity. Dealing with people is complicated because they are not machines you can control. Setting up a code of conduct as a control measure is essential to avoid value conflict with others. Making the right ethical choices is the core root of managing value conflicts.
Work Cited
Reece, Barry, and Monique Reece. “Personal Values Influence Ethical Choices: 5-3 Values Conflicts.” Effective human relations: Interpersonal and organizational applications. Cengage Learning, 2017, pp. 1-3.