Analysis and Reflection of Conflict Management

郏郁文

People’s ideas vary towards the definition of conflict.Some believe that conflict is an interactive process that filled with disagreement and incompatibility and it is always occurring among social individuals or groups（Sirivun，2001），whereas others hold that conflict is made up of numerous differences，disagreements，dissonance，legal debate，violence and fight（Keltner，1994）.

According to Sarpkaya（2012），there are six conflict types which are value conflict，distribution of tasks，managing style，sourcing，in relation to communication and organizational size.In 2014，I gathered a team to teach English in my village.For a teenager who set up a charity project for the first time，conflicts and troubles are unavoidable.a detailed description and analysis of this experience based on the six conflict types from Sarpkaya are as follow.

Value Conflict：

Cause：

Many parents in the village have not had higher education in their whole life so they have limited knowledge of the importance of English.They think English is useless and a waste of time and money.I decide to give free English teaching but a minority of parents still prefer their children to watch television and play computer games.

Resolution：

I explained the significance of English to them but there are some people still cannot understand and they said children should be at home relaxing in this hot weather.

Reflection：

I had too much powerless talking，but I should firstly listen to parents’ reason for rejecting attending my English class and then I will be capable of finding the relevant explanations to correct their misconceptions.

Distribution of tasks

Cause：

I gathered friends to help promote my free English project to villagers.At that time，the weather was fuggy and hot.My friends and I were tired and frustrated by the inefficiency of advertising.

Resolution：

I used village broadcast system.It was much more convenient and time-saving.

Reflection：

I should learn more skills to motivate followers and distribute tasks according to personal advantages.For example，if someone is talent in making speech，I will let him do the advertisement task.If someone is good at calculating，he or she can record students enrolment.

Managing style

Cause：

The English teaching project is toward the whole village which leads to learners’ different English level.Unlucky，teachers and classrooms are lacking so it is unlikely to teach every student based on their levels.

Resolution：

I sacrificed some learners’ interest by distributing them based on their age but not English level.It leaded to a hurry-up or lag-behind of some learners’ learning.

Reflection：

I should arrange more classes to ensure everyone can receive suitable teaching.In addition，I could also encourage higher level learners to help lower level learners.

Sourcing

Cause：

As it is a free project without pay，only a few people join me.So there were only six teachers in the team at first.Moreover，there was no enough space to accommodate such a great number of learners.

Resolution：

I tried to persuade people around me to volunteer as teachers.For the space issue，I got the support from the principal of the primary school in my village and he allowed me to use the school classrooms.

Reflection：

The academic level of voluntary teachers are not professional enough.I would improve myself as well as train the volunteers into eligible teachers.

In relation to communication

Cause：

Learners are mainly primary school students.They sometimes behaved inaccurately，such as forgetting to do homework and being late to class.

Resolution：

I chose to ask parents to help me supervise their children.

Reflection：

In English learning，learners plays a pivotal role in learning rather than teachers（Finch，2001）.I should learn to promote learner’s autonomy by reading related literature or attending training classes.

Organizational size

Cause：

There were too many children in my village wishing to learn English but the team scale was not big enough to accept all.

Resolution：

I allocated more learners in one class.

Reflection：

I plan to enlarge the project and raise money from the society so that we have funds to hire teachers，rent classrooms and purchase textbooks.

Having analysed the conflicts occurred and solutions I resorted to during my experience of charity project management，the conflict knowledge I acquired will be a great help for my future personal and professional development.From the experience above，it is certain that more improvement in dealing with the conflict is needed.With these knowledge about conflicts and conflicts management，I believe I am able to make this English project much better next time.

Reference

[1]Sirivun，U.（2001）.An investigation of the primary and secondary conflict management style preferences of men and women in the role of local managers，international managers，and college students in Thailand（Doctoral dissertation，Nova Southeastern University）.

[2]Keltner，J.W.（1994）.The management of struggle：Elements of dispute resolution through negotiation，mediation，and arbitration.Hampton Press（NJ）.

[3]Finch，A.（2001）.The non-threatening learning environment.The Korea TESOL Journal，4（1），133-157.

[4]Sarpkaya，P.Y.（2012）.Types and Causes of Conflict Experienced Instructors.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences， 46，4349-4355.