S8 Managing intercultural conflicts Flashcards
1
Q
How to manage cross-cultural conflict, Dr. Linda Wagener
A
- Do not avoid conflict!
I. Know yourself:
- How commited are you to the task and agenda?
- How commited are you to the relationship?
II. Know the other:
- Observe (pay attention to how they handle disagreement, verbal, non verbal, task, relationship)
- Ask the informants, the experts
- Consult all sort of cultural sources
- Observe the other’s people reactions to you
2
Q
German philosopher and sociologist Georg Simmel
A
- Conflict formed a normal feature of social life, influencing not only the distribution of power and the direction and magnitude of social change, but also the very process of sociation.
- Dissociating factors – hate, envy, need, desire – are the causes of conflict, which breaks out because of them.
- Conflict is thus designed to resolve divergent dualisms; it is a way of achieving some kind of unity, even if it be through the annihilation of one of the conflicting parties.
- Conflict itself resolves the tension between contrasts. And the fact that it aims at peace is only one, and especially obvious, expression of its nature: the synthesis of elements that work both against and for one another.
3
Q
Role of communication in conflicts
A
- Communication differences can sometimes be the cause of intercultural conflict (in interpersonal situations)
- But communication is often not the clear cause of conflicts on international or societal levels. Ex: international conflicts are more often ignited by struggles over territories and resources such as oil, food, or water.
- Communication can often play an important role in how the conflict is played out, as it can either exacerbate or help to reduce it.
4
Q
Characteristics of conflict
A
- Conflict = involving a perceived or real incompatibility of goals, values, expectations, processes, or outcomes between two or more interdependent individuals or groups.
- Intercultural conflicts: how does it differ from other kinds of conflicts?
5
Q
Intercultural conflicts
A
- Intercultural conflicts tend to be more ambiguous than intrAcultural conflicts.
-In intercultural situations: we may be unsure of how to handle the conflict or of whether the conflict is seen in the same way by the other person(s). - The other person(s) may not event think there is a conflict! Often when we encounter ambiguity, we quickly resort to our default style of handling conflict – that is, the style we learned in our family.
- If your preferred way of handling conflict is to deal with it immediately but you are in a conflict with someone who prefers to avoid it, the conflict may become exacerbated as you both retreat to your preferred styles.
- Thus, the confronting person becomes increasingly confrontational, while the avoider retreats further.
6
Q
Issues surrounding language
A
- Language can sometimes lead to intercultural conflict, and it can also be the primary vehicle for solving intercultural conflict.
- When you don’t know the language well, it is very difficult to handle conflict effectively.
- At the same time, silence is not necessarily a bad thing: sometimes it provides a “cooling off” period during which the participants can calm down an gather their thoughts.
7
Q
Contradictory conflict styles
A
Different approaches to conflict may result in more conflict.
5 major types of conflict:
1) affective conflict: when individuals become aware that their feelings and emotions are incompatible;
2) conflict of interest: when people have incompatible preferences for a course of action or a plan to pursue;
3) value conflict: when people have different ideologies;
4) cognitive conflict: when people become aware that their thought processes or perceptions are in conflict;
5) goal conflict: when people disagree over a preferred outcome or end state.
8
Q
Understanding conflict and society
A
- When people witness conflict, they often assume that it is caused by personal issues between individuals.
- But when we reduce conflict to the level of interpersonal interaction, we lose sight of the larger social and political forces that contextualize these conflicts.
- Indeed, people are in conflicts for reasons that extend far beyond personal communication styles.
- Conflict context can therefore be viewed in two ways:
1) in terms of the actual situation in which the conflict happens;
2) as a larger societal context.
9
Q
Social, economic, historical, and political forces
A
- Ex: social conflict often results from unequal or unjust social relationships between groups – The “Black Lives Matter” movement, that focused on race relations in the U.S. on the eve of a presidential election that raised the spectrum of racial and ethnic discrimination.
- While some conflicts may be due to political or cultural differences, other conflicts occur during social movements, in which individuals work together to bring about social change.
- These individuals often use confrontation as a strategy to highlight the injustices of the system. But this confrontation does not need to be violent (Civil Rights movement, which started off in the 1960s as a nonviolent protest against racial segregation).
- Generally speaking, many contemporary social movements involve conflicts, including movement against racism, sexism, and homophobia, or movements to protect the environment, free speech, civil rights, and so on.
- There is of course no comprehensive list of existing social movements, that can arise and fall apart depending on the opposition they provoke, the media attention they attract, and the strategies they use.
10
Q
Need of understanding history and historical roots
A
- Ex: understanding the history of Ireland (from the Norman heritage to the War of Independence and from the English conquest of the island in the 16th century to the 19th-century Great Famine) helps us understand the meaning of Irish identity.
- Sometimes ongoing tension between groups is not limited to those groups and draws in others. Ex: the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians is not limited to those two groups: the history of this part of the world, the role of religious differences, and the contemporary issues fueling the conflict all work together to ensure that the conflict draws in others – from forms of antisemitism to Islamic terrorism.
- In turn, these conflicts did not emerge from merely interpersonal conflicts among the current Israelis and Palestinian inhabitants: rather, in large part, they represent reenactments of conflicts grounded in the history of conflicts in the Middle East between Arabs and Jews.
- The contemporary participants are caught in a historical web pitting cultural identities against one another. In fact, these dynamics are at work all around the world, as historical antagonisms become part of cultural identities and cultural practices that place people in positions of conflict. Whether in the Middle East, Northern Ireland, Nigeria, Columbia, Nepal or Pakistan, we can see these historical antagonisms lead to various forms of conflict.
11
Q
Cultural influences on conflict management
A
- How we manage conflict matters much more than whether or not we engage in it in the first place : it is this management of conflict that shapes the outcome.
- 3 key questions:
1) Is open conflict good or bad? Should conflict be welcomed because it provides opportunities to strengthen relationships? Or should it be avoided because it can only lead to problems for relationships and groups?
2) What is the best way to handle conflict when it arises? Should individuals talk about it directly, deal with it indirectly, or avoid it? Should emotions be part of the conflict resolution? Are expressions of emotions viewed as showing commitment to resolving the conflict at hand? Or is it better to be restrained and solve problems by rational logic rather than emotional expressiveness?
3) How do we learn how to deal with conflict? Who teaches us how to solve conflicts when they arise? - How we answer all of these questions depends in large part on our cultural background and the way we were raised.
12
Q
Family influences
A
- The ways in which people respond to conflict may be influenced by their cultural background.
- More specifically, most people deal with conflict in the way they learned while growing up – their “default style.”
- Conflict resolution strategies usually relate to how people manage their self-image in relationships.
- Ex: they may prefer to preserve their own self-esteem rather than help the person “save face,” or they may prefer to sacrifice their own self-esteem in order to preserve the relationship.
- People deal with conflict in a variety of ways and may not have the same reasons for choosing a certain style.
- A primary influence is our family background: some families prefer a particular conflict style, and children come to accept this style as normal. Ex: the family may have settled conflict in a direct, confrontational manner, with the person having the strongest argument (or the biggest muscle) getting his or her way. On the contrary, some people will try very hard to reject the conflict styles they saw their parents using.
- Family conflict can also arise from generational differences reflecting intercultural differences. Ex: in Europe, the focus is sometimes on Muslim girls who are harassed or punished by their own kin for being too Western. Other immigrant families may have conflicts over arranged marriages, dating, and other cultural expectations that may highlight differences between the country of origin and the new homeland.
13
Q
Two approaches to conflict
A
1) Direct vs. indirect conflict approach
2) Emotional expressiveness vs. restrained conflict style
14
Q
1) Direct vs. indirect conflict approach
Conflict seen as a good thing
A
- Some cultural groups think that conflict is fundamentally a good thing, that it is best to approach conflict very directly, because working through conflicts constructively results in stronger, healthier, and more satisfying relationships.
- Similarly, groups that work through conflict can gain new information about members or about other groups, defuse more serious conflict, and increase group cohesiveness.
- People who take this approach concentrate on using very precise language: while they may not always feel comfortable with face-to-face conflict, they think it is important to “say what’s on one’s mind” in a conflict situation.
- The goal in this approach: to articulate the issues carefully and select the “best” solution based on an agreed-upon set of criteria.
15
Q
Conflict seen as destructive
A
- Many cultural groups view conflict as ultimately destructive for relationships.
Ex: Asian cultures (reflecting the influence of Confucianism and Taoism) as well as some religious groups in the U.S. (Amish, Mennonites) see conflict as disturbing the peace. Most Amish think of conflict not as an opportunity for personal growth, but as a threat to interpersonal and community harmony. - When conflict does arise, the strong spiritual value of pacifism dictates a nonviolent and even non resistant response – often avoidance or dealing with conflict very indirectly.
- Also, these groups generally think that when members disagree, they should adhere to the consensus of the group rather than engage in conflict. Members who threaten group harmony may be sanctioned.
- These people tend to approach conflict rather indirectly. They concentrate on the meaning that is “outside” the verbal message and tend to be very careful to protect the “face” (public safe-image) of the person with whom they disagree.
- They may emphasize vagueness and ambiguity in language and often rely on third parties to resolve disagreements.
- The goal in this approach is to make sure that the relationship stays intact during the disagreement. Ex: they may emphasize the past history of the disputants and try to build a deeper relationship that involves increased obligation toward each other.
