Goals power and styles in my conflict

Goals, power and conflict styles
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Introduction
Conflicts occur in human relations and in diverse situations, interpersonal conflicts may appear to be repulsive, but can be beneficial. Interpersonal conflicts can explain the goals and interests of the parties involved or lead to creation of new ideas. The communication behavior of the parties is the key determinant of conflicts (Hocker &Wilmot, 2010). For the conflict to be beneficial there is a need to resolve the conflict through numerous conflict management styles. Conflict also emanates from the power relations through interpersonal linkages which is a result of interdependency. In addition, the definition encompasses the presence of scarce resources and interference among the patients in trying to achieve their goals (Hocker &Wilmot, 2010).
Goal incompatibility is far from an objective issue but is more based on desires and subjective matters. Thus, there are different levels of goals in many conflict topic, instrumental, relational identity and process goals. The topic goal relates to what people want in the goal could be similar or different which typically define the beginning of the conflict. The relation goal is vital in the conflict resolution process whereby parties hold varying opinions on what each party ought to treat the other.
In order o to minimize the conflict it is essential that parties to a conflict share their expectations and opinions about the association. Additionally, there is a need to maintain status and set the boundaries on equality. The identity goal typically involves the presentation of an image; the identity remains an integral part of an individual to the extent that attacking this may lead to defensiveness. The parties may also have numerous identities. Process involves the manner of conflict resolution and the communication that is applicable to a certain situation.
The case scenario involves me and Peter a fellow employee, whom I reported to my supervisor that he was not properly checking the production line properly. I made it clear that his actions were jeopardizing my work. He on the other hand, claims he has no intention of sabotage, but went on tell the department head that I wanted to quit my job. My goals in the job are to ensure that there are quality checks and rise up to be a supervisor. Peter goals seem to focus on the new vacant supervisor position, as there was no conflict before the announcement of this position.
My goals seem not to have changed, and if anything I am concerned about getting the supervisor position than ever before. On the contrary, Peter’s goals seem to have changed as he had never expressed interest in the position. The conflict has dragged on as members from opposing departments with staff from the production and quality checks on different sides of the conflict. This conflict has led to misunderstandings between the two camps to the extent that any minor mistake is blamed on the opposing side. Furthermore, it may get out of hand as both departments are complimentary to each other. Nonetheless, since the management is now aware of the conflict a meeting will be convened to discuss the issue.
The role of power on conflicts cannot be ignored because it influences how problem are solved among the parties involved. Power is the ability to persuade or force others to do what they would otherwise not do (Jeong 2009, p. 80). Power could be viewed as distributive, designated or integrative. The relevance of power appears it’s every day use where individuals want to protect and put themselves in a better position. Power could be used both positively and negatively depending on the situation and who is using the power. Power could be viewed from numerous angles. Distributive power is that which seeks to exert influence over another party, and hence a power struggle ensues (Hocker &Wilmot, 2010) . There is a paradox because individuals ought to use the available resources for there maximum benefit, but relationships may be strained through power struggles.
Power can also be designated when the parties are in a group as power is placed in the group as a whole rather than an individual. This contrasts with distributive power where one person is more powerful than the other t entities. In this approach members of a group allow the interests of the group to supersede that of individuals in the interdependent association. Nonetheless, designated power lays emphasis more on a relationship rather than an individual or group.
Another aspect of power relates to the integrative mechanism which leads to collaboration between the parties to achieve their mutual goals. In essence, the approach seeks to minimize conflicts as opposed to the distributive model because there are fewer chances of power struggles. The parties must therefore set the boundaries of the relationship through mutual agreement. In addition, both parties are perceived to benefit from the process with none having an edge over the other as responsibilities are equa...