Nature/Perspectives of my conflict

PT.1 Nature/Perspectives of My Conflict
Name
Institution
Introduction
A conflict can occur in any type of setting: families fracture, the work place is full of stress, nations struggle and marriages often fail. Conflicts drain energy while adding depression and hopelessness. Psychological and physical abuse of partners, problem drinking and eating disorders also arise from destructive conflict environments. A conflict is an expressed struggle between two or more interdependent parties, and these parties perceive incompatible scarce resources, goals, and interference from other parties in achieving their goal (Pondy, 1992). Perception is an integral part of all conflicts. The aim of this essay is to analyze a conflict that I am going through and this is a conflict with my supervisor which can just be explained as a case of poor communication.
Studying on conflict helps one learn how new responses to circumstances that inevitably arise (Bodine & Crawford, 1998). The conflict under discussion in this essay is that between my supervisor and me over the stated and actual job responsibilities. This section of this essay will analyze my perception of this conflict using the five conflict elements. People who are in a conflict have perceptions on their own feelings and thoughts. Communication is the key element in interpersonal conflict. This is because communication creates and reflects conflict but it is also the vehicle for the productive or destructive management of conflict.
The first element of conflict is expressed struggle. This is about the events leading to the conflict (Wilmot & Hocker, 2011). This conflict with my supervisor began just a few weeks after I began working in that supermarket. I was an attendant then, however, the supervisors used to assign to me various duties every day when I arrived. On that day, the supervisor gave me my duties; however, he gave the same duties to another employee and ended up accusing me for interfering with the duties of that other employee claiming that I was a lazy employee. Since that occurrence, the supervisor constantly finds faults in my work and openly claims that am a lazy individual.
The second element of conflict is interdependent parties. Sometimes the parties in a conflict might be locked in a position of joint interdependence whether they like it or not. Not all interdependent units want to be interdependent but they become so because of other compelling reasons (Wilmot & Hocker, 2011). Many relationships move front and back between interdependence degrees and interdependence. During some instances, there is an emphasis on “me” and what I want whereas in some situations there is emphasis on “we” and this when one is dealing with a unit. When analyzing the second element, it is obvious that I need this person since I do not have another job and he can get me fired at any time. I cannot say that the supervisor needs me since it is easy to replace a supermarket attendant; however, I still believe that he needs my services and it is not easy to fire me because we are family friends with the owner of the supermarket.
The third element of conflict is perceived incompatible goals and perceived goal incompatibility shows in a number of forms. First, the parties in a conflict might want the same thing. Second, the parties in a conflict may have different goals. However, regardless of whether both parties have similar or different goals, perceived incompatible goals are key to all conflicts (Wilmot & Hocker, 2011). As I look at the perceived incompatible goals, the third element of conflicts, I am not getting peace of mind when I am at work and I get only the worst jobs in the supermarket such as washing the toilet and taking out the garbage. Even in some instances, I do not go for breaks together with the other employees. However, I agree to do this chores because I respect his authority as a supervisor. The fourth element on perceived scarce resources is where I am losing most. In interpersonal conflicts, two resources mostly perceived as scarce are self-esteem and power. Individuals engaged in a conflict mostly say things that one may easily interpret as self-esteem and power struggles. For example in my scenario, I always find myself saying that, “the supervisor is always looking down on me.” This shows that the supervisor has more power than me and I am always at a constant disadvantage.
Regardless of the specific content issues involved, individuals in conflict normally think that they have very little self-esteem and power and the other party has very much (Wilmot & Hocker, 2011). Obviously, with each individual thinking and feeling like this, something needs to be changed. Mostly, giving that other person some courtesy, ways to save face and respect balances the perception of each person on resources and minimizes the likelihood of a conflict. In my case, I have tried to show as much respect and courtesy for my supervisor. This has not worked since the respect is not mutual and this lowers my self-esteem while increasing his power over me.
The last element is the perceived interference from the other party in achieving those goals. People who have incompatible goals, want the same resources and are interdependent still might not necessarily meet the conditions of a conflict. If another person’s presence interferes with his or her desired actions, conflict intensifies (Wilmot & Hocker, 2011). A conflict is associated with blocking and the individual doing the blocking is believed to be the problem. In my situation, the supervisor is blocking me from doing my ordinary chores and not giving me breaks when the other employees are going for breaks and this is the cause of the conflict.
When I look at this conflict from the supervisor’s perspective, I could g...