Cultural Background in Conflict Resolution

Subject: Employee Management
Pages: 2
Words: 559
Reading time:
2 min
Study level: College

Introduction

In society, misunderstanding and disagreement usually occur amongst people fuelling the emergence of conflict. Despite the intensity or the extent of the feud, with the proper application of the conflict resolution approaches, individuals can manage with the help of mediators to settle back to a normal and peaceful state. Men and women play a significant role in influencing the settlement of fights in the community. Thus, cultural background and gender significantly impact the approaches used in conflict resolution.

Main body

According to the values of my culture, in case of conflict amongst people, the first step is to contact them and define the cause of the disagreement. It is necessary to take note of both sides of the story before choosing the relevant approach. I have been opting for peaceful negotiation methods to enhance long-term respect and coexistence between the involved parties. When helping to resolve the situation, I tend to be fair so that the victims do not feel isolated.

Based on competitive negation, my gender has an advantage in managing the situation. Generally, power-based negations revolve around aggressive communication and focusing on the needs of a given party. This style requires professionals that do not take slightly or settle for short-term solutions. The approach needs a facilitator who can follow ground rules effectively and does not compromise to anything that can jeopardize the outcome of the mediation. Therefore, in the human service setting, I believe my gender is dominant in competitive style when negotiating for resolution.

Generally, men are less effective in maintaining or establishing relationships. This aspect may affect the professional ability in the human service setting when applying the collaborative approach in finding the solution for conflicting groups. The interest-based style focuses on determining the common grounds and developing or maintaining the existing connection between parties. My gender is disadvantaged in handling scenarios that call for the establishment of relationships. Mostly, I prefer focusing on the main agenda, which determines the kind of approach to be followed during the process.

According to the readings, in the future, when dealing with cross-cultural negotiations, I would ensure I properly understand the cultures of the involved parties and encourage them to comprehend one another’s norms. Furthermore, I will ensure I develop trust amongst them to create an interactive atmosphere for effective participation towards achieving the resolution. I will also facilitate peacebuilding mechanisms and influence the ability to ask for forgiveness to promote peace-oriented existence. In addition, I will engage in creating self-awareness so that the participants can have the ability to corporate and reach a mutual understanding that would prevent the occurrence of future disagreements.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cultural background plays an essential role in influencing how negotiation professionals approach the mediation activity. There are morals that guide the decision on what method to be applied. Apart from the culture, gender is another factor determining the technique to be used to attain the resolution. Male professionals tend to be more focused on the agenda, unlike the females, who prioritize the relationship between the parties. It, therefore, implies the outcome of conflict negotiations is influenced by both the culture and gender of the helping professionals. Facilitators should be aware that the decisions on how to handle the situation are linked to their gender; hence they can perfect their approach to establishing a long-term peaceful coexistence amongst the individuals.