Lecture on social studies: Social conflict and ways to resolve it

In the modern world, conflicts are inevitable, so it is important to understand their essence, be able to manage them, and strive to ensure that conflicts harm the individual and society as little as possible.

Social conflict is a collision of opposing goals, views, positions and opinions of different subjects of social interaction.

Social conflict usually grows out of social tension, which, in turn, appears due to the social heterogeneity of society, differences in income levels, prestige, or the presence/lack of access to power.

Stages of development of social conflict

Possible scenarios for the development of the conflict

Scientists identify four stages of social conflict :

1. The pre-conflict stage occurs in two phases:

- a hidden phase, during which the parties’ dissatisfaction with each other is just beginning to mature and has not yet been expressed;

- an incident, that is, an external event that provokes a conflict, becomes the cause of the actions of the conflicting parties.

1. Conflict is the main stage. During this period, the parties are characterized by conflict behavior, that is, the desire to block the achievement of the goals, intentions or interests of the opposing party using direct or indirect methods.
2. The conflict resolution stage can be carried out through an objective change in the situation or through a change in the subjective perception of the situation by the participants in the conflict.
3. The post-conflict stage can proceed in different ways. During this period, both friendly and hostile relations may develop between parties that previously had conflicts. How this stage proceeds determines whether new conflicts will arise between the warring parties.

As an example, we will try to track the stages of a conflict between two friends who, after watching the same film, assessed the actions of its characters differently. Discussing what they had seen, the friends began to argue, and both were so carried away that they did not notice how the playful discussion turned into a real quarrel. Heated by the argument, the friends decided not to communicate anymore, but after a while they both calmed down and realized that such a trifle as different views on a movie should not destroy their friendship.

In some conflicts, the first stage occurs very quickly or does not occur at all. Specifically in this example, at the pre-conflict stage, future opponents formulate an opinion about the film. The incident that provoked the conflict was the desire to discuss what they saw.

At the conflict stage, the opponents argued, each tried to impose their point of view on the other, but neither succeeded.

The conflict ended not at the moment when the friends stopped talking to each other, but only after both realized the insignificance of the cause of the dispute, that is, the subjective perception of the situation by the parties to the conflict changed.

There is no post-conflict stage as such in this example, but a strong quarrel can permanently destroy a friendship or companionship, and if one of the parties remains dissatisfied with the resolution of the conflict, then there is a risk of its recurrence in the near future.

Abstract on the topic “Structure, functions, essence, stages of social conflicts”

Social conflict

- this is the highest stage of development of contradictions in relations between people, social groups, and society as a whole, which is characterized by a clash of opposing interests, goals, and positions of the subjects of interaction. Conflicts can be hidden or overt, but they are always based on a lack of agreement between two or more parties.

Simplified structure of social conflict

consists of the following elements:

• object - the specific cause of the collision of subjects;
• two or more subjects conflicting over an object;
• incident - a formal reason for the start of open confrontation.

Conflict is preceded by the emergence of a conflict situation. These are contradictions that arise between subjects regarding an object.

Under the influence of growing social tension, the conflict situation is gradually transforming into open social conflict. But tension itself can exist for a long time and not develop into conflict. In order for a conflict to become real, an incident is necessary - a formal reason for the start of the conflict.

However, the real conflict has a more complex structure. For example, in addition to the subjects, it involves participants (direct and indirect), supporters, sympathizers, instigators, mediators, arbitrators, etc. Each of the participants in the conflict has its own qualitative and quantitative characteristics. An object may also have its own characteristics. In addition, real conflict develops in a certain social and physical environment, which also influences it.

The function of conflict is understood as the role that conflict plays in relation to society and its various structural formations: social groups, organizations and individuals.

There are obvious and hidden (latent) functions of conflict. Explicit Conflict Functions

characterized by the fact that its consequences coincide with the goals that were proclaimed and pursued by opponents of the conflict.

Hidden (latent) functions of conflict

- those when its consequences are discovered only over time and they differ to a certain extent from the intentions previously declared

participants in the conflict. Latent functions can also be expressed in the fact that its consequences may generally be unexpected and not meet the goals of the participants in the conflict.[5.109.].

The essence of social conflict

consists in achieving a general agreement between private wills and thereby preventing the need to use coercion in relation to any of them, eliminating the possibility of splitting society into opposing, opposing camps. Thanks to these features, social conflict is an important management tool in a democratic society, maintaining its integrity and stability. However, it should be emphasized that social conflict itself does not resolve conflicts and contradictions; it can only presuppose and precede this resolution.

The procedural mechanism for achieving social conflict usually involves negotiations during which:

1) analysis of a conflict (problem) situation in order to understand the essence of the problem dividing the opposing parties, understand their interests, clarify positions, pursued goals, etc.;

2) clarifying the basis that brings together the positions of the parties and reveals the common ground of their interests;

3) determining the extent and essence of concessions to each other;

4) searching for an agreement that suits the interested parties and determines their actions to implement the accepted agreement, i.e., resolving or smoothing out a common problem, dispute, conflict.

A social conflict is considered achieved if its participants have adopted an appropriate agreement fixing their mutual duties and responsibilities towards each other. Of course, the practical implementation of social conflict is based on the presence in society of proven social (legal, moral, etc.) mechanisms for the fair resolution of conflicts, disputes, and disagreements. If such a mechanism is absent or underdeveloped, then this naturally narrows the possibilities for concluding and implementing a social conflict. The process of achieving social conflict can be complex and difficult. It all depends on the extent to which each of its participants is able to be guided not only by their own, but also by the common interest, to what extent they are all ready to sacrifice their own goals for the sake of this latter. [6.].

In the process of ripening conflict, 4 stages can be distinguished:

1. Hidden stage

- caused by the unequal position of groups of individuals in the spheres of “have” and “can”. It covers all aspects of life conditions: social, political, economic, moral, intellectual. Its main reason is the desire of people to improve their status and superiority;

2. Stage of tension

, the degree of which depends on the position of the opposing side, which has great power and superiority. For example, tension is zero if the dominant party takes a cooperative position, tension is reduced with a conciliatory approach, and very strong if the parties are intransigent;

3. Antagonism stage

, which manifests itself as a consequence of high tension;

4. Incompatibility stage

resulting from high tension. This is actually a conflict.

The emergence of a conflict does not preclude the continuation of previous stages, since the hidden conflict continues on private issues and, moreover, new tensions arise.

In its development, the conflict goes through five main stages.

First stage

characterized by the emergence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise in the future, namely:

• problems related to communication (unsatisfactory exchange of information, lack of mutual understanding in the team);
• problems associated with the peculiarities of the organization’s work (authoritarian management style, lack of a clear system for evaluating personnel performance and rewards);
• personal qualities of employees (incompatible value systems, dogmatism, disrespect for the interests of other team members).

Second stage

characterized by such a development of events in which the conflict becomes obvious to its participants. This may be evidenced by a change in the relationship between the parties to the conflict, the creation of a tense environment, and a feeling of psychological discomfort.

Third stage

characterized by the obvious intentions of the parties to the conflict to resolve the existing conflict situation. Here are the main conflict resolution strategies:

• confrontation, when one of the parties wants to satisfy its interests, regardless of how this will affect the interests of the other party;
• cooperation, when active attempts are made to most fully satisfy the interests of all parties involved in the conflict;
• the desire to avoid conflict, when the conflict is ignored, the parties do not want to acknowledge its existence, they try to avoid people with whom disagreements are possible on certain issues;
• opportunism, when one of the parties to the conflict seeks to put the interests of the other party above their own;
• compromise, when each party to the conflict is ready to partially sacrifice its interests for the sake of common interests.

Fourth stage

conflict occurs when the intentions of its participants are embodied in specific forms of behavior. In this case, the behavior of the participants in the conflict can take both controlled forms and uncontrolled ones (clash of groups, etc.).

Fifth stage

conflict is characterized by what consequences (positive or negative) occur after the conflict is resolved.

When managing conflicts

The most commonly used methods are:

• organizing meetings of conflicting parties, assisting them in identifying the causes of the conflict and constructive ways to resolve it;
• setting joint goals and objectives that cannot be achieved without reconciliation and cooperation of the conflicting parties;
• attracting additional resources, primarily in cases where the conflict was caused by a shortage of resources - production space, financing, opportunities for career advancement, etc.;
• developing a mutual desire to sacrifice something to achieve agreement and reconciliation;
• administrative methods of conflict management, for example, transferring an employee from one unit to another;
• changing the organizational structure, improving information exchange, redesigning work;
• training the employee in conflict management skills, interpersonal communication skills, and the art of negotiation.[6.].

Conditions for resolving social conflict

A conflict that neither side tries to resolve can continue for months or even years. To prevent such a situation, modern conflictology has formulated the conditions under which successful resolution of a social conflict is possible:

First, it is necessary to quickly and accurately establish the cause of the conflict. Often, it is eliminating the cause of the conflict that helps resolve the situation.

Secondly, both sides should be interested in ending the conflict as soon as possible. If one of the parties (or both) persists in the desire to support the conflict, then you need to explain to her the benefits of a peaceful solution to the problem.

Thirdly, the parties must jointly find a way out of the current situation; it is desirable that this way out takes into account the interests of both parties.

Fourthly, at the post-conflict stage, the parties must make every effort to ensure that the conflict does not recur.

Theoretical development of social conflicts

The founders of “conflict theories” are G. Spencer, K. Marx and G. Simmel. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) pointed to social conflicts as part of social natural selection and was a supporter of evolution. Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) argued that without revolutions it is impossible to solve the serious conflict situation in society. Georg Simmel (1858-1918) believed that conflict is part of social life, it is even useful, only if it is short-term.

Representatives of the theory of functionalism Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) and Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) believed that in a well-functioning social system consensus (agreement) should prevail, and conflict should not find soil in society.

Representatives of the sociology of conflict, Ralf Dahrendorf (1929-2009), Lewis Coser (1913-2003) and Kenneth Boulding (1910-1993) noted that a large number of conflicts isolated from each other contributes to the unity of society as a whole.

What kind of conflicts are there?

Social conflicts are very diverse. They differ in basis.

Several types can be named for different reasons:

• global and local (by territory);
• long-term and short-term (in time);
• external and internal (in the direction of influence);
• violent and non-violent (according to means);
• progressive and regressive (according to the degree of influence on society).

There are quite a lot of bases for classification.