Classification of conflicts: essence, causes and types

Essence and classification of conflicts

Most experts define conflict as a way of resolving certain contradictions that are the result of disagreements, divergent interests, worldviews, and so on. Tension and negative emotions inevitably arise between the participants in this process.

Each of the parties to the conflict firmly defends its position, not wanting to make concessions or reconsider its opinion. In this case, a prerequisite is the incompatibility of the parties’ points of view or their complete contradiction. It is also worth noting that such situations can arise not only between individuals, but also between their groups, as well as within one individual.

The presence of a conflict can be determined by its main features, namely:

• contrasting two points of view regarding the same issue;
• active opposition, accompanied by emotional tension;
• the presence of active subjects who constantly maintain the conflict situation in the active phase.

It is worth noting that the variety of situations that cause contradiction is reflected in the classification of types of conflict. It can be based on the following features:

• duration (long-term, short-term, one-time);
• volume (personal, local, global);
• source (false, subjective, objective);
• means (violent, passive);
• form (internal, antagonistic, external);
• character (spontaneous, intentional);
• by spheres of life (family, ethnic, political, economic).

The concept and classification of conflicts are the subject of study of such a science as conflictology. Psychology, sociology, philosophy and other areas of knowledge are inextricably linked with it.

Types of conflicts

Psychologists have developed the following classification of types of conflicts:

• genuine - actually exists and is formed on the basis of real problems or around specific things;
• random - occurs spontaneously and is not thought out in advance (can be resolved at lightning speed or develop into a serious problem);
• displaced - when during the conflict it is not the problem that is on the surface that is being solved, but hidden or veiled issues;
• incorrect - when a conflict arose for no apparent reason due to misunderstanding or inattention of one of the parties;
• latent - actually exists, but is not fully realized by individuals, which is why it does not turn into open confrontation;
• false - has no objective reasons, but arises on the basis of emotional tension or personal hostility.

Each of the above types can be applied to one or another classification criterion. They are found both in private and public life, as well as in political and economic life.

Forms and typology of conflict situations

The main types of conflict situations are identified. There are four of them:

1. Intergroup . Occur within an organization between small groups and between large social groups.
2. Personal-group . When an individual and a group come into confrontation.
3. Interpersonal . In this case, group members have incompatible goals, behavior patterns, and motives.
4. Intrapersonal . Clashes occur within a person when contradictions appear between expectations and demands of the external environment.

Types of conflicts include intrigue , when on the one hand there is a dishonest action that is beneficial to the initiator.

They induce individuals or a group to take certain actions and cause harm to other people or a social group.

Types of conflicts, examples:

Causes of conflicts

The emergence of a conflict situation is always preceded by some kind of push. It can provoke a clash of interests, which in the future will develop according to a certain scenario. The most common classification of causes of conflict is as follows:

• Objective reasons: distribution of material or other resources (each party strives to obtain the greatest benefit, as a result of which a contradictory situation arises);
• task intersection (when people perform certain functions that may overlap or contradict each other);
• contradiction of goals (people, teams or departments that interact with each other may set guidelines that may contradict each other);
• ways to achieve goals (individuals interacting within the same team may have different views on achieving results);
• disruption of communications (as a result of improperly organized connections, contradictions and inaccuracies may arise).

Knowing the main reasons that lead to conflict situations, you can timely take appropriate measures to prevent or eliminate them.

Structural elements

The conflict has a certain structure , which allows us to more fully determine its significance, severity and methods of resolution.

1. An object. It includes material, spiritual, social value, regarding which the interests of both parties intersect. Each of the opposing entities seeks to take possession of it.
2. The subject , in fact, is what caused the disagreement, problem, source, contradiction.
3. The image of the situation , its reflection in the mind of the subject.
4. Motives , forces that encourage active action.
5. Positions of the parties.
6. Subjects , participants, these can be individuals or groups.
7. Strategy and tactics of conduct.
8. The outcome of the situation , what the consequences were, the results, how much the participants understand and accept them.

The conditions of the conflict are taken into account :

• the space where it unfolds,
• time , duration,
• socio-psychological , characteristics of participants, their involvement, motives, methods of interaction, degree of confrontation,
• social, whether different social groups are involved, professional, family, gender.

In a conflict situation, stages of development are distinguished :

• substantive , at this stage objective reasons for disagreements appear,
• interaction , the conflict develops, otherwise referred to as an incident,
• permission may be full or partial.

When searching for a solution, sociologists and psychologists must take into account the structure, number of participants, and their motivation.

Stages of conflict, table.

The structure of the conflict in this video:

Conflict functions

Every year the classification of conflicts becomes more and more broad. The functions of conflicts can be both positive and negative. The first include the following:

• during the conflict, the problem may be resolved or the contradiction between the parties may end;
• in the process of confrontation, hidden personality traits may appear that others were not previously aware of;
• due to the fact that negative emotions are given vent, tension subsequently weakens;
• conflict is a kind of step to a new stage of interpersonal relationships;
• in the event that an individual defends public opinion during a confrontation, his authority can increase significantly;
• For an individual, participation in a conflict can be useful in terms of finding one’s place in society, as well as self-realization.

The classification of conflicts shows us their prevalence, as well as their inevitability. But, unfortunately, among their functions there are also negative ones:

• creating psychological tension in the team;
• high risk of violence as the controversy escalates;
• stressful situations have a negative impact on health;
• as a result of the conflict, strong interpersonal and other connections may be destroyed;
• decrease in the effectiveness of collective and individual work;
• a habit of quarrels and violence develops.

We can conclude that the conflict cannot be regarded as an exclusively negative or exclusively positive phenomenon. This is a rather multifaceted situation, which, with proper management, can be translated into a constructive direction.

4.5. Behavior strategy in a conflict situation

Centuries of experience of people's participation in various conflicts and their resolution, countless observations of conflicting parties, special scientific research and generalizations have allowed scientists to identify the main strategies of behavior in conflict.

For example, R. Blake and J. Mouton name five such strategies: competition, cooperation, compromise, avoidance, adaptation.

Rivalry (competition).

This is a strategy of openly fighting for one’s interests, imposing one’s own point of view on the other side, a solution beneficial to oneself to the detriment of the opponent’s position. This style is considered effective if a person has power and certain strong-willed qualities.

Let's name examples of cases when it is recommended to use this behavior model:

• the outcome is very important to you and you place a big bet on your solution to the problem;
• you have sufficient authority to make a decision and it seems obvious that the solution you propose is the best;
• the decision must be made quickly and you have enough power to do so;
• you feel that you have no other choice and that you have nothing to lose;
• you are in a critical situation that requires an immediate response;
• you cannot let a group of people know that you are at a dead end when someone needs to lead them;
• you have to make an unpopular decision, but now you need to act and you have enough power to choose this step.

The disadvantages of this strategy include suppression of the initiative of the opposite side, the possibility of a repeat outbreak of confrontation, and deterioration of relationships with others.

Cooperation. This strategy is aimed at finding a solution that satisfies the interests of all parties. According to experts, this is the most difficult style of behavior, but it is the one that allows you to develop the most effective solution in complex conflict situations. This style requires endurance, self-control, and respectful attitude from the participants in the conflict. This style encourages people to openly discuss their needs, desires, and interests. All this requires some time and patience. It is advisable to use a cooperation strategy in the following situations:

• problem solving is very important for both parties and no one wants to completely avoid it;
• you have a close, long-term and interdependent relationship with the other party;
• you have time to work on the problem that has arisen (this is a good approach to resolving conflicts over long-term projects);
• both you and the other person are aware of the problem and the desires of both parties are known;
• you and your opponent want to put some ideas on the table and work on coming up with a solution;
• you are both able to express the essence of your interests and listen to each other;
• both parties involved in the conflict have equal power or want to ignore differences in power in order to seek solutions to the problem as equals.

Compromise. This is a strategy for resolving differences through mutual concessions. The essence of this strategy is that the parties partially fulfill their desires, and partially the desires of their opponent. Compromise is often a successful retreat or the last opportunity to come to a solution. The style of compromise is to some extent reminiscent of cooperation, but differs from it in a more superficial nature, since it does not require a deep understanding of the needs and interests of the other party.

You have to agree to a compromise when, for example, you and another person want the same thing, but you understand that at the same time it is impossible for you (to occupy the same position; get the same office, etc.).

Cooperation allows us to develop long-term mutually beneficial solutions, and as a result of a compromise, only a temporary suitable option may be found. Often, after some time, dissatisfaction with the decisions made is revealed. The resumption of the conflict in a modified form becomes inevitable.

We list typical situations in which the compromise strategy is the most effective:

• both parties have equal power and have mutually exclusive interests;
• you want a solution quickly because you don't have time or because it is a more economical and efficient way;
• you may be satisfied with a temporary solution;
• you can take advantage of short-term benefits;
• other approaches to solving the problem turned out to be ineffective;
• satisfying your desire is not too important for you and you can slightly change the goal set at the beginning;
• Compromising allows you to save the relationship and you would rather gain something than lose everything.

Avoidance (evasion).

The essence of this strategy is the desire to get out of a conflict situation without resolving it, without giving in, but without insisting on one’s own. Typically, this style is resorted to when there is no need to defend one's rights, when the parties do not cooperate to develop a solution to the problem, and the problem itself is not so important that it is worth spending effort on. This style is also appropriate if the opponent has a lot of power or the person feels in the wrong, so he has no reason to fight for his own position.

The avoidance style can be useful when dealing with a difficult, conflict-ridden person. Sometimes it is advisable to avoid resolving a conflict in order to collect the necessary information and better understand the problem. The avoidance style cannot be considered an escape from a problem or an avoidance of responsibility. Often this is a fairly constructive response to a conflict situation. It is quite possible that the conflict will resolve itself. And if not, then a temporary delay will allow you to be well prepared for its discussion.

The avoidance style is usually used in the following typical situations:

• the tension is too great and you feel the need to reduce the intensity;
• the outcome is not very important to you and you think that the decision is so trivial that it is not worth wasting energy on it;
• you are having a difficult day, and solving this problem may bring additional troubles;
• you know that you cannot or even do not want to resolve the conflict in your favor;
• you want to buy time, perhaps in order to get additional information or to enlist someone's support;
• the situation is very difficult and you feel that resolving the conflict will require too much from you;
• you have little power to solve the problem or to solve it in the way you want;
• you feel that others have a better chance of solving this problem;
• Trying to solve the problem immediately is dangerous, since opening up and openly discussing the conflict can only make the situation worse.

Device. This is the name of the strategy of smoothing out contradictions at the expense of one’s own interests. A person sacrifices his interests in favor of his opponent, yielding to him and feeling sorry for him.

This style is advisable to use when the outcome of the case is important for another person and not very significant for you. Usually they do this when they don’t really count on a positive solution to the problem for themselves and their own contribution to the matter is not great, that is, by giving in on something, they lose little. If you have to give in on what is important to you, then a feeling of dissatisfaction and resentment arises. In such a situation, the accommodation style is not desirable.

The adaptation strategy makes it possible to gain time, to achieve a delay in solving a problem, in this it resembles the evasion style. But these styles of behavior also have significant differences. When using an accommodation strategy, you act together with the other person, agreeing to do what he wants. With an evasion strategy, problems are simply discarded and the interests of the other side are not taken into account.

Here are the most typical situations in which it is advisable to use an adaptation strategy:

• you are not particularly concerned about what happened;
• you want to maintain peace and good relationships with other people;
• you feel that it is more important to maintain a good relationship with someone than to defend your interests;
• you understand that the outcome is much more important for the other person than for you;
• you understand that the truth is not on your side;
• you have little power or chance of winning;
• you believe that the other person can learn a lesson from this situation if you give in to his wishes, even if you disagree with what he is doing or think that he is making a mistake.

1See, for example, the textbook “Conflictology” by A. Ya. Antsupov, A. I. Shipilov.

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Classification of social conflicts

Social conflict arises as a result of disagreements between individuals living or carrying out their activities within a certain social framework. The reason may be a divergence of interests, opposing goals, as well as incompatibility of beliefs and values. The classification of social conflicts is as follows:

• In accordance with the number of participants: intrapersonal - arise when an individual is faced with a dilemma regarding making an important decision;
• interpersonal - a clash of interests of several people;
• intergroup - a discrepancy in points of view on certain issues among several groups.

The category of social conflicts is one of the most important for study, because it permeates all spheres of human life. In addition, these situations can be projected onto more serious problems in order to develop similar solutions for them.

Interpersonal conflicts

Interpersonal conflict refers to a clash between individuals that arises as a result of certain disagreements. The stumbling block in this case may be the opposition of interests, goals or worldview. The classification of interpersonal conflicts is as follows:

• In the direction: horizontal conflicts - arise between people of the same status who are not bound by relationships of subordination;
• vertical - can develop between individuals due to class or service inequality.

The classification of interpersonal conflicts can be considered both independently and in interaction and intersection with other varieties.

Armed conflicts

An armed conflict, as its name implies, is a confrontation using weapons of one kind or another. They can be of different directions, localization, and also have other differences. The classification of armed conflicts can be presented as follows:

• In accordance with the goals: fair (when the feasibility of using weapons is recognized by international organizations);
• unfair (when weapons are an unnecessary and unjustified measure).

Armed conflicts require, first of all, forecasting, which will make it possible to make timely decisions to prevent or eliminate them.

Bibliography.

1. Conflictology / Ed. V.V. Ratnikova. M.: UNITY, 2005.
2. Myers D. Social psychology. – M.: Peter, 2005.
3. Guidelines for completing tests for independent work of second-year students of specialties 061000 – “State and Municipal Administration”, 061100 – “Organization Management”, 061500 – “Marketing” and third-year students of specialties 060400 – “Finance and Credit”, 060500 – “ Accounting, analysis and audit.” Department of Philosophy. Methodological instructions were developed by Professor I.A. Uledova. M., 2007.
4. Morozov A.V. Business psychology: Course of lectures. – St. Petersburg: Soyuz, 2002.
5. Psychology and ethics of business communication: a textbook for university students / Ed. V.N. Lavrinenko – 5th ed. M.: UNITY-DANA, 2004.

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Conflicts within the organization

The work collective is perhaps the most favorable environment for disputes and disagreements to arise. The classification of conflicts in an organization is as follows:

• according to the levels of organization, confrontations can be horizontal, vertical or mixed;
• in accordance with the area of ​​origin, they can be of both a business and personal nature (they can also combine these two characteristics);
• in terms of the degree of manifestation, conflicts can be both hidden and overt, having a real manifestation (the second option is more preferable, since it speeds up the resolution of the situation);
• based on the character, one can distinguish both objective (having a real reason) conflicts and subjective ones, based solely on individual views;
• According to the consequences, conflicts can be constructive or destructive.

Consequences

Based on their consequences, conflicts are divided into two large groups:

• constructive , involve rational transformations, positive changes,
• destructive , destroying an organization, group, personality.

Some authors give the following classification:

• functional , involving the search for promising alternatives, making it possible to effectively resolve disagreements, positively influencing the development of an individual,
• destructive , goals are not achieved, the needs of the individual are not met.

Based on its impact, conflict can be divided into negative and positive.

W. Lincoln highlighted the following positive consequences of a conflict situation:

• bringing together people with the same orientation – like-minded people,
• accelerating the process of self-awareness,
• relaxation, release of tension, unimportant matters fade into the background,
• sets priorities
• helps release emotions
• attention is drawn to proposals that need discussion,
• helps to establish working contacts,
• under the influence of the situation, a certain set of values ​​is affirmed,
• there is a search for the most optimal ways to prevent conflicts.

Conflict management

An integral part of modern reality is such a concept as conflict. Conflict classifications and conflict management are an objective necessity. This will keep them under control and resolve them effectively. The individual has the opportunity to directly influence the dynamics and course of the confrontation.

The goal of conflict management is to turn a destructive conflict into a constructive direction or to prevent a creative confrontation from becoming destructive. It is also worth noting the need to anticipate such situations in order to prevent them. In some cases, disputes can be artificially provoked to solve certain organizational problems or relieve hidden tension in the team. The classification of conflicts in this case must be taken into account.

Conflict management includes a number of concepts:

• settlement - the search for an alternative, thanks to which the interests of all warring parties will be satisfied to one degree or another, and tension will be partially or completely relieved;
• resolution is the complete elimination of the cause of a conflict situation or the search for a compromise that will make it irrelevant or insignificant;
• forecasting - the ability to foresee the onset of a contradictory situation based on available data;
• prevention - taking a set of measures to prevent the development of a conflict and its transition into an open form;
• stimulation - creating an atmosphere that would provoke constructive confrontation or dispute.

The classification of conflicts plays an important role in managing controversial situations. Sometimes the choice of a set of measures may depend on this factor.

Introduction.

The problem of conflict covers a wide range of issues, including the definition of the concept of conflict, its nature as a social phenomenon, causes of its occurrence, possibilities for resolving the conflict, as well as typology, classification of conflicts, identification of their role in public life, etc.

There is no human community in which there would be no contradictions and clashes between its members. Man is no less inclined to hostility and clashes than to cooperation. Conflicts permeate the entire life of society, and we can observe them everywhere - from an elementary fight or family quarrel to wars between states.

Every person has repeatedly found himself in a state of conflict throughout his life. The causes of conflicts can be very diverse. They acquire particular significance in labor relations, because here conflicts, if they turn out to be uncontrollable, can not only disorganize production, but also lead to great social upheavals. Therefore, knowledge of the nature of conflicts, their typology, and methods of resolution seems very important.

This work examines such issues as: the concept of conflict; typology of conflict and its structure, as well as general stages of the conflict, including the formation of conflicting interests, the transition of a potential conflict into a real one, conflict actions, resolution or resolution of a conflict, a post-conflict situation; The general destructive and constructive functions of conflict are also considered.

The purpose of the work is:

1. studying the types and structure of conflict;
2. study of the stages of conflict;
3. test solution.

conclusions

The classification of modern conflicts shows us their diversity and multiplicity. One or another confrontation and clash of interests occur in almost all spheres of human life. This encourages scientists and psychologists to closely study conflict situations, because a dispute that arises between several individuals can be projected onto larger-scale confrontations. This allows us to develop effective methods of settlement and resolution. The scope of conflict management can also include such actions as forecasting and anticipation, warning and intentional stimulation.

The main classifications of conflicts affect the most important areas of human life. The most important role is played by interpersonal confrontations, which occur almost everywhere. When entering the workforce, a person will certainly encounter organizational conflicts. Of more global importance are interregional and interstate confrontations, which can develop into an armed phase if measures to resolve them are not taken in time.