Page 345 - Effective Communication Soft Skills Strategies For Success by Nitin Bhatnagar, Mamta Bhatnagar

Model Question Papers | 333

the individual. Ram has a conflict with Sudhakar. Ram, instead of resolving the con-
flict, is hopeful that the problem will vanish on its own in the due course of time. He
does not do anything actively to deal with the problem. Ram’s approach will only end
up in sending wrong signals to Sudhakar. Hence, avoiding or denying the conflict does
not take anybody anywhere.

ii. Giving in
Many individuals prefer to give in rather than fight. Sometimes people are being a
martyr, scared, or seeking appreciation, etc. In any case, this is another bad approach,
because it is unfair, it generates no creative solutions, and usually such an accommo-
dator remains very unhappy. Whenever Radha is confronted with a problem with her
husband, she has a tendency to give in instead of staying in a dialogue or resolving.
She keeps brooding over the issue and spoils her psychological health and gets into
depression. Hence, giving in is equally a bad approach to resolve the conflict.

iii. Blaming others
Some people get mad and blame the other person. They say, ‘You ignored my authority’,
or ‘You are totally unfair’, or ‘You’ve hurt me’ etc. Such a conflict becomes an unpleasant
battle in which they must ‘get their way’ and win at any cost (like in a divorce settlement).
This is also a terrible approach because it stops all constructive thinking; it is unfair (deceit-
ful, threatening, and chauvinistic), and produces lasting hostility. Mr. Rao has had problem
with his subordinate and he expects his subordinate to listen to him and abide by his words
at any cost. He does not communicate his ideas and is not transparent. He holds an illogi-
cal view that his subordinate should get things done without his explaining. He ends up in
blaming his subordinate most of the time. This kind of resolution style is detrimental to the
human relationship.

iv. Compromise

Some people appear to seek a compromise, i.e., find some middle ground and ‘work
out an agreement’. Sometimes a part of this approach is subtle but skillfully trying to
win more ground than your opponent. The objective becomes trying to prove that one
is clever. Thus, political or social pressure, misrepresentation, and so on may slip in,
rather than simply seeking an optimal solution for both sides. Subbarao and Ramarao
have an ongoing land dispute for several years. Instead of looking at win-win solution,
each of them would like to win at the expense of other party. Hence, compromise is a
better alternative in this kind of situations.

v. Win-win approach
‘Win-win’ negotiating is a complex process for resolving conflicts, a way of fairly settling
a disagreement. It isn’t getting the best deal for me; it is finding the best solution for us.

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