Page 138 - Handbooks of Applied Linguistics Communication Competence Language and Communication Problems Practical Solutions

116 Nathalie van Meurs and Helen Spencer-Oatey

… divergent communicative patterns in these everyday service encounters simulta-
neously represent (1) an on-going source of tensions; and (2) a local enactment of
pre-existing social conflicts.
Bailey 2000: 87 (italics in the original)

Another example is Spencer-Oatey and Xing (2003). These researchers compare
two Chinese–British business welcome meetings which were very similar in
many respects, yet were evaluated very differently by the participants. One of
them was part of a very successful business visit, whilst the other led to a very
problematic visit which came to a climax on the final day when there was a heated
dispute that lasted for nearly two and a half hours. The authors analyse the reasons
for the differences in outcomes, and identify the following: the role of the inter-
preter (see also Spencer-Oatey and Xing in this volume), the role of the chairper-
son, mismatches between British and Chinese culturally-based and contextually-
based assumptions and expectations, confusion over the roles and relative status
of the participants, and a confounding effect between all of these factors.

6. Concluding comments

The various approaches to studying and analysing conflict reported in this
chapter each have their own strengths and weaknesses. In terms of research
methodology, most organizational psychological and communication re-
searchers use either simulated role play in experimental-type conditions, or self-
report questionnaire items. Whilst these approaches are useful in many respects,
they have some serious limitations and need to be complemented by studies of
authentic conflictive encounters and situations. In such studies various types of
research data need to be collected including ethnographic, discourse and/or
post-event interview data, in order to improve the validity and granularity of re-
search findings on conflict. Applied linguists have a major role to play here.
However, it needs to be acknowledged that much applied linguistic research is
impenetrable for people from other disciplines. The analyses are often so de-
tailed and so full of linguistic technical terms, that they are difficult for non-lin-
guists to follow. Moreover, it is hard for people (such as intercultural trainers) to
pick out the practical relevance of the findings.
Up to now there has been very little interchange of conceptual frameworks and
research findings between applied linguistic researchers of conflict and those
working within organizational behaviour and communication studies. Findings
are typically published in different journals, and people may be unaware of each
other’s work. We hope that this chapter will help to start breaking down this divide,
and that there will be greater interdisciplinary sharing and discussion of ideas, con-
cepts and findings, even if some conflict is a concomitant part of the process!