Yet another approach is bargaining to reach a compromise.
This means that both sides are prepared to lose as well as win
some points and the aim is to reach a solution acceptable to both
sides. Bargaining, however, involves all sorts of tactical and often
counterproductive games, and the parties are often more anxious
to seek acceptable compromises than to achieve sound solutions.
Ware and Barnes identify two other approaches to managing
interpersonal conflict: controlling, and constructive confronta-
tion.
Controlling
Controlling can involve preventing interaction, or structuring
the forms of interaction or reducing or changing external pres-
sures.
Preventing interactionis a strategy for use when emotions are
high. Conflict is controlled by keeping those apart in the hope
that, although the differences still exist, the people involved have
time to cool down and consider more constructive approaches.
But this may only be a temporary expedient and the eventual
confrontation could be even more explosive.
Structuring the forms of interactioncan be a strategy when it is not
possible to separate the parties. In these cases, ground rules can
be developed to deal with the conflict concerning such behav-
iours as communicating information or dealing with specific
issues. However, this may also be a temporary strategy if the
strong underlying feelings are only suppressed rather than
resolved.
Personal counsellingis an approach which does not address the
conflict itself but focuses on how the two people are reacting.
Personal counselling gives people a chance to release pent-up
tensions and may encourage them to think about new ways of
resolving the conflict. But it does not address the essential nature
of the conflict, which is the relationship between two people.
That is why constructive confrontation offers the best hope of a
long-term solution.
How to Manage Conflict 153