Everyone knows the concept of conflict. There are no people in the world who have never quarreled with anyone during their lives. And domestic conflict situations that arise, as they say, "in the details", often remain completely without special attention, since they occur constantly.
Few people quarreling with relatives or colleagues, cursing with random travel companions in public transport, think about how exactly such situations develop, which ones obey the laws, because of which they flare up. Meanwhile, there is a special science called conflictology, which studies these specific situations.
What kind of science?
This is a separate discipline that studies the structural elements of conflict. In other words, this science considers all aspects of disagreement, from the moment they arise to completion.
Conflictology studies the patterns inherent in similar situations, the causes of their occurrence and types of development. This discipline originated at the very beginning of the past century, and Karl Marx is considered one of its founders.
The main theoretical approaches
It is impossible to understand the patterns in connection with which the structural elements of the conflict are changing alternately without a general theoretical understanding of such situations. In this discipline, two theoretical approaches are considered fundamental.
In the first of them, the essence of the conflict is determined by the presence of a clash of different opinions, forces, phenomena and other things. In other words, in the first approach, the understanding of the term is very extensive. In this case, any forces, including natural ones, can act as participating parties. An example of this type of development of a situation in everyday life can be absolutely any quarrel that has accidentally flashed.
The second approach denotes the essence of a conflict situation as a clash of opposing goals or interests. An example of this type can be a political or scientific polemic, a clash of economic interests.
How can disagreements develop?
In addition to the general types, conflict situations are subdivided into social and intrapersonal ones in accordance with the characteristic paths of development.
Social is the conflict that, with its development, has acquired an extremely acute form. It arises, of course, in the course of the social interaction of the parties involved. Such a situation lies in the opposition of the parties to the conflict, which can take any form, be open or secret.
The core of social conflict situations is interpersonal hostile relationships. The difference between interpersonal and social differences is quite arbitrary, it comes down solely to the scale of manifestation and how many interests are affected during development.
Intrapersonal conflicts are those in which opponents as such are absent. However, the structural elements of the conflict in this case do not differ from the social type of development, they are simply expressed differently. The basis of the intrapersonal type of development of disagreements, as in the social form, is a contradiction. In an intrapersonal conflict, there is no external opposition to anyone. But there are inner feelings and often opposition of the person to his own inclinations, desires or habits.
Definition of the term
Conflict is nothing more than an extremely acute way of resolving conflicting situations in which opposites collide. As a rule, the development of disagreements is accompanied by a clear or latent opposition between its participants.
The process of the origin and development of such situations is called conflictogenesis. This phenomenon is a dialectical, that is, continuous, process characteristic of evolutionary modernization, the development of social realities. This phenomenon takes place directly through conflict, which serves as a kind of core to it.
The general definition of conflict is a situation in which all parties involved take a certain position. It is incompatible with the one occupied by the other parties, or is radically opposite to it.
Structural lists of conflict elements can be both constructive and destructive. This also characterizes the causes of occurrence, the accepted forms and stages of development.
The main signs of a conflict situation
In order to characterize any situation as a conflict, it is necessary to make sure that there are three main signs. In the event that it is not possible to distinguish characteristic features or if they are absent, it is not worth calling an event or phenomenon a conflict. For example, not every argument, quarrel or controversy belongs to this type of social interaction. Sometimes disagreements, especially if people seek discussion and consensus, do not have a negative connotation.
The following distinctive structural elements of the conflict should be present in the situation:
- bipolarity;
- activity;
- subject.
Bipolarity is understood as opposition, opposition or other varieties of contradictions, as a rule, interrelated, relating to the same subject of interests.
Activity in this case is a kind of struggle against the opposite side. For example, in military conflicts - these are direct military operations, and in family conflicts - leaving "to mother", filing documents for a divorce, and so on. In disagreements that erupt between people inside closed communities, for example, in a school class or a work collective, activity often takes the form of boycotts, ignoring.
The subject is a party to the conflict, as a rule, its initiator. However, if the party to which the initiator's activity is directed takes response steps in the same psychological vein, then it also becomes a subject. Thus, to create a conflict situation of a social type, at least two subjects are required, and one is enough for an intrapersonal.
Structural classification
What components make up the full list of structural elements of the conflict? The answer to this question begins with the classification of these situations.
All conflicts are divided by the following parameters:
- Duration
- volume;
- source of occurrence;
- facilities;
- the form;
- impact;
- nature of development;
- sphere of course.
These are the main structural elements of the conflict, with the help of which you can give a full description of any situation in question and, of course, disassemble it and classify it. Each of the above parameters has its own, characterizing its structure.
A complete list of the structural elements of the conflict are as follows:
- Parties (participants).
- Conditions.
- Subject.
- Actions of the participants.
- The outcome (result).
It is very important to know what constitutes a complete list of the structural elements of the conflict.
Duration Classification
When classifying by duration of disagreement, there are:
- brief disagreements;
- long term;
- one-time;
- repetitive;
- protracted.
Brief conflict situations include a family quarrel, which does not have a serious reason, a quarrel. For example, if the couple had a fight because of whom to wash the dishes after dinner or whose turn it is to walk the dog. Such situations are not characterized by the presence of a deep background, they are superficial and quickly exhaust themselves.
Long-term conflicts are distinguished from short conflicts by the presence of more serious motivating reasons for the parties involved that do not allow the situation to quickly end. As a rule, those participating in such a conflict pursue their own interests, diametrically opposed to the positions of the other side. An example is any war.
One-time conflicts do not tend to recur after the parties find out the relationship between themselves. The repeating ones, respectively, arise with enviable periodicity and very often for the same reasons. Protracted conflicts are those that last a long time and usually do not differ in the constant high activity of the participants. An example of such a situation is the situation in the Gaza Strip.
Volume classification
According to the volume parameter, the disagreements are classified as follows:
- regional;
- local
- global;
- personal
- group.
The volume parameter refers to both territorial distribution and the number of participants at different levels.
An example of a global conflict situation is world war. And as an example of personal conflict can be a family quarrel. However, if in the process of clarifying the relationship the spouses involve third parties in the conflict, for example, they call the police or call their parents, then the situation is already becoming a group one.
Classification by source and means used
In accordance with the source of occurrence, the structural elements of the conflict are briefly classified as follows:
- false
- subjective;
- objective.
In accordance with the means used during the development of the situation, conflicts are divided into those in which violent acts are used, and those that proceed without such manifestations.
Form classification
In accordance with the accepted form, the disagreements are divided into:
- antagonistic;
- external;
- internal.
Antagonism in a conflict is a forced interaction of absolutely irreconcilable parties. The external form refers to the development of a situation in which there is an interaction of different parties, for example, man and the forces of nature. But the external disagreement may also be that which occurs between people, but is taken out of the territory they occupy or beyond the circle of interests. An internal form of conflict development is the interaction of its participants within the boundaries of the object of their interests.
Classification by influence and nature of development
The separation of the conflict in accordance with these characterizing parameters is very simple. Conflicts have two kinds of influence on society - they contribute to progress or, conversely, inhibit development. This characteristic, like all others, is applicable to all absolutely similar situations - from global wars to family quarrels.
In accordance with the characteristic features of development, conflicts can be:
An example of a spontaneously developing situation can be any random quarrel in public transport. And for a deliberate type of development, a conscious desire of at least one subject and the application of efforts on his part are required.
Flow Classification
Conflict situations can develop in any of the spheres of human activity. Generalized on this basis, they are divided into the following types:
- industrial or economic;
- political;
- Ethnic
- family or household;
- religious.
The characteristic of the structural elements of the conflict in accordance with this classification parameter is complemented by psychological and legal aspects.
What is meant by the structure of a conflict situation? Definition
Each conflict situation has a clear structure. This is understood as a combination or a combination of a chain of static components that are stable and form a single whole - in conflict.
The structural elements of social conflict are a kind of framework for the situation. If at least one structural component is removed from the general scheme of disagreement, then the situation will immediately be exhausted.
Comprehensive list of components
What parameters make up the complete list of structural elements of the conflict? The answer has already been given above. It is also worth mentioning such elements:
- Zone of disagreement. This is a matter of dispute, fact or question (one or more).
- Representation of the situation. Each of the participants in the conflict makes its own idea of it. These views, obviously, do not coincide. The parties see the matter differently - this, in fact, creates the ground for their clash.
What is the difference between organizational conflict?
The difference of these disagreements from others is that the situation is caused by the specifics of the activities of organizations and its features.
Among such conflicts stand out:
- internal or dysfunctional;
- external, interorganizational;
- positional associated with splits in the teams.
The main structural elements of organizational conflict are no different from others. The peculiarity is that as subjects invariably act as leaders of both senior and middle managers and leading experts.
As a rule, all organizational conflict situations arise within the framework of one of the following systems:
- organizational and technological;
- economic;
- micro-social.
These systems influence the causes of conflict situations in organizations, but not their structural lattice and patterns of development. In other words, the conflict that arose between various organizations or develops within one of them will obey the same laws as all others.
For example, a conflict that has arisen within the framework of the economic system may consist in employee dissatisfaction with wages. In this case, people can go on strike, sabotage the work process, or otherwise show their displeasure. These actions are nothing more than a structural manifestation of activity. Of course, the completion or outcome of the situation in this example will be an increase in wages or the dismissal of those who are not satisfied.
That is, organizational conflicts develop in accordance with general laws, differing from others only in the causes of their origin.