Essay on Conflict Scenarios and Solutions

Conflict Scenario: A meeting with the Student leader, Edward, to select the most suitable candidate to lead clubs and youth groups

The case study is an on-going process of resolving a conflict in the college by finding the best strategy of finding the right personality to lead clubs and youth groups. The case requires me, as the vice president of the student council, to meet with the student leader and find out the most suitable candidate to represent clubs and youth groups in the institution. The youth groups and the club societies lack a leader, and this is founded on the decision made by Ben, a former leader of the clubs and youth groups in the college, to step down following an on the process of indiscipline and misconduct case in which he was implicated. Edward faces the challenge of finding out the most suitable candidate, and I believe that I have a solution to the conflict since I can recommend a competent candidate with outstanding interpersonal skills to fill Ben’s position. My favorite candidate for the leadership position is Christine, and this is deeply rooted in the reasoning that I have a previous work history with Christine since she has served under my leadership as a counselor on matters pertaining to resolving the grievances of the students. Christine has outstanding skills relevant to the leadership position and has a sense of credibility to execute Ben’s duties and responsibilities swiftly and skilfully. In as much as people in the department of human resources may refute the decision to engage Christine as a culture that violates a democratic process of selecting leaders in the college, I believe that the department of club societies need a suitable candidate who is already aware and has the requisite skills for the job. Also, women are underserved in leadership positions in the college, and this comes out as a solid justification to convince the student leader, Edward, to award the leadership opportunity to Christine.

Summary of the course concepts

The initiative of understanding effective negotiation requires excellent interpersonal skills and interest-based discussions in a bid to earn trust and win the confidence of the party who is in a dilemma to make a decision and come up with the requite solution. For instance, engaging in a competitive negotiation requires is perceived as “a game of moves” in which the opponents seek the advantage of the other party by pacing high values and states of the information they have in a bid to convince the opponents (Neiman 3). The element of surprise in an on-going negotiation process makes the other party succumb to the ideologies shared by the winning, and this is founded on the lack of justification to refute the claims of the opponents. The initiative of offering demands that could be more or less in a bid to close a deal comes out as swift ways of handling conflicts through competitive negotiation.

The concern of testing the limits as a tactic to understand the emotions of the opponent is a negotiation tactic that swiftly resolves conflicts, and this is applicable in circumstances in which pressure has to be applied, such as walking away in a bid to give the opponent makes a substantive decision. The application of manipulative communication in bargainings, such as an appeal to personal connection and the use of vague words, plays a major role in making the opponents believe in the relevance of arguments in an on-going process of conflict resolution (Neiman 5). The consideration of countering competitive tacks in conflict resolution plays a major role in enlightening opponents about the subjectivity of their thoughts and reasoning. For instance, reframing and asking open questions come out as one of the modalities applied in conflict resolution to counter the thoughts and arguments of the opponents.

The consideration of Ross Greene’s basket approach of resolving conflicts and as one of the most effective negotiation strategy helps closes the deals and conflicts much faster than other negotiation approaches. Ross Greene’s basket approach applies terminologies, such as “Non-negotiable,” “Negotiable-High Priority,” in a bid to make the opponent closes the engagement quickly and swiftly (Neiman 7). The conceptualization of interest-based negotiation that involves both parties establishing agenda, exploring their interests, creating a common history, and exploring solutions by setting a common collaborating tone has enabled numerous parties to close deals and business engagement in the past.

Application of Course Concepts to the Scenario: A meeting with the Student leader, Edward, to select the most suitable candidate to lead clubs and youth groups

Given the context and the nature of the case scenario that requires me to meet Edward, the student leader of the college, I believe in the reasoning that the best decision to be made by Edward is to engage a candidate with the right and competitive credentials effectively represent the club’s society and youth groups in the college. I am fully aware that the department of youth groups and clubs society needs a suitable candidate to fill Ben’s leadership position, and my contribution towards the selection of the most suitable leader would help the institution meet its strategic goals of building and shaping up leaders of tomorrow. Through the application of a competitive negotiation strategy, such as employing the element of surprise and placing a high value of interest, I recommend Christine for the job since I am aware of her outstanding expertise in executing Ben’s duties and responsibilities (Neiman 3). I have no doubt that all categories of students would support my decision to recommend Christine since she has ever served under my leadership as a counsellor. The application of competitive strategies, such as testing limits, justifies the reasoning why I consider Christine as the most suitable candidate since she is a woman, and the women are underserved in leadership positions in the college.

Edward is under pressure based on the urgent need of a suitable candidate l to fill the vacant position in the department of clubs society and youth groups since Ben’s duties go unattended, and this is based on the current situation of lack of an appropriate the most disciplined leader in the department of clubs and society. Given the concept of applying time pressure as a conflict resolution and negotiation tactic as observed by Neiman (4), it is imperative to note that the college does not have the time and excess resources to take part in the process of engaging several candidates when the most suitable candidate with the requisite expertise has been identified by the leadership community of the institution. The institution would embrace the ideology of what works best for the college, particularly in circumstances that involve matters of urgency. In this context, I have the faith that no students and other sections of the leadership department in the college would refute my decision to recommend Christine for the leadership position, and this is justified by Neiman (7) arguments of applying Ross Greene’s basket approach that depicts faster approaches of resolving conflicts.

The decision to award Christine the leadership position in the college cannot tarnish the name and the reputation of the institution since women have been underserved in the leadership positions in the college. Hence, the decision that needs to be made by the student leader, Edward, is to engage female students to fill the vacant leadership position in the club’s society department since it will be a milestone of meeting the directive of gender balance in leadership positions in every department in the college. The consideration of interest-based negotiation, as echoed by Neiman (8), fits the situation of engaging Christine since it entails establishing agenda awarding female students the opportunity to take part in leadership positions. As a result, given the sense of perception that Christine is a female student, and the department of youth groups has been underrepresenting female students, it would be one of the remarkable decisions made by the student leaders to instill faith in the students that his leadership tenure makes every effort to meet its fundamental goals and core values of maintaining gender balance in leadership positions. The solution to the conflict, as reflected in the conflict scenario, requires an evaluation of the department of clubs and youth group’s urgent needs rather than a process establishing platforms for re-election that may not guarantee the selection of a suitable candidate based on the essence of time pressure.

Work Cited

Neiman, Terry Steven. Practices of negotiation, and communication in conflict and problem-solving: a study of dialogue in everyday life. Diss. Communication, Art & Technology: School of Communication, 2018.