Assignment: Conflict Scenario

Throughout the course, you have learned the value of identifying and focusing on communication goals in order to achieve your purpose. As much as we may dislike it, conflict is often a part of communication. If you wish to achieve your goals even when conflicts arise, it's important to consider different conflict management styles and when each is most appropriate to the situation.

For this assignment, choose either a personal example of conflict you've encountered or a scene from a popular film or television series involving a conflict. If you have chosen a scene from film or TV, be sure to identify the source.

For the scenario you chose, respond to the following questions:

1. Describe the scenario so that your classmates will be able to understand the situation and main sources of conflict.

2. Identify the goals for those involved in the conflict. This might involve some intuition or educated guessing.

3. What are the conflict management styles that were used in this scenario (the conflict management styles are: collaboration, aggression, accommodation, compromise and withdrawal)? Were they the most appropriate for the situation? Why or why not?

4. What was the result of the conflict? Identify the outcome as win-win, win-lose, or lose-lose.

5. Reflecting on what you have learned about the ethical dimensions of communication, did those involved in the conflict remain ethical in their communications? Provide examples of where the communication may have been unethical, or where it may have been tempting for someone involved to communicate unethically yet they avoided doing so.

6. How might those involved have managed the conflict differently? Are there ways that the outcome could have been improved with better communication?