Category: Conflict

The Role And Importance Of Conflict Management Skills

Conflict triangle has three major components that influence each other, the context or the situation at hand, the behavior of the people from that situation and their attitude. For instance, a situation that does not pay attention to the needs of a particular group can make them to have the attitude of frustration and may make them protest (Levinson,1994). This behavior can further lead to context of denials where the group does not accept that they are ignored and their situation is not being attended to thus contributing to further frustration leading to eruption of violence. In Kenya, West Pokot and their neighbors have been fighting over grazing land for a long time. Taking this situation as the example, the people of West Pokot and their neighbors have been demanding for boundary review so each group can have clear grazing land without trespassing to each other’s place (Mosoge, 2013). This demand has been ignored causing attitude of frustration from both side. They then developed the behavior f denying the knowledge of the boundary that exists between them making each of them to graze from any side. These led to more anger and frustration hence the violence that has been witnessed between then for a long time.

If the government and the people concerned would have changed the context by paying attention to the demands, the level of frustration would have reduced and violence prevented. The work that could have been done to reduce the conflict could have changed their behavior hence bringing peace (Wang, Qiao, Zhang & Xiang, 2017).

The conflict triangle is also referred to as ABC triangle, which is a framework, used for exploring the causes as well as the impact of conflicts. Any of the three elements of the conflict triangle can start be the starting point of a conflict. It is an excellent model that helps understand conflict, what is driving and how it can be deescalated(Mosoge, 2013. In assessing cause of conflict using the ABC triangle of Attitude, Behavior and Context, it is important to look at how all these three components caused conflict, as only then can the conflict be resolved(Wang, Qiao, Zhang & Xiang, 2017).

People or a group can have a negative attitude towards the other actors of the conflict for a number of reasons. It can be due to the fear of losing power as in the case of the conflict that have rocked Kenya every elections as the incumbents would do anything to keep themselves in power in every election(Mosoge, 2013. Their attitude therefore pushes the other opposition contenders to act in a way that is provoking to the other party hence the conflict. In such a situation, solving conflict needs to have a common ground with both actors agreeing to shelve their interest and differences for the sake of peace. Resentment about historical wrongs can also be part of the attitude that can cause conflict(Levinson,1994). For instance, the Kenyan coast has complaint of historical injustice and at some point argued that the coastal part of Kenya is actually not part of the country. Additionally, negative stereotypes among actors or certain group in the society can also lead to conflict among the actors. Ethnic or religious hatred is another example of attitude that can cause conflict(Wang, Qiao, Zhang & Xiang, 2017). This for instance has been the case in Kenya every election. The ethnic hatred has been evident with the insults that have been exchanged among different ethnic groups supporting various political parties. In fact Kenya conflict after elections especially what was experienced in the 2007/2008 elections was a perfect example of how attitude of hatred among ethnic communities can be a cause of conflicts. Religious hatred has also been experienced with some section of Muslim terrorists killing Christians in the northern part of Kenya.

Behavior can be described as the reactions from the attitude portrayed by the actors of the conflict or the response to the main contentious issues of the conflict. Some examples of behavior includes riots, bombing or denial of human rights(Wang, Qiao, Zhang & Xiang, 2017). For instance, in response to election rigging and other injustices, Kenyans have taken to the streets to protests for and demand for justice. Riots have been witnessed even with the last election of 2017/2018.

In response to attitude of religious hatred, especially among the Muslim terrorists, they have shown these behavior by bombing and killing Christians especially northern part of Kenya whose majority of habitants are Muslims. Additional to the examples of behavior, the incumbent governments in fear of losing power would arrest some of those opposing their government and denying them human rights as the case of Miguna Miguna.

Context or situation are the main cause of conflict or the object to which the conflict oscillate. They are the main causes of attitude and behavior towards the other party to conflict. The attitude of ethnic hatred can be caused by the feeling of unequal representation and treatment in the political system(Wang, Qiao, Zhang & Xiang, 2017). It is where one community feels the other dominates political rule over them and the efforts to take over often met with unjust system that manipulate everything in their favor. In such a case, unequal political representation becomes the situation or context for conflict. Another example of context or situation in a conflict triangle is the scarce of natural resources in West Pokot County where they have been fighting with their neighbours over grazing land. In such a case, the lack of natural resources and no clear boundary causes the attitude of hatred among the communities, which thereafter result to the behaviour of fighting. The context or the situations are the issues can causes frustrations because they are not addressed as expected by the communities(Mosoge, 2013. If the context or situation remains unattended to for a long time, the actors of conflict forms attitude towards each other that might not be favouring and as time goes by, the actors can bottle their anger but still have the negative attitude towards each other and only waiting for any issues that would make the express such anger and frustration through a behaviour that results in a conflict such as riots, fighting among others.

The conflict triangle or the ABC analysis of conflict is a useful tool for peace building actors to help in understanding of the concept, impacts, causes of the conflict as well as the challenges at community level, national level, and even international level. The ABC or the conflict triangle is vital in understanding, who is involved and how they are involved including those behind the scenes, the dynamics of the conflict and how each party plays their part(Mosoge, 2013. All these provide a detailed picture of the happenings to help peace building team in crafting appropriate resolutions that would bring peace(Wang, Qiao, Zhang & Xiang, 2017). The triangle help assess the unmet needs by analyzing the attitudes of the actors, their behaviour and relating it to the context, or the situation causing conflict. Only this way can the needs of those involved in conflict be solved and satisfied. Attitude, which is mostly affected by behaviour, makes it difficult for the parties involved to realise the mutual benefit of ending the conflict. ABC triangle, therefore is a systematic way of assessing the situation and in thinking about what can be done to change the situation or ways to deal with the driving forces of the conflict(Levinson,1994). It requires that actors to a conflict must change their attitude first o reach some sort of settlement. Their perception of one another must therefore be changed to make it easy to meet their needs as far as conflict is concerned. Additionally, the actors have to change their behaviour and help those tasked with peace building to work on the resolutions and the objective or the causes of conflict. It is only through observation of the attitude and behaviour that one would understand the root cause of conflict. Most of the time, the context can be just something that has just opened old wounds and not necessarily the root cause(Wang, Qiao, Zhang & Xiang, 2017). For instance, World War II was caused by the assignation of Archduke Ferdinand, however issues like arms race, the need for revenge of what happened in World War I were the root cause and the killing of Ferdinand was like a match box that lighten up already existing issues. The attitude of rival camps of World War I and need to compete on that has the best weapon escalated the whole issue.

ABC triangle assesses all the dynamic of conflict given the context. It often begin with people and with the attitude and behaviour, conflict can viewed in here stages. First is the confrontation when the conflict is now more open, crisis level when the tension and the conflict has become more intense and the outcome (Mosoge, 2013. Mostly the outcome of a conflict has never been desirable and it is the reason peace building committees are formulated to make find permanent or long lasting changes to the attitude and behaviour of the parties to a conflict. All is only possible through careful study of ABC triangle of the conflict (Wang, Qiao, Zhang & Xiang, 2017).

In every human interaction, misunderstanding is inevitable. It is a normal situation for human co-existence. Conflict is therefore a normal and healthy in any relationship and human interaction. However, when misunderstanding escalates to conflict, it means it here is failure by either party to compromise for the sake of peace (DiGrazia, 2017). Not all misunderstanding results into a conflict but where conflict and because conflict cannot be avoided a times, it is necessary for human beings to acquire skills in conflict management. If the conflicts are not managed well, it can cause harm to the society or the relationship. There are a number of reasons why it is necessary for human beings to learn the conflict resolution skills.

To begin with, in a workplace, conflict can render the organization unproductive when the employee and employer disagrees. More productive time will be wasted as the two actors fails to reach an agreement. Managing conflict is therefore a necessary skill that both employer and employees need. Those who have no knowledge of conflict resolution do not understand that conflict can escalate so fast and cause harm to both parties. Also they may not understand that conflict can be resolved quickly as it comes (Justwan, 2017). Human beings usually have different perception of the world and these results to different reaction of events and issues in their environment. Also people have different values that dictate how they would deal with issues and misunderstanding between them and other parties to a conflict. This is normal and is expected in every environment where people of different backgrounds, cultures and races interact. It is expected to that disagreement will result in such a setting in any society around the world. However if the disagreements are not resolved, in a collaborative way that satisfy the need of every party, and left to fester, then there would be opportunity for the conflict to escalate and turn to war(DiGrazia, 2017). Leaders in every society who have no conflict resolution skills will end up not being effective and would not achieve their defined role in the society they lead. Also, there will be more trouble managing people who cannot coexist peacefully. The unresolved conflict will also have a lasting negative effect on the relationship among people in the society; it will also erode the leader relationship with the subjects(Lead & Innovations, 2015). For example, the South Sudan and the northern part of Sudan had conflict for a long time. The two sides fought for a long time. a simple misunderstanding that was not resolved led to eruption of ethnic war among the citizens of the two regions. It went on for a long time because the leaders of both sides failed to agree. They had no skills and knowledge in conflict management. The war went on for a long time(DiGrazia, 2017). The citizens suffered, most of them were displaced and some moved to neighboring countries as refugees. It took the attention of the world leaders to help resolved the conflict between the two regions of Sudan and the end result was the division of the country into two regions, Sudan and South Sudan. It means the conflict between these two regions eroded their trust of each other, decreased their motivation to live together, and lowered their morale of peaceful coexistence. The years and period of war also reduced the productivity of the nation plunging it to an economic crisis. In an organization setting, conflict can result into absenteeism, and employees quitting their roles(DiGrazia, 2017). The stress level of employees would also increased hence affecting their performance in the organization. Additionally, where there is lack of conflict resolution skills, employees or the parties involved would resort to legal action. In so doing, there will be large sums of money and resources pumped into legal proceedings, both parties would loss economically for failure t have amicable solution to their conflicts and issues. When conflict are not resolved for lack of skills to manage conflicts, the differences among the parties to a conflict would grow like mould, and the long such differences lasts, he greater the effort will be needed to solve it(Justwan, 2017).

Also, conflicts are usually viewed as symptoms of an underlying issue and big problem that people or an organization is dealing with and not just a problem itself. In firms, conflict can be a sign f weak organizational design or ineffective communication. Therefore conflict resolution skills through ABC will recognize these problems and help solve them permanently(Justwan, 2017). Also, conflict resolutions skills will not only solve conflict among the warring parties but also identify the dysfunctional organizational culture in an organization and help in creating a culture that does not only create a peaceful environment but also a functional and productive organization. When people have conflict management skills in an organization, they will address the issues rather than conflict itself(DiGrazia, 2017). It is people that are the main reason for interpersonal and organizational or societal conflict; the conflict management skill will help in shaping the way people make decision and communicate in a society and an organization. Also conflict management skill is important in increasing knowledge of difference between people of different cultural background, and even race.

Conflict also occurs when people do not have effective communication, and mostly focusing on personalities rather than issues at hand. The conflict management skills help people to have knowledge of the benefit of peace and also making them to focus on issues that can cause conflict rather than personalities.

Conflict management skills is vital in not only bringing an end to existing conflict but also give people knowledge to adjust to some extent, compromise their interest and find solutions to the issues rather than cribbing to fighting. People will realize that conflict and disagreements only lead to negativity and people will not reach a conclusion in whatever they is causing conflict among them. Having conflict management skills is also important in resolving issues in the right time before escalating to tension and big fights(Justwan, 2017). This is because the skills to management the conflict will have better understanding of issues before they done ugly and help each party the role they are playing to cause conflict. It means they are able to prevent the conflict before it erupts (Lead & Innovations, 2015). This does not only promote a peaceful coexistence, it also helpful in building a more productive society that is with culture of respect among the individuals. There will be long term peace because people understand the benefit of peace and also in their workplace, environment and even country.

Conflict management skills also go a long way in strengthening the bonds among people living, working or interacting in a given environment. This will automatically solve some problems that would have caused conflict among them. Those in workplace will feel motivated with to work more as there will be peaceful working relationship where everything is handled well and everyone’s concern is solved in a respectable manner(Lead & Innovations, 2015). Everyone enjoys working in an organization where there is zero conflict, the relationship among employees and the management team is peaceful. It gives employees the confidence and morale to even give their best. In a society, peace would promote prosperity both socially and economically because those who have conflict management skills would be helpful in maintaining peace and always acting swiftly to any issue arising before it escalates to a point it cannot be managed or hurt people and economy. The conflict management skills also contribute to stress reduction in organization and society(Lead & Innovations, 2015). In personal lives, conflict management plays role in enhancing relationships among different people that would have otherwise been spoiled by fights and conflicts. People would exist peaceful at their homes and the cases of domestic violence would have been history rather than a crisis as it in most societies around the world.

Having conflict management skills help in finding middle way, and alternative to every problem that would have caused fight in the society. Problems can be addressed at the right time and hence preventing eruption of a fight or war and the adverse effect thereafter. It is also better to have the conflict avoided through the use of conflict management skills rather than having to deal with consequences of the war later(Justwan, 2017). It means properties and other assets that would have been lost through conflict management skills.

In conclusion, it is necessary for everyone in a society to have conflict management skills. This way, there will be peaceful coexistence as everyone will have a clear understanding of peace and even consequences of conflicts both socially and economically. The issues that might arise in a society and escalate to conflict would have been resolved in the right time. In a workplace, if everyone has the conflict management skills, it means there will be peace and the team would be more productive, and motivated to work better. In a society, conflict management skills will bring a prosperous people through peaceful coexistence and focus.

Communication And Conflict Management

Communication and Conflict

Conflicts are best viewed as forms of interaction. Even though interactions are phenomenon which are complicated in an extraordinary fashion, this perspective helps in grasping what happens in conflicts more easily.

Effective conflict management usually leads to a productive kind of conflict interaction. Conflict can be perceived in terms of two broad phases, starting with the differentiation phase and ending with the integration phase. The differentiation phase involves interactions which present a sharp distinction between positions that are opposing each other. This first phase is usually tense and uncomfortable because it consists uncomfortable emotions, which is crucial in helping understand the different points of view of each party. Once differentiation reaches a tipping point, integration phase begins where parties start acknowledging common grounds and explore the available options towards a solution.

It is crucial that the parties involved are able to overcome uncontrolled avoidance and cycles of escalation through performing some daunting act of balancing where they would have to present their disagreements while avoiding their interactions from getting out of hand.

Differentiation can be dangerous in different ways, such that, it originally takes the conflict from a personalized point of view where negative and intense emotions are expressed. The danger is that these emotions can result in parties being further infuriated in escalation, a situation which brings about rigid avoidance. Parties are able to reach the phase of integration by avoiding rigidities in conflict. Differentiation is still an important part as it forma a basis for making of real solutions. Conflict interactions face rigidities because of the anxiety that exist amongst the parties about their emotions and being uncertain about the final outcome of the conflict.

Parties have a smooth transition from differentiation to integration phases of conflict when each of them feels as though their emotions have been fully expressed, share the belief that they cannot acquire what they want through forcing their points of view, and reach to a point of synchrony of cooperation. Parties can easily recognize when destructive cycles have started when some parties quickly accept proposals, when the levels of involvement is low from the parties, and when the interaction only discusses safe issues. Cycles of escalation can be signified by having a hard time differentiating issues, making of threats and using sarcastic tones in conversations.

There are basic principles which guide a conflict interaction. First, conflict constitutes moves and countermoves. This is because parties take different actions when they first respond to having differences. This property helps in understanding the power dynamics in the conflict interaction, because some parties use their powers in a skillful fashion. Second, behavioral patterns tend to remain continuous throughout a conflict. Cycles of behavior which are self-reinforcing cause a conflict to perpetuate. Third, conflict interactions are influenced and affected by relationships. The present and previous nature of relationship of the parties involved plays a crucial role, such that one party will always want to portray a certain image to the other and try to protect that face when getting attacked. Fourth, the context plays a crucial role in the outcome of the conflict. The history of relations between parties denotes the expectations and reactions that each party direct to another.

During an argument there are decision points which are organized around central issues. These decision points are proposed by the confrontation episodes theory model. Several tracks can be followed by the episodes and this includes nonlegitimacy, justification, behavior denial, denying of broken rules, denying of responsibility and accepting responsibility. The theory presents an understanding behind the ideas guiding the moves and countermoves. This chapter not only speaks about conflict, but also about change.

The Inner Experience of Conflict

Freud began the work of the psychodynamic perspective and it has ever since remained crucial towards psychoanalysis. The basic through is that energy needs to be managed in a certain way, by channeling it, redirecting it or through expending some energy so as to suppress the arising impulses. There are two impulses which are significant in conflict, which are the aggressive impulse and anxiety. Aggression can be managed by its expression, and also by suppressing it. Anxiety causes the parties to remain rigid.

Emotions impact conflict in the manner that it causes parties to make threats to impede and interrupt or enhance the goals of conflict management. Emotional experience involves negative and positive affect which lead to psychological reactions and changes during conflict. In order to interpret emotions, cognition remains a significant factor. Some of the negative emotions that are associated with conflict are guilt, anger, hurt and fear. Positive emotions include energy and hope. Emotions have an effect on cognitive processes, and this is why they influence conflict.

The predisposition to participate in personalized attacks as a response to conflict constitutes verbal aggressiveness. Aggressiveness is contrasted with argumentativeness which is one’s tendency to enjoy the give and take of a verbal argument. Interpersonal relationships and conflict management can be negatively affected by verbal aggressiveness. Our social knowledge influence conflict interaction, as it guides our behavior, interpretations, beliefs concerning the conflict, scripts of conflict and the frame of conflict.

Beliefs held about conflict include the assumptions which people have and the standards they follow in handling conflict. Culture has the primary impact on our beliefs concerning conflict because they are learned through interactions with other people. Conflict scripts consist the expectations about how the conflict will unfold. They guide behavior because of the scripts which parties hold which also tend to affect the way the parties interpret each other. Conflict frames are the cognitive structures which channel they way we interpret conflict. There are six dimensions of conflict frames – distributiveness, affiliation, face, affect, assessment and instrumentality.

Expectancy violations happen when another person’s behavior goes against our held expectations about how they should act in a particular situation which eventually sets up emotional reactions. When the violations are negative, they are most likely to initiate negative reactions and have a negative perception about the violation. Reward value determines the particular behavioral response that we will have, such that, if the other party can potentially reward us in the future, then the violation will be replaced with compensation, by either making an excuse or by choosing to ignore the violation. If the other party has no reward value, our reaction will be to reciprocate the violation with negative behavior.

Attribution is a psychological process which a party interprets and draws conclusions concerning another party’s behavior. It is fundamental towards interaction, especially through the attribution error and self-serving bias. The attribution error occurs when we consider other parties’ behaviors as being intentional, and our own behavior as being relative to the situation. This causes one party to interpret the competitive behavior by another party as being purposeful and selfish. This causes parties to respond to selfish competition with further competitive moves which serve as simple responses to what the other party does. The self-serving bias is the attribute negative results to forces in external situations and positive results to our own behavior. Therefore, one party would conclude that the negative result of a conflict is due to the actions of the other party and positive results come from what they do.

People tend to wallow in thoughts about conflicts which they anticipate to occur or ruminate in previous conflicts. Thinking about conflict has both positive and negative impacts. For instance, thinking about conflict and trying to create understanding of the events which unfolded has a positive effect, while running a conflict over and over in our minds, brooding over them has a negative effect. The threat rigidity model can be sued to illustrate how psychodynamic processes, social cognition and emotion interact during conflicts.

Conflict Interaction

The way in which conflict unfolds with time can be described by stage models. Conflicts pass through 5 stages, which are latent conflict, initiation, conflict behavior, balance of power, and disruption. Conflict begins from under the surface and proceeds to emerge into a full-fledged struggle, before once again, moving into a period of silence. Bargaining analyses have found three stages of conflict, which are distributive bargaining, solving of problems and making of decisions. Stage models communicate the frequent patterns of a conflict and help understand moves and countermoves according to the context. Stage models are criticized and being too simplified because, in reality, many behavioral patterns occur beyond what is depicted by the stage models.

Conflict involves parties which are interdependent, and there are three kinds of interdependence; promotive interdependence, the kind that promotes cooperation; contrient interdependence, the kind that creates competition, and; individualistic contexts, where parties identify little interdependence towards each other. Each interdependence shapes the climate of interaction between parties, in terms of expectations and behaviors directed to each other. Reciprocity and compensation affect conflict interactions. Reciprocity involves a response to the other person’s behavior by trying to match it in action or form. The reciprocation of positive behavior results in virtuous cycles which orient the conflict toward positive results. Reciprocation of negative behavior results in vicious cycles which orient the conflict toward negative results. Compensation involves one’s tendency to respond to another person’s behavior with positive or neutral behavior. It has the potential to redirect conflict from destructive patterns to productiveness. It would be difficult for a person to compensate when they have negative emotions.

Tit-for-tat combines both compensation and reciprocity in a judicious manner which has the potential to direct conflict to positive results. A party matches negative behavior to signal that they are willing to strike back and they match positive behavior to signal that they are willing to take a productive approach. Compensation and reciprocity contribute to the threat rigidity cycle. Conflict framing complements processes of psychological framing. Framing helps a party to confront the underlying issues while remaining conscious about how the other party perceives their moves. Various moves which are adopted in framing interactions give different cues to the parties to adopt different interpretations.

Society is divided and this provides room for social identity. These divisions, in the context of a conflict, when more salient, tend to reinforce themselves having a polarizing effect that propels conflicts further. These divisions promote stereotyping which is communicated through social categorization processes, group differentiation and the formation of intergroup ideologies. What makes the division between groups more salient is social categorization. Group differentiation point out the similarities and values held between members in a groups and tend to exaggerate the negative values and qualities of those who are out of the group. Parties and similarities within the groups and outside the groups are made to appear cohesive and uniform than they really are. Conflict among members within the group tend to be downplayed. Groups ideologies are developed so as to offer an explanation to the conflict in a manner which favors members of a certain group and causes the other group to appear evil.

Conflict Styles and Strategic Conflict Interaction

A communicator’s claim is known as face. It is seen as a particular type of individual, and the positive social value which the person claims that they have for themselves. There are two distinct face dimensions, which are the positive face and negative face. The positive face points to the need to be respected and include and the negative face points to the desire not to be controlled by other people and have some degree of autonomy. A person can lose face when claims to their identity are ignored or challenged by other people. In daily interaction, there exists cooperative maintenance and mutual acknowledgement of face. Events where face is challenged can result in unusual, threatening and non-routine episodes. In the event where face is under threat, there will be a domination of unrealistic conflict. The efforts of face saving undermine the group-centered approach such that parties deviate from working out resolutions which are beneficial to the group.

During conflicts, there are three fundamental frames for face-saving and they depend on the interpretation which is taken by the party which is under threat. First, face saving can be framed as trying to resist intimidations which are unjust, and in such cases, individuals are faced with the concern that they will be portrayed as being weak. Their behavior will be oriented towards not giving into the party that is sending threats. Second, face saving can be framed by refusing to back down a particular position due to the fear that their prior stand on a particular issue will be compromised. In such a situation, the party will defend their face with adamance. Third, face saving can be framed as behavior that tries to suppress impending and potentially negative conflict. In such a case, the party will be fearful of confronting a conflict which would result in a humiliating defeat. Damages can occur due to face-saving, therefore, to avoid it, it is imperative to understand the how the face is framed and address the concerns which are implicit to the frames.

Face-giving happens when parties offer support to the face claims of another party and offer to work together with them to protect the face from being lost and have it restored. There is corrective and preventing face-giving. Corrective face-giving happens when a face is lost and defensive face-giving happens before a face is lost with the efforts made to prevent its loss. There are many moves which give face, and they have been termed as alignment actions. They include apologies, accounts, excuses, disclaimers, conversational repairs, counterclaims, licenses and justifications. These alignment actions can not only be used in giving face but express sensitivity towards face concerns.

Person-centered speech is the kind of communication that is aimed at supporting, comforting and otherwise confirming the hearer. It is the kind of speech which gives face and supports parties to protect and restore their face.

At their base, face-saving issues are about relationships. Whenever interactions between parties are orient on face matters, parties involved tend to negotiate how they will continue seeing each other. Usually, the qualities of relationships can be improved where people are able to feel better concerning themselves when other people have confirmed the self-image which they have chosen to value.

Role Of Management And Leadership In Conflict And Negotiation

Introduction

Leadership and Management have an important function in the sustainability of a business and their functions have a profound impact on the success of a business. The existence of these two functions has been known since the 20th century. Since then these two topics are most discussed as to how these two functions affect the sustainability and profitability of a business. The deep desire and aspiration to protect the business investments and interests of shareholders have preoccupied many theories and debates from academia to business settings. In business, teamwork is required and conflict arises when beliefs and opinions of team members not been recognized, due to clashes of personalities or receiving wrong information. Effective leadership and management play a crucial role in managing such conflicts and negotiation in any business. In this way, it is argued that the success and profitability of a business is directly correlated to the fact that how effectively it is managed or Led. This study seeks to carry out a comparative analysis of Leadership and Management functions in Negotiation and Conflict Management. The study attempts to critically discuss these topics and their impact on the culture of an organization in the light of relevant academic literature. All information is obtained from secondary sources. A conclusion is made at the end of this report.

Management and Leadership

In a business environment, the two terms “Management” and “Leadership” are used synonymously in common use. However, the literary debates suggest that these two terms are associated with two distinct roles, whose implications are important in creating value in an organization. According to (Bolden, 2016) the term manages means to contrive, to attain success in accomplishing, and to bring about. While the term “Lead” means to escort, to conduct, to show a way, and to go before. This simple definition suggests that these two terms have a difference in their function. Egon Zehnder International has a reputation in assisting businesses to achieve their competitive goals. It has described nine benchmark competencies for an effective leader and manager. These competencies include change leadership, customer impact, team leadership, market knowledge, result orientation, commercial positioning, strategic orientation, collaboration, people influence, and development of an organization (Kouzes, 2006).

Kotter (2008) describes management as a set of practices that run complex system of people, technology in a smooth way with the main focus on planning, costing, staffing, establishing, controlling, and conflict solving. Kotter also defines leadership as a set of processes that develop organization and have the ability to adapt them according to the change in circumstances. In this way, leadership is more concerned in aligning people within an organization. Leadership is a broader concept which is not exclusive to or within management while, Management work for planning and achieving the planning. The relationship between management and organizational culture is different from the relationship between leadership and organization culture. Managers are people who are concerned with get things done, know how to communicate with their team and work in corporate culture (Alvesson, 2003).

Managers can adopt different kinds of leadership styles according to their situation and requirement of objectives. According to Carlson (1951) managers supervise the organization and operations at the same time. Many studies support this argument of Carlson and concluded that managers should dedicate their time in critical thinking as well (Tengblad, 2002, 2003, 2006).

Leadership is concerned with engaging and aligning people that include all employees and stakeholders (Kotter, 1990). Leadership provides a direction to the organization in which all employees can initiate action without being fearful. According to Kotter, managers have formal structures of communication, relationship, and trust with their team and employees while Leaders have an informal structure in these aspects. According to Gill (2002) managers need not risk out their assigned roles while leaders can help an organization in innovative steps and decision making for future goals. According to Lunenburg, (2011) Trait theory and trait approach leadership studies seek the qualities and personality traits of an individual that makes him a successful leader. However, the generalization and measurements of an individual personality trait is difficult. Behavioral approach and situational approach theories discussed the qualities of a successful leader and his impact on organizational culture (Gill, 2002).

Managerial traits that are important in shaping an organization culture include trustworthiness, consistency, empowerment, and mentorship (KANE‐URRABAZO, 2006). The most important ingredients for a successful leadership includes leadership style, communication skills, ability to inspire, conceptual skills, ethical standards and the ability to use power more effectively. Leadership can be autocratic (downward communication), participative (employee participation in decision making), Transactional (operational focus) or transformational (motivating others). Management has two important directions, its people and production of an organization. Managers work to manage people effectively by negotiating and resolving conflicts in the workplace. A conflict arises when different people have a different opinion, different demands, and varied interest and are not willing to compromise with others. A conflict may result in a positive or negative impact on organizational culture (KANE‐URRABAZO, 2006).

Conflict and Negotiation

The conflict state of an individual is also linked with personality traits on an individual to those of others (Antonioni, 1998). The sources of conflict discussed in Donnelly (2000) study, includes differences in objectiveness, functional dependence, the difference in perception, and increasing demands of experts. Conflict is a process, in which people show their disagreement over some issue and show resistance. Leadership with fiscal understanding, vision thinking, and responsibility is required in conflict management with an organization. Negotiation is defined as bargaining for advantage. The successful management of conflict is based on negotiation. According to Sharma (2018) the stages of negotiation includes preparing, probing, proposing and closing. They described that effective conflict management is based on bargaining style of a leader, the goals of an organization, values, and relationship, and standards of fairness.

Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode instrument describes different elements of negotiation in term of concern for substance or concern for negotiation as indicated in figure 1. In case of concern of substance, a manager can work to win for any cost or make withdraw, while in case of concern for a relationship the manager can collaborate (creatively solve a problem), or accommodate (build a friendly relationship). Making compromise in the negotiation process is based on splitting the differences. A leader can adopt right style in negotiation process to solve a conflict, an avoider who avoid the rise of conflict situation, a compromiser who care for relationship more, an accommodator who help to solve other problems, a competitor who work to win at any cost and a collaborator who work as a problem solver for all. According to Koley (2018) more than 75% of the successful negotiations are cooperative and only 10 % of effective negotiators have competitive style. Koley (2018) describes that determination of best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) is the first step of an efficient negotiation process.

The consequences of a conflict may results in benefits or disadvantages for the organization as indicated in figure 2. Effective management use competition with other companies to reduce their internal conflicts and directing their energies to outsides conflicts. Conflicts are desirable and sometimes they are inevitable while un-resolved conflicts may be highly destructive for organizational culture. Loser effect and lack of cooperation can harm organizational performance. These conflicts are maybe intrapersonal, interpersonal, inter-group, or intra-group conflicts. Horizontal conflicts take place among different departments of an organization that works at the same level. Vertical conflicts are mostly linked with issues of power and control and occur in various levels of hierarchy. An organization culture decides how people in that organization view or handle conflict (Rahim, 2017).

In this new era of business management, managers and leaders are no longer concerned in completely eliminating the conflicts from organization culture. However, managers are now interested to find more efficient ways to manage conflicts. The managers are required to be aware of the several factors and causes of the conflicts before they take action for its management and negotiation. There are two general approaches in conflict management; the behavioral approach which is more focused on stopping the conflict causing behavior, the other is the attitudinal approach that deals in addressing the root cause of the conflict (Chiocchio, 2015).

Ting-Toomey (2017) has described that honest and tough conversations are crucial for the managers to negotiate and resolve conflict at a workplace. The author suggested that for effective and productive conversation the discussion must be started with a third story. Conflicts can occur between different people or group of people within an organization due to lack of communication, non-compliance with rules and lack of cooperation. According to Zartman (2007) training is the most crucial element in resolving the conflict at a workplace. Conflicts cause money, time loss, less motivated employee, low decision quality, sabotage, and affect organizational behavior. Ting describes four mediation styles that an organization can adopt in case of unavoidable conflicts. Zartman (2007) developed a theory to identify the possible process and predictions in case of a conflict. Self, mediation, team mediation, and preventive mediation are different ways that an organization can use to resolve a conflict. Organization culture and organizational behavior are central to every business. Organization metaphors also play important role in the growth of an organization.

Role of leadership and management in the collaborative process of negotiation

• Collaborative leadership is considered fundamental and crucial in negotiation and conflict management in an organization (Ansell & Gash, 2008).
• The important qualities of a leader in conflict management include most influencing low personal interest traits (Vangen & Huxham, 2003).
• The leader must be impartial with all parties of the conflict.
• The leader could be one person or management that have credibility and legitimacy and have sufficient financial resources to manage the conflict efficiently (McKinney & Johnson, 2009).

A case study: management style and conflict

In a large telecommunication company in New York, conflict arises from the management style of two managers in the different department. Mark and Stefan both are head in two different departments in the same organization. Mark’s problem with Stefan is that he is taking staff from his department without his consent. On the other hand, Stefan thinks that he did the right thing as Mark’s department was overstaffed. This situation got more compounded as most of the employees in Mark’s department asking to be transferred while Mark thinks his department is not overstaffed. Mark feels Stefan is interfering in his duties while Stefan feels that Mark can do better with a leaner workforce. The management head, the director heard the conflict and apart from viewpoint of Mark and Stefan, he considered Kelvin’s opinion too. Kelvin is the immediate manager in the same department that is recently replaced by Mark. He has the same problem that Mark having with Stefan. He was able to handle those issues without directly confronting Stefan.

Analysis of Conflict Management

It is clear that both managers have professional as well as personal differences which altering their work effectiveness. Mark is the head of technological development department and Stefan is a manager at the production department, and both having a dispute that was affecting all organization. These two managers also have personality differences which were complicating the situation. Stefan is more confident in his competencies and he is judging Mark as incompetent towards his new duties. Mark was deeply involved in his work and he was not bothered by poaching activities of Stefan. This is called avoiding or withdrawing a conflict (Koley (2018). Instead of making effective conversation both managers were exchanging accusations against each other. These two managers before confrontation were using two different styles dealing with conflict, Mark was avoiding or withdrawing, this type of conflict management can be useful if the other party attempts aggression. Mark was waiting for an opportune moment to confront Stefan that he was doing wrong, this approach was wrong as it makes Mark’s position more weak and Stefan’s accusation can get a prove. Stefan’s style of conflict management is known as Forcing or competing, which was again a wrong approach to deal with the conflict. Both managers believe that they are right and other person had to be wrong. In this way, both managers were distracted from their original goals and objective and were wasting their energies in the wrong direction.

The best negotiation and conflict management style in this situation would have the collaborating style that is known as win-win style. In this style, all parties involved in a conflict get a mutually beneficial solution (Rahim, 2017). Before Mark, Kelvin the old manager in that department had the same problem with Stefan but was able to curtail Stefan’s attempt to steal his staff while Mark was unable to do so. In obtaining the right solution in this situation, Stefan was allowed to attain some of the talented members from Mark’s personnel through the right channel. In this way, Mark could have manageable personnel size while Stefan got some of the talents he requires. Analysis of this case study indicates some of the issues such as,

The difference in attitude and values

Both managers have personality differences and different attitude approach in their daily work activities. Mark seems like a private kind of person while Stefan was a highly determined and goal oriented personality. Mark should change his leading style and get more involved with his personality as many of them were not satisfied working under his leadership. Mark is needed to develop more interpersonal skills.

Poor communication

Another issue in Mark’s leadership style was lack of communication with his team members and staff. The lack of communication in manager and employees results in an unsatisfied Woking environment. Stefan took advantage of this lack of communication. There was also poor communication between two managers that were not able to solve their conflict (Rahim, 2017).

The absence of teamwork

Mark’s reserve personality makes difficulties in his team working; he had very little contact with his team members. Kelvin was a good leader in teamwork, that why was managing large workforce without any problem. Mark should develop more adaptability in his team management and interpersonal skills.

Conclusion

From this discussion, it is concluded that effective leadership and management both are crucial in resolving conflicts and making negotiation at the workplace. Conflicts can have adverse effects on the performance and reputation of an organization as well as on organization behavior. Poor leadership skills including communication, teamwork, and difference in opinion are the main causes of conflicts in the workplace. The conflicts have positive and negative effects and management and the employee both should work to achieve only positive impacts of conflicts. Managers should develop good leadership qualities, inter-personal skill for better conflict management. Learning how to prevent and solve the conflict and do effective negotiation must be a part of an employee training program.

References

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21. Huxham, C. (2003). Theorizing collaboration practice. Public management review, 5(3), 401-423.
22. Zartman, I. W. (2007). Negotiation and conflict management: Essays on theory and practice. Routledge.

Internal Conflict In Othello By William Shakespeare

“At the heart of any tragedy lies the conflict.” It is undoubtedly true to say that this statement unquestionably applies to William Shakespeare’s Othello, where through the use of a plethora of language techniques, Othello’s internal conflict is effectively conveyed to the reader. Although Othello holds numerous tragedies, it is seen that in every one of these cases, characters fight within themselves trying to convince themselves of what is right.

Throughout the play, we see Othello having many internal conflicts within himself however probably the most significant internal conflict he experiences would be at the very end of the play, in Act 5 scene 2, the climax of the play where tragedy is most particularly highlighted. The scene begins with Othello entering the bedroom holding a candle. Othello has internal conflicts in regards to the accusations of Desdemona, his wife, sleeping with his lieutenant Cassio, which is caused by the finding of the handkerchief. The handkerchief is symbolic of Othello and Desdemona’s love and marital fidelity. Losing the handkerchief is said to make the husband unfaithful to his wife, which is why it is such an important item in the play.

Othello argues within himself about whether Desdemona really is guilty or innocent, which is seen through his first statement to himself in this scene, a soliloquy that uses repetition, “it is the cause, it is the cause, my soul”, where he tries to convince himself that he must kill Desdemona, not out of revenge or envy, but because it is simply the right thing to do to someone who commits adultery. “she must die, or else she’ll betray more men”, he assures himself.

His conflict further intensifies when he uses the candle to construct a metaphor that foreshadows the killing of his wife. “Put out the light, and then put out the light.” – Othello makes a note of the single candle he’s brought to the bedroom – he plans to extinguish this candle, and then extinguish the light of Desdemona’s life. If he puts out the candle, it can be relit, however, if he takes Desdemona’s life, there is no way of bringing her back. Yet despite this conflict within himself, he chooses to carry out his initial plan of killing her.

Throughout the last scene, Othello is clearly almost overwhelmed by his love for his wife as he bends down to kiss her, which is seen through the soliloquy “Oh, balmy breath, that dost almost persuade Justice to break her sword!” – this is also dramatic irony. However his feelings aside, he did actually promise to kill her and love her afterward, so he goes through with that promise. It is then evident that Othello’s only sin was loving Desdemona, who died honorably and defended Othello to the very end.

Through these internal conflicts, we are able to learn more about the characters. With Othello, we learn that he can become very jealous and persuaded easily. We also find that Desdemona is emotional and loves Othello even after he treated her badly. These internal conflicts are at the root of the external conflicts of the play. In conclusion, it can be clearly seen that no matter how big of a tragedy there is, conflict always lies at the heart of it.

Religion Vs. Conflict And The Religious Conflict

French political thinker Charles de Montesquieu wrote that religious wars are not caused by the fact there is more than one religion, but by the spirit of intolerance. The definition of religion according the the Cambridge dictionary is ones belief in and or worship of a god/gods, or any other such system of belief. Religion means many things to many people, it can mean they follow a higher power, a group, or spiritual meanings. Religion has no right or wrong way to be followed, however this itself can lead to conflict, as people may say they follow the same religion but the meaning of an act may be construed in many ways and therefore causing conflict from within. The Cambridge dictionary defines conflict as the active disagreement between people with opposing views and opinions. Roy Eidelson and Judy Eidelson stated in their 2003 article in American Psychologist, that there are five domains of beliefs. Distrust, when the individual believes others may try and trick, hurt or humiliate them in order to gain advantage over them. Helplessness, when the individual believes that no matter their efforts they will fail in whatever they try and accomplish. Injustice, they believe that they are being mistreated by either a individual or the world itself. Superiority, is when the individual believes that it is only their opinion matters above all others and finally vulnerability, this is where the individual believes that they have a lack of control over their life, that they are in harms way and are always in danger from either internal or external factors.

Religion and conflict are far to often linked together and religion is often used as a justification in so many wars. These conflicts go as far back as the 11th century with the crusades against Muslim expansion. This was a time when Latin churches attempted to recover holy land from Islamic rule, the word crusade was later used in an attempt resolve conflict among Roman catholic groups and also to gain political and territorial advantage. Thomas Asbridge (The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land 2012) stated in the first crusade in around 1095, Pope Urban II encouraged military support in order to prevent the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This was the first attempt to stop a religion from developing and becoming stronger than that of the current dominant religion. Willian Cavanaugh believed that the term religious wars were a division of western invention and that these wars have secular ramifications. Luc Reychler wrote that when people attach the word religion or religious to a war it takes on a different set of values, which can often have issues in the war being able to be concluded as either side are unwilling to back down in defeat as this would force them to admit that their religion wasn’t the superior one and that the battle and wars they have fought in the name of it were unjust and their values weren’t as strong as the victors. Luc also writes about how religion and conflict can also be linked to political gain and power, as religion can be as he states “a soft power”.

As religion is defined as a social and cultural set of beliefs. It encompasses morals, practices, texts, prophecies, ethics and behaviours. Many religions contain various factors and elements from supernatural beings, sacred items, sacred places of worship and supernatural beings. The study of religion uses a number of practices, such as social science and theology. Region cannot be defined as either peaceful or violent due to various factors a few of which include justification for such acts. While one religion believe such things are justified in their belief others many have the opposite opinion. There is also the issue of authority i.e. who has the right to tell the followers what they should and shouldn’t do. Should it be one person or being be responsible for the beliefs and actions of many or should there be many individuals that take actions.

The island of Haiti is one of the Caribbean islands that shares the island of Hispaniola which was name by Christopher Columbus in 1492 with the Dominican Republic. The Spanish first established it colonies in Santa Domingo which is now known as the Dominican Republic around 1496. The population was predominately made up of farmers, however in the 15th century their trade changed to include fishing, pottery and inter inland jewellery selling. This change was due to the a group of indigenous people called the Taino becoming more dominant. In the 1660’s when the French port Port-de-Paix was founded the French colonised the area and began to import slaves from Africa (Heinl 1996). Once full control of the region went from Spain to France, its economic and population increased significantly. The types of produce exported ranged from coffee, cotton, cacao and sugar. With the increased demand for goods the number of slaves increased to, with these increased number of slaves the society began to split. The split came from religion and skin colour.

Many of the slaves escapes and formed groups to fight the French colonial rule. The slaves that escaped to the mountains came to be known as Maroons. Maroons have been long since praised for being vital to the fight against independence for the slaves in Haiti. Due to the many backgrounds of the slaves they often didn’t speak the same language,to that they developed creole. This language took on aspects and elements from French, Portuguese, Spanish and also languages from the African gold coast. The other factor that these escapes slaves found they had a shared set of beliefs. The religion they all practised was Vodou. Haitian Vodou, is a religion that encompasses philosophy, justice, religion and medicine. According to britannica.com the fundamental principle of this belief is that everything has a spirit and how humans are spirits that inhabit the visible world, while in the unseen world is habited by spirits, mysteries, angels and the invisibles. The main aspect of this religion is to serve the spirits and to perform rituals and prayers in the hope they are given good health, protection and favours (national geographic online). Britannica.com also states that, Vodou gave the Haitians the self belief and power to rise up and be seen as independent beings and deserving of more than what had become of them. In a sense it gave them dignity and pride and also the fight to be more than slaves, who were discarded when they were no longer of use.

One of the striving forces and key leaders in the Haitian revolution was Dutty Bouckman (Poujol-Orio 2005). A slave himself transported from Jamaica he was to become the leader of the Maroons and help to bring about the revolution. Killed by French planter in 1791 (Girard, 2010). Boukman’s head was put on display in an attempt to show that the invincible reputation that Boukman had built for himself was that of a myth.

The ceremony in which Bouckman presided over, Bois Caiman was said to be the catalyst that started the Haitian revolution in 1791, with the numbers of slaves increasing it was only a matter of time when they would be strong enough to overthrow the colonial rule. This albeit took until 1804 with countless lives lost and lands destroyed. Although their large numbers helped them to gain freedom from French colonial rule, the French revolution is said to have played a part in Haiti gaining independence and becoming the first nation in the Caribbean to be declared and independent nation (Christopher, 2016). This was declared in 1804 by Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe they sign and publish a declaration of independence. Although the fight for independence was declared by Dessalines in 1804, after his assassination in 1806 Haiti was again divided into two distinct groups. Black controlled and Mulatto-ruled in the south of the country.

However you don’t have to go far to come across wars and conflicts fought in the name of religion, in my own backyard there was a monument erected, the stone that has been placed there is called the martyr stone. The stone was placed there by local villagers and is inscribed with ‘“Twas martyr’s blood bought Scotland’s liberty. Erected February 1865, in room of the old tomb-stone, by the people of Kirkintilloch and neighbourhood’. The stone was placed to remember James Smith and John Wharry, they were the younger brothers of the laird of Scorryholm in Lanark. The brothers were said to have helped Alexander Smith escape from prison where he had been held until the revolution in 1688. There was no evidence to link the bothers to the jail break but for the fact that they were in the area the fugitive was last seen. The brothers were sentenced to be hung and also have their right hand removed, from records it was said that John Wharry stated he would lay down not only his right hand but also his neck for the cause of Christ. There is an inscription that denotes the reason for the commemoration, along with a passage from the book of revelations. John and James were said to be covenanters. Scottish Covenanters are Presbyterians who fought in the English civil war with the promise of the reinstatement of the covenant which never took place. The Scottish Covenanters signed the national covenant in 1638, the national covenant was a document that stated that those who signed it pledged to defend the true religion from innovations and against the reformers and the acts of parliament, this would eventually lead to Roman Catholicism. The national covenant was said not to be an act of rebellion but an appeal to the law of the land against the kings rule. If you signed this then you were saying that Jesus Christ was the only head of church people would recognise and should be not under the control of the king and government.

Religious conflicts are all around and still prevalent today, with many extremists using the umbrella religion to carry out horrific and senseless acts, from bombings of towns to mass shootings in nightclubs. Religion and conflict will forever be links due to the diverse society that we live in. With the differences in religion and also how we perceive religion on a personal and profound level, we often become ignorant and intolerant of other faiths, which is when conflicts arise. Religion cannot be classed and should not be classed as a one specific thing, it is all things to all people, whether you believe in a supreme being, an alien being sent to cleanse the world or simply belief in an individual person. There should be no place for conflict in religion. All religions teach us about acceptance and comprising, however many scriptures are often vague which leads to the individual to interoperate the meaning in a way in which they see fit, this is often where the conflict arise and will continue to arise as with an every changing world, our views and opinions and outlooks change and adapt.

Waiting Period For Divorce

Introduction

The ordeal of going through a divorce is intricate and laborious. On the other hand, several divorced individuals believe it provides them with a second opportunity in life, portraying it as resurrection. Recently, the breaking of families became exceedingly familiar amongst societies. Each jurisdiction has a different approach regarding this matter. Numerous jurisdictions are influenced by religious beliefs, for instance, canon law and Islamic law.

This research paper will examine the waiting period(s) required for a divorce in Scotland and Iraq. This paper will also look at the Scottish and Iraqi law on the waiting period(s), the period of marriage required, how long does the process take and a comparison of the similarities and differences between the two jurisdictions.

This paper will be following a comparative research methodology. This approach will help enhance the appreciation of the two diverse jurisdictions by exploring the differences and similarities among them. Additionally, pursuing to comprehend the justifications behind various techniques that may become apparent, presented characteristic within each jurisdiction.

This piece will be relying on legislations’ and case law to validate my points, primarily employing the Divorce (Scotland) Act 1976 and the Personal Status Law 1959. These sources will help me examine the waiting period used in Scotland and Iraq. I did not go through any difficulties in find sources pertain to Scotland as it is very accessible using Westlaw and the legislation was accessible via google. Nevertheless, when looking at Iraqi law, it was challenging to find the appropriate sources. Despite having the knowledge on the matter at hand, I found minor complications in gain access to sources online in English. Sources were accessible in Arabic; thus, I had to translate some of the sources used.

Scotland

Divorce must be a result of the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. One or more of the grounds of divorce must occur for matrimony to have broken down irretrievably. To illustrate, it is of no importance irrespective of whether the marriage has genuinely irretrievably broken down, a divorce is only available if there is a confirmation that one of the conditions occurs.

Adultery is one of the primary grounds for divorce in Scotland. Another ground for divorce is unreasonable behaviour. This is where the spouse has behaved unreasonably whether this was due to ‘mental abnormality’ , or this conduct has been ‘active or passive’ . As a result of the defender’s action can cause the purser to wish no longer to remain in the relationship and therefore can apply for divorce using that ground. The argument is that expecting any male or female to continue cohabiting with a violent partner is unjust.

In Scotland, the establishment of adultery and unreasonable behaviour can grant the divorce without a waiting period. On the other hand, a failure in providing sufficient evidence on the grounds of adultery and irrational behaviour, parties can show the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage by living separately for a specified period.

England has a waiting period of five years; in the case of Owens v Owens , which ignited many debates. Fortunately, this is not the case for Scotland. If the parties have been living apart for one year and they both consent to the divorce, then the marriage has broken down irretrievably. On the contrary, if the parties do not consent to the divorce, then as soon as the parties have resided separately for two years, the marriage has irretrievably broken down.

Calculating the length of time, the parties spent apart is quite convoluted, solely because many couples may return to the previous relationship they had. In the hope of setting their differences aside, this is encouraged by the law. In which couples are given six months within the one- or two-year period. As A Result, they do not have to run the risk of losing their time of non-cohabitation. Alternatively, the six months do not count against the one or two years, but they do not count against that time, either.

Iraq

Iraq relies heavily on the teaching of Islam in lawmaking. The law bordering divorce might be like various other Islamic nations. According to Islamic law, a woman must

According to the Personal Status Law of 1959, the act defines divorce as ‘the removal of marriage registration/record by the husband or the wife, if she is authorised or delegated, or by the judge. The divorce can only take place in the manner legally prescribed for it.’ According to the text, a divorce can take place verbally by the spouse. Partner must express the intention of divorce orally and then it must be registered at the court on a later date. It is crucial to notice that the court does not get involved in the divorce if it is verbally expressed. The job of the court, in this case, is to register the divorce only. However, the court can decide the divorce based on the request of either party if ‘If either spouse has caused harm to the other or their children, after which marital life cannot continue.’

The waiting period of divorce is determined according to the two types of divorce adopted by Iraqi law. The first type of divorce is known as a revocable divorce. This type of divorce means that the parties can return to their normal marriage relationship without a need for a new marriage contract following a divorce. If the parties desire to return to each other, they can do so within the Iddah (prescribed waiting period).

The second type of divorce is an irrevocable divorce. This type of divorce subdivides into two parts a minor and a major. A minor irrevocable is one that grants the spouse permission to remarry the woman he divorced. The parties can return to each other without a new wedding contract. While a major irrevocable denies the husband consent to remarry his ex-wife if he divorced her on three different occasions, and whose Iddah has been completed.

A waiting period is only held by the woman and not the man. The primary intention of this is to eliminate uncertainty as to the fatherhood of the infant born following a divorce. The woman must go through a waiting period if she became separated after consummation irrespective of the type of divorce she had. If the marriage was consummated, the woman would have to go through a waiting period of three months. The waiting period mandatory commences instantly following the divorce.

Comparison of the two jurisdictions

There are evident distinctions and similarities among Scottish and Iraqi law. Both jurisdictions agree on the necessity of a waiting period. A waiting period .is designed to give couples time to in case they wish to return to each other. Both jurisdictions agree that divorce should be the last resort. Muslims refer to the saying of the prophet ‘of all the lawful acts the most detestable to Allah (God) is divorce’. While it is permissible for a couple to divorce, it should be the last option. This is due to the consequences that follow the divorce, from the collapse of families to financial and emotional struggles. Scottish and Iraq law recognise the complexity of the divorce process. Therefore, they give couples a waiting period where they can return to the relationship they once had.

However, the waiting period varies, it is and dependent on the circumstances. The Scottish jurisdiction insists on a waiting period before the marriage, which is reliant on the consent of the spouse for a divorce. This is not the case for Iraq as the divorce will go through if permission is not given, then this is taken to court. The waiting period does not change; it remains for three months.

Benefits And Drawbacks Of Virtual Teamwork

Introduction

In recent years, the advancement of technology has led to the globalisation of business which demands better prosperity of business through long distances. Virtual work has therefore emerged as a solution for distance imposing a barrier. It consists of individuals collaborating on a common organisational task, forming a social system. However, organisational leaders fear the consequences of executing a virtual approach instead of their usual traditional ways. Therefore, the phenomenon of virtual teamwork will be analysed; using management concepts to reveal the benefits and challenges of this approach and measures that managers can take to link virtual and real world of teamwork for avoiding interruptions in workplace.

Advantages

Increased productivity and cost reduction

Organisations use virtual teamwork to effectively use the employee skills regardless of the geographical location of the business. Therefore, it maximises the flexibility of the team as less physical movement is involved and people from different expertise can solve situations, like a system breakdown, improving the responsiveness of the team (Kimble. C 2010). This in fact reduces the operational expenses which can therefore be spent on more crucial situations.

Accurate evaluation of team efficiency

According to the Interdependent Theory (Alsharo, M, Gregg, D & Ramirez, R 2017), virtual teams provide more accurate and expressive ideas regardless of the constraints by managerial roles. This contributes to the unbiased judgement of team performance as one’s ability and benevolence is assessed in contrast to the traditional structure.

Knowledge sharing and team effectiveness

Additionally, one of the benefits of virtual teamwork is the integration of knowledge distributed among the team members, facilitating synergies and providing a strong sense of trustworthiness. According to the Knowledge Based Theory of the Firm and the results of the researched structural model (Alsharo, M, Gregg, D & Ramirez, R 2017) , there is an underlying relationship between knowledge sharing and team effectiveness on both technological and social levels.

Disadvantages

Virtual teamwork being a recent phenomenon, case studies and researches provide several risks of undergoing a virtual approach leading to being less favourable regardless of the existing diversity.

System Errors

Even though technology has made its progress throughout the years, yet online communication hasn’t been the most effective way of connecting minds. In most of the case studies mentioned in Kimble. C (2010), technological issues impose a serious barrier in utilisation of expert time. Most of the issues concern incompatible networks in remote areas, unreliable systems; which results in delay of response time in certain times of the day if global virtual team is considered. Therefore, until this date, face-to-face meeting are held in order to handle delicate situations and take appropriate organisational decisions.

Internal Conflicts

According to Gibson and Gibbs (2006, p.452-453), bringing experts “together virtually provides no guarantee that they will be able to work effectively and innovate” and therefore virtual team goes through several interpersonal obstacle. High performance being one of the objectives of a virtual team, contrariwise, this neglects the wellbeing of the employees which compromises productivity and performance.

In order to provide a deeper insight, the JDR Model yields a perspective focused on employee and their psychological wellbeing in workplace. According to the model, employees are to experience greater level of stress with the occurrence of imbalance between job demand and resources. As a result, high absenteeism in team contribution is observed. Job demands acts as emotional stressors for employees which include uncomfortable work environment, complexity in tasks etc. Therefore negligence of these demands lead to dysfunctional cognitive behaviour (Adamovic, M 2018). Hence, applying the JDR model becomes salient and will be elaborated later in the essay.

As virtual teamwork encourages more online interactions, it is not effective for sharing emotions which is essential for building trust. According to the research model of Alsharo, M. (2017), trust is linked directly to reduction of complexity and risk, thus creating a more collaborative environment in an organisation. However, this is compromised in a virtual workforce due to lack of physical interactions.

Cultural difference likewise impose limitations, for example- employees might be misunderstood and therefore suffer from social exclusion. Additionally employees are categorized according to their beliefs, nationality, religion etc. instead of weighing them based on their skills and contribution to the organisation. This disintegrates the wellbeing of employees and reduces sharing of task-based knowledge and coherence across the team.

Role of managers to bridge the virtual and real worlds of teamwork for the betterment of organisations and employees

Organisational managers are obligated to prioritise the wellbeing of employees in order to fulfil organisation’s goal and create a healthy workplace environment for employees to demonstrate their capacity to be productive.

As mentioned earlier, JDR model can be used by managers to address the potential stressors. By providing tasks according to employee’s strength to avoid complexity, clarifying the common goal etc. managers can take these opportunities to maximise the team effectiveness. Self-managing characteristics of a team should be empowered by managers by letting employees set their own goal and resolve their problems.

The concept of social presence should be enhanced, providing a degree of awareness of other people in interactions and interpersonal relationships e.g. in team meetings where everyone should be able to communicate without hesitation, providing constructive criticism of workers and regional monitoring of employees to avoid disruptions.

Managers should implement HRM tools in order to focus on employee wellbeing as it is directly linked to the proficiency of team performance globally. Employee focused HRM tools include, international-oriented training, providing opportunities for career development, flexible work practices, recognition of work, fair play procedures etc. (Adamovic, M 2018). Managers should be culturally-intelligent, have culture awareness training sessions in order to eradicate the existing boundaries present between team members. Lastly, right technology has to be provided by the HRM to link the cultural diversity and geographic dispersion within members.

Conclusion

For a virtual teamwork to work effectively, the limitations and the benefits of this methodology both have to be considered in order to enhance the cohesiveness of the team through effective managerial approaches. This essay uses frameworks and JDR model to analyse virtual teams, revealing a range of factors that affect the employees work satisfaction. These models and theories are also associated with the approaches that has to be taken by managers to adhere the team which will in turn affect the organisation positively. A clear link with the formation of trust and disruptive behaviour is established though research, indicating collaboration mediates team effectiveness in virtual workspace.

The Role Of Team Leader In Conflict Management

It was during Week 2 of university and we all received a notification on Thursday. The scavenger hunt assignment was posted on Google classroom. ‘Will I be able to fit in a group?’ ‘What if I’m left on my own?’ “Will my peers like me or befriend me?’ were the random thoughts that tormented our brains. Later that day, a bunch of classmates who were still unknown to me and I entered a tutorial class of another module. The girls were really friendly and funny. I instantly felt a connection when I talked to them. I was already thinking of forming a group with the girls since we were friends. However, they had already formed their own group and I was left behind. The next day, I met another classmate Yash. Since he was still forming a group too, we decided to team up. He gathered some of his friends and I asked some of random girls who were group-less too. So in the end we managed to form a team. But alas! We were in different batches. The team members had to be in the same batch. Unfortunately, this led to the split up of the newly formed team. There were actually two teams who fell apart due to the conundrum of having team members in B1 and B2. In order to address this issue we decided to team up with the other B2 members who were teamed with the B1 members earlier. At last, we got our team TheFive.

So, team TheFive was formed during the tutorial session during the Communication and Business Skills for IT class. Since it was the last class of the day, all the team members were rushing to get back home as early as possible. As a result, the best alternative was to carry on the discussion on a social platform for instance, Whatsapp. Whatsapp was the best option as it was a platform commonly used by all team members in contrast to Skype. Therefore, to ease the communication process, a group was created on Whatsapp and all team members were added. We were given eight captions for which we had to take corresponding group pictures while engaging in communication with strangers on campus. In order to save time and to get maximum ideas, we discussed each caption in full details and all the important points were noted as reference points. Also, we each had responsibilities according to our capabilities and personality trait which could act as a facilitator for the assigned roles and tasks.

Firstly, Hadiyah Mohit Azhaar, the Implementer of TheFive has the courage and convincing power to talk to strangers. When communicating with people, she is always natural and so she was the one who led the team when we communicated with strangers. Adding to that, she has a good sense of humour which was commendable as in case of tough times or when stressed, the team would had a pillar to rely on so as to get motivated and get back to work. Further on, Sudarshini Pem was the Coordinator. She is the girl who has the potential of a natural organizer and excels at delegation and easing decision making. Whenever all the team members would go off track on Whatsapp while discussing the related ideas, she was the one to reprimand all of us so that we would focus on the required task. Thirdly, our team leader, who was chosen on the basis of the look-alike caption, Najeebah Goobeea is The Plant of team TheFive that is the one who thinks out of the box and on whom the team members could rely on for creative solutions to unprecedented tough problems. During the photo session, several ideas were rejected on spot as there were other teams who had coincident ideas. Consequently, we had to improvise on the spot and come up with original ideas. The fourth member, Bhamini Nohur, is the monitor-evaluator that is she had a logical and thorough judgment which could aid in decision making. In times of decision making and analyzing situation she was the one to step forward and help the team. Furthermore, according to the comments received by my team members, they assigned me the role of the completer-finisher. They feel that I’m a person who is deadline driven and extremely conscientious and hence my task was to combine all the pictures taken and to submit the final work on Google classroom.

With close reference to the above, team TheFive is a team which comprises uniqueness, kindness and creativity. Adding to that, for our oral presentation on scavenger hunt, all team members used to come early for practice. All team members rehearsed together and we all tried to help each other by giving feedbacks on their respective presentation. We had good teamwork and synergy among us. Good teamwork implies that team members play according to their strengths and compensate for each other’s weakness and hence, all roles were assigned cooperatively to each team member without being imposed by the team leader.

Overall as a team, TheFive is a friendly one consisting of imperfections like all other teams has. In order for a team to work in rhythm there has to be a flow so that everyone sail in the same direction with the same aim. However, as an observer, I felt that my aim and that of my team differ. The benchmarks set by each member are at different levels and hence the amount of hard work and consideration put forward by all members do not correlate This is a big issue as this can have a huge impact on one’s performance and as a result affect the performance of the entire team. Therefore, as a team we have to work on group cohesion where communication plays a pivotal role. In addition to breaking the barriers, we might discover each other deeply and interact more freely. We all can then share our views, aims and the plan of work for the upcoming projects. This can be a turning point for the team itself as work will be done and completed more effectively and within the deadline.

In light of the above, for self-evaluation, I believe that I’m a responsible team member of TheFive as all work assigned was completed with respect to the deadlines. Research was always conducted beforehand and I was prepared for each task which was a plus point. However, I was always conscientious and this unconsciously imposed a pressure on my team members which was a negative outcome. They must have felt uncomfortable and felt they were under pressure. Each one of us has a different pace and way of work. Exerting pressure would only cause a misbalance in the work. In order to address issues on a personal level Compromise was method used which can help in pleasing all the members.

In almost every situation in life, conflicts arise. However what matters is that how each and everyone tries to engineer each situation. For our scavenger hunt assignment, the conflict that emerged was that some team members were late for the photo session and on top of that there was a limited amount of time to complete the assignment which created a tension among the team members. We also had challenges such that some members had to go for prayers. This situation caused a misbalance and the tension increased among members as all of us had class later on and we had to complete the photo session before the start of the class. Some of the team members even started to lose their calm including me. We had to wait for the rest of the team to be free so as to continue the project. However, for better conflict management we could have negotiated with members and could have implemented the best decision at that time. For instance, instead of waiting for the members, some of us could try to save time and approach strangers and could try to convince them to take a picture with us with respect to each caption.

Furthermore, there were moments where there were many ideas for a caption and confusion began to form which led to conflicts rising. It was mainly because on that day we had limited amount of time. However with the time plan we made together on the Whatsapp Group we managed to overcome the challenge and completed the task successfully. Personally, if I start to panic and stress too this might lead to mayhem where all the members might get frustrated and the task might not be completed and in worst case we might argue amongst ourselves. So the best option was to keep my calm and focus on the task. However, to alleviate the stress, my team members and I took a break and we all sat under the trees in the open air. This helped us in stress management and we were able to shift our focus elsewhere while maintaining a good relationship among team members.

Additionally, one conflict also arose due to fact that one member was not in line with the final idea of a particular caption. This opinion was revealed after the submission of the work and consequently no changes could be made. This caused a rift as the member did not deem is as important to share her point of view with the other members. To address the issue, we discussed together as a group that we should respect each and every opinion about any idea regarding the scavenger hunt. Team members were also informed that everyone’s ideas are valid and are of importance and that they should not be dismissed despite the fact if a member is not on the same page as the decision. For this conflict, I was extremely disappointed and nearly lost my calmness as I did not expect a reaction like that given the fact we all discussed together and ideas were finalized together. However, if I was to keep a grudge, this would definitely create a rift between me and the team member and coldness towards each other would be developed which would hinder the progress of the team and hence resulting in squabbling among team members.

Prevention is always better than cure. In order to avoid conflicts in a larger team, it is vital to indulge in communication so that each team member is acquainted with each other. Openness in communication is vital as this will bring the team together and will promote growth. The vision of the team which comprises of what the team is striving to achieve will become clearer for all members. Furthermore, listening closely, treating all members fairly and equitably, a panacea of the problem can be found rather than wasting time in blaming the members for mistake which will only worsen the situation. Also, role play can be carried out which is a tool for aiding people by putting one in someone else shoes. In case of clashing personalities and opposing viewpoints these methods can work and efficiency of work can increase. Additionally, values such as open mindedness, punctuality and cooperation should be promoted so as to maintain a healthy environment which will in turn decrease the probability of conflict.

Conclusively, to minimize conflicts, leaders of each team must be chosen carefully. A good leader will try his best to deal with the conflict professionally. Instead of talking about his achievements in life, a good team leader should give credits to the team. Problems such as ego and insecurity should not be present and instead good values should be adopted. Therefore, if a leader is insecure or egoistic and lacks leadership skills, conflicts are bound to occur.

Divorce And The Sociological Imagination

In this paper, the definition and standards of Sociological Imagination will be outlined first. The social trouble of divorce will be considered from this set of principles to see how divorce impacts people and society as a group. A description of the most important thoughts and standards in every of the three principal sociological perspectives will be accompanied by way of an analysis of divorce through each perspective. Using each of the views will uncover beneficial insights and data concerning this issue. The use of battle idea will help provide an explanation for the logic behind why people hotel to divorce. Finally, concluding ideas will be presented and supported.

Divorce is considered an important social problem in the United States of America (USA). Divorce influences the lives of many people out of the divorcing household inclusive of many factors of society. Divorce is playing an energetic function in reshaping the way of life of the USA by using altering the that means of my family. Because divorce is a trouble in the eyes of Americans, it’s well worth sociological evaluation the usage of the Sociological Imagination and the three sociological perspectives: Functionalism, Conflict Theory and Interactionism.

To be in a position to see the interaction between the man or woman and their community, it is essential to boost a Sociological Imagination. However, Sociological Imagination is a little two greater complicated than Mills’ definition. Once a sociologist uses his or her “Sociological Imagination” two the “imagination” part that is most interesting and enlightening. For example, you stroll into a room filled with people speakme and engaging in everyday social behavior. “Without intending to you begin to have a look at those human beings and their moves in a very biased way. You convey cultural, gender and economic biases with you as a everyday section of your consciousness.” (Arthur 2016). Observing objectively, thus scientifically, would be out of the question in this situation. Now, imagine you are an pig observing the same team of people interacting in the room. Because you are no longer a human, you do now not have a human bias like searching at a man doing the dishes with scorn. It is effortless for the pig observer to truly see interactions in a scientific manner. The pig observer would not assume that any action or conduct is unusual or wrong, the action or behavior actually is. Sociological Imagination is a fantastic way of looking at human social conduct and human agencies because it encourages the observer to see objectively and then ask the most important query in sociology: why?

Divorce must be considered using microsociology and macrosociology when the usage of the Sociological Imagination. Divorce impacts the family, a microsociological group, immediately and now and again drastically. Divorce affects the whole country, a macrosociological group, now and again lengthy after the divorce and in many small methods that add up to better problems. It can be argued that divorce is solely a personal problem. Take a younger married girl except children. Divorce would affect her economic fame and monetary future. For a younger lady going thru a divorce negatively impacts her potential to provide primary housing and nourishment needed to be a productive citizen.

She may even need to file bankruptcy to be in a position to pass on with her life in a meaningful way. This can be viewed as solely her problem. She will have to deal with terrible credit score scores for years to come and may additionally have to take lower paying jobs or live in grungy residences as a result. She may additionally become depressed and operate poorly at her job as well. These private hardships raise over into her family and administrative center agencies quickly and with lousy effects. However, the usage of the Sociological Imagination presents perception into how divorce influences a good deal extra than her and her family. Divorce impacts the society she lives in various ways. The bankruptcy she filed would negatively affect the already unhealthy economy. Because of her low savings scores she might now not be in a position to earn as a lot as she is truly successful of thus, she will spend less on necessities than she may otherwise. As she is pushed deeper into a decrease socioeconomic status her spending will also fall which slows economic growth. Because she has come to be terrible she likely cannot have the funds for personal healthcare, so she depends on public healthcare to grant her with medicinal drug to fight her depression. Her divorce had end up a public problem. The Sociological Imagination encourages observations such as this to better apprehend the implications of non-public problems within society.

There is some other way to look at the younger divorcee’s personal problem when the usage of the Sociological Imagination from a macrosociological view point. It can be argued that her divorce is rooted in a deeper social issue within the culture that she lives. For example, the social problem of poverty should have brought on her divorce. Many marriages stop due to the fact of economic hardships. If the divorcee and her then partner have been residing on wages that placed them under the poverty stage the stresses of imparting sufficient housing and nourishment would have been great. There are many other social problems that ought to make a contribution negatively to a marriage such as domestic violence causing divorce to occur.

The Functionalism perspective in sociology states that society is structured the way it is in order to hold its stability thus, its survival (Schaefer, 2008). The key principles are balance, harmony and evolutionary, not revolutionary, exchange inside the current scheme. The way the society functions now is the way it need to be because the entirety serves a purpose. This viewpoint sees society as a complex gadget that promotes balance through guiding humans with a social shape that gives sure social functions or roles. Anything that disrupts the contemporary social shape or functions is considered as dysfunction. If some part of a society does no longer make a contribution to the modern-day shape of stability, it will now not stay. The Functionalism viewpoint offers with macro-sociological corporations such as an whole country.

Conflict Theory is a standpoint that views society as agencies that are struggling over power or assets (Schaefer, 2008). The key concepts are tension, inequality and revolutionary change. Society is the way it is because of inequality, and this inequality ought to usually be opposed. This perspective views society as disparity that motives war and change. Change is viewed as a effective pressure for a society. combat theorists are interested in why some humans have so many assets whilst others have so few and how this is either being maintained or changed. The Feminist view is intently related to the war viewpoint due to the fact each deal with inequality (Schaefer, 2008). Feminist view looks at disparity between the genders in terms of women’s decrease statuses in most societies. It asserts that gender inequity is the force that is at the center of behavior and the status quo. Both the Feminist view and the conflict point of view overlap with liberal political views and focal point on macrosociological organizations such as American women.

The Interactionist perspective, also recognised as symbolic Interactionism, generalizes about person social interactions as a way to see society as a total (Schaefer, 2008). The key ideas are interactions, members of the family and symbolic meanings. This standpoint views society as a product of day-to-day interactions. Humans are viewed as dwelling in a world of meaningful objects with an emphasis on the importance of symbols. This point of view is intently related to social psychology. The dramaturgical approach and nonverbal conversation are of precise pastime to this point of view due to the fact they help to make clear how private interactions are accomplished. The Interactionist perspective overlaps with libertarian political views and offers with microsociology such as a symbolic exchange between coworkers.

Divorce when viewed from the Functionalism perspective contributes to the stability of the society as a whole. Fewer divorces would definitely be dysfunctional because divorce serves a purpose. For example, as a end result of divorce many lawyers, judges and court docket officials are employed. The public system of healthcare employs doctors, nurses and social employees that deal with and care for the poorer people in society such as those that have lost so much due to the fact of divorce. Without the modern-day prices of divorce many humans would be unemployed (Glenn 1991). Unemployment would destabilize societal structure consequently divorce fees must stay where they are to make certain survival of the social scheme. The “status quo” must remain in place.

Divorce when considered from the Conflict standpoint have to be analyzed as a microcosm of society. Conflict theorists would describe the divorce as the competition for sources and power within the marriage where both events cannot come to an agreement.The conflict over sources generates anxiety that outcomes in a trade in the marital status. Looking at divorce from the Feminist view can be considered as warfare between a girl that is addressing the inequality stemming from her gender function and a man that does no longer want to relinquish electricity or resources to her. For example, she may additionally have wanted her own checking account with personal get admission to to funds whilst her husband saw this as an unacceptable quantity of electricity for her to have. The ensuing anxiety triggered a innovative exchange in their social structure. Divorce is seen in this light as a fantastic pressure because it is altering an inequality.

Divorce when seen from the Interactionist standpoint examines the picks that every man or woman has made, the interactions between husband and wife, and the symbolic which means of marriage and divorce. Nothing is right or incorrect is it certainly a way of searching at society from a very small scale while deciding how these interactions form the large group. A symbolic Interactionist would ask the divorcee what she thinking about the that means of marriage and divorce. Her records taken with thousands of different interviews would form a photograph of the contemporary which means of divorce. For example, the institution of marriage as a symbolic contract between a pair of people and the community has changed. Marriage was at as soon as a repute image and ceremony of passage. It used to mean you have been on the proper music in lifestyles and offering balance to your community. Conversely, divorce was once considered as a fantastic shame and something to be hidden if at all possible. Today multiple divorces are not uncommon. The stigma attached with divorce has declined just as the “necessity” of marriage has declined. Using the Interactionist standpoint uncovers the changing which means of divorce as a image in society.

Of the three sociological theories (functionalism, symbolic interactionism, and fighting theory), the war concept presents a extra convincing and applicable view of divorce. It solutions “why” divorce occurs in the most logical way. Americans are the most self-absorbed and conceited people in the world. In today’s American culture, we uphold money, splendor and strength as the most necessary goals one have to work closer to to prevail in life. These values do not promote long time period relationships. They promote conflict. For example, tensions arise in a marriage because of the battle over money, property and electricity in a relationship. When one person in the marriage becomes unable to manage the disproportion of assets a disagreement occurs. Women’s historic gender roles are nevertheless in effect. Because ladies are still expected to manage a family while working a full time job frustrations arise. These issues as nicely as infinite others make a contribution to the modern-day divorce rates. Conflict theorists would describe the divorce as the competition for resources and energy inside the marriage the place both events cannot come to an settlement (Glenn 1991).

Should Divorce Be Discouraged?

INTRODUCTION

There are many perspectives which will be discussed further in my research i.e global perspective, national perspective and religious perspective. The issues of divorce are financial problems, forced marriages, child abortion, conflicts and misunderstandings between the couple.

BACKGROUND

What is divorce?It is a legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body. Divorce happens when couples have serious issues between them and there are no solutions to solve it. The rate of divorce has been increased with the passage of time. Divorce is common now. If any problem comes up between the married couple, they just find a solution which is divorce, they do not find any other solution which causes a divorce. It has increased since forced marriages have been increased, abortion rate has increased (one needs a child one doesn’t it causes conflicts which causes divorce), people nowadays face financial problems a lot which makes the couple unhappy.

PERSPECTIVES

GLOBAL

Divorce creates chaos in the family instead of achieving a united family. Divorce is not a desirable act in any religion, rather at the global trend of divorce is incredibly and continuously increasing. It is a Global problem. It is very alarming situation for the survival of a family. People now are not realizing their responsibilities. One of these reasons are to get married early at the age of 15-20, when they are not fully prepared for the marriage, not mature enough and at the adulthood it caused problems for the family.

NATIONAL

In the last two decades, there is a raise of divorce in Pakistan. The main reasons for divorce is lack of sacrifice, forced marriages, difference of social status. With the divorce rate on the increase in Pakistan women becoming increasingly independent often placing their careers before family and husband. So many women are getting higher education is one reason the women wants to achieve more. Younger couples are more likely to get divorced. Waiting for the maturity to set in before tying a knot is also one of the reasons. According to a survey most of the lawyers approved that the rate of divorce is increasing in the middle and lower middle class. Financial problem is one of the main reasons in pakistan. Normally in lower middle class husbands lack in fulfilling their wives demands, which provokes to dispute.

RELIGIOUS

ISLAMIC; Divorce in Islam is the most disliking legal act in an Muslim’s eye. It’s a fact that Muslim community has larger numbers of divorce than before. Divorce is not good since it causes enmity and also a cause of Satan’s delight.

JUDAISM; In this religion, they believe divorce is a fact of life. Though it is an unfortunate one. In Jewish law divorce is an act of the parties to the marriage, which is different from the approach adopted by the legal system. If one needs divorce there is no need of allegations or proof to prove who is wrong by either of the party.

HINDUISM; The attitude of hindus towards divorce vary a lot. It rarely happens but is forbidden. They believe in karma or international action. Hindus discourage with divorce because they think it will affect the family and upset the child. Many other believe in divorce, since the couple is living in hatred and it creates a negative impact on the child. This maybe brings bad karmic consequences.

ISSUES

1. Forced marriages;Parents from the rural areas sale out their daughter, only for money. Even if the girl is not happy the parents do not consider that. They take it as a grain of salt. Only the greediness of money, takes the parent to sale out their daughters. Also some parents in urban areas never listen to their children they just take their own decisions. At times before the birth of the child or when the child is born, parents right over, decide who will the child marry when he/she grows up.
2. Financial problems;This problem is very common since some years. People lose their jobs and sit and the families are not happy. This leads them to divorce.
3. Abortion problems;This problem is also very common since in a marriage one needs a baby and one does not. Which makes them to lead to a solution which is abortion. In china when there was one child policy couples always wanted a son they use to abort a daughter. Even if a woman was pregnant she had to abort a baby forcibly since it was a policy. The one child policy was banned since it had no rights for the baby as well as the woman.

Physical and emotional abuse;Husbands beat their wives just if his wife does not listen to him for once. Where as if the male does not listen to the female and if the female argues she is beaten by her husband because she argued with him. Not only physical abuse is happening but also mental and emotional abuse. Men abuse women on the silliest thing. This happens in the rural areas. Women do not get their right. She is beaten by her husband in front of her kids which gives bad and negative impacts on them.

• CONSEQUENCES; it breaks down both the families. It ruins the child’s life by getting a negative impact. It even ruins the lives of male and female especially female. It also breaks the male and the female mentally and physically.
• SOLUTIONS; The solutions for divorce are;

Spend more quality time with each other

There are alot of couples who are not happy, simply because they dont feel to relate with each other anymore. Going on dates, taking vacations is not only what you need in a marriage. These should not be the priorities of a person who is married. However a healthy marriage goes a long way when you stop taking small things as your priorities and spend a quality of time with each other so you can know each other much better and start having a healthy life.

Change the negative patterns

Do always couples fight on the silliest things? Do either of them lose their temper on a drop of a hat? Breaking these negative patterns would lead a healthier marriage and the couples should embrace good habits. Couples should be respectful towards each other.

Compromise with each other

Marriage is all about compromising with each other on the smallest things. Compromise in marriage is defined as to give up on one thing for the other. It is very important to make a difference between sacrifice and compromise. It is important to compromise rather to sacrifice. In a marriage, nearly every decision and every problem has to be compromised by one at least. It is very rare if both agree on a simple thing. Since marriage is involved, the points of disagreement can be pretty impressive. For example, one might disagree about politics, religion, or child rearing principals. One might disagree about money, or how much influence in-laws should have in one’s life.

EVALUATION

The quality of the sources are good. They are using evidences as well as facts and opinion. Some are experts and some are just experienced about the related topic. For instance, Maira Tariq the author of https://nation.com.pk/29-Nov-2018/divorce-a-global-problem, who wrote this article on the 8th of November,2018 is an experienced person about the related topic. She is a writer of the newspaper “nation.com”. She talked regarding the global problem which is the rate of divorce has increased all over the world. This article has used facts as well as opinions and the evidences are good enough; it is pursuing as well as convincing. https://www.marriage.com/advice/divorce/5-proven-solutions-to-divorce. This article is written by Shellie Warren on the 7th of November,2017. She is an expert writer who is talking about the solutions towards the divorce. She tells how to solve a problem rather choosing divorce.

Perspective

In my own perspective divorce should be only discouraged when there is no other solution and it is affecting the family or the children. A negative impact on a child can ruin his life by seeing his parents fighting all the time. If there are various solutions to solve the problem you shouldn’t prefer divorce but sit together and solve out what exactly is the problem. By having divorce, it can affect the whole family and in this part it would even ruin their child’s life. People nowadays find it a joke: if a small fight comes up between them they decide to be seperated; not realizing about how will it affect the child if no baby is borned then how will it affect the lives of themselves and the families for instance if the parents of both are good friends or cousins it would even affect their relationship. Without thinking about this they just call a lawyer and tell them to get the papers ready for divorce. This should not be how it is. Divorce should only be discouraged when the couple is at the last of anything. Rather than that divorce should not be discouraged.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it is a person’s right to choose what he or she wants. No one should force for anything; sometimes in-laws force the male to give divorce to the female just because she can not be a mother. It is just that one should not force anyone just because they are not happy from it.

REFERENCES

1. https://nation.com.pk/29-Nov-2018/divorce-a-global-problem
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_divorce
3. https://medium.com/@Allaboutyouwithrifa/divorce-in-islamic-perspectives-3a0c163b0f19
4. https://www.marriage.com/advice/divorce/5-proven-solutions-to-divorce/
5. https://www.marriage.com/advice/divorce/10-most-common-reasons-for-divorce/
6. https://www.popline.org/node/416851