Conflict: Theories and Examples

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Table of Contents

Overview of the Conflict
Presentation of Key Facts
Sources of conflict
Class struggle, a form of conflict
“Survival of the fittest”
The Present Conflict
Recommended Solutions
Alternative Solutions
References

Overview of the Conflict

Conflict and social upheaval are common in history. The past relates that social groups were strengthened by conflict. One example is the malady of oppression. Historical events tell us that oppression was practiced by kings and common people who were motivated by various kinds of selfish interests. There was oppression and there was conflict.

History is filled with conflicts between tribes and peoples, kings and their dominions, and nation states against nation states. Theories state however that it would have been very difficult to write a narrative history without conflict between good and evil, between the rich and the poor, between the rights of people, between conflicting opinions, and so on and on.

Human nature is complicated. It is filled with emotions and feelings that cause conflicts. Our own personal objectives collide with other peoples’ aims and goals. There are complexities, errors, and successes, because organizations are manned by humans. We are not governed by theories but we formulate these theories out of our experiences and continued socialization. In our socializing activities, we commit errors which are a part of our behaviour in making judgments, interpretations, assumptions, and beliefs about our social world.

Conflict theories link society and individual members. There are conflicts within us or inside us, our relations and interactions with others and the society as a whole, and, above all, war or conflicts between nation states, ethnic or tribal wars, etc. Conflict is a human phenomenon. This is how we are made – our innate personality and, to speak religiously, the seeming ‘restlessness’ of the human soul.

Presentation of Key Facts

Conflict has its role in the shaping of some norms of society, or the emergence of theories and phenomena. Conflict and social upheaval are almost synonymous. Lewis Coser (as cited in Melchin & Picard, 2008) states that conflicts have a positive effect on society. This is because laws and policies were written as an outcome of conflict.

Functions and roles of individuals in society are emphasized in some theoretical perspective, for example in functionalism. We are linked to the community where we assume different roles. At home or at school, in the office or organization, we play different roles. We have our own roles to play as children, parents, educators, politicians, managers and workers. Conflict occurs if people don’t play their roles accordingly.

Conflicts help individuals find solutions. Managers realize the importance of conflict and competition; it helps them find ways to improve their business, although in a larger sense they tend to avoid conflict and competition. When the level of conflict is too low, which means the people in an organization tend to avoid conflict – they are content with how things are going on and how they appear to be. This should not be so because conflicts lead people to finding new ways and be creative.

Sources of conflict

All of us have needs which are classified as physiological, psychological, social, economic, political, and so forth. John Burton argued that conflicts occur when these needs are not met. The needs and problems of individuals in a society have to be understood and addressed so that the issues that preoccupy the groups and people lose significance and therefore conflict can be resolved.

Satisfying human needs is a source of conflict. People have urges relative to the need for achievement, the need for affiliation, and the need for power (Firth, 2002, p. 86). The need theory is focused on the acquired needs that people learn in the process of acquiring new life experiences over their lifetime.

Justice was a human need for people during the time of Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. Justice should have been addressed to for the African Americans who sensed injustice. When this was met after years of demonstrations and rebellion by the coloured population, conflict died down.

According to Abraham Maslow (1943), our needs are arranged like a pyramid or ladder. Physiological needs, which can be found at the bottom of the pyramid, include food, water, oxygen and sex.

As one set is met, the need moves up the ladder to the next. Belongingness and love needs come next which include the need for recognition, acceptance and approval of others. Self-esteem needs include how we value ourselves and our love and respect for ourselves and for others. We also have the desire to know and understand. (Firth, 2002, p. 85)

Competition is one cause of conflict. This may involve competition for power, prestige and wealth. Muzafer Sherif (1961, as cited in Goldstein, 1994, p. 98) and his research team conducted studies on the causes of intergroup competition. The research was known as the summer camp studies which involved recruited 24 12-year-old boys who came from middle-class families.

The experimenters created instances where the two groups could cooperate with each other and sometimes compete with each other. Team development was designed to improve the effectiveness of team members with interdependent jobs, where effectiveness referred to managing problems and accomplishing group goals. The experiment proved that behaviour of groups could escalate conflict and how easily hostilities can form.

The theory of functionalism (Emily Durkheim) is sometimes known as ‘the society perspective’ or the ‘social-system perspective’. The original work of the French sociologist Emile Durkheim links this theory to the existing system at the time. It states that society has a great influence to the order of things and can prevent the escalation of conflict and war. Society comes first and the interest of the majority is ahead of the interest of the individual members.

Frederick Taylor focused his theory on the society-individual interaction in the functionalism theory. He defined work in terms of the specified tasks designed for the workers to follow, and with no chance of freedom or judgment left on the part of the workers. There is no motivation during those early years of industrialization, which is the basis of Taylor’s theory. (Luecke & Hall, 2006, p. 18)

Class struggle, a form of conflict

Class struggle is a source of conflict. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels focused their theory of the social conflict on the worker and the owner of production. This was known as class struggle. The theory was popular at the height of the industrial revolution. During this time, there were two groups emerging in society – the moneyed class or the bourgeoisie and the workers or the proletariat. (Sociology Guide, 2010)

Karl Marx wrote that the worker was used for production, to make goods or commodities and profits. But as his production increased, his being and humanity were disregarded. He became poorer and also was transformed into a commodity, a cheap commodity. As the commodity or product increased in value, the worker became devalued in the process.

He worked for the goods which had more value than him. As the worker continued to struggle, society broke up into classes which were hostile to one another, and the creation of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. (Randall, 1964)

Marx’s focus on class struggles states that the worker has become ‘objectified’. He is made a tool to produce more goods or commodities, and the more he produces commodities, the more he is reduced or lowered. He becomes an instrument for profit; the capitalist rejoices over his job. The worker is reduced to the lowest serf, only being used for the advancement of money, capital, and more profits. (Marx and Engels Internet Archive, n.d.)

“Survival of the fittest”

Darwin popularized the concept of “survival of the fittest”. He theorized that living things and everything in nature is at war, organisms fight against each other or against the rest of nature and the strongest can survive. (Deutsch, 2006, p. 13)

Darwin’s theory focused on the evolution of the species; the term evolution itself connotes conflict. There is a continuing conflict in living organisms that it seems evolution is all about conflict.

Social Darwinism, on the other hand, is more of a vulgarization of the original theory of Darwin’s because it provided reason for other terms to evolve, such as racism, sexism, superiority of another group or class, and conflicts. The ideas of “survival of the fittest” and those of evolution are now misapplied to social groups which explain the vulgarization part. (Deutsch, 2006, p. 14)

The Present Conflict

The present times tell us that there is a conflict that is a result of perhaps all the past events which have been coupled with man’s innovations and inventions. Globalization is a form of conflict, in fact it is a conflict that causes many other conflicts. Globalization is a result of innovations, technology, and man’s quest to unite or to advance further. Can there be a solution to globalization? Perhaps, none, because globalization is now a part of us.

Alternative Solutions

Modern theory states that society can become a better group of people through a revelation of the hidden processes of the past. Society is a product of past events which can be said as historical accidents and not intentioned activities by personalities or heroes.

We can always help. Advanced countries like the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union can balance the equilibrium, instead of bullying the smaller states. They have to play their role as the ‘solution’ to conflicts, and not exacerbate conflict.

References

Deutsch, M. (2006). Introduction. In M. Deutsch, P. T. Coleman, & E. C. Marcus (Eds.). The handbook of conflict resolution: theory and practice, second edition, pp. 1-4. San Francisco, California: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 1-4.

Firth, D. (2002). Life and work express. United Kingdom: Capstone Publishing.

Goldstein, A. P. (1994). The ecology of aggression. New York: Plenum Press. pp. 97-9.

Luecke, R. & Hall, B. (2006). Performance management: measure and improve the effectiveness of your employees. United States of America: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.

Marx and Engels Internet Archive (n.d.). Economic and philosophical manuscripts of 1844, Karl Marx: Estranged Labour XXII. Web.

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. In G. Goble, The third force: the psychology of Abraham Maslow, pp. 233-6. USA: Zorba Press.

Melchin, K. R. & Picard, C. (2008). Transforming conflict through insight. Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated.

Randall, F. B. (1964). The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc.

Sociology Guide (2010). Conflict theories. Web.

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