Chapter 3

Interests and Goals

Goals and conflict

At some level, all conflicts involve people who think (perceive) that their goals are incompatible with another person’s Usually, people believe that one

person is blocking another from achieving a goal

Self Esteem underlies many conflicts

Factors underlying goals

Core concernsValues and attitudesPreferencesPersonal approaches

Core personal issues

These are at the heart of conflict, but are almost never brought up by the parties Need for self esteem Violation of cultural rules Gender identity and expectations Religion Emotional concerns

Attitudes, Attributions, Values

People think their own goals are right because they are thinking of them in terms of their own attitudes and valuesExercise – identify and discuss a conflict and then list the attitudes, attributions, and values for both parties

Preferences, Orientations, Approaches

These vary by personality types, for example, the Myers-Briggs types: Extrovert and Introvert Sensing vs. Perceiving Thinking and Feeling Judging and Perceiving

Types of Goals also vary

Content Goals Wht do we want?

Relational Goals What are we to each other? How much

interdependence do we want?

Identity or face-saving Goals Who am I in this interaction? Am I being

respected?

Process Goals What communication processes/approaches will

be used?

Overlapping nature of goals

Most often, there are multiple goals underlying a conflictLet’s think of examples and diagram the overlap!

An interesting and important fact about goals

They often emerge and transform themselves during an interaction Prospective Goals – intentions

people hold before they engage in conflict

Transactive Goals – goals discovered during the conflict itself

Retrospective Goals – justifications for decisions/actions and formation of new goals

Improving Conflict Goals

Clear goals are essential to effective conflict managementAdvantages of clear goals: Solutions won’t go unrecognized Clear goals are easier to share Clear goals can be altered more

easily than vague ones Clear goals are reached far more

often

Collaborative Goals

Guidelines for effective collaborative goals: They should address short-medium-long

range They specify the desired behaviors They orient towards the present and future

(not the past They recognize interdependence They recognize that conflict resolution is an

ongoing process