Conflict: Perception and Astonishing Qualities

Conflict brings out the best as well as the worst in humanity. In everyday life, Individuals may be in a stressful or demanding situation as the feeling of hope or fear attends to appear. Conflict is a concept that pervades every aspect of an individual’s life; it is inevitable and unpreventable. Conflict at times can bring out the best in some individuals enabling them to display astonishing qualities and can also bring out about the poorest of qualities in others.
We define conflict as a disagreement through which the parties involved perceive a threat to their needs, interests or concerns. Generally, we are aware there is some level of difference in the positions of the two (or more) parties involved in the conflict. But the true disagreement versus the perceived disagreement may be quite different from one another. In fact, conflict tends to be accompanied by significant levels of misunderstanding that exaggerate the perceived disagreement considerably. If we can understand the true areas of disagreement, this will help us solve the right problems and manage the true needs of the parties. There are often disparities in our sense of who is involved in the conflict. Sometimes, people are surprised to learn they are a party to the conflict, while other times we are shocked to learn we are not included in the disagreement. On many occasions, people who are seen as part of the social system (e.g., work team, family, company) are influenced to participate in the dispute, whether they would personally define the situation in that way or not. In the above example, people very readily "take sides" based upon current perceptions of the issues, past issues and relationships, roles within the organization, and other factors. The parties involved can become an elusive concept to define.
Conflicts occur when people (or other parties) perceive that, as a consequence of a disagreement, there is a threat to their needs, interests or concerns. Although conflict is a normal