Conflict Resolution Approaches and the Subsequent Process - Case Study Example

ROLE PLAY Student’s name Code & Course Professor’s name University City Date Contents 1.0 Conflict Resolution Approach and the Subsequent Process 3 2.0 Attitudes, skills, knowledge and Values employed by the Mediator 5 3.0 Issues Identified in the Role Play 6 4.0 Mediators Success in Gaining Meaning Dialogue and Understanding 7 5.0 Mediation Different Approach 8 Role Play The conflict taking place in this scenario came about due to the construction of a mosque near a residential area. The parties involved are the residents, the Imam and the architect building the mosque. 1.0 Conflict Resolution Approach and the Subsequent Process The approach used to resolve the arising conflict was mediation. Mediation is among the conflict resolution approaches where participation is mostly voluntary and confidential. In this approach, a mediator who acts as an impartial third party is involved in the resolution process and helps the conflicting parties to come to an agreement. During the mediation process, therefore, the parties involved were required to claim ownership of the conflict in order to successfullycome to a resolutionon the issue that is affecting aforementioned parties. The mediation process will involve the local residents, the Imam, the architect and the mediator. Following the inclusion of the relevant parties with an open dialogue at a neutral location, preferably a park in the region, the mediator acknowledged the need to have a resolution on the conflict arising so that there can be peaceful coexistence among the parties disputing over the construction of the mosque. Most of the residents have concerns on the effect of the building of the mosque on their livelihood in the area. The local residents have aired their disquiet on the potential disadvantages of having the mosque nearby. One of the residents states that the establishment of a mosque will increase traffic which will cause harm to the school going children. There is thus the concern of the safety of the children within the area. One another residence expressed a concern over not knowing what takes place within a mosque thus creating wariness on the introduction of the establishment. This wariness was compounded by the fact the residents do not know the type of people who will visit the establishment. The aspect of noise was furthermore addressed given the activity involving construction and those that would be carried out in the mosque. The Imam raised his concern over the vision that he and his congregation have had towards the building of a mosque and now that they were about to start the residents relayed their disagreement on the project. The Imam mentions that the mosque is a place of worship with relative peace and quiet and feels disappointed by the reaction of the residents towards their intent to build. Among the parties was the architect who felt that the project was magnificent for the area and contributed his opinion on the value that the mosque will add to the environment. The main feelings that are observed from the parties are thus; from the residents fear caution and a closed mind to the project. The Imam expresses disappointment in the attitude of the residents as he feels that the project is worthy while the architect expresses excitement on the possibility of having such a project in the designated area. From the information above the individuals who were recognized to be important in the solving of the conflict were the residents who have children, Christians, the Imam, and the architect. This mapped out the relationship between the parties to set a clearer perspective for resolving the conflict. From the negotiations, the Imam explained that worship would mainly be conducted on Fridays afternoon, a time when the children were in school thus they would be affected by the dangers foreseen in having traffic in the area. Furthermore, the activities of the worshippers were clarified to the concerned residents thus giving them the knowledge they required to familiarize with the incoming group. The architect specified that the building materials used would contain sound within the building and as a result, there would be no noise. With these issues addressed, the building of the mosque was deemed to be no longer a concern among the residents thus the conflict was resolved. 2.0 Attitudes, skills, knowledge and Values employed by the Mediator The mediator displayed an open-minded attitude in the carrying out of the process by listening to all the sides of the argument. The mediator was equally none biased on the figures of authority that were involved in the mediation process. Given the imbalance of power, this helped in reassuring the parties on the fairness of the observation, control of the process and the resolution of the conflict. The mediator showed value through being impartial and allowing for both sides to express their feelings without judging the responses provided. All the concerns noted in the dialogue were considered, and the ones that seemed unimportant were not dismissed by the mediator at once. The argument on the practices of the faith of the worshipers was openly explained as just another church on the view that showed bias on religion. The mediator additionally engaged all the parties allowing for the Imam and the architect to answer questions on the concerns that were put forward by the residents. Among these concerns were traffic and safety which was addressed y mentioning that the worship would be attended during hours when the children would be in school. The mediator provided an informed decision by basing on the fact the current community was multicultural. This was helpful in allowing for the integration and relations among different kinds of people with a value adding benefit to the community coming from learning from diverse societies. The mediator exercised effective communication skills through listening, noting the importance of every concern forwarded and leading the parties to acknowledge the importance of coexistence through appreciating the beliefs and practices of others and accepting the establishment of the mosque with an informed mind. 3.0 Issues Identified in the Role Play During the mediation process, a number of issues arose which needed to be addressed by the mediator. One of the key issues that had to be handled included communication skills demonstrated by the parties involved in the mediation process. The residents failed to use polite language in addressing the Imam during the interviews. For instance, while addressing the differences between the Christian religion and the Muslim religion, both the parties used discriminative terminologies to refer to the opposite religions. As such, the mediator had to step in and set up strict codes on the language that was permitted for the mediation. This was because the offensive language would rather make matters worse than help resolve the issues at hand. Moreover, the credibility of the mediator had to be taken into consideration by the mediator in order to get the parties to believe in him. Therefore, the mediator had to begin by providing background information about his family and how he relates to the people around him from childhood to present. This inspired confidence in the disputants. As a result, the residents and the Imam established that the mediator was well educated in the field and developed a positive and healthy relationship with him which allowed for the development of a formal agreement through a written contract. During the role play, it was established that the mediator has the responsibility to set the ground rules on the various strategies that will be used in the resolution of the conflict in order to avoid coercing either of the parties into accepting a certain kind of strategy. As such, conflict analysis had to be done by the mediator in order to understand the nature of the conflict and how the two parties have been living prior to the conflict. This will help in ensuring that the conflict resolution develops a long-term solution to the problem and not to create another avenue for other conflicts in the future. In addition, the mediator had to deal with issues to do with legitimacy of the negotiations in order to establish that the decisions are not emotionally controlled. This is because either of the parties may tend to appeal to the emotions of the mediator and the other party and therefore the solutions developed are not legit. This can be either through the use of nonverbal means to insult the other party or providing promises promptly to prevent the resolution process from being conducted in depth. Furthermore, the mediator will be charged with the responsibility to correct the perceptions and unreasonable fears to create environments for reasonable discussion.By the mediator allowing the parties to vent their fears and emotions under controlled environment will alleviate the instances for stereotyping and misperceptions. This will result in both parties providing accurate perceptions of the conflict and thus aiding the negotiation process. 4.0 Mediators Success in Gaining Meaning Dialogue and Understanding The mediator convinced the parties to engage in meaningful dialogue by integrating the four strategies for mediation to create a compromise point for both parties. These includes allowing the parties to compete and find out which of them is stronger. This can be done by allowing the people to provide their views about how they perceive the perceptions held by either of the parties. The collaboration of the parties often results in a win-win situation, and this will encourage the parties to consider the benefits gained in agreeing with the opposing party. Moreover, the mediator will allow the parties to smooth out the issuesand undergo denial where the parties are allowed time to think about the issue prior to proceeding with the resolution process. As such, this requires both parties to compromise on given aspects so as to get to an amicable solution. Lastly, the mediator ensured that the information exchanged was accurate through active listening, paraphrasing and restatement of fact in order to ensure that the other party gets an insight of what is said. Providing the accurate information on the beliefs of both parties allows the mediator to establish a fair ground for discussing the facts and therefore encouraging the parties to be free in establishing what the other party believes in. in so doing, the residents will learn to differentiate between what the imam and the religion believe in and what is set to be of interest to the society. Therefore, it becomes possible for the parties to engage in constructive negotiations openly. This will lead to the parties reaching solutions more easily and create long-term resolutions for the conflict. 5.0 Mediation Different Approach Mediator’s Opening Statement As a mediator, I will prefer to begin my mediation stages with an opening statement during the introduction of the involved parties. Having opening statements during mediation creates a rapport with the mosque disputants so that further discussions will be open and candid to my clients. After acknowledging that, all the involved parties will meet and work out their differences; I will set the goal for the mediation process. The goals will be aimed at attaining a fair solution that will be functional in the long run. My core principles are attuned to the fact that am expected to be neutral, no authority to render any decisions and the ability to have impartiality as per the outcome in my mediation process. Lastly, I will describe the simple rules and the procedures govering the mediation process. Disputants Opening Statement The disputants opening statements will enable the involved teams to listen and understand the Imam commuity’s needs and the wants with respect to the mosque’s construction. During the disputants opening statement phase, the disputants would be allowed to share their view uninterruptedly, and not bound by legal procedures and rules of evidence while presenting their views. As such, the disputants are motivated to share their complete narratives of their arguments for easier understanding of the issues. An in-depth understanding of both the needs and wants based on the new mosque construction and the surrounding community will lead to creative alternative solutions hence chances of higher possibilities of attaining a successful agreement. Discussion Stage In this phase, I intend to give opportunities to the parties to engage in direct debate. The factual presentation during the debate will be paramount in narrowing down the areas of the conflicts. Additionally, I will encourage the involved parties to freely ask questions so as to clarify statements and the positions. At this phase, their will be an examination of the presented facts behind the issues and search for the factors that are underlying the conflict. As such, I will be entitled to organize the issues, analyzing the points of agreements and narrowing the number of the presented issues in the dispute. As a mediator, assisting the involved parties to reframe the issues would be of advantage in attaining the conflict resolution. Reframing the presented issues will enable the parties to easily discover the mutually acceptable definitions of the issues that will allow them to co-operate . From the reframing of the issues and after winning the trust and building rapport for the parties, I will apply directive tactics so as to move the parties closer to an agreement. The technique will disengage parties for the unacceptable environment and spearhead the varied development options. Caucus At this phase, the caucus discussion will be mandatory to the involved parties, with each party at a different session. As a mediator, I will treat the discussions with the highest level of confidentiality will focusing on the agenda of attaining settlement. The caucus phase will be important in gathering insightful information that could not be attained from joint negotiations. As such, I will be able to explore compromised areas while looking for positional shifts so as to enable the parties to reach an agreement. Reaching an Agreement At this phase, I expect to engage in a collaborative argument rather than competitive tone. Since the parties are well informed of the issues, my role would be to keep the parties focused on the real issues while facilitating changing of the negotiation positions. In cases of barriers in reaching the settlement, I will offer a solid rationalism for a change in position while urging the involved parties to embrace the similar manner hence the ability to help the parties retrench their untenable positions. After attaining the agreement, I will announce the agreement based on the involved parties reviews. The settlement will be put down in writings, and the parties will have to sign the document. Read More