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If you remain one sided and refuse to listen to the other party, you can’t possibly have a well-rounded opinion on the situation you’re in. By learning the way the other person thinks you both get an understanding of why there is a conflict, and by doing so have a greater chance of resolving it. Because of technology and other factors, it is more common to work with people from other cultures than it has been in the past. Resolving conflicts can help maintain the balance between being productive in the workplace and taking care Of personal needs as an employee.
Five different orientations for resolving conflict have been identified; competing (or forcing), accommodating, avoiding, collaborating and compromising. “Collaborating is the only one of these orientations considered o yield a win-win, where both parties end up getting what they want. ” (Sadder, 201 3, p. 1 2) By collaborating, you work together to find a solution that suits both parties. The least productive of these is avoiding, because this technique doesn’t give any actual resolution to either party. This, however, is sometimes the best method for certain situations.
For example, when the conflict doesn’t require great urgency and there are other more important things going on, avoidance can be the best choice. Among different cultures, people deal with their work situation in different ways. For instance, high power cultures are more comfortable with the fact that in most jobs, there are titles with varying positions of power. People from cultures with less power are more uncomfortable with power differences and strategically find ways to downplay the differences between job titles.
Also, when we use strategies that are very passive to deal with conflict, it doesn’t work well in conjunction with cultures that put great emphasis on assertiveness (I. E. Japan) and vice versa. In Australia, conflict in the work place is much different than in the United States. In Australia, many would rather avoid conflict altogether than to find a elution for it. More than 40 percent of employees said they would rather seek other employment than find a solution to their problem in the workplace. Many managers do not even have sufficient training to speak to their employees about work performance and/or other issues.
It has been proven that if these conflicts aren’t dealt with, the employees are at a higher risk of workplace conflict and even developing a mental illness. As of 2005, stricter rules have been put in place to aid this problem. The ADAIR is trying to help, but what they can do is limited. This isn’t just affecting the workers, but also the companies employ them. This is causing a higher turnover rate, decreased performance and also more staff conflict. Also, there are more absences because the workers would rather not show up than address the issues thefts having. A more personable approach to dealing with conflict is within families.
In the Mexican culture, they have strong opinions on how to avoid conflict. Traditionally, Mexican families are much larger than that of many other cultures, and they believe that keeps them close. With larger families, naturally there are many more birthdays to celebrate. This gives families the excuse to see each other much more frequently. Also, the length of the visits tend to be much longer than in many other cultures. Instead of them lasting a few hours, these events tend to last around eight hours. They believe this is what keeps them close, and keeps the conflict to a minimal.
Also, it has been proven that food can actually be more appetizing and combat feelings of depression when eaten with others, and in Mexican families food is usually a big part or their celebrations. The Japanese have a very straight forward approach in reference to conflict. Because they are very likely to stick to their word and get things done, they onto like to make commitments unless absolutely necessary. If they make a commitment they cannot adhere to, they lose their honor which is a huge deal for them. They don’t like to talk persuasively to prove their point, they would much rather speak slowly and make small commitments.
This is true for the workplace and for home situations. The Japanese place great value on privacy, so if there is ever a conflict be;en them they usually aren’t very open about it. When comparing Japanese, Australians and Mexican cultures, they have very different ways in dealing with conflict. The Japanese are very strict in cost situations. They tend to be very aggressive and have aggressive approaches towards many situations. This being said, in their own group they are very careful to follow the rules and regulations, as to avoid conflict. They have very low crime rates and even lower divorce rates.
They tend to value group goals rather than their own personal goals, which is why there is less conflict at work for the Japanese. Australians are Very different. In the workplace, Australians are much more introverted than the Japanese. They would rather avoid conflict than work it out, and take personal matters much more seriously. Mexicans also have a vastly different approach than that of the Japanese and the Australians. Rather than being very strict or worrying about personal conflict, Mexicans tend to be much more relaxed. For instance, they tend to be much more flexible on time.
The Japanese and the Australians are very rigid in comparison, and are known to be much more systematical. Mexicans, however, more often overlap tasks and adjust their time schedule to their situation. Within the Japanese culture, there are boundaries in place as far as personal space but within the Mexican culture these boundaries are to a ouch lesser degree. The Japanese will more often shake hands and keep a distance when working, while Mexicans will touch each other and keep less distance between them when speaking. This being said, when there is conflict between the Japanese, they are more verbal when solving it.
They tend to talk things out. Mexicans, on the other hand, are more apt to use a lot of hand gestures when arguing and will most likely hug when coming to a resolution. Because of these differences, it may be more difficult to come to a resolution over a conflict involving different cultures. Obviously there will be many differences in dealing with conflict regarding different cultures, but among Japanese and Mexicans there are significant differences regarding conflict between parents and their children. Mexicans are generally known to be much more physical in addressing conflict with their children.
Like the Japanese culture, Mexicans do not tolerate disrespect form their children but tend to be much more verbal and erratic. While a Japanese parent may spank their child and explain why they are doing so with little emotion, A Mexican parent is more likely to get very emotional and yell, caring their child into better behavior while physically disciplining them rather than explaining to them why they are being disciplined. Because the Japanese place great emphasis on group settings, it is less likely for a conflict to arise if a child is out late with his or her friends.
In the Mexican culture, it is more important to be among your family than with friends, and there may be a conflict between the child and the parents regarding prolonged time away from home. It is then common for the child to be banned from such behavior and given more chores to do. Because Mexican families tend to be much argue than Japanese families, it is expected that you find friendship within your family. In Japanese families, because it is so important for them to be part of a group, this is not an issue.
The average size of a Japanese family is between three and four members, so conflict is much less likely when a child is with others. Adding to this, Mexican parents are more likely to be choosy on who their children are friends with. Much like American families, they do not want their children around others that may be bad influences, and if they are this causes great conflict. The Japanese do not worry as much about how influential their children’s friends may be, thus avoiding what could be a situation of conflict in many other cultures.
One way the Japanese culture and the Mexican culture differ from the Australian culture is regarding their respect for authority. In the Japanese and Mexican cultures, they place great importance on respecting their elders and those in positions of power, but in Australia (much like the US) this is not as important. This creates conflict between children and their teachers in Australia, and has led to more problems in the classroom. Many schools in Mexico allow the teachers do physically discipline the children when there is a conflict between them, but this is a nearly extinct concept in Australia.
Australian parents have a much more laid back approach when dealing with conflict between their children and other authority figures, and tend to leave little power to them. In regards to dealing with conflict between children and adults, all three cultures have sometimes opposite view points, and this reflects on child delinquency results. In Japan they are stricter on their children than either Mexico or Australia, and have lower child delinquency rates than either. They also educate their children to stricter standards, which undoubtedly contributes to these numbers.