6. Types of Conflict
• Affective conflict: people become aware that
their feelings and emotions are incompatible
• Conflict of interest: people have incompatible
preferences for a course of action or plan to
pursue
• Value conflict: occur when people have different
ideologies
• Cognitive conflict: two or more people become
aware that their perceptions are in conflict
• Goal conflict: people have different outcomes
(Martin & Nakayama 2008)
7. Cultural Influences on Conflict Management
• Family influences
• Gender, Ethnicity and Conflict
• Religion and Conflict
• Value Differences
• Differences of Conflict Styles between individualists and
collectivists:
(Rahim 1986)
9. Cultural Influences on Conflict
Management (cont.)
• Direct and Indirect Conflict Approaches
Direct Indirect
- Conflicts are fundamentally good for - Conflicts are destructive for
relationships deal with it directly relationships avoid or deal with it
indirectly
- Concentrate on using precise language - Concentrate on the meaning that
- Objective: to select the best solution apart from verbal message
- Objective: maintaining the
relationships during disagreement
10. Cultural Influences on Conflict
Management (cont.)
• Emotional expressiveness/ Restrain Conflict Style
Emotionally expressive style Restrain style
- It is better to show emotion during - Disagreements are best discussed in
disagreement an emotionally calm manner
- Show emotion through expressive - Avoid nonverbal emotion
nonverbal behavior
- Credibility is based on the ability to - Credibility is demonstrated by
be expressive maintaining tight control over one’s
emotions
11. Managing Intercultural Conflict
• Productive vs. Destructive Conflict
Productive Conflict Destructive Conflict
- Identify the specific problem - Make sweeping generalizations
- Focus on the original issue - Escalate the issues
- Cooperative problem solving - Seize power
- Value leadership that stresses - Value leaders who polarize
mutually satisfactory outcomes
12. Managing Intercultural Conflict
(cont.)
• Competitive vs. Cooperative conflict
- competitive atmosphere poor communication
- cooperative atmosphere open communication
Once conflicts started to escalate, it is more difficult
to turn a competitive into a cooperative relationship
13. References
• ‘BF’ 2012, The Abbys World, image, 20 January, viewed 24 April
2012, <http://www.theabbysworld.com/2012/01/open-discussion-readers-
question-is-my.html>.
• ‘Conflict’ 2012, The medical student, image, 8 February, viewed 25 April
2012, <http://medic-student.blogspot.com/2012/02/conflict.html >.
• ‘Forever alone’ 2012, Forever Alone comics, image, viewed 24 April
2012, <http://foreveralonecomic.com/post/1584120396/forever-alone-comic-
poker-face>.
• ‘Jennifer Lopez’ 2011, bluemelody, image, viewed 24 April
2012, <http://www.bluemelodyvn.com/phuongthaongocle/begin.php?mode=tintu
c_id&id=3660&id_chinh=71>.
• ‘Male dominated culture’ 2012, Nedmartin, image, viewed 24 April 2012, <
http://nedmartin.org/v3/amused/male-dominated-culture>.
• Martin J & Nakayama T 2008, ‘Culture, communication & conflict’ in Experiencing
intercultural communication: An introduction, 3rd Edn, McGraw-Hill, USA, pp. 209-
234.
14. References (cont.)
• Martin J & Nakayama T 2010, Intercultural Communication in Contexts, 8th
edn, McGraw Hill, NY.
• Medin, D L 2006, ‘Culture and Resource Conflict: Why Meanings
Matter’, Amazon, viewed 25 April 2012, <http://www.amazon.com/Culture-
Resource-Conflict-Meanings-Matter/dp/0871545705>.
• Rahim, A 1986, ‘A measure of styles of handling interpersonal conflict’, Academy of
management journal, vol. 26, no. 2, pp.368-376.
• Samovar, L, Porter, R & McDaniel, E 2009, Intercultural Communication: A
reader, Wadsworth, MA.
• Samovar, L, Porter, R & McDaniel, E 2010, Communication between
cultures, Wadsworth, MA.
• ‘SNSD’ 2010, 24h, image, viewed 24 April 2012, <http://hn.24h.com.vn/ca-nhac-
mtv/snsd-khoe-chan-dai-mien-man-c73a299543.html>.
• ‘Ugly truth’ 2009, Impawards, image, viewed 24 April
2012, <http://www.impawards.com/2009/ugly_truth.html>.
