Paper Example on Group Conflict in the Human Services Field

Introduction

I recently got involved in a group conflict that is closely related to the multidisciplinary field of human services. We were assigned as a group a demanding task that required we organize ourselves and visit one of the children homes within our district. In the process of pooling our ideas together, we hit a snag in this assignment where various team members disagreed on the items that we would present as gifts to the orphaned children. This happens to be the recent heated discussion in which I was involved.

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Factors That Led to the Group Conflict

There are various factors that contributed to the conflict within our group as we scheduled a visit to the children's home. One of them was the presence of social facilitation where I found myself contributing more to the group through coordinating and communicating promptly with the other group members. Then there was a corresponding social inhibition in which some of the rest of the group members were complacent to getting fully involved in this group task. Lastly, we experienced misunderstandings as a group due to different expectations in meeting the group's objectives.

Was the Conflict Relational or Task-Based?

A task-based conflict is the form of disagreement that takes place between group members regarding the main objectives of the task at hand (Dreu, 2014). It is a difference in opinions and viewpoints. On the other hand, a relational conflict happens where differences arise between two or more individual members for personal reasons. As for our group conflict, ours was a task-based conflict because the group members were in a disagreement occasioned by the dilemma of what items to take as gifts to the children's homes. Some members were of the opinion that we should take foot items while others proposed that we acquire toys for the orphans.

Techniques Used to Resolve the Conflict

Resolving this conflict required that we adopt certain steps towards conflict resolution. The first step entailed preparing for resolution by admitting that there was a conflict (Hamilton, Seaman, & Gee, 2017). Acknowledging a disagreement is a helpful step towards agreeing to cooperate as a group in the pursuit of an amicable resolution. The next phase involved understanding the situation at hand to comprehend the facts presented by the two factions disagreeing within the group. The cause of disagreement was whether to present foodstuffs or toys as gifts to the children's home. The last step revolves around reaching an agreement that quells the conflict. This agreement was finally reached where we unanimously agreed that we will present a blend of edibles and playthings as the ideal gifts for the young orphans.

References

Dreu, C. K. W. (2014). Social conflict within and between groups. Psychology Press.

Hamilton, J., Seaman, E., & Gee, S. (2017). Conflict-the unexpected gift: Making the most of disputes in life and work. iUniverse.