Conflict is the most acute way to resolve significant contradictions that arise in the process of interaction, which consists in countering the subjects of the conflict and is usually accompanied by negative emotions.

Reasons for conflicts:

Objective:

Natural clash of significant material and spiritual interests,

Insufficient development of the regulatory and legal framework,

Lack of material and spiritual wealth,

Our way of life

The prevailing stereotypes of relationships.

Organizational and managerial:

Inconsistency of the structure of the organization with the requirements of the activity,

Non-optimality of functional connections of departments,

Personal-functional,

Situational and managerial.

Socio-psychological:

Loss and distortion of information in the process of communication,

Unbalanced role play

Inadequate assessment of the problem under discussion,

Choice of different ways of evaluating performance,

intragroup favoritism,

Competitive nature of interaction, etc.

Personal reasons:

The range of expected behaviors,

Unpreparedness to act in a conflict situation,

Poorly developed capacity for empathy

Various character accentuations, etc.

KINDS:

If the features of the parties are taken as the basis, then we can distinguish:

interpersonal;

between the individual and the group;

intragroup;

between small and large social communities;

interethnic;

interstate.

Depending on the motivation of the conflict, three blocks of social conflicts are distinguished:

conflicts arising in connection with the distribution of power and positions;

conflicts over material resources;

conflicts over the values ​​of the most important, life attitudes.

Functions:

Among the positive functions of the conflict in relation to the main participants, the following can be distinguished:

the conflict completely or partially eliminates the contradiction that arises due to the imperfection of many factors; it highlights bottlenecks, unresolved issues. At the end of conflicts in more than 5% of cases, it is possible to completely, basically, or partially resolve the contradictions underlying them;

conflict allows you to more deeply assess the individual psychological characteristics of the people involved in it. The conflict tests the value orientations of a person, the relative strength of his motives aimed at activity, at himself or at relationships, reveals psychological resistance to stress factors of a difficult situation. It contributes to a deeper knowledge of each other, the disclosure of not only unattractive character traits, but also valuable in a person;

the conflict allows to weaken the psychological tension, which is the reaction of the participants to the conflict situation. Conflict interaction, especially accompanied by violent emotional reactions, in addition to possible negative consequences, relieves a person of emotional tension, leads to a subsequent decrease in the intensity of negative emotions;

conflict serves as a source of personality development, interpersonal relationships. Subject to a constructive resolution, the conflict allows a person to rise to new heights, expand the ways and scope of interaction with others. The personality acquires social experience in solving difficult situations;

conflict can improve the quality of individual performance;

when defending just goals in a conflict, the opponent increases his authority among others;

interpersonal conflicts, being a reflection of the process of socialization, serve as one of the means of self-affirmation of the personality, the formation of its active position in interaction with others and can be defined as conflicts of formation, self-affirmation, socialization.

Negative functions of interpersonal conflicts:

most conflicts have a pronounced negative impact on the mental state of its participants;

unfavorably developing conflicts can be accompanied by psychological and physical violence, and, therefore, by traumatizing opponents;

conflict as a difficult situation is always accompanied by stress. With frequent and emotionally intense conflicts, the likelihood of cardiovascular diseases, as well as chronic disorders in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, increases sharply;

conflicts are the destruction of the system of interpersonal relations that have developed between the subjects of interaction before it begins. The emerging hostility to the other side, hostility, hatred violate the mutual ties that developed before the conflict. Sometimes, as a result of the conflict, the relationship of the participants ceases altogether;

the conflict forms a negative image of the other - the "image of the enemy", which contributes to the formation of a negative attitude towards the opponent. This is expressed in a prejudiced attitude towards him and a readiness to act to his detriment;

conflicts can negatively affect the effectiveness of the individual activities of opponents. Participants in the conflict pay less attention to the quality of work and study. But even after the conflict, opponents cannot always work with the same productivity as before the conflict;

conflict reinforces violent ways of solving problems in the social experience of the individual. Having won once with the help of violence, a person reproduces this experience in other similar situations of social interaction;

The dynamics of the conflict.

Conflict is a dynamic, evolving process. The following main stages of its development are distinguished: pre-conflict situation (hidden, latent stage), open conflict and the stage of its completion.

The latent stage preceding the open conflict is the formation of all its structural elements. First of all, the cause of the confrontation arises and its participants appear, and then there is an awareness by the parties of the confrontation of the current situation as a conflict. The dynamics of the conflict may develop further if, at the first stage, the main contradictions are not resolved peacefully and amicably.

The second stage is the transition of its participants to conflict behavior, the features of which are defined in psychology and conflictology. The dynamics of the conflict at this stage is characterized by an increase in the number of participants in the confrontation, disorganizational actions of the parties directed against each other, a transition from solving problems by business methods to personal accusations, and very often with a sharply negative emotional attitude, as well as a high degree of tension, leading to stress.

The dynamics of the development of the conflict at this stage is denoted by the term escalation, i.e. an increase in destructive, destructive actions of the conflicting parties, often leading to irreversible catastrophic consequences.

Finally, the dynamics of the conflict in the last stage is the search for ways to resolve it. Various methods, techniques and strategies for managing conflict are used here, conflict specialists and psychologists are involved. As a rule, the resolution of a conflict situation is carried out in two ways: the transformation of the reasons underlying it, and the restructuring of the subjective ideal perception of this situation in the minds of its participants.

It should be noted that conflict resolution strategies do not always lead to complete success. Quite often, everything ends with a partial result, when the visible forms of the emergence and course of a conflict situation are eliminated, and the emotional stress of the participants is not removed, which may cause new confrontations.

The complete resolution of the conflict situation occurs only when all its external contradictions and causes are removed, as well as all internal, emotional and psychological factors are eliminated.

The most difficult task at the last resolution stage of the conflict is the transformation, the change in the subjective ideal perception of the causes of the confrontation in the minds of the participants in each of the parties. If this goal is achieved by the mediators or the management of the organization, then the conflict resolution will be successful.

The dynamics of social conflict, whether interpersonal or intrapersonal, proceeds according to a standard scheme and has the same stages and methods of resolution, only, of course, with its own specifics.

INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS IN ORGANIZATION

Interpersonal conflict as a socio-psychological phenomenon

The conflict is a clash of parties, opinions, opposing interests and positions, the development of conflict situations into an open clash. Until now, disputes have not stopped about what impact conflicts have on human activity - negative or positive. As noted by A. A. Urbanovich (36, p. 318,), some argue that conflict is good, because it:

Helps to identify the problem and different points of view on it, as well as different approaches to troubleshooting;

Contributes to improving the efficiency of activities;

Sometimes it can rally the team against external pressure.

Others argue that conflict is evil because it:

Increases the nervousness of people, leads to stress;

Leads to the deterioration of the socio-psychological climate;

It diverts attention from the performance of direct official duties of many people.

Based on this, it can be seen that conflict is an extremely complex and contradictory psychological phenomenon, and scientists are only beginning to study the underlying causes of its occurrence and development. Most likely, both are right, and the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Indeed, in a team there is always a place for friction, discontent, conflicting opinions and interests, which means that conflicts are inevitable in interpersonal relationships. In some cases, this or that problem cannot be solved without such conflicts. One thing is important: the manager has to deal with conflicts in the organization, find ways to resolve conflict situations.

When working with personnel, when personnel changes are made, moral and material incentives are used, the following conflicts will be typical for the organization (31, p. 454):

Between managerial staff and subordinates regarding the methods of management and performance of functional duties (vertically);

Between staff in connection with the admission of new employees, the distribution of work, remuneration, etc. (horizontally);

Between the managers themselves in determining the goals, methods and directions of joint activities.

It is important to emphasize that many researchers, for example, A. Ya. Antsupov, B. Siegert, A. I. Kitov, K. Lang, B.F. Lomov, A. A. Malyshev, L. A. Petrovskaya, refer conflict resolution to the managerial functions of a leader.

Main Components conflict are: the object of the conflict, the subjects (participants) of the conflict, the conflict situation, the incident.

Object of conflict represents the concrete causes driving the conflict. Exact knowledge of the object makes it possible to predict the behavior of the participants in the conflict. The object of the conflict as a social phenomenon causes a certain conflict situation, which arises as a result of the unsuccessful resolution of a controversial issue by the opposing parties, a certain problem, etc.

Subjects (participants) of the conflict - they are individuals or groups of people. As a special case, organizations (firms) can act as subjects of the conflict. The presence of an object and participants in the conflict creates a conflict situation. The participants in the conflict are connected by certain interpersonal relationships, claim to be the sole manipulation of the object.

Conflict situation is understood as a contradictory position of the parties on any occasion, the desire for opposite goals, the use of various means to achieve them, a mismatch of interests and desires *. Conflict situations are based on contradictions. However, sometimes a trifle is enough - an unsuccessfully spoken word, an expressed opinion - for a contradiction to arise. For the contradiction to develop into a conflict situation, certain conditions are necessary: ​​the significance of the situation for the participants in the conflict interaction, obstacles from one of the opponents to achieve the goals of other participants, exceeding the level of personal or group tolerance for the obstacle that has arisen. The conflict situation changes under the influence of a number of factors (opponent's point of view, substitution of the object of the conflict, refusal of one of the subjects from further interaction, etc.). An example of the substitution of the object of the conflict is an unproductive version of the dispute, when the subject of discussion is forgotten and the partners proceed to assess each other's intellectual, professional, and character qualities.

A conflict situation is a necessary condition for the emergence of a conflict. For such a situation to develop into a conflict, an external influence, a push or an incident is necessary.

There are three groups of causes that cause conflicts:

Causes generated by the activity process:

Technological interdependence and interconnection of workers, when the actions of one negatively affect the effectiveness of the actions of another. For example, the performance of a task by a brigade, a team, when the actions of one endanger the actions of all;

The transfer of problems solved vertically to the horizontal level of relations. For example, a lack of equipment and tools sometimes leads to tension in horizontal relationships as well;

Failure to fulfill functional duties in the "supervisor - subordinate" system. For example, a manager does not provide

proper operating conditions
for subordinates or subordinates do not fulfill the requirements of the leader, which leads to a typical vertical conflict;

Inconsistency of a person's actions with the norms and life values ​​accepted in this team. For example, getting into a new team, a person cannot immediately assimilate the norms of interpersonal relations prevailing there, and this also leads to conflict.

The second group of reasons is generated by the psychological characteristics of human relations:

Mutual likes and dislikes;

Unfavorable psychological atmosphere in the team (the presence of opposing factions, cultural differences, etc.);

Poor psychological communication (people do not consider the needs of others, do not take into account their mental states);

Violation of the principle of territoriality (when the established empirical zones and territories that exist for each person are violated).

The third group includes the reasons generated by the personal originality of the members of the team (characterological personality traits):

Inability to control oneself;

Low level of self-esteem;

Increased anxiety;

Aggressiveness;

Poor communication skills;

Excessive adherence to principles combined with dogmatism, etc.

Vertical conflicts - “manager - subordinates” most often arise due to untimely and low control over the execution of managerial decisions, patronage of the head of close associates and favorites, indulgence of trusted persons, low self-control and constant lack of

time due to the disorder of his personal lifestyle. N. N. Obozov notes that tension in relations as an emotionally colored disagreement of opinion arises when the positions of the participants in the dispute are unilaterally or bilaterally rejected (25, p. 7). This is due to the unwillingness or inability to take the place of another and to consider the situation from his position, to realize the contradiction that has arisen. Identification as identification of oneself with another in many cases helps people to resolve the contradictions that have arisen in interpersonal relationships. An important conclusion follows from this: when tension arises in relationships, one should strive not for disunity and avoiding meeting each other, but, on the contrary, to look for ways to communicate, if possible using the mechanism of identification, that is, understanding and interpreting another person by identifying oneself with him. Such a mechanism ensures mutual understanding of communication partners and in many cases helps to relieve tension, tension, and resentment.

Based on the research data of E. Kretschmer, W. Sheldon, N. Ozeretsky, N. N. Obozov developed the concept of a three-component structure of personality behavior, which includes cognitive (cognitive), affective (sensory) and practical (transforming) elements. The predominance of the cognitive or information component characterizes the “thinker”, the affective (emotional-communicative) component characterizes the “interlocutor”, and the practical (behavioral, regulatory) component characterizes the “practitioner” (27, p. 4). Based on this concept, N. N. Obozov identified three different types of behavior in conflict. Below are the data on these three types of personality, as they are described in the book "Psychology of Conflict and Ways to Resolve It" (N. N. Obozov, 1995, pp. 11-13).

For the "thinker" the most essential thing in life is the process of cognition of the surrounding world and one's own personal world. The "Thinker" builds a complex system of proofs of his own rightness and the wrongness of his opponent. And only changed life circumstances can bring the conflicting parties out of the impasse. The "thinker" is more cautious in his actions, he thinks through the logic of his behavior. In relations with employees, he adheres to a certain distance, therefore, in conflict situations, it turns out to be less common than other types. Due to self-orientation and poor external control, "thinkers" cooperate with each other ineffectively. Conflicts between them differ in that communication is a very important element for them, this allows them to better understand the cause of the conflict and understand each other.

“Interlocutors” are more superficial in relationships, their circle of acquaintances is quite wide, they are not capable of a long confrontation of positions in a conflict. But between the "thinker" and the "practitioner" relations remain tense for a long time, this is facilitated by the immersion of the "thinker" in himself, his slowness.

The most dangerous for business and personal relationships are long-term conflicts. They hinder the identification of relationships in communication. Unfortunately, this is how relations between “practitioners” develop. The practical type smooths out such relationships, compensates for the orientation towards activity or the search for contacts with other people.

The "interlocutor" can resolve conflict situations better than other types, his conflict less affects the deepest feelings of the individual, such people tend to smooth out the contradictions that arise at the very beginning. "Interlocutors" prefer any cooperation, they know how to get involved in it. “Practitioners”, on the other hand, prefer official interaction that regulates the position of “leader -“ follower ”, when he easily and with pleasure controls others, or can dutifully accept the circumstances that have created him to obey.

In various literary sources, conflicts are classified in different ways. But at the heart of any conflict, regardless of the level of flow, there may be organizational, production and interpersonal reasons. On this basis, conflicts can be divided into three groups: organizational, production and interpersonal.

organizational conflict. It arises in a team due to a mismatch between formal organizational principles and the actual behavior of members of the team. An enterprise (organization) imposes a number of requirements on each employee, fixed in certain documents (rules, temporary orders, job descriptions, etc.), as well as enshrined in interpersonal traditions and norms of behavior. However, the behavior of any employee is individual.

In view of the variety of types of conflicts and differences in their definition, it is first necessary to give a definition of conflict that would be common to all its types. This, in turn, involves identifying the essence of the conflict and its concept.

Here is a definition of social conflict:

Social conflict is a clash of parties, opinions, forces, any kind of struggle between individuals, the purpose of which is the achievement (or preservation) of the means of production, economic position, power or other values ​​that enjoy public recognition, as well as the conquest, neutralization or elimination of the real (or imaginary ) of the opponent. A conflict is a confrontation between the parties based on oppositely directed motives (needs, interests, goals, ideals, beliefs) or judgments (opinions, views, assessments).

But not every contradiction leads to a collision. The necessary conditions for turning a contradiction into a conflict are:

1. Awareness by the party of the opposite of motives or judgments;

2. The presence of confrontation, characterized by the infliction of mutual damage (moral, material, physical).

Then the employee begins to work with the conflict as a reality.

Thus, the conflict occurs when the existing contradictions and disagreements disrupt the normal interaction of people, hinder the achievement of goals. In this case, people are simply forced to overcome differences in some way, and enter into open interaction.

Contradictions permeate all spheres: socio-economic, political, spiritual. The simultaneous exacerbation of all these types creates a crisis in society.

Crisis of society is the result of profound changes in the content and forms of life of various social groups, a serious violation of control mechanisms in the economy, politics, and culture.

A manifestation of the crisis of society is a sharp rise in social tension. The concept of social tension is closely related to the concept of conflict, since it always precedes conflict (with the exception of interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts).

There are the following signs of social tension:

a) the spread in the widest circles of the population of a mood of dissatisfaction with life (dissatisfaction with rising prices, the impoverishment of the consumer basket, the threat to personal security, the uncertainty of life prospects, the decline in living standards);

b) loss of confidence in the ruling elite (pessimism in assessing the future, the emergence of an atmosphere of mass mental anxiety and emotional excitement);

c) the emergence of spontaneous mass actions (various conflicts, rallies, demonstrations, strikes).

The crisis in the field of economy, government and society acts as a common cause of social tension.

Although there is no direct connection between the standard of living and the degree of development of conflict tension, nevertheless, employees need to take into account the specifics of the national situation in Russian society, which affects the emotional state and behavior of team members (the state of emotional instability, conflict).

Observing the growth of public discontent through public opinion polls enables employees to track the stages of development of social tension and predict a social explosion - conflict.

At the same time, it is necessary to know that the mechanism of social tension is closed: the unsatisfactory state of the economy causes discontent among the population due to a drop in living standards, which, in turn, leads to strikes, conflicts and, consequently, to an even greater decline in production.

To understand the content of the concept of conflict, to manage it, it is necessary to be able to analyze conflicts as a socio-psychological phenomenon, to identify the causes of their occurrence and possible consequences.

The concept of conflict. Today in the conflictological literature there are a variety of definitions of the conflict. Thus, the concept of conflict, formulated by the famous American theorist L. Kozer, is widespread in the West. Under it, he understands the struggle for values ​​and claims to a certain status, power and resources, in which the goals of the enemy are to neutralize, damage or eliminate the opponent.

This definition reveals the conflict to a greater extent from a sociological point of view, because its essence, according to the author, is the clash of values ​​and interests of various social groups.

In Russian literature, most definitions of conflict are also of a sociological nature. Their advantage lies in the fact that the authors identify various necessary signs of social conflict, represented by various forms of confrontation between individuals and social communities aimed at achieving certain interests and goals. Here are some examples of conflict definitions:

L.G. Zdravomyslov: So, conflict is the most important side of the interaction of people in society, a kind of cell of social life. This is a form of relationship between potential or actual subjects of social action, the motivation of which is due to opposing values ​​and norms, interests and needs.

SOUTH. Zaprudsky: Social conflict is a clear or hidden state of confrontation between objectively divergent interests, goals and trends in the development of social objects, a direct and indirect clash of social forces on the basis of opposition to the existing social order, a special form of historical movement towards a new social unity.

A.V. Dmitriev: Social conflict is usually understood as the type of confrontation in which the parties seek to seize territory or resources, threaten oppositional individuals or groups, their property or culture in such a way that the struggle takes the form of an attack or defense.

Despite all the advantages expressed in fixing the diverse attributes of social conflict, the above definitions, in our opinion, have one significant drawback. They do not include intrapersonal conflict and leave no "place" for it. We are talking only about the parties to the conflict, starting from the "struggle between individuals" and above. But there is also a struggle at the level of an individual, a confrontation between the elements of the internal structure of the personality, which finds its expression in an intrapersonal conflict. This conflict is a manifestation of contradictions not at the level of social groups or entire nations, but at the personal level, but this does not make it less relevant.

The current situation may be explained by the fact that, according to some authors, intrapersonal conflict does not belong to social conflict, but is only a psychological conflict that is not covered by the scope of the concept of “social” and does not have a direct relation to social conflict. But such a point of view raises an objection, in which we are in solidarity with the position of G.I. Kozyreva:

“Personality,” he writes, “is a stable system of socially significant features, determined by the system of social relations, culture and biological characteristics of the individual. Intrapersonal conflict involves the interaction of two or more parties. In one person, several mutually exclusive needs, goals, values, interests can simultaneously exist. All of them are socially determined, even if they are purely biological in nature, since their satisfaction is associated with a whole system of certain social relations. Therefore, intrapersonal conflict is also a social conflict. Other definitions of conflict can be given. It is more important to formulate its general concept, which has methodological significance.

In this regard, every conflict is a certain quality of interaction between people, which is expressed in the confrontation between its various sides. Such parties of interaction can be individuals, social groups, communities and states. In the case when the confrontation of the parties is carried out at the level of an individual, such parties are various motives of the personality that make up its internal structure. Further, in any conflict, people pursue certain goals and fight to assert their interests, and this struggle is usually accompanied by negative emotions. If we now combine the named signs of conflict into a single whole, then we can give the following definition.

Conflict is the quality of interaction between people (or elements of the internal structure of the personality), expressed in the confrontation of the parties in order to achieve their interests and goals. This definition reflects the necessary properties of any conflict. But for a more complete understanding of it as a social phenomenon, the above definition needs to be specified and a more detailed description of the necessary and universal elements of the conflict, its structure, the causes of functions and dynamics. Further presentation of the general theory of conflict, including its concept, will be devoted to explaining these issues. At the same time, just like the author of the “General Theory” of conflict K. Boulding, we are convinced that all conflicts have common elements and common patterns of development, and that it is the study of these common elements that can represent the phenomenon of conflict in any of its specific manifestations.

Contradiction is the basis of conflict. First of all, it should be noted that the basis of all conflicts are the contradictions that arise between people or within the structure of the personality itself. It is the contradictions that cause confrontation between the parties to the conflict. At the same time, objective contradictions that do not depend on the consciousness of people, rooted in significant differences in the socio-economic conditions of their lives, play a key role in the emergence of conflicts in society. The socio-economic position of an individual in society largely determines not only the line of his behavior and actions, but also his very consciousness, interests and goals.

Although it should be borne in mind that the contradictions that cause conflict are not necessarily objective. They can be subjective, due to subjective personal factors, moreover, they can even be imaginary. However, if they are essential for a person, they can give rise to a conflict situation.

Bearing in mind the important role of contradictions for understanding the conflict, the conflict itself is often defined as the ultimate aggravation of the contradictions between the participants in the interaction, manifested in their confrontation. At the same time, we are talking about a sharp aggravation of contradictions, since not every contradiction causes a conflict. At an early stage in the development of a contradiction, it can also be resolved in a conflict-free manner. In addition, contradictions can generally exist in a conflict-free form. An example is the conflict between a man and a woman. This contradiction has always been and will always be, but only in a certain social situation can it take on a conflict form. Finally, there are many contradictions that have nothing to do with the conflict at all. Such, for example, are the contradictions between man and nature, production and consumption.

Conflict as social interaction of social subjects. Any conflict is always the interaction of social actors. However, not all interaction is a conflict. Where there is no confrontation, there are no sharp contradictions accompanied by negative emotions, there is no conflict. Such interactions include relations of comradely, friendly cooperation, love relationships, collectivist ties.

Clarification of the essence of the conflict also allows us to say that the conflict is a social phenomenon, in it there are subjects gifted with consciousness, pursuing their own goals and interests. And the simple interaction of any parties for the existence of a conflict, of course, is not enough. In this regard, in our opinion, one should be critical of the overly broad interpretation of the conflict that is found in the literature. So, K. Boulding believes that numerous conflicts exist not only in society and in wildlife, but even in the inorganic world, like "an endless war of the sea against land and some forms of earth rock against others."

In fact, with such an interpretation of the conflict, its very specificity is lost, because it is identified with any interaction, including in inanimate nature. Indeed, is it possible to tell whether there is a "war" or "love affairs" between the sea and the land? Therefore, the interaction between them can be called with the same reason "conflict", as well as "cooperation" or even "love".

From these methodological positions, all other types of interactions should be considered when it comes to conflict. Any conflict as a quality of social interaction arises on the basis of people's activities and their interests. And this is its main difference from the struggle for existence in the animal world. The conflict is temporary. Sooner or later, it ends, while the eating of some animal species by others, natural selection in nature is the “modus vivendi” of animals, their way of existence and behavior based on instincts. In this world, relations between individuals are characterized by either antagonism or coexistence. And this state of affairs is not based on any conscious goals and interests. It is eternal, like nature itself. And "compromise" in the "conflict" between the wolf and the lamb is unattainable while they are in their natural environment.

In fairness, however, it should be noted that there is another point of view on the issue of the existence of conflicts in the animal world, recognizing animal conflicts. Such, for example, is the position of A.Ya. Antsupova and A.I. Shipilov. To substantiate it, they include in the concept of social interaction and "interaction between animals." But in this case, the very quality of social interaction, its specificity, is lost. On the other hand, if social interaction is understood "in the broad sense", as the authors write, then the conflict, following their logic, must also be understood in the narrow and broad sense. But this leads to the uncertainty of the object of study itself, to the impossibility of formulating general principles and methods for preventing and resolving conflicts, and so on.

Conflict and competition. The next aspect of considering the specifics of the essence of the conflict concerns its relationship with such similar phenomena as various kinds of competitions: sports, cultural, rational. When teams or individuals participate in a sports game, in a competition for the best song, in a mathematical olympiad, what is this - a conflict or not a conflict? The form seems to be a conflict, because here there are such attributes of it as interaction, competition, striving to achieve one's goals. However, these phenomena cannot be called a conflict.

Any competition initially assumes certain conditions for its conduct and strict time frames. It is governed by various rules. Its process and result are controlled within the established rules, procedures and agreements. And all participants of the competition agree with these pre-established rules. This is the essential difference between the latter and the conflict. However, if the rules of the competition are violated, it can escalate into conflict, accompanied by negative emotions. But this (conflict) interaction will arise for a completely different reason. The second point that must be taken into account when distinguishing between conflict and competition is that the latter is either completely a game or includes many of its elements. But any game is an activity that is characterized by the experience of pleasure from the activity itself, has an aesthetic nature, is free and disinterested. It is isolated and strictly fixed in time and space. Finally, play is "the abolition of everyday life." These and other qualities of the game, which determine its essence and meaning, and distinguish it from conflict, are distinguished in his classic work "The Man Playing" by the famous theorist I. Huizinga.

As you can see, despite some similarities, in their essence, competition and play are in many ways the opposite of conflict. Conflict is not the abolition of "ordinary" life, but, on the contrary, the affirmation of the "prose" of life; it is not an experience of pleasure, but on the contrary, an experience of negative emotions, etc. Conflict is not a game. Conflict is always serious!

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Under conflict is understood as the most acute way of resolving significant contradictions that arise in the process of interaction, which consists in counteracting the subjects of the conflict and is usually accompanied by negative emotions.

Necessary and sufficient conditions for the emergence of a conflict are the presence of oppositely directed motives or judgments in the subjects of social interaction. As well as the state of confrontation between them.

If the subjects of the conflict resist, but do not experience negative emotions, or, conversely, experience negative emotions, but do not show them outwardly, then such situations are pre-conflict. Counteraction of the subjects of the conflict can unfold in three areas: communication, behavior, activities.

Functions conflicts are twofold. One and the same conflict can play a positive and negative role in the life of opposite, conflicting parties, and it can be constructive and destructive at different moments of its development. It is necessary to take into account for which of the participants this conflict is constructive, and for which it is destructive. If the goal of one of the parties may be to resolve the contradiction, then the goal of the other side may be to maintain the status quo, avoid conflict, or resolve the conflict without confrontation.

So, in relation to the participants in the conflict, it can perform constructive and destructive functions.

Design features:

1) The conflict eliminates, in whole or in part, the contradictions arising from the imperfection of the organization of activities, management errors, performance of duties, etc.

2) The conflict allows you to more fully assess the individual psychological characteristics of the people participating in it.

3) The conflict allows you to weaken the psychological tension, which is the reaction of the participants to the conflict situation.

4) Conflict serves as a source of personality development, interpersonal relationships.

5) Conflict can improve the quality of individual performance.

6) When defending just goals, the authority of one of the participants increases, the attitude of colleagues towards him noticeably improves.

7) Interpersonal conflicts serve as a means of human socialization, contribute to the self-affirmation of the individual.

Destructive functions:

1) The pronounced negative impact of most conflicts on the mental state of the participants.

2) Unfavorably developing conflicts can be accompanied by psychological and physical violence, injury to opponents.

3) The conflict is accompanied by stress.

4) The conflict forms a negative image of the other - "the image of the enemy."

Structure of social conflict

Conflict as a multidimensional phenomenon has its own structure. Structure conflict is understood as a set of stable connections of the conflict, ensuring its integrity, identity to itself, difference from other phenomena of social life, without which it cannot exist as a dynamically interconnected integral system and process.

Every conflict situation has objective content and subjective meaning. Let's consider them in more detail. Let's start with objective content conflict situation.

1. Participants in the conflict. In any social conflict, be it interpersonal or interstate conflict, the main actors are people. They can act in the conflict as individuals (family conflict), as officials (vertical conflict) or as legal entities (representatives of institutions and organizations).

2. The subject of the conflict. As we noted earlier, the core of any conflict is contradiction. It reflects the clash of interests and goals of the parties.

3. The object of the conflict. It is not always possible to immediately distinguish it in each case. The object is the core of the problem. The object of the conflict can be a material (resource), social (power) or spiritual (idea, norm, principle) value, which both opponents strive to possess or use.

4. Micro and macro environment- the conditions under which participants operate. The microenvironment is the immediate environment of the parties. Macro-environment - social groups, of which the party is a representative and whose qualities it has inherited.

In addition to the objective components of the conflict, there are also subjective components - the aspirations of the parties, the strategies and tactics of their behavior, as well as their perception of the conflict situation, i.e. those information models of the conflict that each of the parties has and in accordance with which the opponents organize their behavior in the conflict. Now we should understand some of the components of the social conflict that S. Frolov singled out. Any interference that creates a barrier to meeting the needs of an individual or a social group can be called a blockade. When a blockade appears, a person or social group requires a reassessment of the situation, a rejection of the desired need or the setting of a new goal, the adoption of a new plan of action. The blocking situation is always some initial confusion of varying degrees of intensity (from mild bewilderment to shock), and then an impulse to new actions, the search for workarounds. Meeting a person or social group with an insurmountable difficulty in satisfying a desired need causes frustration. The reaction to frustration can develop in two ways: deviation from the intended goals or aggression. Aggressive behavior can be directed at another person, a group of people. From this moment, in fact, social conflict begins. However, not every state of frustration and the emotional stress caused by it lead to social conflict. Emotional tension associated with unsatisfied needs must cross a certain boundary, beyond which aggression appears in the form of directed social action. This border is determined by the state of public fear, the authority of power structures, cultural norms, and the action of social institutions. If processes of disorganization take place in a society or a social group, the authority and effectiveness of the actions of social institutions decrease, then the participants in a social conflict easily cross the line that separates them from the conflict itself.

Classification of social conflicts

The classification of conflicts is necessary in order to understand the essential causes of conflicts. Each type of conflict has its own specific causes and therefore requires certain tactics to resolve or prevent it.

Several parties always take part in a conflict (it doesn’t matter if these are departments of the psyche of one person, or different people, or groups of people). Therefore, the basic classification of the conflict is made precisely according to the nature and characteristics of the parties involved in the conflict. Therefore, the basic classification of the conflict is as follows:

In addition, the most important feature of the conflict is the nature of the need for which the person is fighting. You are probably familiar with A. Maslow's hierarchy of needs. According to his theory, needs can be grouped into five hierarchically related levels: physiological, safety and security, social needs, respect, self-expression needs.

If any of these needs are not met, conflict may arise. If we combine some groups of needs and present them in the form of material, social and spiritual needs, then the classification of conflicts will also have the following form:

There are many classical typologies of social conflicts.

Based on the findings of G. Simmel and L. Koser, all conflicts can be divided into realistic (generated by objective circumstances) and unrealistic (characterized by the predominance of emotions).

A. Rapoport, arguing that it is impossible to fit all conflicts under one scheme, identifies three main types of conflict: war ("fight"), disputes ("debate") and games.

All conflicts can be divided into constructive (functional) and destructive (dysfunctional), positive and negative, antagonistic and compromise.

These or those types and kinds of conflicts manifest themselves in different ways in different societies.

Thus, we can conclude that conflicts are diverse both in their nature and in their characteristics, but the conflict in most cases is a clash of interests of a person as part of society, therefore, in the broadest sense, we can call any conflict social.

Conflict ( from lat. conflictus - clash)– an open clash of opposing goals, interests, positions, opinions, views of opponents or subjects of interaction.

Despite the fact that most people view conflict as something negative, it also has constructive functions.

Constructive functions of conflict:

1) it acts as a source of development, improvement of the interaction process (developing function);

2) detects the contradiction that has arisen (cognitive function);

3) is called upon to resolve the contradiction (instrumental function);

4) has objective consequences associated with a change in circumstances (perestroika function).

Destructive functions of conflict:

1) in a conflict situation, almost all people experience psychological discomfort, tension, depression or excessive arousal;

2) the system of interconnections is broken;

3) the effectiveness of joint activities decreases.

In this regard, almost all people have a negative attitude towards conflicts and seek to avoid them. Although it can be noted the existence of subjects with serious psychological problems, which, not always realizing, themselves initiate the emergence of conflict situations.

By direction conflicts are divided into:

· horizontal(that is, they do not involve persons who are subordinate to each other);

· vertical(that is, between leaders and subordinates). This kind of conflict is from 70 to 80%;

· mixed(that is, between leaders and subordinates by social status, but not in direct subordination).

From the point of view of the subjects of interaction distinguish the following types of conflicts:

· intrapersonal conflict - a clash of relatively equal in strength and significance, but oppositely directed motives, needs, interests, drives in one person. That is, we are dealing with a conflictogenic clash of individual personality traits and human behavior;

· interpersonal conflict – clash of interacting people whose goals, values ​​and norms are incompatible in a given situation, or oppose and interfere with each other. Thus, interpersonal conflict occurs between two (or more) separate individuals. At the same time, there is a confrontation about needs, motives, goals, values ​​and / or attitudes;

· personal-group conflict - this is a type of relationship between an individual and a group, which is based on a contradiction of goals, interests, opinions of participants. This type of conflict often arises in case of inconsistency of the individual's behavior with group norms and expectations;

· inter-group conflict clash of stereotypes of behavior, norms, goals and/or values ​​of different groups. Often this type of conflict is the result of an interpersonal conflict, when its opponents are supported by like-minded people.

Depending on the behavior of opponents The following types of conflicts are distinguished:

· constructiveconflict happens when opponents do not go beyond ethical standards, business relations and reasonable arguments. The resolution of such a conflict leads to the development of relations between people and the development of the group;

· destructive conflict occurs in two cases:

When one of the parties stubbornly and firmly insists on its position and does not want to take into account the interests of the other side;

When one of the opponents resorts to morally condemned methods of struggle, he seeks to psychologically suppress the partner, discrediting and humiliating him.

Structural components of the conflict:

a) the parties involved in the conflict (conflictants, sympathizers, provocateurs, conciliators, consultants, innocent victims);

b) zone of disagreement– subject of dispute, fact, question of discussion;

c) ideas about the situation– information models of a conflict situation ;

d) motives parties to the conflict are incentives to enter into a conflict associated with meeting the needs of opponents ;

e) actions. The actions of each side prevent the other side from achieving its goal.

Stages of conflict:

1. Pre-conflict situation. This is the state of affairs on the eve of the conflict. Sometimes it can be completely successful, and then the conflict begins suddenly, under the influence of some factor that accidentally invaded this stage (for example, a person entered the bus and unexpectedly made a scandal). But most often at this stage there are already some prerequisites for conflict. This period is called "latent"(hidden), and includes the following steps:

the emergence of an objective problem situation;

awareness of the objective problem situation by the subjects of interaction;

attempts by the parties to resolve the objective problem situation in non-conflict ways;

the emergence of a pre-conflict situation.

It happens that at the pre-conflict stage there is quite a strong tension in relations, but it remains latent and does not result in open conflict clashes. This situation can persist for quite a long time.

2. Incident - coincidence of circumstances that are the reason for the start of a direct clash of the parties. This is the first clash of the parties, a clash of conflicting parties. It acts as a starting point for conflict. It is not uncommon for an incident to arise as if by accident, but in fact such an occasion is the last straw that overflows the cup.

3. Escalation - the development of the conflict progressing in time, the intensification of the struggle of opponents. In the escalation phase, the conflict "steps up the stairs", being realized in a series of separate acts - actions and counteractions of the conflicting parties. Escalation can be continuous- with an ever-increasing degree of tension in relations and the strength of the blows exchanged between the conflicting parties; and wave-shaped when the tension in the relationship rises, then subsides. Escalation can also be steep(rapidly rising to extreme hostility) and lethargic(slowly flaring up, and even for a long time keeping approximately at the same level). In the latter case, there is a chronic, protracted conflict.

4. Climax - this is the high, critical point of escalation. This stage occurs when the escalation of the conflict leads one or both parties to actions that cause serious damage to the cause that binds them, the organization in which they cooperate. The climax is usually expressed in some kind of "explosive" episode. The culmination directly brings the parties to the realization of the need to interrupt both the further aggravation of relations and the intensification of hostile actions and look for a way out of the conflict along some other paths.

An escalation does not necessarily end in a climax. Often, the parties begin to take measures to extinguish the conflict, without waiting until it reaches the climactic explosion. Here, too, the "limit of tolerance" of the conflictants matters. When this limit is exceeded, they get tired of the conflict, they get tired of conflict, and there is a desire to somehow settle the differences.

In a protracted conflict, the moment of climax does not come for a long time. In some cases, the conflict gradually fades away. But in other cases, the delay of the climax is very expensive: in the process of a protracted escalation, a high “energy potential” of negative emotions accumulates, which does not find discharge in the climax; and when, at last, the moment of climax arrives, the release of all this energy is capable of producing the most terrifying destruction.

5. Conflict ending consists in the transition from conflict resistance to finding a solution to the problem and ending the conflict for any reason.

The following ways to deal with conflict competition (competition), adaptation, avoidance (evasion, withdrawal), cooperation.