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Understanding conflict

Engaging Communication in Conflict

Systemic Practice

By Stephen W Littlejohn and Kathy Domenici

Publishers: Sage, Thousand Oaks

Price: $58 (Cloth), $27.95 (Paper)

DEEP in mind-space exists a networked planet, where its six billion inhabitants lurch between alternating processes of communication and conflict. At no point in human history, have so many persons communicated with each other -- with a little help from the techno-avatars of the Information Age.

Then again, communication experts discovered the other latent truth: increased communication leads to increased conflict. In an age when every aspect of life from business to governance is facilitated by communication, there is an urgent need to understa nd the implicit importance of dealing with its resultant conflict. Knowing how to resolve conflict between individuals, groups, corporates, communities and nations is an area of study that is being spotlighted in the nascent days of the 21st century.

Engaging Communication in Conflict by Stephen W Littlejohn and Kathy Domenici is a significant step in that direction. This book has a novel and sometimes, radical approach to emerging area of conflict resolution through communication. It only follows th en that the book itself dwells on vital aspects of human communication.

Coming to the authors, Stephen Littlejohn, a part-time teacher at the University of New Mexico is also a mediator and a facilitator. His partner, Kathy Domenici consults on matters relating to mediation. Predictably, this confluence of academia and real- world application have made for an eminently readable work in Engaging Communication in Conflict.

Interestingly enough, my own experiences in the media came to mind, as I went through this book. About a decade ago, as a journalist in a city magazine, I was assigned to cover a dispute between the management and the staff of an established institution. A long simmering dispute erupted into a volatile situation, that crippled the institutions working for over a year.

As I remember it, frayed tempers, violent encounters and intense rivalry vitiated the atmosphere. With the refusal of the warring sides to compromise, the institution once renowned for efficiency, became a hotbed of intrigue. As the issue got politicised , the entire institution took a battering, from which it has not quite recovered -- even a decade later.

Looking back today, I realise that communication was the cornerstone of that institution. Its time-tested and intricate system of working crumbled under the onslaught of conflict. As I see it, that institution has been changed forever.

Engaging Communication in Conflict is divided into four parts. Together they cover the myriad aspects of conflict in diverse settings. The book itself spans conflict in small systems all the way to conflict in larger, more complex systems. It finally spo tlights conflict in society itself and in keeping with the core theme of the book, these topics have been dealt with extreme clarity and an uncommon intensity.

With time-tested tools of facilitation: dialogue, negotiation, games and conflict intervention, the authors show that conflict resolution can be made interesting, participatory and, most importantly, workable.

Right from Part I which explores `How conflicts are made up' until Part IV `A conversation with friends', a whole range of conflict related issues have been covered in detail. A liberal sprinkling of real life incidents and examples bring the book to lif e and help us understand effective means of resolving conflicts. The emphasis, in the authors own words, ``centre around the practicality and functionality of resolving conflicts''.

The book looks into conflicts in the realm of team management within corporates. In the authors own words: ``Lately, we have been helping high-performance teams learn constructive methods for managing the inevitable conflicts that arise in the workplace. In this kind of environment, teams make decisions as a group; they establish many of their own work processes; they are jointly responsible for high productivity, and sometimes incentive pay is even linked to team performance. Consequently, the quality of relationships among team members is crucial in this kind of organisation. Teams must manage their differences effectively, or team management just won't work.''

The need to resolve conflicts within ourselves, and within various systems of a functional society cannot be emphasised enough. The most important tool to work at, in any conflict situation, is communication. Communication opens new avenues and gives won derful insight into issues that seemingly look unresolvable.

Knowing how to resolve these conflicts can help us control damage and in certain cases prevent violence itself. Instead of dreading and shying away from conflict, the authors urge us to utilise conflict as a opportunity to create better relationships and to resolve issues effectively.

To cap it all, the authors vision behind this wonderful book is best summed up in their own words: ``Our work is dedicated to processes that can turn conflict from a destructive force into a enriching opportunity, and as mediators we have seen the power of careful, well-structured, and constructive forms of communication to transform potentially explosive situations.''

Engaging Communication in Conflict is a must buy for a individual, corporate, group or society. In many, many ways, it is the PeaceMakers Manual for the 21st Century.

Joseph Fernandez