Types of conflict Conflict is a inevitable social process , inherent in any individuals life.

The term itself covers a great deal of social situations that can be organized in numerous categories pertaining to certain specific attributes and/or circumstances. Albeit , conflict , in general has the following characteristics : interpersonal conflict requires at least two people (conflict within ones self, or intrapersonal conflict, generally is studied by psychologists. Communication students and scholars are interested in communication between people ) . Also conflict inherently involves some sense of struggle or incompatibility or perceived difference among values, goals, or desires. Action, whether overt or covert, is key to interpersonal conflict. Until action or expression occurs, conflict is latent, lurking below the surface.Power or attempts to influence inevitably occur within conflicts. If the parties really don't care about the outcome, the discussion probably doesn't rise to the level where we call it a conflict. When people argue without caring about what happens next or without a sense of involvement and struggle, it probably is just a disagreement. Conflict also can be understood by examining what it is not , for example conflict is not a breakdown in communication, but a process that is ongoing. The communication process is not like a car that can break or cease to function. Conflict entails communication about disagreements.Conflict is not inherently good or bad. While people may tend to remember only the conflicts that were painful, conflict itself is a normal part of being human. Harmony is neither normal nor necessarily desirable as a permanent state of being. It is normal in relationships for differences to occur occasionally, just as it is normal in businesses for changes in goals and directions to occur. Conflict is normal and it is not automatically resolved by communication. Managing conflicts productively is a skill.Conflict,depending on circumstances , may occur in a vast number of situations and may differ greatly ranging from a routine interpersonal matter between two individuals to a conflict with global implications of a violent nature. However,regarding the core elements and reasons that may lead to a confrontational situation,the notion of conflict may be organized in a certain general typology,classifying them into predictable grous or patterns.Christopher Moore (1996) mediator and author, discusses the types of conflicts seen by mediators and offers a way to examine the basic causes of conflicts. Moore claims that issues within conflicts are centered in one or more of five arenas. Data conflicts arise when information is lacking, differently interpreted or withheld.Interest conflicts occur when there are actual or perceived scarce resources such as physical assets (money or other tangible things), procedural issues (how decisions should be made) or psychological issues (who is in the wrong emotionally).Value conflicts erupt when people have different ways of life, deeply rooted goals or varying criteria on how to evaluate behaviors. Relationship conflicts prosper in environments of strong emotions, stereotypes, poor communication and historic negative patterns. Structural conflicts result from structural inequities in control, ownership, power, authority or geographic separation. A typology of conflict is useful when the issues in a conflict are centralized in one of the five categories. When issue focus occurs, different responses to conflicts are required. For example, if a conflict is primarily a data conflict, sharing information and being sure that each party is interpreting the facts the same way is useful. However, if the conflict primarily is about values, sharing factual data alone will be of little or no use.

Considering a more subjective approach , it is considered that the negative or positive nature of conflict really is determined by people's behaviors; it is not an inherent quality of conflict itself. Some behaviors produce dysfunctional, destructive and unproductive responses; other behaviors produce functional, constructive and productive responses. Destructive conflict. Behaviors that escalate a conflict until it seems to have a life of its own are dysfunctional and destructive. Destructive conflicts may degenerate sufficiently so the conflict parties forget the substantive issues and transform their purposes to getting even, retaliating or hurting the other person. In destructive conflict, no one is satisfied with the outcome, possible gains are not realized and the negative taste left over at the end of one conflict episode is carried over to the beginning of the next conflict--creating a degenerating or negative spiral. Destructive conflicts are more likely to occur when behaviors come from rigid, competitive systems. Constructive conflict. Behaviors that are adaptive to the situation, person and issues of the moment are functional and constructive. Many conflicts are a mixture of competitive and cooperative impulses. Constructive conflicts appropriately balance the interests of both parties to maximize the opportunities for mutual gains. Constructive conflicts contain an element of creative adaptation born from a realization that one must know both one's own and the other's interests and goals to be able to find a road both parties are willing to walk to discover a mutually acceptable outcome. Focusing on the process, not just the outcome one person desires, is key to productive conflict management.