| Use of Conflict When finished, if you wish, return to 2 or read complete "The Fifth Achievement". |
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Use of Conflict - The Fifth Achievement Robert R. Blake and Jane S. Mouton FOUR CLASSICAL SOLUTIONS FOR RESOLVING CONFLICTS In the conduct of society there are at least four major and different kinds of formal, structural arrangements which we rely on for resolving differences. They are the scientific method, politics, law, with its associated police powers; and organizational hierarchy. WHAT IS THE FIFTH ACHIEVEMENT There is another essential ingredient. It is sharply increased understanding by every man of the roots of conflict and the human skills of gaining the resolution of differences. The acquisition of such insight and skill by every man could provide a social foundation for reaching firm and sound understandings on a direct man-to-man basis of the inevitable disagreements that arise in conducting the national life. This kind of deepened skill in the direct resolution of differences could do much to provide a realistic prospect that the antagonisms, cleavages, or injustices real and imagined in society today can be reduced if not eliminated. It offers the promise that the sicknesses of alienation and apathy, the destructive aggressions, and the organization-man mentality can be healed. The Fifth Achievement, then, is in the establishments of a problem-solving society where differences among men are subject to resolution through insights that permit protagonists themselves to identify and implement solutions to their differences upon the basis of committed agreement. That men ultimately will be able to work out, face to face, their differences is a hoped-for achievement of the future. Extending their capacity to do so could reduce the number of problems brought before the bench or dealt with through hierarchy. At the same time, scientific and political processes could be strengthened if progress were made in this direction. Even more important, it could perhaps lead to the resolution of many conflicts on a local level that block the development of a creative and committed problem-solving community. Success in meeting this challenge in the period ahead is perhaps the surest way to preserve and strengthen the values of a free society while protecting and even strengthening the privilege of having and expressing differences. When it is possible for a man to make a choice form among several solutions, and when he can make this choice without infringing upon another man's freedom or requiring his cooperation, there is genuine autonomy. This is real freedom. Under a 9,9 approach, disagreement is valued as an inevitable result of the fact that strong-minded people have convictions about what is right. A man says, "Nothing is sacrosanct. What are the facts? What are the causes" What are the conclusions?" Reservations and emotions that interrupt agreement based on logic and data are confronted through candid discussion of them directly with the person involved in the disagreement. Insight and resolution are possible but involve maturity and real human skill. This approach may be time-consuming in the short run but time-conserving over the long tern. It permits men to disagree, to work out their disagreements in the light of facts and ultimately to understand one another. Such problem-soling constructiveness in conflict situations is the fundamental basis for realizing the Fifth Achievement. The Conflict Grid is useful in seeing the more subtle connections among conflict and conformity and creative problem solving. Conformity to the 9,1 authority-obedience demands that are involved in hierarchical rank is exemplified by the boss, teacher, or parent who gives the orders to subordinates., students, or children who are expected to obey.
In another type of conformity, the rules of relationship are, "Don't say anything if you can't say something nice" (1,9). Togetherness, social intimacy, and warmth engendered by yielding one's convictions in the interests of personal acceptance are certainly objectionable solutions in a society where having and expressing differences is relied on as the basis for finding sound courses of action. It can produce a quorum of agreement but smother creative problem solving in sweetness and love. The kind of dis-agreement that might provoke resentment is avoided. The opportunity for creative problem solving to emerge is absent. Another kind of conformity relates to adhering to the form and not to the substance of life. Here people conform by going through the motions expected of them, treadmilling through the days, months, and years (1,1). In this way, survival is accomplished by being visible without being seem. Organization-man conformity (5,5) entails positively embracing the status quo with minimum regard for the soundless of status quo requirements, Yet, even here, as new problems arise, differences appear and disagreements become evident . There are several kind of 5,5 actions that of shallow estimation may give the appearance of approaching problems from an altered, fresh, and original point of view...Deeper examination of 5,5 behavior leads to the conclusion that imitation rather that innovation is the rule. Flexibility is a highly valued component in mature and effective behavior. But is it not contradictory to advocate flexibility on the one hand and to forewarn against compromise on the other? This question is important to clarify. Flexibility calls for deliberate examination of options and alternatives. It means having back-up tactics that permit swift resolution of unforeseen circumstances, a climate that permits people to move back and forth and in and out from one situation to another, but based on facts, data, and logic of the situation as it unfolds. Thus there are actions to adjust a difference to keep peace and actions to adjust to altered circumstances for better results. It is most important to distinguish between the two kinds, Flexibility for better results is likely to have a stamp of 9,9 an it, 'flexibility' to keep peace by avoiding clash of personalities is in the 5,5 area. One is intervening and promotes creativity. The other leads to the perpetuation of the organization-man mentality of status quo rigidities. In the final analysis, conformity is to be valued. The problem is to ensure that the thinking of men conforms with sound purposes and premises. Conformity which means adherence to premise of human logic so that decisions reached are furthering growth capacity in sound and fundamental ways is what every individual might be expected to want. It is what man should want in the underpinnings of his daily interactions. It is conformity it this level that promotes the pursuit of creative and innovative solutions. Only when the values of a nation stimulate experimentation and promote a truly constructive attitude toward discover and innovation is the full potential from creative efforts available as a source of thrust for replacing outmoded status quo conformities with more problem-solving requirements (9,9). ...But a 9,9 foundation of interdependence can build a strong basis for an open, problem-solving society in which men can have and express differences and yet be interrelated in ways that promote the mutual respect, common goals, and trust and understanding they must have to achieve results in ways that lead to personal gratification and maturity. POSSIBILITIES OF THE FIFTH ACHIEVEMENT FOR STRENGTHENING SOCIETY This challenge to America, the need for men to learn to confront outmoded status quo requirements and to manage to resultant conflict in such ways as to promote creative problem solving, promises much for the decades ahead, if we can meet and master it. Consider for a moment the possibility of success in mastering this Fifth Achievement. What might it mean? 1. Enriched family life rather than the steady rise in the divorce rate. 2. Sounder child rearing evidenced in teem-age young- ster capable of expression and action in dealing in a problem - solving rather than a protest way with adults and the institutions of society who are capable of interacting in an equally sound way.
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