Conflict resolution is a process of resolving disputes or disagreements between individuals, groups, or nations. Despite their often being used interchangeably, there are distinctions among conflict styles, strategies, and tactics. A conflict resolution style is the individual manner in which an individual approaches conflicts or disagreements. Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann theorized that people exhibit five primary "styles" of behavior when dealing with conflict that differ where levels of cooperativeness and assertiveness are concerned (Styles 1). These fives styles of conflict resolution are: (1) competitive; (2) collaborative; (3) compromising; (4) accommodating; and (5) avoiding (Styles 2). People who are avoiding in style, typically try to avoid direct confrontation or dealing with conflict. In contrast, those who are competitive usually take a firm stance and strive to fulfill their own needs.
Conflict resolution styles are important because the success of different conflict resolution strategies often depends on which type of conflict resolution style is exhibited in the conflicting parties. Once you understand a person or group's conflict resolution style, you can more effectively choose conflict resolution strategies. Strategies are a means of "providing opportunities to meet the needs of all parties and to adequately address interests so that each party is satisfied with the outcome" (Conflict 1). One commonly used conflict resolution strategy is known as the "Interest-Based Relational (IBR) Approach." In this conflict resolution strategy, individuals' differences are respected and the strategy seeks to keep individuals from becoming to rigid on one position. The IBR strategy has six rules for implementation: (1) Relationships are the first priority; (2) Keep people and problems separate; (3) Pay attention to all parties' interests; (4) Listen first; talk second; (5) Set out the "Facts;" (6)...