UTA Communications Interpersonal Conflicts & Acquisition Process Essay

Conflict Paper Assignment
The paper is due Wednesday, April 19, 2023 by 11:59PM.
The paper is to be word processed in APA academic style. APA makes up a large percentage of the mechanical
portion of your grade 😊 Missing title pages, reference pages and incorrect formatting for inline citations will count
against you.
Make sure the paper is written well and edited carefully. Please turn in a finished document that looks nice, contains
excellent language, and expresses your best thoughts. Please use quotes sparingly. You should not have more than
two quotes per page. And, if you use them, cite them appropriately. Remember paraphrasing does not require a page
number. If you use a direct quote, you need quotation marks and a page number. Make sure you use a well-crafted
thesis statement and that it is placed as the last sentence of your first paragraph.
Refrain from using phrases like “I think,” “I feel,” “I believe.” Of course, you do, or you would not be writing
what you are writing. Please write in the third person. I recognize this has become second-nature as a result of the
journals.
Do not simply “brain dump,” or use a “stream of consciousness” writing. This is a good way to write a rough draft,
not a final paper! After you have put your thoughts on paper, go back and carefully construct your sentences.
Write a factual conflict describing a significant conflict situation (substantive and causes distress) in which
you are currently having and has not been resolved.
READ CAREFULLY
The conflict must be an interpersonal or intergroup conflict. You must have some connection to the conflict
either as a direct participant or as someone drawn into the conflict by a participant. Parental conflicts are acceptable,
although there are many other conflicts that may be less involved, i.e. a roommate (not more than one, when you add
more people it gets very complicated, i.e. triangulation), a friend, or a significant other. Please write about a conflict
in process, not one that was already resolved. Please write about a conflict in process, not one that was already
resolved. Remember you are not solving the conflict; you are merely writing about the conflict. Writing
about how the solution can be resolved will simply be deleted or crossed out. ☹ That is NOT part of the
assignment. An internal conflict or a conflict that you merely observed others having is not acceptable as a subject
for this assignment. If you write on such a conflict your assignment will not be graded.
The paper is to three to five pages. Do not exceed five pages. I will not read beyond page five. You do NOT need
to answer all the prompts below. They are merely provided here to make you think. Absolutely do not use these as
headers in your paper between thoughts – that is what transition statements leading into the next paragraph are for.
You may use information from any of the readings. Information from “The Role of Family and Macrocultures in
Intercultural Relationships”, Stella Ting-Toomey’s or Hammer’s articles may also be especially helpful. You will
address the following questions:
· What happened in the conflict and how did it escalate?
· Why did the conflict start or escalate?
· What was your role in the conflict?
· What attempts were made to resolve the conflict?
You may want to refer to the ICM model on Conflict Styles:
o
Describe your primary conflict style.
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Identify the level of escalation of the conflict. Connecting the definition of that level and the events in the
conflict, explain your choice of style if it was different than your primary style.
o
Explain how communication issues influenced the conflict.
o
Name one conflict style used by each of the main participants. (do not use more than three people)
▪ Describe the positions taken by each participant in this conflict.
▪ Describe the interests that underlay these positions.
o You may also include information from Glasl’s article on Conflict Escalation.
o You may also include information from the Dodd and Baldwin article on Family.
o You may also include information you learned about conflict using Face Negotiation Theory (FNT)
Grading Rubric
The thesis is the single most important component. A poor thesis will result in a poor grade. The thesis
statement is 10% of your grade and it affects the organization component of your paper which is worth 50%.
Written assignments will be graded on a 100-point scale. 75 percent of the grade is for analysis and 25 percent of
the grade is for quality of writing.
100 – Truly outstanding and exceptional work.
80 – Very good work, demonstrating strong analysis and knowledge of the material, thoroughness, good
composition and creativity.
70 – Acceptable work that meets the base standard for the course.
60 – Passable work that needs focusing, elaboration and/or editing.
40 – Weak work that is vague, poorly written and/or difficult to understand.
20 – Unacceptable work that provides no evidence of analysis, no knowledge of the materials or does follow
instructions
A grading rubric for this major writing assignment will be provided.
Thesis statements
The thesis sentence is a clear, concise statement of the position you will defend in your paper. The thesis
sentence should argue a position, not summarize information.
When composing your thesis sentence,
• make sure your thesis reflects the full scope of your argument.
• avoid using a thesis that is too broad to be defended in your paper or too
narrow to be a full response to the assignment.
• argue as conceptually rich a position as you can support. Ask yourself How?
and Why? questions to deepen your thesis.
• make sure your reader can easily identify your thesis sentence.
• do not just reword the professor’s question; claim your own position.
A thesis sentence that is too broad:
The Catholic Church’s influence on the formation of labor unions in the nineteenth
century was extremely significant.
A more focused thesis sentence:
The Catholic Church, by means of the pulpit and the purse, greatly influenced the labor
movement in the United States during the final decades of the nineteenth century.
Note that the second sentence concisely summarizes a specific argument that can be
managed in a short paper. It also sets up the pattern for discussion; the writer will focus
first on the Church’s direct instruction and then on its financial influence.
Also note the effect of using the stronger verb “influenced” in the second sentence rather
than “was” in the first sentence.
In The Craft of Argument, Joseph Williams and Gregory Colomb suggest the following
ways of deepening the thesis:
To add a reason, include a reason-clause beginning with because, or if, or a phrase beginning
with by or in order to.
Because of their emphasis on the broad impact of individual decisions, environmentalists
exhibit values consistent with the American tradition of civic mindedness.
To acknowledge an alternative point-of-view or reason, or to limit the scope of your
claim, add a concession-clause beginning with although, while, or even though, or a phrase
beginning with despite or regardless of.
Although Emma and Levin define spirituality differently their self-centered perspectives
confine them to a state of permanent disillusionment.
Examples of Thesis Statements for the Conflict Papers – DO NOT USE THESE!!! Notice none of
these are “This paper will discuss blank, blank, and blank.”
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There is a greater likelihood of conflict for an American-born child raised in a multicultural
household because of the clash of different worldviews; the only possible solution is to
accommodate and listen to one another to understand certain decisions.
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Two individuals with identical conflict styles can create a relationship of avoidance, even
utilizing face negotiation to strengthen communication in relationships is not a permanent
solution.
Active communication is the only solution to handling conflict, relaying feelings and emotions in
a respectful and direct way people can foster change and provide growth in resolving conflict.
Mother-daughter conflict styles can influence one’s conflict styles; dealing with a different
conflict style may make it difficult to achieve a happy medium.
While it is individually important for one to transcend to the balcony and acknowledge
differences, resolving conflict requires both subjects to be able to transcend to see the other’s
perspective.
Grandparents can create competition among their children by constantly telling them who is
better, and this conflict-created-by-competition can easily be seen at the holidays in whether the
families celebrate together or apart.
Individuals in a Long-Distance Relationship (LDR), a special type of relationship with its own
unique challenges, must understand their own conflict style and comprehend their partner’s style
in order to succeed.
Even though conflict is an essential aspect of life, interpersonal disputes that challenge one’s
religious faith can lead to sacrificing accommodation and harmony.
The lack of someone expressing the small things that bother them when they occur, can lead to
larger issues and ongoing conflict in roommate relationships.
Sibling conflict can be extremely negative and emotionally damaging to the whole family;
siblings use conflict to prove their power, establish differences, and express emotions within a
family.
The foundation of faith begins in the family, and differences in faith and religious beliefs between
family members can lead to conflict and controversy.
Being able to separate one’s perspective from another’s when conflict arises can aid in coming to
a resolution.
Different conflict styles, influenced by other’s family of origin, can alter even the most minor
day-to-day misunderstandings.
Recognizing that people are different is crucial towards positive conflict resolution, and
regardless of how different they are, it is possible to build trust after conflict.
Having differing views on life-after-college issues can put a strain on parental relationships,
sometimes having similar conflict styles can be more of an obstacle to successfully resolving the
conflict.
Conflict can arise from countless interactions, especially between two people living together,
however, the communication strategies used within the conflict and the management styles used
to resolve the conflict may vary among such individuals due to their family and cultural
background. – Too wordy and way too general!
In an otherwise cohesive community, conflict exists even between dog owners on how they think
dogs should behave.