BLOG #1 Understanding Conflict, Understanding Peace

Many of us have experienced conflict in one place or another. There may be an important lesson for us in the resistance that people have to acknowledging conflict in their lives. (Mayer) One of the places that seem to have more prevalence on conflict is the workplace. The workplace is organized by having different individuals working within different positions and it is arranged by different levels of authority. Within the school district it is more likely to see conflict occur by the end of the year. Most of this conflict is caused by important decisions made by the State. In many conflicts people act in a way that seems to go against their interests. (Mayer)


In other words, conflict between employees became recognizable. This decision has affected and will affect some employees this school year depending on the States budget. Last year while the budget cuts occurred many individuals became unemployed. Many were disappointed because their work hours decreased. Decreasing the hours of some employees in order for the employees to have a secure employment was a good decision because they did not lose their employment, but some were merely upset on what was going on. Not much could be done for some employees.


For instance, the issue that led to this conflict was the economic downturn that the United States is facing or was currently facing last year. The schools lacked from recourses and many were forced to do what was best for the district with the budget that became available to them. The government had to do with some of the conflict that many were going thru because they were the ones who would set up the budget. This conflict would have not risen from differences of beliefs because it did not have to do with what the employees wanted. This decision did not have to do with ethnic differences because it affected many individuals from different ethnic backgrounds. In a certain way many individuals felt that their identity was being threatened because they were struggling to stay at their current position, based on the time that they have been in the district.


However, Peace and conflict will always be a part of our daily lives and we need to find a way to resolve such problems. Peace has to do with the tranquility of a person. Many individuals encounter with many stressful situations in a daily basis. A person could find peace with their innersoles when they don’t go thru difficult times. Most likely a person could forget what is going on around them, but that would led them to more conflict because they are not opening up to what can affect them in the future. To find peace is to be part of a problem and finding the best solution.


After all, this was a problem that the schools were facing last year and it could also be affecting many individuals for this school year. The conflict among coworkers will still persist because of competition. The intervention methods that I believe were the best for the society within this workplace would be the decrease of hours offered to each employee. This intervention was best because many will stay in their current positions. Peace would be part of the individual because they would not have stressful instances of deciding what they are going to do next. Government support would be the most helpful because they are the ones who decide what is going to happen with the states budget. Everyone would be working without looking for an alternative employment which would be difficult to find with today’s economy.