Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Styles of Approaching Conflict

Conflict
There are three approaches to conflicts according to Northouse (2018). They are the Fisher and Ury’s principled negotiation, the communication strategies of differentiation, fractionization, and facesaving, and the Kilmann–Thomas styles. Fisher and Ury’s principled negotiation is advantageous because issues are decided based on merit rather than excessive accommodation or competitive haggling. It also separates people from the problem and focuses on people as opposed to positions. However, a potential disadvantage is that the approach is too general and cannot be applied easily in different situations.
The communication strategies approach is advantageous due to the focus on communication, which is an important part of conflict resolution. The differentiation strategy defines the conflict allowing parties to understand the extent to which they differ. A disadvantage, however, is that the strategy can be difficult because of the personalization of conflict. Face saving allows the conflict to be less threatening, but it avoids confronting the real conc...