Conflict Management Program

Unit 1 – Conflict management and anger

• Developing effective negotiation skill
• What is conflict?
• Conflict is destructive when it:
• Conflict is constructive when it:
• Main sources of conflict:
• Conflict handling techniques
• The conflict management model
• Conflict handling styles
• Advantages and disadvantages of different conflict management strategies
• Anger
• Approaches to anger
• Expressing anger
• Suppressing anger
• Calming anger
• Anger management techniques
• Problem solving
• Changing your environment
• Cognitive restructuring
• Humour
• Better communication
• Dealing with your own anger
• Reacting to another’s anger in a healthy way

Unit 2 – Listening

• Channels of communication
• Listening
• Four stages of listening
• Obstacles to listening
• Empathic listening
• Ground rules
• More than listening
• Summarising/paraphrasing
• Reframing and acknowledging
• Listeners in control
• Emotions
• Separate people from the problem
• Traps for listeners

Unit 3 – Negotiation

• Conflicting parties voluntarily discuss their difference
• Negotiation is a complex form of communication
• Good negotiators
• Give and take
• The establishment group
• The community group
• Bargaining in negotiations
• Win-win bargaining/integrative bargaining
• Being a skilled negotiator
• The joint problem-solving approach
• Characteristics of effective negotiating behaviour
• Writing a brief
• Guidelines for negotiating
• Strategies when negotiation discussions get bogged down
• Negotiation mistakes
• Emotions
• Dealing with difficult people
• Finding a solution

Unit 4 – Mediation

• What is mediation?
• When is mediation called for?
• The mediator’s responsibilities
• Mediation process
• Mediation model 1
• Introduction, problem definition, caucus meeting
• Teamwork
• Advantages of caucuses
• Disadvantages of caucuses
• The agreement
• Mediation model 2
• Introduction, statement of the problem, information gathering
• Identification of the problem, bargaining and generating options, reaching an agreement
• Case study – alternative dispute resolution
• Advantages and disadvantages of ADR

Unit 5 – Facilitation

• Disputing parties to communicate clearly and constructively
• Preparing for a facilitation meeting
• The beginning
• The middle
• What is group memory?
• The end
• Attributes of a good facilitator
• The facilitator employing settling behaviours
• Settling behaviours of the facilitator
• Characteristics of a good facilitator
• Stress
• The fight or flight response
• Symptoms and effects of stress
• Confidence in conflict management
• A stress management response program

Unit 6 – Balance of power

• Problems with negotiation
• Re-entry
• Power imbalance
• The power of skill and knowledge
• Negotiating skills
• Problem solving skills
• The power of a good relationship
• The power of legitimacy
• The power of commitment
• Dealing with power imbalances
• Forms of imbalance
• Verbal bullying
• Asking questions
• Information and experience
• Agenda setting
• Role-plays
• Needs exploration
• Ending the meeting
• Restorative practices and restorative justice
• An example of ‘criminal justice’ culture in a non-court setting
• An example in a ‘restorative justice’ culture setting
• How to build ‘restorative justice’ into the culture
• Restorative questions
• Questions to ask a person who has been harmed
• Questions to ask a person who has done harm
• Affective statements

Unit 7 – Discussion and group work

• Group or team co-operation
• Steps to follow to manage group conflict:
• Group conflict management exercises
• Anger exercises
• Listening exercises
• Negotiation and mediation exercises
• Joint problem solving exercises
• Role play exercises
• Conducting structured exercises in small groups
• Prepare, plan for contingencies, plan the process:
• Facilitate the process, facilitate learning:
• What to avoid
• Negotiating the design:
• Playing psychological games:
• Over-instructing, ending with closure:
• Evaluation and questionnaire

Unit 8 – Crisis analysis and responses

• Methods to deal with different types of crises
• Types of crises:
• Responding to a crisis
• Guidelines for approaching a crisis situation
• Interventions
• Goals of crisis intervention
• Crisis intervention techniques
• Debriefing models
• Psychological debriefing