Conflict Subject Paper: Power Balancing
Introduction to Power Balancing. What is it?
An interpersonal relationship with a power disparity between participants can achieve a more productive focus by moving toward balance (Hocker & Wilmot, 1978). Typically when we are asked to deal with a conflict we are often times overcome with an illusion that the solution is easy: just confront the conflict head on and get it over with. However this is much easier said than done. This “illusion of courage” is an issue that ultimately shuts down attempts to remedy conflict due to the unspoken power balance between each party involved. In order to remedy this difference and open up a gap between intending to confront and actually confronting an issue, we need …show more content…
As always, the best way to deal with the conflict is to establish equality through conversation with the people involved. Typically, the very act of doing so is extremely hard to manage due to the feelings each party has with each other.
From my own personal experience at a leasing office, it was very hard to approach my boss about anything and I think it had a lot to due with his negative prosocial and nonverbal immediacy behaviors. As mentioned in Teven, J. J. (2007) journal, supervisor prosocial power and nonverbal immediacy behaviors are positively and significantly related to employees’ self-reported satisfaction and liking for the supervisor. In my case, my boss didn’t provide a lot of positive prosocial and nonverbal immediacy behaviors creating a power distance between me and my superior.
Furthermore, this distance created a tedious void between us during times of pressure and crises when problems throughout the day occurred that needed his attention. Instead, this distance can be reduced by maintaining immediacy and framing prosocial-type messages towards me and my co-workers, and it would be much simpler to achieve a productive dialogue between one another (Teven,
Introduction to Power Balancing. What is it?
An interpersonal relationship with a power disparity between participants can achieve a more productive focus by moving toward balance (Hocker & Wilmot, 1978). Typically when we are asked to deal with a conflict we are often times overcome with an illusion that the solution is easy: just confront the conflict head on and get it over with. However this is much easier said than done. This “illusion of courage” is an issue that ultimately shuts down attempts to remedy conflict due to the unspoken power balance between each party involved. In order to remedy this difference and open up a gap between intending to confront and actually confronting an issue, we need …show more content…
As always, the best way to deal with the conflict is to establish equality through conversation with the people involved. Typically, the very act of doing so is extremely hard to manage due to the feelings each party has with each other.
From my own personal experience at a leasing office, it was very hard to approach my boss about anything and I think it had a lot to due with his negative prosocial and nonverbal immediacy behaviors. As mentioned in Teven, J. J. (2007) journal, supervisor prosocial power and nonverbal immediacy behaviors are positively and significantly related to employees’ self-reported satisfaction and liking for the supervisor. In my case, my boss didn’t provide a lot of positive prosocial and nonverbal immediacy behaviors creating a power distance between me and my superior.
Furthermore, this distance created a tedious void between us during times of pressure and crises when problems throughout the day occurred that needed his attention. Instead, this distance can be reduced by maintaining immediacy and framing prosocial-type messages towards me and my co-workers, and it would be much simpler to achieve a productive dialogue between one another (Teven,