Conflict Management course online. Learn strategies to manage conflict effectively. Age conflict can destroy relationships and lead to increased stress, or it can improve our relationships and give us a greater sense of control over ourselves and our environments. Explore the causes and effects of conflict.
Learn how to manage it through effective communication, active listening, and problem solving. Develop your ability to use facilitation, negotiation or mediation in group situations to achieve win-win solutions.
This course is accredited by ACCPH and allows you to join as a professional member after completion. The letters MACCPH after your name (post-nominals) maybe used.
This course is accredited by the CMA – The Complimentary Medical Association. On completion of any qualifying module, you may join as a “Fully Qualified Practitioner” and be entitled to use the post-nominal latters “MCMA” after your name. Membership of the CMA demonstrates you have a clear commitment to standards and professionalism.
This accredited Level 3 course is ideal for those working in, or wanting to work in:
Click the + and – below to expand/collapse the sections.
Lessons
Lesson Structure: Conflict Management BPS201
1 Conflict Management and Anger
Introduction
Conflict Handling Techniques: Conflict Handling Styles, Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Conflict Management Strategies
Anger: Approaches to Anger, Anger Management, Anger Management Techniques, Strategies for Dealing with Anger in Yourself and Others
2 Listening
Channels of Communication
Listening: Stages of Listening, Obstacles to Listening, Empathic Listening, Ground Rules, More than Listening,Listeners in Control, Emotions, Separate People from the Problem, Traps for Listeners
3 Negotiation
Negotiation: Definitions, 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, Negotiation Mistakes, Emotions, Dealing with Difficult People, Finding a Solution
4 Mediation
What is Mediation?
When is Mediation called for?
The Mediator’s Responsibilities
Mediation Process: Mediation Model 1, Mediation Model 2, Case Study – Alternative Dispute Resolution
5 Facilitation
Facilitation: Preparing for a Facilitation Meeting
Attributes of a good Facilitator: Stress, The Fight or Flight Response
Symptons and Effects of Stress: Confidence in Conflict Management
A Stress Management Response Program
6 Balance of Power
Problems with Negotiation: Re-entry, Power Imbalance, Dealing with Power Imbalances, Verbal Bullying, Asking Questions, Information and Experience, Agenda Setting, Role-plays, Needs Exploration, Ending the Meeting
7 Discussion and Group Work
Managing 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: What to Avoid, Evaluation
8 Crisis Analysis and Responses
Crisis Analysis: Responses to crisis (Physical, Mental, Emotional, Behavioural), Guidelines for Approaching a Crisis Situation
Interventions: Principles of Crisis Intervention, Goals of Crisis intervention, Crisis Intervention Techniques, Debriefing
Learning Goals
Learning Goals: Conflict Management BPS201
Describe the nature of human conflict and ways to manage it.
Explain the importance of listening when dealing with conflict situations, and appreciate different listening techniques.
Define negotiation and discuss the process of negotiation
Define mediation and discuss the process of mediation
Define facilitation and discuss the process of facilitation
Discuss problems that may arise through negotiation, in particular, balance of power and its connotations
Explain the importance of working in groups as a means of learning how to deal with group conflicts
Explain ways of understanding and dealing with different types of crisis.
Practical (Set Tasks)
PRACTICALS:
Different types of conflict handling styles
Dealing with Anger
Controlling listening and Traps for listeners
Empathic listening
Negotiation between community and establishment
Practical suggestions for negotiation, breaking the rules, alternatives
Responsibilities of a mediator, mediation processes, agreements, team work, settling behaviours
Factors influencing the balance of power
Role play
Conducting structured experiences in small groups
Conflict is destructive when it:
Diverts energy away from important work or other issues (consider, much scientific and social progress has been made during war times. This is not to say that war is good, but that conflict can encourage progressive thought and action)
Destroys morale
Polarises groups
Deepens differences in values
Produces violence
Conflict is constructive when it:
Opens up and clarifies important issues and helps solve them
Increases involvement of individuals in important issues
Makes communication more authentic
Releases pent-up emotion, stress or anxiety
Helps build group cohesiveness
Helps individual growth, provided there is reflection on the conflict
This course will provide you with a range of conflict management techniques. You will gain an understanding of conflict and how we can work to avoid conflict.
Learn a wide variety of things, through a combination of reading, interacting with tutors, undertaking research, practical tasks, etc. Develop your ability to manage conflict situations, as a counsellor, manager, supervisor, or simply a concerned person.
More Information
HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE STAGES OF LISTENING
Probably the simplest way to start thinking about listening is to break down the process into stages. In practice, no one would keep strictly to these stages, but reflecting on them should improve a person’s listening skills.
Step 1
The first step is to open yourself to the ‘incoming message’, to let down your defences as far as possible, and try to sense the real, underlying meaning of what is being said. Listen for ideas, implications, and feelings as well as the facts. As well as being able to hear, you must also want to, or at least be willing to, listen.
The more serious the conflict, the greater your resistance will be to this step. Taking brief notes may help to focus your attention; but it can also distract you. If in doubt, don’t.
Step 2
The second step is to begin to interpret, or reconstruct, what is being said, remembering always that words have different meanings to different people. Keep asking yourself whether you understand the message.
Do your best to listen with full attention and withhold judgement and criticism at this stage. Don’t jump to conclusions before the story is complete.
Step 3
The third step is to evaluate what is being said, only after you have made a reasonably objective interpretation of the message. At this point you should reflect on the information and options being presented and sift the evidence.
Unfortunately, judging often starts far too early in the listening process, especially when the topic has emotional implications or when there has been a long history of painful conflict. Unskilled listeners close their ears to words they do not want to hear.
Step 4
The fourth stage is responding. Here you demonstrate that you have truly been listening. Reassuring the speaker that you have been giving him full attention is a critical aspect of constructive listening.
Feedback is usually given by asking for clarification or for more information, or at least giving some visible acknowledgment by smiling or frowning. This responding or reacting stage will have a major influence on the negotiating process.
Obstacles to Listening
It is important to consider obstacles to listening that may have an impact when involved in negotiating or discussion with others.
Anxiety
Listening, like learning, is difficult in an atmosphere of anxiety or threat. In a negotiating situation for example, this presents difficulties for both sides, particularly when one group has more immediate power than the other.
Discussing this problem beforehand or at least thinking about it will help; as will having some knowledge of the wider background of the conflict.
Bias
We all have basic convictions and beliefs, and are prejudiced in various ways, but if we enter a discussion with closed minds, the listening process breaks down. Facts that might soften our attitudes are rejected. Cultural myths are used as a defensive screen against truth.
Language Problems
Crucial discussions in a second language will exhaust the listener and cause resentment, particularly if the language of a more powerful party is being used frequently. Misunderstandings due to language barriers can both tire people and can cause serious problems.
Emotional Problems
Certain terms and assumptions will trigger resistance and generate anger in a listener, such as words like boycott and terrorist. Dislike of the speaker or the subject will also distract from the information being presented.
Attitude, Tone and Words
Listeners may be tired, hungry, thirsty, and uncomfortable, disturbed by noise, cold, heat, or simply distracted by some personal matter. Concentration is lost under any such conditions. Some people might also have an attitude of thinking they already know everything. This can be a particular problem in an emotional negotiation.
Talkativeness
If a member of a group is too talkative, it may be a distraction for others in the group and will restrict others in putting their point across. Other people may not be talkative enough, so may not put their point across.
The best technique to use in dealing with this situation is to get the other people to bring pressure on the talkative people to quieten down (e.g., a democratic or consensus approach). An autocratic approach (i.e., imposing rules) will not be as effective and should only be used as a last resort. Asking direct questions of those people that are not talkative enough may help with the negotiation process.
Personality Clashes
Clashes of personality can escalate and become uncontrollable. A good negotiator should try to anticipate this and prevent it from happening. Intervention must be quick to minimise the damage.
Be aware that all people in a meeting or session, including you, are filtering and interpreting every word through a personal screen of attitudes, values, assumptions, past experiences, and strong feelings. Be aware too that listening behaviour will be influenced by factors such as age, sex, cultural background and even physical appearance and mannerisms.
Empathic Listening
Empathy refers to the ‘ability of a person to enter another’s personality, imaginatively experiencing their experiences’. The saying ‘to put oneself in another’s shoes’, is also a description of empathy.
In a conflict situation it is not easy to empathise with another side’s viewpoint. Despite this, genuine communication can only occur by showing a willingness to try to understand the opposition’s fears and feelings. Empathic listening is possibly the most important skill for a successful negotiator because it:
• Reduces tension and hostility
• Promotes honest communication and builds trust
• Gives the speaker time to clarify his thinking
• Allows space for the expression of anger
• Enhances the speaker’s self-respect and natural friendliness
• Keeps communication alive and active.
There are several ways that we can convey the genuine desire to understand:
• By being attentive, alert, and non-distracted, and through creating a positive atmosphere with your non-verbal behaviour (body language and facial expression).
• By being interested in the other persons needs and listening with understanding.
• Through listening in a friendly way, by being a sounding board, being non-judgmental and non-critical, by respecting privacy (not asking intrusive questions) and through acting like a mirror (reflecting what you think is being felt and said).
• Never belittle or negate any aspect of a problem, even if it seems unimportant to you. For example, don’t use stock phrases like ‘It’s not that bad’ or ‘you’re making a mountain out of a molehill’
• Don’t get emotionally involved, angry, upset, or argumentative.
• Don’t jump to conclusions or judgements.
• Show that you are listening by giving encouraging acknowledgements e.g. ‘Yes!’ or ‘I see!’
• Provide non-verbal acknowledgements e.g., relaxed body posture, eye contact and facial expressions, and inviting more responses e.g., ‘Tell me more’ or ‘I’d like to hear about that’.
An invaluable guide to the theories and practicalities of leadership – this fascinating in-depth guide helps to explain what makes a good leader and how the skill can be developed.
Leadership
by the Staff of ACS
Leadership eBook course online. What makes a good leader? Is it an innate personality trait or a skill that can be aquired? This book is an excellent guide to the theories and practice of leadership. It is full of interesting facts about social dynamics and examples of leadership styles. For those who are curious or in need of some leadership skills, this book will provide both entertainment and advice.
Leadership is a two-way relationship and it is important to recognise this. If there are no followers, there is no leader. Leadership therefore involves the obedience and willingness of followers. Leadership is also based on good will and cooperation. Leadership can exist through force and threat, but a leader will not usually maintain this relationship for long. Leadership can also be specific to a certain situation.
There are differences between leadership and power.
Where leadership generally suggests that following the leader is optional, power suggests an ability to control or command others, where the person does not have the option to follow – they are either forced to follow, or are so overwhelmed by the power that they follow without thinking. When we think of historical leaders, we generally think of people that inspired others to greatness, such as Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi. If we think of people in history with a lot of power, we think of political dictators, or people such as Adolf Hitler, who had control over people without them necessarily having a choice. Power, of course, does not have to be a bad thing. In combination with high integrity, a leader with power can create the extraordinary.
In the home environment, the difference between power and leadership can be demonstrated in a different way – a baby has the power to change the behaviour of his/her parents, but this influence is not the same as leadership in the family.
Is there a specific personality that demonstrates that a person is a “great leader”? Whilst some personality traits lead to a natural inclination to be a leader, personality traits will not necessarily determine a person’s leadership aptitude.
A leader may also have other qualities such as superior tact, superior intelligence, superior strength, superior knowledge, superior oratory skills, or superior power. Some or all or none of these can lead to attaining leadership. These things may be important, but they are not necessarily essential. It is also the ability to set new goals and reach new expectations for themselves and for the group they influence.
CHAPTER 1 NATURE, SCOPE & SCALE OF MODERN LEADERSHIP
What is leadership?
The nature of leadership
Leadership and group behaviour
The roles of leaders
Functions of leadership
Leadership and motivation
CHAPTER 2 LEADERSHIP TOOLS
Leadership training
Personal skills
CHAPTER 3 LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS
Introduction
Modern contingency approach
Leadership expectations
Managing group values
CHAPTER 4 PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS
Introduction
Group dynamics
Problem solving
Case study
CHAPTER 5 RECENT HISTORY OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership styles
Situational factors
Decision making
Conclusion
CHAPTER 6 CHOOSING A LEADER & LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Leadership selection criteria
Types of leaders
How people become a leader
Risk factors
Leadership opportunities
CHAPTER 7 CASE STUDIES
Specific cases
The dark side of leadership
World leaders
Assessment
Assessment is based on a combination of completing all assignments and sitting for a final short one and a half hour exam, in your own location.
If you don’t cope well with exams then you may elect to undertake a project instead. This is a popular option.
In addition, most modules have a Set Task at the end of each lesson placed before the assignment. This is an opportunity to undertake practical work to help you acquire knowledge and skills and practical experience. This ADL feature is an added bonus not found at most online schools. Set Tasks are not required for assessment.
Some courses also have optional Self-Tests which are available on our online learning platform. These are not available by correspondence or by USB, and do not form part of your overall grade.
How our courses work
Choose Your Learning Method You choose how you would like to receive your course material, i.e., Online, USB or Correspondence. The choice is yours. You may also work on online or offline.
Tutor Allocation Every student is assigned their own dedicated tutor who is an expert in their subject area. They provide as much or as little individual contact as you require. You can contact your tutor whenever you need – your hours are not limited.
Feedback and Assignments Tutor Feedback is an essential component in helping you understand the subject matter. Tutor feedback is given in the form of notes written on the assignment. We encourage you to contact your Tutor where help with clarification and understanding of course material may be required.
Your assignments are located at the end of each lesson. You submit them for marking whenever you are ready. There is no time limit.
Set Tasks and Self-Tests Most modules have a Set Task at the end of each lesson before for the assignment. This is where you get the opportunity to undertake practical work to help you acquire knowledge, skills and practical experience. Many modules also have short Self-Tests.
Exams Once all assignments have been completed you may then elect to sit for a one and half hour exam in your own location. If you prefer not to take the exam you do have the option to undertake a project instead. Once the exam or project part of the course is completed, your Certificate is then processed. Please allow approximately 4 weeks for this.
Design Your Own Qualification ADL offers students the flexibility to self-design their own qualification – bundling together a combination of 100-hour modules into a qualification higher than a certificate.
FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.
General
Q. Why should I enrol with the Academy for Distance Learning? A. Here at ADL, our students are our priority – we treat everyone as a unique individual.
Q. Do I need to buy text books? A. No, as each module has been written by highly qualified industry professionals. The content of the material is presented in such a way that text books are not required. However, if you require additional reading your tutor will be able to supply a list.
Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while? (eg. become sick, go on holidays, have a baby, move house, etc) A. It’s OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.
Q. Is there an age limit? A. There is no maximum age limit. We do however, have a minimum age limit of 18 years. Below that age parental consent would be required.
Q. Are your courses up-to date? A. Our courses are revised and updated on a rotation system.
Q. Do you have a Cancellation policy? A. Yes. We have a cancellation policy that is fair and equitable. For further details please click here.
Q. Will I have any opportunity to engage with other students? A. We have a Student Community group based on facebook! If you don’t have a facebook account already, you could make one just for talking with fellow students on the group.
Enrolment
Q. When can I enrol/start? A. You may enrol and start at any time of the year – it’s all self- paced.
Q. Can I study from anywhere in the world? A. Our courses are available to anyone, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. The course content is relevant to any country, culture or economy.
Q. How long do I have to complete the course? A. You complete the course at any time that is convenient for you.
Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take? A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.
Assessment
Q. Assessment – how does it work? A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.
Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do? A. You may elect to undertake a Project (set by your tutor) instead of sitting the exam. Projects are completed from your home and can usually take a couple of weeks to complete.
Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work? A. Yes –
Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module? A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.
Q. I am having difficulty attending workshops/industry meetings, what can be done? A. If your course requires attendance at workshops, conferences, or industry meetings; alternative arrangements can be made in your country.
Qualifications
Q. Can I customize my diploma/higher qualification?
A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.
Q. What do I get when I complete the course? Will I receive a transcript? A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.
Tutors
Q. Our tutors – who are they? A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.
Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time? A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.
Q. Practical work – How is this done? A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.
What's Included
What your tuition fees include
All Course Material via Online, USB or Correspondence
Assignments Marked
Professional Tutor Feedback
Set Tasks - Practical Exercises to help you develop skills
Self-Tests – multiple choice questions at the end of lessons in most modules
Unlimited Personal Tutor Support – via our student classroom
Committed and Friendly Admin Support – vital to your success
All ADL Exam or Project fees (exception RHS exams)
To speak to one of our course advisors, please enter your name and phone number below and click the "Please Call Me" button. We will call you back as soon as possible!
By submitting this form, I provide my consent to ADL to contact me via email or telephone, regarding the course I selected. All information provided is protected in conformity with our Privacy Policy.
CONTACT US
required fields are marked with *
By submitting this form, I provide my consent to ADL to contact me via email or telephone, regarding the course I selected. All information provided is protected in conformity with our Privacy Policy.
This course is accredited by ACCPH and allows you to join as a professional member after completion. The letters MACCPH after your name (post-nominals) maybe used.
Leadership