Chapter 3: How Does a Conflict Occur? Genesis, Stages, and Process

Management of shared resources frequently necessitates collaboration among stakeholders with significantly differing value systems and interests. Conflict arises when these parties have contradictory values, opinions, or opposing notions about resource allocation or when decision-making involves too few possibilities.^1,2 There are different contexts in which conflicts can occur, such as workplace, local communities, intimate partnerships, and world events. Variances in employees’ personalities, goals, values, perceptions, preferences, and opinions can be a source of incompatibility, which further leads to conflict.^3,4 Thus, conflict can occur in five stages: potential opposition/incompatibility, cognition and personalization, intension, behavior, and outcome (Fig. 7).^5,6,7

Stage I of conflict resolution is potential opposition or incompatibility. This phase represents the preliminary circumstances or elements that may allow conflicts to arise. While not all these elements usually result in conflict, they foster an environment where conflicts could occur. These elements may be referred to as antecedents or triggers. The following factors are considered as potential sources of conflict: