Competition and Conflict

379 Words2 Pages
Competition and conflict can be different and similar in various situations. The nature of both competition and conflict both depend on the perspective of the involved parties and their respective circumstances. For example, when competition arises, one can either handle it in a combative fashion or work collaboratively with “competitors” in order to further the collectively good. In situations where conflict is the main theme of the relationship between various parties, each involved party can either view the conflict as a personal, ad hominem attack or as a reflection of misrepresented, underappreciated topic of discussion. In many ways competition and conflict can both be acerbated by miscalculations committed by the various parties and alleviated by collaborative actions that will bear fruits in the long-term horizon. In any case, it would be wise to see competition and conflict as both a synonym in terms of strategic interest management and as an antonym in terms of emotional display of dissatisfaction. In theory, both competition and conflict could potentially produce harmful effects to all involved parties when they are taken out of context in a given situation. Without mechanisms that will regulate and reinforce predetermined rules of engagement, it will be likely that all involved parties will lose focus and ultimately lose leverage in pursuing their respective strategic interest. It would be wise to emphasize the positive aspects of both competition and conflict which compose of calculated trust to reduce tension, volatility and unexpected behavior hence greatly reduce the hostility in all cases. In doing so, competitors can be turned into willing partners and combatants can be turned into coalition of change. In summation, the natural divide and convergence between competitors and those who are involved in conflicts are one of the same because both
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