Managing Conflict

Book excerpt: Managing Conflict: An Introspective Journey to Negotiating Skills focuses on self-awareness, self-motivation, self-regulation, empathy, and social competencies as tools to help readers understand themselves and others, recognize who to trust, and negotiate successful, trust-based relationships. The primary goal of the anthology is to facilitate the development of negotiation skills to resolve conflict. The book offers sociological perspectives on cooperation, conflict, and conflict resolution to help readers think beyond the individual and consider the skills that build good communication. Specific topics include non-violent communication, strategies and techniques for managing conflict, understanding stress and conflict, bullying, negotiation and mediation, and mediator ethics. As they read, students consider the importance of attitudes, values, and goals, and the importance of internalizing norms and governing one's own behavior. Featuring contributions from authors who specialize in diverse disciplines and developed to help students sharpen their observational skills, improve their emotional intelligence, and strengthen their analytical capabilities, Managing Conflict is well suited to courses in sociology, social psychology, counseling, law, and social work. Dorothy Balancio, Ph.D. earned her degree in sociology at City University of New York and went on to study negotiation at Harvard University and conflict resolution at Columbia University's International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution. A professor and the Sociology Program Director at Mercy College, her commitment to conflict management has been strengthened by her experience surviving the death of her son to violence. Dr. Balancio is executive director of the Louis Balancio Scholarship Fund (P.O. Box 1515, Scarsdale, New York, 10583), a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to encourage people to learn the art of dispute resolution.