Managing for Responsibility

CHAPTER 12

Managing Conflicts Responsibly—Listening from the Heart

Pramod Pathak and Saumya Singh

Introduction

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines conflict as a serious disagreement or argument, a prolonged armed struggle, an incompatibility between opinions principles, and so on. Extant literature on conflict says conflict exists whenever two or more people disagree. These notwithstanding conflicts are an inevitable aspect of life. Dictionaries can define conflicts. Literature can describe them and dwell upon their nature and concept. But only human beings can understand them. And in this understanding lies the answer to the issue of managing conflicts with responsibility. True, management thinkers have come a long way as far as decoding the ...