1. Chapter 3
Interests and Goals

2. Goals and conflict
At some level, all conflicts involve people who think (perceive) that their goals are incompatible with another person’s
Usually, people believe that one person is blocking another from achieving a goal
Self Esteem underlies many conflicts

3. Factors underlying goals
Core concerns
Values and attitudes
Preferences
Personal approaches

4. Core personal issues
These are at the heart of conflict, but are almost never brought up by the parties
Need for self esteem
Violation of cultural rules
Gender identity and expectations
Religion
Emotional concerns

5. Attitudes, Attributions, Values
People think their own goals are right because they are thinking of them in terms of their own attitudes and values
Exercise – identify and discuss a conflict and then list the attitudes, attributions, and values for both parties

6. Preferences, Orientations, Approaches
These vary by personality types, for example, the Myers-Briggs types:
Extrovert and Introvert
Sensing vs. Perceiving
Thinking and Feeling
Judging and Perceiving

7. Types of Goals also vary
Content Goals
Wht do we want?
Relational Goals
What are we to each other? How much interdependence do we want?
Identity or face-saving Goals
Who am I in this interaction? Am I being respected?
Process Goals
What communication processes/approaches will be used?

8. Overlapping nature of goals
Most often, there are multiple goals underlying a conflict
Let’s think of examples and diagram the overlap!

9. An interesting and important fact about goals
They often emerge and transform themselves during an interaction
Prospective Goals – intentions people hold before they engage in conflict
Transactive Goals – goals discovered during the conflict itself
Retrospective Goals – justifications for decisions/actions and formation of new goals

10. Improving Conflict Goals
Clear goals are essential to effective conflict management
Advantages of clear goals:
Solutions won’t go unrecognized
Clear goals are easier to share
Clear goals can be altered more easily than vague ones
Clear goals are reached far more often

11. Collaborative Goals Guidelines for effective collaborative goals:
They should address short-medium-long range
They specify the desired behaviors
They orient towards the present and future (not the past
They recognize interdependence
They recognize that conflict resolution is an ongoing process