Differences of opinion with a co-worker. Disagreements with your significant other. Arguments with relatives or friends. What do each of these scenarios have in common? Your ability to manage conflict is either effective or ineffective. How do you know if it’s effective or ineffective, and how can you learn from it? In this first discussion for the final week, you will consider areas of strength and improvement associated with your own style of conflict management based on your own experiences.
Read Chapter 11 from The Interpersonal Communication Book; answer the 10 true/false statements regarding your interpersonal conflict behavior (p. 297 – 298). Then, review your results and consider whether your interpersonal conflict management skills are effective or ineffective.
Initial Post: Prepare a 300-word minimum reply that sufficiently addresses each of the items below. Don’t forget that it is critical to cite your sources of information, including the textbook, using APA formatting.
- Identify personal communication strengths and growth. Describe at least two strengths and two growth areas.
- Consider an actual example from your own personal or professional experience where you could have been more effective. How would you go about following the conflict management steps on pp. 292-296?
Power Differentials in Human Services
As the saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility.” For human services professionals, a high degree of care must be exercised when it comes to engaging with others, particularly as it relates to being mindful of the power dynamic that exists between the worker and client. In this final discussion forum, you will consider the course text and the ethical principles of the National Organization for Human Services in recognizing positive and negative elements of power you possess in a fictional or actual human services scenario.
Read Chapter 12 from The Interpersonal Communication Book and answer the six statements related to your interpersonal power (p. 311-312); read the National Organization for Human Services Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals (Links to an external site.) and consider the issue of power and influence in human services. Then, review your answers to the six statements and consider the degree of interpersonal power that you believe you possess.
Initial Post: Please prepare a 300-word minimum post that sufficiently addresses each of the items below. Don’t forget that it is critical to cite your sources of information, including the textbook, using APA formatting.
- What would you identify as some of your personal communication strengths with respect to how you exercise power?
- What would you identify as some of your personal communication growth areas with respect to how you exercise power?
- If you were to imagine (or if you are currently) a human services professional working with a client population of your choice (e.g., children and families, the mentally ill, the homeless, etc.), how would (or do) you use your knowledge of your strengths and limitations, in addition to the ethical standards for human service professionals, to reduce the presence of negative power and influence that you might have in a situation with a client?
https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals
Required Resources
Required Text
1. DeVito, J.A. (2016). The interpersonal communication book (14th ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu
- Chapter 11: Interpersonal Conflict and Conflict Management (pp. 283-304)