Social and Community Work | Scenarios

Running Head: SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY WORK
SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY WORK
Name of the Student:
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Table of Contents
Scenario- 1.......................................................................................................................................2
LO1: Role of mediation in resolving conflict..................................................................................2
Purpose of Mediation in Resolving Conflicts..............................................................................2
Situations where Mediation would be Effective..........................................................................2
Community Mediation.............................................................................................................3
Commercial Mediation............................................................................................................3
Peer Mediation.........................................................................................................................3
Comparing the Effectiveness of Mediation with Other Techniques...........................................3
Reflection on Mediation Skills....................................................................................................4
Scenario- 2.......................................................................................................................................6
LO2: Role of advocacy and empowerment in conflict situation.....................................................6
Reflection of Applying Different Conflict Tools........................................................................6
5 stages of conflict management..............................................................................................6
Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Assessment.........................................................................6
Role of My Skills and Attributes in Resolving the Situation......................................................7
Reflection on the effectiveness of different skills and techniques..............................................8
Reflection on own skills and approaches.....................................................................................9
Relevance in social or community conflict mitigation................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11

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Scenario- 1
LO1: Role of mediation in resolving conflict
Purpose of Mediation in Resolving Conflicts
Mediation is the process that is used to resolve the conflicts between two parties with the
assistance of a neutral third party. This type of conflict management is used to have a reasonable
solution through negotiation, discussion and communication in the presence of a third party who
is a facilitator of all these process (Barsky 2019). The process of mediation needs the voluntary
participation of all the parties and come to a resolution of their disputes. In the case of Care4U,
Michael and Eoin’s conflict has been the reason for concern as it is affecting the morale of other
employees as well. Daniel can think of becoming a mediator in solving the disputes of the
employees.
Mediation is directed for the “alternative dispute resolution” for resolving the conflicts
among two or more parties. The solution has to be concrete and effective (Moretti 2017). The
third party in the mediation process assist in the negotiation for settlement. The context of
dispute might happen in various domains, like diplomatic, organisation, legal or community. In
most of the organisational contexts, mediation is becoming more effective. Daniel can address
the case of Eoin and Michael through mediation. Through mediation, both of the staffs can come
to effective solutions to their problems. The reputation of the Care4U can be in stake if the
conflict is further carried to the court or other legal negotiation. Daniel need to show a
comprehensive and extraordinary negotiation skill in mediating the conflict between them.
Situations where Mediation would be Effective
Conflicts can be evident in various field in an organisation or even in the society. Form
the professional experience, I have come to know that, these conflicts are the results of the
different personality involved in an organisation workforce. People, who are part of the
organisation in social work have to face varied challenges in their day to day operations. This is
the type of workforce that need to have different types of skill sets and ability. Hence, it can
prove effective in many situation and background (Carrasco 2016). For example, the case of

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Michael and Eoin can be solved through mediation of Daniel for negotiation. There are many
other contexts where the mediation can be most effective way to solve the conflicts.
Community Mediation
The disputes can happen with in a community between neighbours, family members,
landlords and tenants and so on. In these cases, the mediation process is used for negotiation.
Professional and trained volunteers are available to make the negotiation effective and legal.
Australia’s Family Act 1975 states that disputes Resolution Mediation is necessary for any
family conflicts before presenting the case to the court (Brinkert 2016). There are professional
attorneys who work as the mediator.
Commercial Mediation
Commercial disputes can also be solved through mediation. The companies can hire a mediator
or give the responsibility to one of the high rank manager to solvate disputes among the
employees. In trade deals the mediation process is used for different negotiations like cost saving
or policy making (Tjosvold, Wan and Tang 2016). Mediation can be beneficial in cost saving,
education and reduction of polarisation in the trade deals conflicts.
Peer Mediation
Mediation can be effective in adverse situation in the school or educational institutions.
The peer mediators are the one who are the part of same institution. The school can face situation
like student bullying or any such disputes. Mediation of the peer could be a better solution than
higher level discussions and punishments (Väyrynen et al. 2018). The students are trained to
become a peer mediator in their classes so that they can resolve the disputes among their peer
students.
Comparing the Effectiveness of Mediation with Other Techniques
There are several other approaches of resolving a dispute other than mediation. I have
gone through some resources and come to about the effectiveness of mediation. Resolving the
conflict can be done using several other techniques other than the mediation. These techniques
are- Arbitration, counselling, litigation and conciliation. There are basic differences between the
stages of mediation and all these alternatives. As a part of the social work organisation, I have to
use different process for resolving the conflicts. The conciliation is the advisory dispute-

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resolution process (Crocker, Hampson and Aall 2019). This process requires the professional
advisory which is not always possible in every situation. For example in a dispute of company’s
workers, it would have been quite challenging to find a conciliator. Using arbitration is all the
way more challenging for the scenarios like social disputes as arbiter is the one who makes
decision for the parties (Einarsen et al. 2018). In the disputes, the active participation of the
conflicting parties is necessary. I have realised from my experience that, if the parties are using
binding arbitration, that can actually be less effective than the mutual underrating in the
mediation.
Unlike, the other processes of conflict resolving, mediation do not interfere in the
decision making of the parties. Rather the mediator is the facilitator of communication and
negotiation among the parties. As a manager of a frim, I have faced situation where the staffs of
the company became the part of disputes regarding the work process or their individual thinking
(Mayer 2018). Mediation has proved a peaceful and effective way out for me rather than any
other technique. Firstly, this technique can be used in every form and level of a situation.
Training for mediation is not compulsory. But for all other techniques trained professional are
necessary to gain the results.
Reflection on Mediation Skills
Based on the given scenario of Care4U, I can say that there are some mediation skills that
I need to develop in order to facilitate a better mitigation of the conflict. For instance, the first
skill that I must work on is the active listening skill. From the research of Isaacson, Ricci and
Littlejohn (2020) it can be argued that an active listening skill helps the mediator to gain the trust
and confidence of the conflicting parties. It is pertinent for resolving the conflict as soon as
possible. Moreover, it can be argued that the active listening skill is also identified as the
fundamental step towards resolving conflicts. Therefore, I should develop my listening skills
properly so that the conflict within Care4U can effectively be mitigated.
The next skills is resembled with the practice of analytical abilities. As a mediator, it is
my responsibility to find out the root cause of the problem and working on it so that the conflict
can be controlled and resolved in process. As opined by Kilmann (2017) the analytical abilities
of the mediator plays a pivotal role in not only identifying the root cause of the problem but also
take necessary actions that can help to resolve the problem permanently. Therefore, the success

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of the conflict resolution is vested on the analytical power of the ability. In the context of
Care4U, I need to develop my analytical power so that it can help to resolve the conflict
effectively.
The third most crucial mediation skill is emotional intelligence. In course of finding out
the link between conflict management and emotional intelligent, it can be stated that the
emotional intelligence practice emphasises on the self-awareness and the social awareness. These
two concepts are highly relevant in the case scenario of Care4U. The self-awareness practice
helps the mediator to take a positive approach and optimistic behaviour so that the conflicting
parties will trust the verdict and intuition of the mediator. Moreover, the social awareness
initiative will bring in-depth understanding on the social differences between the conflicting
parties (Leffel, Hallam and Darling 2016). It helps to resolve the problem from the cultural
perspective as well. Another pertinent aspect of the emotional intelligence is associated with the
relationship management. A high EQ on the relationship management provides good
understanding among people and respect the vision of the others. Therefore, in Care4U also such
kind of practice must be prevailed. However, it is only possible by the intervention of a mediator.
Therefore, I must learn the skills of emotional intelligence and build up a strong relationship
management abilities that can influence the conflicting parties to resolve the conflict and respect
one another. This long term benefit of emotional intelligence is very promising and has a positive
impact over the conflicting parties.
Apart from this, a positive of the mediator can pave the way to resolve the conflict
strategically. Kiernan, Ledwith and Lynch (2019) advocated that one of the important
characteristics of a mediator in workplace is to focus on the team work as it is beneficial for the
organisation and the individuals as well. Therefore, my focus will also be vested on developing
an optimistic leadership approach so that it will guide the conflicting parties to understand their
professional roles in the organisation and behave professionally. It is very effective to create
strong teamwork skills and usher better workplace environment so that the productivity of the
organisation will continue.

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Scenario- 2
LO2: Role of advocacy and empowerment in conflict situation
Reflection of Applying Different Conflict Tools
5 stages of conflict management
It is the most familiar tool of conflict resolution where the conflict is divided into 5
different stages. It is important to note that all those stages have different roles to play but follow
a collaborative approach to meet the only objective of risk mitigation. In response to this, the
first stage is associated with the latent stage where people are unaware that they are in conflict.
As a mediator, it is my responsibility to identify the conflict in its first phase so that it will be
helpful to resolve the issue before it goes wrong (Raines 2019). The second phase is called the
perceived stage where people are well aware that they are in a fight. Therefore, more awareness
is required from the end of the management. In this situation, my responsibility is to approach to
the conflicting parties and speak to them so that any mitigation can be implemented. The third
stage is known as the felt stage where people are suffering with stress and anxiety while
conflicting each other. It can have a great deal of impact over the entire organisation. Henceforth,
my responsibility is to prepare mitigation strategy and using my active listening skill and
analytical ability to find out the root cause of the conflict and resolve it immediately (Wronka-
Pośpiech 2016). The final stage is named aftermath stage where some outcome can be extracted
from the conflict. It can be a resolution or a pragmatic decision making so that the conflict will
not arise in future. Here, as a mediator, I can use emotional intelligence to develop relationship
management and shaping effective team work.
Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Assessment
The Kilmann Conflict Mode also depends on five stages of assessment in terms of
competing, avoiding, collaborating, accommodating and compromising (Kilmann 2017). As a
part of the conflict management process, the Kilmann Conflict Mode is responsible to provide
in-depth analysis over the process and the duty of a mediator. The first phase is associated with
competing where an assertive but uncooperative approach has been taken by the employees. In
this regard, my role is to listen to their problems properly (Mullins, Lechtenberger and Murdock

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2017). Then avoiding is also an important aspect where the mediator can play the role of
unassertive and uncooperative. It is important to note that some of the conflicts are not so
important or beyond any resolution. Therefore, as a mediator, my task is to avoid those conflicts
and ensure the team morale will be intact. Apart from that the collaborating approach is the best
process where the role of the mediator is to collaborate and cooperate with the conflicting parties
(Siew and Jones 2018). My task is to satisfy both the conflicting parties so that any kind of future
conflict can be prevented. Therefore, my skills on emotional intelligence has a great and
pertinent role to play in this practice. Accommodating conflict management practice is
associated with an unassertive but cooperative approach where it is not possible for the mediator
to jump into a conclusion but stop the conflict for the time being. Therefore, it is a short term
technique for mitigating conflicts. My job is to facilitate an active listening practice so that it can
formulate positive intent towards the conflict management practice (Atak 2016). Another
important approach is the compromising practice in conflict management. In this approach, my
role is to develop the analytical abilities so that it will help to find out the real cause behind the
conflict. Based on this causes, a mediator can formulate a common ground for both the
conflicting parties and resolve the conflict effectively.
Role of My Skills and Attributes in Resolving the Situation
I have three skills and attributes that can help to resolve any conflicting situation. The
first skill is the listening skill. I am very patient by nature and always listen to others before
sharing my comments. As a result of that it proves my efficiency to build up an effective skill on
active listening practice. An active listening skill has the power to figure out the root cause of the
conflict and prepare a conflict resolution plan so that the entire conflict can be managed
effectively (Way, Jimmieson and Bordia 2019). I can listen to the issues of the conflicting parties
individually or in group and try to understand the problem deeply.
Moreover, I have high communication skill. In the conflict resolution practice, I can
convince or influence the conflicting parties with my positive communication and conversation.
It is pertinent to make the conversation relevant and cooperative enough so that none of the
conflicting parties will feel isolated or betrayed by biased decision. Henceforth, I choose the
words carefully and use a lenient approach so that the conflicting parties will listen my points
carefully and get influenced at the same time. The effective communication has to be associated

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with the organisational objectives and purpose. Therefore, I am also focusing on the motive and
purpose of the organisation and opting the right communication strategy as per the need of the
organisation.
The emotional intelligence is also a major skill in my characteristics. I have empathy for
the conflict parties and always willing to meet their interests through cooperation and
negotiation. The purpose of using emotional intelligence for me is to shape a relationship
management practice that can help to create better and effective conflict resolution practice.
Moreover, I have also practiced the self-awareness practice in order to understand the problems
and facilitate proper remedies to end the conflict. My emotional intelligence skills help me to
create a team work among the employees and help them to understand the importance of the
organisational objectives. Thus, I can check and control the conflicts and direct the conflict to a
long term benefit for the organisation.
Reflection on the effectiveness of different skills and techniques
All the skills have great importance in resolving conflicts. For instance, the active
listening skill helps me to deliver a better approach towards understanding the conflict problem
and act accordingly so that the problem will be eradicated as soon as possible. From the research
of Labrague and McEnroe–Petitte (2017) it is derived that the active listening skill provides
immense trust and confidence among the conflicting parties and they start relying on the
mediator’s decision.
On the other hand, Njoku (2017) projected that effective communication is a fundamental
requirement for professional negotiation. The convincing approach and conversation with the
conflicting parties is very important for me to check and control the conflict in workplace. I
presume that an effective communication can easily resolve conflict within an organisation.
Therefore, emphasising on my communication skill and development is highly crucial for me to
become a good conflict management expert.
Apart from that Krishnakumar,(2019) articulated that in conflict resolution emotional
attachment with the conflicting parties can easily help the business organisations to procure an
effective conflict resolution strategy that emotionally influence the employees to mitigate the

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conflicts. From that point of view, I can state that emotional intelligence plays a significant role
in the conflict mitigation process and provides long term benefits for mediators like me.
Reflection on own skills and approaches
My skills and abilities are highly associated with the practice of establishing an effective
and professional conflict management practice. I follow some steps to resolving the conflicts.
The first stage is to find out the reason behind the conflict. It is the most important and initial
part for any mediator to facilitate goof conflict resolution practice. Therefore, I put emphasis on
my active listening skills. There are two purposes behind choosing the active listening skill. One
is obvious related to identify the root cause behind the conflict. Another is resembled with
building up trusts among the conflicting parties so that they will be confident enough to share
their problems without any hesitation. Then I prepare a relevant plan so that it can help to
mitigate the conflict as soon as possible. The plan also formulates the necessary method or
technique to meet its objectives. For instance, in most of the cases I choose the collaboration
method so that interests of all the parties can be met. However, it completely depends on the
reason of the conflict. My communication skill help me to make a healthy and positive
conversation with the conflicting groups and jump into conclusion regarding the process and
strategic implementation. The final part is to check the mitigation strategy with the
organisational objectives. My emotional intelligence skill helps me a lot to create a link between
the two and it becomes beneficial for both the organisation and the employees as well.
Relevance in social or community conflict mitigation
`From the research of Labrague and McEnroe–Petitte (2017) the social or community
conflicts are more complex in nature in compare to the workplace issues. Therefore, it can be
stated that I must have a full knowledge of the social norms and culture before taking any
decisions for the benefit of the conflicting parties. My emotional intelligence skill plays a pivotal
part in this process where I can build up my self-awareness and perceive a clear understanding of
the differences in culture and practice. Moreover, my active listening skills and communication
abilities will also guide me to gain the trust of both conflicting parties and create a better
environment where I can prepare a positive and effective conflict resolution plan.

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References
Atak, M., 2016. A Research on the Effect of Emotional Intelligence Level on Conflict
Management Skill. The International Journal of Research in Teacher Education, 7(3), pp.28-43.
Barsky, A.E., 2019. Ethics and values in social work: An integrated approach for a
comprehensive curriculum. Oxford University Press.
Brinkert, R., 2016. An appreciative approach to conflict: Mediation and conflict coaching. In
Advancing Workplace mediation through integration of theory and practice (pp. 173-187).
Springer, Cham.
Carrasco, M.B., 2016. Mediation and the Social Work profession: particularly in the community
context. Cuadernos de Trabajo Social, 29(2), p.275.
Crocker, C.A., Hampson, F.O. and Aall, P., 2019. Mediation in the emerging international
environment: from hierarchy to improvisation. In Research Handbook on Mediating
International Crises. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Einarsen, S., Skogstad, A., Rørvik, E., Lande, Å.B. and Nielsen, M.B., 2018. Climate for conflict
management, exposure to workplace bullying and work engagement: a moderated mediation
analysis. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(3), pp.549-570.
Isaacson, K., Ricci, H. and Littlejohn, S.W., 2020. Mediation: Empowerment in Conflict
Management. Waveland Press.
Kiernan, L., Ledwith, A. and Lynch, R., 2019. Design teams management of conflict in reaching
consensus. International Journal of Conflict Management.
Kilmann, R.H., 2017. A Brief History of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument.
Krishnakumar, S., Perera, B., Hopkins, K. and Robinson, M.D., 2019. On being nice and
effective: Work‐related emotional intelligence and its role in conflict resolution and interpersonal
problem‐solving. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 37(2), pp.147-167.

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Labrague, L.J. and McEnroe–Petitte, D.M., 2017. An integrative review on conflict management
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