As we’ve discussed before, competing is a conflict resolution style in which one party seeks to meet his or her own needs at the expense of another party's needs. It can occur in a conflict where the goals are very important to the parties, but the relationships involved are not important.
As a style, competing is:
EXAMPLE
Your brand new car is scratched in the parking lot by a stranger's car. The other driver isn't even apologetic and says it wasn't his fault. You start shouting at him because your car is important to you, and the stranger is being a jerk.EXAMPLE
You are planning your wedding, and your cousin's kid is mad that she wasn't invited to bring a date. You have a limited guest list, and you aren't even that close to your cousin, let alone their kid; it doesn't really matter to you whether or not she even comes to the wedding, so you certainly don't want to let her bring a plus-one.EXAMPLE
The city is changing their rules about street parking during snow storms, and the new rule would mean that you would have a much more inconvenient parking situation for your household during storms. You believe that it's the city council's job to think about the impact of all their decisions on homeowners, and you go to the city council meeting ready to let everyone know exactly what you think of this decision.This particular style of conflict has, as all styles do, both positive and negative outcomes.
A positive outcome is a resolution to a conflict that a party perceives as meeting their needs and/or reducing the likelihood of further conflict.
A negative outcome is a resolution that the party perceives as not meeting their needs and/or increasing the likelihood of further conflict.
EXAMPLE
Return to the example of your scratched car.EXAMPLE
Consider the scenario of wedding invitations for your cousin's kid's plus-one.EXAMPLE
Return to the example of your visit to the city council after snowstorm parking rules were changed.Source: Adapted from Sophia tutorial by Marlene Johnson.