Hi, I'm Julie Tietz. And welcome to Conflict Resolution-- putting the pieces together. Today, we're going to cover the core concern of status. So why don't we get started off with our key terms? Core concern-- per the Harvard Negotiation project, it's one of five emotional or relational needs all humans feel within relationships or in negotiation.
So the Harvard Negotiation project is based out of Harvard University. And it works on real conflicts to better understand and implement conflict resolution and negotiation practices. So what we're learning here about the core concerns is all based on real world experiences.
Status-- a state of rank or ascription of value and importance in a given situation. When we're looking at the core concerns and its relationship to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we see here that the core concerns fall mainly within the esteem and love and belonging categories. When we're specifically talking about status, we are looking at that it falls in the esteem level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
And so in order for our status need to be satisfied, we must feel that we have respect from others and that we are acknowledged for our special skills or knowledge that we have. And these special skills or knowledge has special bearing on a situation and can influence the outcome possibly of a scenario. So our level and rank are important to us when it comes to our need of status.
So let's look at some examples where status is often needed. And these are coming from my own personal examples. So you may have some other ones that you can come up with as we go through these. Let's say we need some status at home. We need to feel that we're getting respect from our family members or our roommates and that we have special skills that are of importance at home.
And this could also be true of on the job. We all have our own special skills and particular knowledge that go along with the type of work that we do. And we need to feel that we're respected because of this, from our co-workers, from our bosses, from the work environment.
And we also need to feel this when we are in groups. If I'm going to be a part of a group membership, I want to feel that I am using my skills and they are being valued and respected by the other members of the group that I'm a part of.
And also, we see this in relationships. We like to feel that we're special and that we maybe know more about something. And we're willing to share that or have that known and let others in our relationships embrace our status and our special skills.
When we feel that there's a lack of status or a perception that there is a lack of status, a conflict can arise. So let's go to an example. Let's say you're part of a charity group. And you have really good knowledge on how to implement a business plan.
And somebody else wants to take on that that particular project. And you feel that you are overlooked and that people are not acknowledging or respecting that you do have the special skill. And this can create a conflict between you and the other group members.
Another example could be you're on the job. Again, could be a similar situation. You have a really great knowledge on a particular subject that the work is going to be brought up. And it's going to be new. And they need somebody to lead. And you're overlooked because they're not respecting your special skills or your status. And this could create a conflict within your job site.
When we're talking about status and conflict resolution, it's important to know that status must be present in order to have the resolution process be effective. And we do this through acknowledging other peoples' or the other parties' contributions that they've made in certain situations. And this helps build constructive relationships.
So in a conflict resolution process, a status of parties could look like mutual respect in how we're talking to another, maybe also acknowledging special skills that the other possesses and is helpful in certain situations. In doing so, we could reduce the tension and possibly resolve the conflict.
So now that we've covered the core concern of status, let's go over some of our key points. The status need is located on the esteem level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. And in order for our needs to be satisfied with a status, we must feel that we have respect of others and for our special skills or knowledge that we have.
And when there is a lack or perceived lack of status, a conflict can arise. And in order for conflict to resolve or be effective in a conflict resolution process, we must have status present. So we must acknowledge and respect others' special skills and knowledge that they possess throughout this process. Thank you for taking the time out to view this tutorial. And I can't wait to catch you again next time.