Hi, I'm Julie Tietz, and welcome to "Conflict Resolution-- Putting the Pieces Together." Today we're going to talk about power-based to relationship-based theory in conflict resolution. There are three broad approaches to conflict resolution. And those are needs-based, power-based, and rights-based.
Before we dive into these different approaches or theories, let's define an important piece to all of these theories. And that is power, which is the ability to control an individual or group through influence, force, coercion, or manipulation, to get them to do something they otherwise would not do. Conflict resolution as a discipline diverged from power-based conflict theory. And that is a theory of conflict resolution that sees conflict as a power-based struggle to be won by one side or another through the use of power.
So what this means is there is going to be a clear winner and a loser. And the winner usually gains control of the conflict through some form of power. We often see this in congress, when the majority party passes a bill that the minority party doesn't need to vote on because they have enough votes. And so therefore, they use their voting power to pass bills that are in their favor.
We also see this in war, where power is used to obtain resources, like land or other natural resources, and even people and political power as well. Conflict resolution now attempts to address fundamental human needs and encourages win-win solutions derived from open communication and attention to past, present, and future relationships.
And this is the relationship-based theory, and that's an approach to conflict resolution that sees conflict as an opportunity to address fundamental human needs of the parties. So here we're looking at what the people in the conflict need. And we look at that, and we address those needs because in addressing the needs, we may be better at resolving the conflict.
An example of this could be through labor negotiations between management and labor unions. And these negotiations attempt to find solutions that address the needs of the company and also the needs of the workers and the union, so they both feel that they have won. And they focus on their past working relationships, and if that has been working well, then they want to continue to focus on those good relationships in the future.
Also, we can see this in divorce or a custody situation, where the parties trying to find solutions that will work for the kids and for the parents, and also focusing on the relationship. Even though they may not be together, they still want to foster relationship to parent the children. A third approach to look at is rights-based theory. And that is an approach to conflict resolution, looking at conflict as a perceived or actual incompatibility of rights.
So here, parties' competing legal rights, entitlements, and obligations are reconciled. And a great example would be a court case where the legal system determines the outcome of the conflict based on law and statutes and precedent. OK, now let's go over the key points of power-based to relationship-based theory.
Conflict resolution diverged from power-based theory, which looks at conflict as a power-based struggle, where there is a winner and a loser. And the winner obtains their victory through the use of power. Conflict resolution today uses a relationship-based theory, where we focus on the fundamental human needs of the parties to resolve the conflict.
And also conflict resolution uses rights-based theory, where there is incompatibility of the parties' legal rights, entitlements, and obligations. And here, through this theory, they are reconciled. Thank you so much again for listening to this tutorial, and I hope to catch you again next time.