I will write about 1 such relationship between 2 friends, Sam and Tom. It was back in secondary school, when we were tasked with a group project. Sam, who was the smart, domineering personality type, often made decisions for Tom, the average, submissive type. During that period, we were overloaded with many assignments. Tom, who took a longer time than others to complete his work, suddenly found himself under the pressure of time. On the other hand, Sam, who had finished his assignments, wanted to start on the project immediately. Naturally, Sam, who expected Tom to begin work on the project as well, ran into a need conflict with Tom because Tom was not able to deliver his part of the project.
Sam: Tom, we need to start on the project now.
Tom: I still have unfinished work. Can we hold off on the project?
Sam: No, we cannot. The project is due next month.
Tom: I'm really busy with work though.
Sam: No means no. We will start on this project, and don't you put this project as a final priority.
Tom: ... I'll see what I can do.
The final result was that Tom never got his work done, the project ended up in a failure, and I never saw the friends hang out again. Sam, who took a competing style of conflict resolution, wanted Tom to adhere to his schedule, and would not take Tom's work into consideration. On the other hand, Tom, who took an avoiding style of conflict resolution, tried to delay the project as long as he could, but ended up failing to deliver his part of the project.
Clearly, the choice of conflict resolution was not wise. I believe both parties should have tried to reach a compromise with each other. Sam should have offered to help Tom with his work, instead of demanding Tom to hurry up. On the other hand, Tom should have been more assertive with the issue, instead of trying to avoid Sam until it was too late.
Commented:
Arman
Izaac
Wei Xiong
Commented:
Arman
Izaac
Wei Xiong
