Question

If during an interview the interviewer asks me how do I handle conflict and I say that I always focus on behavior or events, not on personalities. What does that statement that I said means?

Answer 1

This statement is the essence of principled negotiation theory by fisher and ury. This a a conflict negotiation theory, based on handling conflict in a cooperative way. This theory suggests that:

• People should identify and evaluate the problem, so that they have a clear idea of what the problem.
• The position or the persons involved in the conflict is not important, what is important is the problem.
• Objectivity is to be maintained in providing solutions.

The theory talks about the importance of objectivity being maintained when there is a problem. So that, there is no bias in solving the problem. But, in some situations, it is difficult to be completely objective, and human needs may be taken into consideration then.