In Week 2, students will complete an LSI Conflict Paper based on the results of the online LSI Conflict Inventory. Students should review the LSI slides in Doc Sharing to help understand and interpret the LSI Conflict circumplex results. The LSI Conflict Paper should not exceed six pages. Follow the LSI Conflict Paper instructions in Doc Sharing. Use the spreadsheet provided in Doc Sharing for attaching and inserting the circumplex results.
MGMT570 LSI Conflict Paper
As you review the LSI conflict self-development guide, we are reminded of how pervasive conflict is in our everyday lives. No one is immune from conflict. Yet, how conflict affects each of us is determined by both the situation and how we cope; conflict can be both a help and a hindrance: it can lead us to more creative and productive relationships, or it can destroy our relationships. Whether conflict impacts us positively or negatively depends in large measure on how constructively we deal with it.
To this end, the LSI conflict exercise is a tool designed to help you learn to deal more constructively with the conflict situations in your life. More specifically, the instrument and self-development guide will help you identify and understand how your thinking patterns and coping behavior influence your ability to deal with conflict situations. In addition, you’ll discover how your thoughts and behaviors help or block constructive conflict solutions and learn how to approach conflict situations more effectively. The paper should not exceed six pages in length, excluding the LSI circumplex that should be attached to the paper. (110 points total)
Your assignment is to complete the Life Styles Conflict Inventory by addressing the following points.
1. Describe your personal conflict styles. Focus on your dominant and weakest styles (include a copy of your circumplex). (40 points)
2. Assess the impact of your styles on your effectiveness. Which of your styles are working for you in accomplishing your goals, and which styles are working against you? Provide specific examples. (30 points)
3. Identify a conflict style for change, and briefly define an action plan to implement the change. Consider the steps defined in the self-improvement planner on pp. 16–18 in the self-development guide to help you in this process. (30 points)
4. Conclude by providing a brief reflective statement regarding this exercise. (10 points)
MY RESULTS:
LSI Conflict Circumplex
LSI Conflict enables you to identify and understand how both your thinking patterns (or “styles”) and coping behaviors influence your ability to deal with conflict situations. In doing so, the inventory provides a point-in-time picture of your particular orientation to conflict, reflected in the circular graph or “profile circumplex” below.
LSI Conflict measures three conflict orientations: Constructive (colored blue), Passive/Defensive (colored green), and Aggressive/Defensive (colored red).
Higher scores for the 11, 12, 1, and 2 o’clock styles reflect a CONSTRUCTIVE conflict orientation. Individuals exhibiting these styles deal with conflict effectively; they see conflict situations as opportunities for personal growth, treat opponents as respected equals, and tend to have a goal beyond winning or losing which enables them to benefit regardless of the conflict’s outcome.
Higher scores for the 3, 4, 5, and 6 o’clock styles reflect a PASSIVE/DEFENSIVE conflict orientation. In general, individuals with these styles are threatened by conflict and assume a passive approach. They believe conflict is unnecessary and destructive and prefer to avoid it.
Higher scores for the 7, 8, 9, and 10 o’clock styles reflect an AGGRESSIVE/DEFENSIVE conflict orientation. While individuals with these styles also view conflict as threatening, they tend to deal with it by becoming adversarial and trying to overpower or outwit their opponents.
The extensions on the circumplex and scores listed in the table below depict your perceptions of how you think and behave across situations, including those involving conflict.
For brief style descriptions, click on the styles of interest in your profile. For detailed style descriptions, go to the Self-Development Guide.
|
Position
|
Style
|
Score
|
Percentile
|
|
11
|
Pragmatist
|
35
|
75
|
|
12
|
Self-Empowered
|
30
|
60
|
|
1
|
Conciliator
|
28
|
38
|
|
2
|
Relationship Builder
|
40
|
99
|
|
3
|
Accommodator
|
15
|
63
|
|
4
|
Regulator
|
34
|
99
|
|
5
|
Insulator
|
10
|
20
|
|
6
|
Avoider
|
17
|
92
|
|
7
|
Escalator
|
5
|
34
|
|
8
|
Dominator
|
14
|
81
|
|
9
|
Competitor
|
17
|
75
|
|
10
|
Perfectionist
|
20
|
50
|
More detailed descriptions of how to interpret your results are provided by clicking on the link to “LSI Conflict Self-Development Guide”. Briefly, the LSI Conflict circumplex allows you to see how your scores compare against those of 9,207 other individuals. In doing so, your total “raw” score for each style is converted to a percentile score.
The circumplex contains three possible scoring ranges, which correspond to the percentile points listed for each style.
HIGH: Your style is in the high range if it is above the 75th percentile (i.e., the darkly shaded area on the circumplex). MEDIUM: Your style is in the medium range if it is between the 25th and 75th percentiles (the moderately shaded area). LOW: Your style is in the low range if it is below the 25th percentile (i.e., the lightly shaded area). |
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