<\/p>\n
OVERVIEW
\nYour ability to properly analyze and respond in a conflict-related situation is foundational to
\nyour success in personal and professional life.
\nThis brief is designed to help you refine the art of communicating to maximize impact,
\nprofessionalism and constructive outcomes by considering the possibilities of \u201cconflict
\ntransformation.\u201d
\nThe integration of form and content is the same as in the first brief; it will push you to research
\nthoroughly and write for brevity and impact. However, the content of this assignment will
\nchallenge you to consider the intersection of conflict, communication and technology for
\npractical, yet transformative outcomes.
\nINSTRUCTIONS
\nYou have been reading the Fisher & Ury book, and now you need to read Ledarach\u2019s book and
\nwatch his lecture. Once you have completed those things, then read the case study called The
\nWater Problem. Then apply what you\u2019ve learned from the Fisher and Ury book and the Lederach
\nbook to synthesize a strategic recommendation to solve the problem between the three groups.
\nThe goal of this paper is to see if you can apply ideas from this class to a real-life problem
\n1. Length of assignment: 1000 words
\n2. Content of assignment. The Conflict Brief is to include the following components.
\na. Cover Page (not included in word count)
\nb. Executive Summary that serves as a preview to the content found in the brief (250
\nwords). An Executive Summary is NOT an academic abstract. The Executive
\nSummary previews the brief by giving away the key insights or findings in the
\nbrief. Think of this as a one-page cheat sheet or as the \u201cspoiler alert,\u201d providing
\nthe audience with the main ideas clearly stated in an easy-to-read format. Follow
\nthe details below to prepare this part of your brief.
\nc. Professional, thoughtfully analyzed response to the case study (750 words)
\ni. This analysis includes the following sections
\n1. Two ideas from Fisher and Ury (you choose)
\n2. Two ideas from Lederach (you choose)
\n3. A suggested resolution to the problem
\n4. A biblical integration section
\nd. Reference page (not included in word count)
\n3. Format of assignment: Follow APA Style, paying close attention to the formatting of in-
\ntext citations, the reference list and headings. Creative business formatting as found in
\nWord templates is permitted if APA style is adhered to in in-text citations and references.
\nUse of first person is NOT permitted in this assignment.
\n4. Number of citations: 5<\/p>\n
COMS 560
\nPage 2 of 4
\n5. You should include ideas and concepts from two journal articles at various points in your
\npaper. These are not tied to any specific section, but should be included as a way to shore
\nup a particular point, or help to bring extra clarity to a point you are making.
\n6. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years, unless citing
\nclassic, philosophical, literary or historical and theoretical information or research.
\nAcceptable sources include course materials, and scholarly peer-reviewed sources, and
\nthe Bible. Two of the sources will be books we used in this class, and two must be
\nfrom scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles.
\nHere\u2019s how to prepare an Executive Summary.
\n\u25cf ASK YOURSELF: If my target audience could only read this one page to understand my
\nbrief, what do they need to know? By the time the reader finishes the Executive
\nSummary, they should be able to:
\n\u25cb State the main idea.
\n\u25cb Clearly identify the key insights or significant points made in your brief.
\n\u25cb Accurately recap the next steps based on your findings.
\n\u25cf WHAT TO INCLUDE: Follow these guidelines to ensure that the content is complete.
\n\u25cb Clear statement of purpose. This is your thesis (your WHY) for the brief.
\n\u25cb Key insights. Be specific, not vague. Share your findings here.
\n\u25cb Next steps. Be specific. List what you\u2019ve learned that\u2019s relevant to your audience.
\n\u25cb Concise writing. Stay focused and on point with your content.
\n\u25cb Professional language. Write for your audience. Aim to be clear, not clever.
\n\u25cb Easy-to-read formatting. Use bullet points to emphasize key ideas.
\n\u25cb APA citations. Use APA style if source support is provided.
\n\u25cf MORE ON HOW TO WRITE AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Use the general structural
\nrecommendations in these sources for additional insight into how to prepare an Executive
\nSummary. These are only guides. Emulate aspects of these sources that help you frame
\nyour brief well. You can find links to these articles on the Brief Assignment pages under
\nBrief Resources.
\nGOOD STYLISTIC APPROACH: This will help you think through how to be
\ncompelling in this part of your brief.
\nGOOD GENERAL OVERVIEW: This will help you think through how to format for
\nimpact.
\nGOOD ACADEMIC ABSTRACT vs. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY REVIEW: This will
\nhelp you avoid writing the more traditional academic abstract, which serves a similar
\nfunction in scholarly papers\/publications.
\nNote: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.<\/p>\n
COMS 560
\nPage 3 of 4
\nTHE WATER PROBLEM CASE STUDY
\nA group of summer homeowners in the high mountains of Colorado faces an ongoing problem
\nwith their water well, which keeps testing as polluted, thus making it necessary for the residents
\nto boil or buy their water. Recently, some of the elected officials of the volunteer board
\nauthorized a road to be built so heavy equipment could reach the wellhead and the well could be
\ndug out and rebuilt. The road was built through wetlands, which raised some federal legal
\nproblems, and through a pristine meadow cherished by some of the residents as a quiet, beautiful
\nspot at the end of the property. The road goes through commonly owned property, skirting the
\nedge of privately-owned lots. Three factions formed, and full-scale conflict has erupted, with
\nletters, private conversations, procedural challenges, content arguments, relationship destruction,
\nand face-saving struggles going on at a high level of intensity. Thirty-five or so families are
\ninvolved. The homeowners are a long-standing group of friends and acquaintances who have
\nconsiderable monetary and emotional investment in the property along with dramatically
\ndifferent ecological, political, financial, and community values.
\n1. The \u201cwater first\u201d group: This group consists primarily of engineers, scientists, builders, and
\npractical people who are sick and tired of dealing with a half-solution to the water problem year
\nafter year. They want to get a new well, install purification systems if they are needed, and assess
\nthe membership for what is required. They rely on scientific studies of the water quality as a
\ndatabase. In their view, the road was simply a means to an important end. They are convinced
\nthat their mandate was clear: to provide potable water for the group. They can\u2019t understand the
\noutrage of the second group. Many members of this group have volunteered countless hours
\nthrough the years for the practical maintenance of the roads, water system, fences, and governing
\nsystem. This group is concerned with content goals and face-saving. They argue that the content
\ngoals are the most important and that they did what they had to do (face-saving).
\n2. The \u201croad has to go\u201d group: This group consists of a few older homeowners and their adult
\nchildren. The view of this group is that environmental concerns are primary. They will not
\ntolerate compromise about the sensitive wetlands along the stream and feel outraged at what they
\nperceive as the destruction of the most beautiful area of common property. They think the board
\nacted without proper authorization by the membership and feel strongly that not only should the
\nroad never have been built but that it must be taken out and the area reclaimed. They prefer any
\nsolution, including boiling water for drinking, to the degradation of the environment. Many of
\nthis group will be second-generation homeowners when they inherit the property from their
\nparents. However, these group members have no vote in the association, since only property
\nowners can vote. This group as a whole is concerned about appropriate process and has strongly
\nheld content goals.
\n3. The \u201cwe simply have to live with it\u201d group: This group sees itself as the middle group be-
\ntween two extremes. Many of these people feel disappointed or angry about the gravel road and
\nthe fact that the water problem still is not solved. They want to support the elected board but
\ndon\u2019t like all the conflict and alienation in what used to be a very close and friendly group, which
\nhad potlucks, birthday celebrations, and outings together. Now that the road is in, they think it
\nshould be accepted and used to solve the water problem. This group is concerned with<\/p>\n
COMS 560
\nPage 4 of 4
\nrelationships and face-saving for the board. They keep their private opinions, whatever they
\nmight be, to themselves. They look to the future<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OVERVIEW Your ability to properly analyze and respond in a conflict-related situation is foundational to your success in personal and professional life. This brief is designed to help you refine the art of communicating to maximize impact, professionalism and constructive outcomes by considering the possibilities of \u201cconflict transformation.\u201d The integration of form and content […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"disciplines":[574],"paper_types":[],"tagged":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions\/35035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/questions"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions\/35035\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"disciplines","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disciplines?post=35035"},{"taxonomy":"paper_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper_types?post=35035"},{"taxonomy":"tagged","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tagged?post=35035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}