Barsky (2014) introduced the concept of conflict with a vignette of three helping professionals arguing over an appropriate means of helping a young woman convicted of car theft. The vignette demonstrates how professionals can have diametrically opposed viewpoints and how conflict is a natural state of affairs. Barsky (2014) seemed to be attempting to bring the reader to accept conflict as an everyday occurrence that can, and should be, dealt with in a professional manner. Barsky (2014) also argued for all helping professionals being actively involved in conflict resolution; which he describes as two or more parties having differences in belief that may be “real or perceived” (p. 2).
Barsky (2014) describes the following conflict resolution
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I was confused by the number of roles described and did not see how this complexity contributed to simplifying conflict resolution. As a helping professional, I need to be convinced that I have a key role to play and this long list of roles made me feel like I cannot contribute in a significant way. My confusion increased when Barsky (2014) described the role of penalizer and stated that some helping professions would prefer not to penalize their clients. Does this mean that my use of grades as a teacher is somehow bad professional practice? Barsky (2014) also suggested that penalties may be morally wrong in some cases and that professionals must decide “whether the ends justify the means” (p. 14). Does this mean that some students should get grades and some students should not? Barsky’s desire to cover all possible perspectives fails to build my confidence in mastering the nuances of conflict resolution.
The Bible provides an example of conflict resolution in Exodus 18 (New International Version) where Moses’ father-in-law advises Moses to not wear himself out by trying to resolve all disputes of the Israelites. Instead, Jethro suggests that Moses delegate responsibility to trustworthy and honest individuals. This could suggest that one of the most important aspects of successful conflict resolution is having good character. However, Barsky fails to mention the importance of character and focuses instead on varying roles that are not even mentioned by Moses or Jethro in the Exodus