Indeed, we may do more harm than good. As managers of conflict at local and other levels, we have an obligation to manage conflicts efficiently and effectively.
There are two basic types of conflicts. These are beneficial conflicts and harmful conflicts. It is the harmful conflicts whose early warning signs we need to understand. The early warning signs, if acted upon at the appropriate time, can help avert calamity or reduce the intensity of the potential conflict.
a. Beneficial conflicts.
Beneficial conflicts are dynamic, healthy, and promote social, national and global progress. They encourage us to think and search for solutions. In the process, intellectual, social, cultural, and material progress can be made. Beneficial conflicts exist because in all societies, there has to be diversity within agreed limits. These agreed limits are guided by common sense. They include customs, traditions and rules. Common sense leads people to agree on what needs to be protected for each without fear, favour or victimization. These are the principles of justice. They establish ways of resolving disagreements peacefully.
Example: A soccer match.
b. Harmful conflicts.
Harmful conflicts are those that people think about when they hear the word "conflict". Harmful conflicts occur because the principles of justice are violated, or are absent. Harmful conflicts can be either violent or non-violent. Whatever the case, they are harmful and destructive. They imply amenity, hostility and animosity toward others.
Many conflicts develop and become harmful because people did not notice early signals that they were developing. Serious conflicts usually start off as small negligible incidences that are very easy to ignore. Therefore people are caught unprepared. As a result, everybody suffers. Relationships in the community, and between people, become strained. People may get injured, and even lose their lives. Others may lose their property and land.