In this post we examine 10 essential ways you can hone your conflict resolution skills. These skills often come in handy during business disagreements.

1. What’s the timescale? – pre planned, reactive and return for more

Conflict usually sits within 1 of 3 different onset timescales:

1. Pre-planned where some thought has gone into how the conflict will develop by 1 or more of those involved with a view to trying to dictate an outcome
2. entirely reactive so no planning involved; it’s happening ‘live’, and…
3. something takes place at an earlier time which leads to 1 or more of the parties wanting to ‘reignite’ or ‘settle’ the conflict in a different way.

2. What’s the agenda – This isn’t Jeremy Kyle, this the ‘real world’

Conflict is far more commonplace in 2015 than any other time as people’s ability to ‘manage’ conflict seems to be lessening and ‘passive’ and ‘overt’ aggression appears to be on the rise. With the success of TV soaps and ratings winning programmes such as Jeremy Kyle and other such dross, some people grow up learning only to communicate through loud speaking, sarcasm, passive aggression and in some cases overt aggression to make any points, not just those that they feel strongly about.

One of the key starting points to any conflict has to be, ‘what are the parties involved trying to achieve?’ On the door, or in security, it should be easy to answer that question but when egos and low intellect get involved, it can get blurred very quickly. Does ‘winning’ a conflict mean that you were the most aggressive? Not usually.

3. What ‘ration’ is involved? If any

The moment drugs and alcohol are involved ration can be sparse. In our modern day, with so many recreational drugs being used and so many ‘real’ mental health issues, it’s hard to treat anyone as ‘rational’ any more if they are overtly aggressive.

4. Are the emotions genuine, acted or carefully thought out & manipulative

This is a difficult one to gauge because if someone is very good at being manipulative you may not know how genuine they are. Although not exhaustive as a method, anyone being overly empathic, acting as though they are doing you a favour or convincing you they are ‘on your side’ are the ones to watch. Don’t forget the old adage that what makes something ‘abnormal’ is when there is distinct lack of ‘normal’.

5. Do you need to engage directly or is there another way

Can friends and family of the opposing party be used instead of engaging yourself directly if you are the flame to their kindling? This doesn’t mean getting others to fight your fight for you, this means employing those who have a vested interest in creating a calm environment and accepting/ recruiting their help.

6. Ignore the aggression but listen to the content

Probably the hardest part of ‘Conflict Management’ to deal with as it goes against instinct. If a person is overtly aggressive, instinct will tell you either to fight (i.e. ramp up to their level) or flight (run away or submit to them). In the world of security, professionalism dictates that you can’t do either. Always listen to the words that are being spoken and try not to react to aggression in any way if you can. Triggers such as ‘calm down’ or ‘I’m not talking to you until you chill out’ are big no-no’s, ‘I’d like to reach a solution to this’ is a far better inhibitor!

7. Don’t place all your eggs in ‘Betari’s box’

Betaris box model says that ‘My attitude affects my behaviour which affects your attitude which affects your behaviour which affects my attitude’ and so on. This is the basic premise that most people are taught who deal with conflict but it only really works where the person is of ‘sane and sober’ mind – unfortunately not always the cards we are dealt!

8. Know your escalation scales and empathise

Escalation scales are a basic pathway of Conflict Management, the only sticking point is the onset of each stage as it can take weeks or seconds depending on the conflict. In short, situations start with

1. Neutral Ground – where both parties are in agreement
2. ‘Flash’ or ‘Pinch’ point
3. Disagreement – tinder is lit and energy builds
4. Argument ensues
5. Anger
6. Hostility

9. Nip it in the bud early with a ‘win-win’ or ‘offer a gift’

The key to conflict management

10. Reflect, always reflect, post conflict

There’s always more to learn post event than before because you need something to look back on and highlight areas for development. This is often achieved by spending 5 to 10 minutes being absolutely clear ‘what happened?’ in the incident, then ‘why did it happen?’, followed by ‘what went good, what went bad?’ and then, should the situation repeat itself, ‘how would you do things differently?’ This is a really simple process that no security operator should shy away from as it will really help develop you, not only professionally but also personally.

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The 2015 general election was a speed camera for austerity, or so we thought. Given the content of the Budget back in March, the Chancellor had been expected to put his foot down on the austerity accelerator. Instead, however, he is set to keep the austerity drive in cruise control, with the pace to remain steady. The huge public expenditure cuts forecast in March for the next two years are now not going to be as steep as projected. Furthermore, the Chancellor has pushed back his objective of achieving a Budget surplus by one year to 2019/20. And, in fact, there is now £83billion more in departmental spending than was forecast in March. For perspective, this would be enough to fund Northern Ireland’s entire public spending for almost four years. It should be noted though that this doesn’t mean there is more public spending being made available; it is simply that the cuts will not be as severe as forecast. This is funded by welfare cuts, net tax increases and higher levels of borrowing.

Uk Budget 2015

There are some similarities between today’s Budget and the emergency Budget of 2010. Back then, multi-year benefit and public sector pay caps / freezes, alongside significant welfare spending cuts featured prominently, and the same was true today. Osborne billed it a Budget for working people. In many respects this was the case, but perhaps not for those working in the public sector. Public sector workers will see pay rises capped at 1% for the next four years beginning in 2016, and they are therefore likely to face real-terms pay cuts in some of these years (i.e. increases below the rate of inflation). They are also likely to see changes in their terms and conditions in the autumn.

From 2016, most working-age benefits will be frozen for four years, and from April 2017, child tax credit will be limited to two children. The household benefit cap will be reduced from £26,000 to £20,000 per household for regions outside London and the South East of England. Overall, all the welfare spending announcements unveiled today will impact on Northern Ireland disproportionally more than elsewhere due to its reliance on welfare spending. In turn, this will have adverse effects on consumer spending, impacting, for instance on the retail sector. As a result, the Northern Ireland economy is expected to see sluggish economic growth in 2016.

New National Living wage

One of the surprise announcements by the Chancellor was the introduction of a new national living wage (NLW) of £7.20 per hour for over 25s from next April. This is due to rise to over £9 per hour by 2020. This will be welcomed by employees in lower paid jobs, however it will represent a higher cost to employers in low wage sectors such as food, retail and hospitality. This measure will make under-25s more cost-competitive from an employer’s perspective which could help alleviate Northern Ireland’s high youth unemployment rate. Those on low pay will also welcome the increase in the tax free personal allowance to £11,000 in 2016, with the prospect of this rising to £12,500 by 2020.

When it comes to businesses, another surprise was the planned corporation tax cut to 19% in 2017 and to 18% by 2020. This will make the cost of a 12.5% corporation tax rate more affordable for Northern Ireland but it will dilute the benefit by reducing the rate’s relative competitiveness. Businesses will welcome that the annual investment allowance has been raised and will be set permanently at £200,000 from January 2016. Meanwhile businesses will also have their employer national insurance bill cut by a further £1,000 from April next year. Large employers will also face a levy to fund apprenticeships, which will add to their costs but should help address skill shortages in some sectors. This initiative does not apply to Northern Ireland.

Scaling Back Reliefs

The Budget has significantly scaled back tax reliefs in certain areas, including reforming dividend tax, with tax rates on dividend income increasing. Tax relief on pension contributions for those with incomes over £150,000 is also being scaled back. Property landlords will soon only be able to off-set mortgage interest costs at 20%, rather than up to 40/45%. This will erode profitability in the buy-to-let sector and potentially provide another headache for those in negative equity.

As far as Budgets go, this was an action-packed fiscal affair, and very political, with the Chancellor effectively stealing the clothes of the centre left, and unveiling a Budget that surprised many. Indeed, more surprises are likely to be unveiled in the coming hours and days. As they always say, the devil will be in the detail.

Download the complete UK Budget 2015 Analysis by Richard Ramsey here. (.PDF 323 KB)

Post by Richard Ramsey, Chief Economist, Northern Ireland Ulster Bank Group Communications, www.ulstereconomix.com

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