Conflict Management: Transcendence Ethics

1. Conflict Management: Transcendence Ethics Hun Myoung Park, Ph.D., International University of Japan

2. Transcendence Ethics 1 • Lee (1996) The Analects of Confucius, the Works of Mencius, and Public Administration • Transcendence ethics • Minimum conditions for symbiosis (coexistence of two extremes) • Assuming an adverse circumstance where ordinary citizens (the weak) struggle against dictatorship (the strong) • Nonviolence  personal ethic  social (intrapersonal) ethic  self-sacrifice

3. Transcendence Ethics 2 • Personal ethic: getting knowledge and skills, pursuing cooperation and agreement with members • Social ethic: to improve social relationship and welfare rather than providing quantitative services and materials • Self-sacrifice is to sacrifices himself and save other eventually

4. Transcendence Ethics 3

5. Nonviolence 1 • Talk or use of words • Not to use any physical, verbal, emotional, and psychological violence • To be rational, calm, etc. (as opposed to be emotional) • Not to do what ought not to be done • Not to be obedient or submissive but to say what is right and true • To say only what is really needed (minimalist) • Grounded on natural law, common sense, and/or formal laws and procedures

6. Nonviolence 2 The weak does not have strong power A way to protect the weak from violence of the power To defeat the strong (lethal weapon) A regime based on violence does not follow even their laws and then eventually collapse by nonviolent civil disobedience ( Lee 1986:297)

7. Example in HR-Management • Nonviolence: • Refusal to spoil systems • Not to fire those whose ideologies are different from mine • Personal ethic: • Scientific management • Improvement of human relations

8. Example in HR-Management Social ethic: No discrimination against gender, race, … Equal employment opportunity Consider minority groups Self-sacrifice: Allow labor union to do collective bargaining Consider different opinions favorably

9. Principled/Nonviolence Principled negotiation is equivalent to nonviolence (and personal ethic). Use words or rely on the truth Exclude brutal violence and emotional behavior (verbal expression) Stick to rules (principles)

10. Lessons • Conflict is evitable but has a history. • Don’t’ try to eradicate or resolve conflict • Try to manage conflict not to be destructive • Be rational and respect others  principled bargaining • Begin with non-violence and then transcend toward self-sacrifice • Non-violence as a way of protecting myself and persuading others

11. Reference • Fisher, Roger, William Ury, and Bruce Patton. 2011. Getting To Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, 3th ed. New York: Penguin. • Lee, Moon-Young. 1996. The Analects of Confucius, the Works of Mencius, and Public Administration. [Korean]. Seoul, Korea: Nanam Publishing House. • Lee, Moon-Young. 2011. Man, Religion, and State. [Korean]. Seoul, Korea: Nanam Publishing House.

12. Reference • Park, Hun Myoung. 2015. Moon-Young Lee's Transcendence Ethics for Democratic Public Administration: Meanings and Rationales of Lee's Nonviolence. World Environment and Island Studies 5(4): 283-296. • Pondy, Louis R. 1967. Organization Conflict: Concepts and Models. Administrative Science Quarterly 12(2): 296-320. • Pondy, Louis R. 1992. Reflections on Organizational Conflict. Journal of Organizational Behavior 13(3): 257-261.

13. Reference Robbins, Stephen P. 1978. “Conflict Management" and “Conflict Resolution" Are Not Synonymous Terms. California Management Review 21(2): 67-75. Thomas, Kenneth W. 1976. Conflict and Conflict Management. In Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, ed. M. D. Dunnette, 889-935. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally. Thomas, Kenneth W. 1992. Conflict and Conflict Management: Reflections and Update. Journal of Organizational Behavior 13(3): 265-274.