Theory Portfolio

Today, many theories attempt to explain the essence of conflicts that arise between individuals as well as between ethnic or cultural groups. Nevertheless, there is still no universal theory that could explain conflicts arising in different situations and contexts. In fact, conflicts between people may be extremely complicated and often it is difficult to define their causes and justify their development by a theory. Nonetheless, researchers still attempt to understand the essence, reason and effects of conflicts arising in the society. In this respect, it is possible to refer to the Ting-Toomey’s face-negotiation theory of conflict, which focuses on the juxtaposition of individualism versus collectivism as key concepts that determine the rise, development and resolution of the conflict.
First of all, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the Ting-Toomey’s face-negotiation theory of conflict distinguishes two types of cultures, which determine different behavior of individuals in the course of the conflict. The two types of cultures are individualistic and collectivistic. An example of the individualistic culture is the American culture, whereas an example of the collectivistic culture is the Vietnamese culture, as well as many other Asian cultures, where collectivistic trends are particularly strong. In such a context, it is possible to refer to the significant conflict that persisted between Americans and Vietnamese Americans in the second half of the 20th century under the impact of the War in Vietnam and the immigration of Vietnamese to the US. To put it more precisely, mass media, especially television contributed to the formation of the negative image of Vietnamese people. To put it more precisely, the daily news reports informed Americans about numerous casualties in the US army involved in the military operation in Vietnam. Americans grew angry with Vietnamese people, whom they viewed as enemies killing American soldiers in Vietnam. News reports increased the negative attitude of Americans to Vietnamese people, whereas movies shot about the Vietnam War increased the risk of conflicts between Americans and Vietnamese Americans even more. In addition, the huge cultural gap made the relations between two ethnic groups particularly tense. As a result, the long-lasting conflict between Americans and Vietnamese Americans persisted in the US resulting in violent attacks on Vietnamese Americans. In response to the growing oppression, Vietnamese Americans launched their own Civil Rights movement which helped them to improve their position.
At this point, it is possible to refer to the Ting-Toomey’s face-negotiation theory of conflict which helps to explain why the conflict persisted so long. In fact, Americans, as representatives of the individualistic culture, have a different strategy of conflict management. To put it more precisely, they prefer dominating and collaborating styles that means that they would rather clash into an open, often violent conflict with Vietnamese Americans than avoid the conflict. In contrast Vietnamese Americans belong to the collectivistic culture that makes their conflict management strategy different. Unlike Americans, Vietnamese Americans tend to avoid the conflict, instead of facing the opponents directly. As a result, the conflict remained unresolved for a long time because Americans sought to confront their presumable opponents, whereas Vietnamese Americans attempted to avoid the conflict by all means.
Thus, the Ting-Toomey’s face-negotiation theory of conflict shows that different cultural groups may have different strategies of the conflict management that affect the outcome of the conflict management.