Conflict is a fact of life and can arise in almost any sphere, from organisations through to personal relationships. Learning to resolve it effectively is therefore important for everyone. The first step to conflict resolution is to decide what strategy is going to be used to address it. However before that can be done, it is needed to identify the root source of the conflict, and therefore its type. There are three main types of conflict that have been identified, personal or relational conflicts, instrumental conflicts and conflicts of interest.
Personal or relational conflicts are usually about identity or self-image, or important aspects of a relationship such as loyalty, breach of confidence, perceived betrayal or lack of respect.
Instrumental conflicts are about goals, structures, procedures and means: something fairly tangible and structural within the organisation or for an individual.
Conflicts of interest concern the ways in which the means of achieving goals are distributed, such as time, money, space and staff. They may also be about factors related to these, such as relative importance, or knowledge and expertise.