Conflict – Page 6 – understand-culture

Repeal means Revise

The right to a speedy trial, the American expectation that conflicts within teams are resolved quickly, can indeed lead to judgements passed which are not ideal, optimal, right or even just.

Americans make decisions quickly, often hastily. But, if the decisions are narrow in scope – have been isolated – then they can be revised. There is time for reconsidering and revision. The parties involved in the decision can be brought back in.

This same logic applies to the American judicial system. It allows anyone sentenced in a court to appeal that sentence. An appeal is when the accused (and sentenced) can take their case from a lower to a higher court for review.

In the American business context, a team member who believes that the judgement is wrong, or the conflict resolution process was unfair, can ask to have that decision reviewed by next-level management or by a neutral third party within the company, typically the human resources department.

„Show good judgement“

All parents in all cultures strive to teach their children how to show or exercize good judgement. They want to prepare them for difficult situations in life, in which they will have to make difficult decisions, without the benefit of parental help. American parents will, time and again, advise their children to show good judgement.

Judges – team leads – base their judgement on three sources: on any existing laws, regulations, statutes, rules, regulations; on precedents, meaning how those laws, regulations, etc. have been previously applied; and on the specific circumstances of the conflict. Good – fair – judgement balances the influence of all three.

The higher in the American legal system one looks, the older the average age is of the judges. Americans equate judgement with wisdom. And wisdom is based on intelligence and experience. It is defined as: Accumulated philosophic or scientific learning; ability to discern inner qualities and relationships, insight; good sense; generally accepted belief; a wise attitude, belief, or course of action; the teachings of the ancient wise men. Middle English, from Old English wīsdōm, from wīs wise. First known use before 12th century

A judge conducts a trial in an open court. The judge is impartial. Judges hear witnesses and any other evidence presented by the conflict parties. Judges assess the credibility and arguments of the parties, then issue a ruling based on their interpretation of the law and his or her own personal judgment. In some cases, the judge’s powers may be shared with a jury.

Americans expect their managers to resolve a conflict the way a judge would rule on a case: impartially, considering all of the facts and witness testimony (if any), using their own common sense and experience, but not in any way sharing their responsibility to „make the call“ with other members of management (no jury).

adversarial process

The Use of Witness Testimony in Criminal Trials. The American legal system is built on the adversarial process, where both objective evidence (documents, physical evidence) and subjective witness testimony are presented and cross-examined. The right to confront witnesses (as discussed in Crawford v. Washington) ensures that subjective accounts are scrutinized alongside factual evidence before a judge or jury decides the outcome.

Reconstructing Memories

“The uncritical acceptance of eyewitness accounts may stem from a popular misconception of how memory works. Many people believe that human memory works like a video recorder: the mind records events and then, on cue, plays back an exact replica of them.

On the contrary, psychologists have found that memories are reconstructed rather than played back each time we recall them. The act of remembering, says eminent memory researcher and psychologist Elizabeth F. Loftus of the University of California, Irvine, is “more akin to putting puzzle pieces together than retrieving a video recording.”

Even questioning by a lawyer can alter the witness’s testimony because fragments of the memory may unknowingly be combined with information provided by the questioner, leading to inaccurate recall.”

From: “Why Science Tells Us Not to Rely on Eyewitness Accounts”, Hal Arkowitz and Scott Lilienfeld. Scientific American magazine, January 8, 2009.

Didactics

Many German literary texts have a didactic element, aiming to educate readers about the dangers of unchecked conflict and the value of peace. They often present conflict as a process that can be understood, analyzed, and, ultimately, transformed. This aligns with the German peacebuilding approach, which emphasizes interest reconciliation, addressing structural causes, and creating conditions for sustainable, peaceful development .

“Face the music.”

“Face the music.” Implies confronting criticism or accusations directly, rather than avoiding or deflecting them.

Reality TV

One of the most popular genres of television in the U.S. is reality tv. In 2001, two of the top ten most popular primetime television shows in America were reality tv shows, compared to six in 2011.

Many of these shows focus on conflict and personal drama as their main premises. Even when the show’s premise is about something unrelated to the dispute, such as singing on the “X Factor” or cooking on “Top Chef”, the actual episodes invariably focus on the conflicts between the cast members and/or their family and friends at home.

In 2011, an American reality TV show H8R filmed various celebrities as they confronted people who were critical of their success. It was marketed as giving celebrities a chance to try to change the minds of the people who hated them. The primary appeal of this show was that it would allow these conflicts to be discussed publicly.

“Let’s clear the air.”

“Let’s clear the air.” Suggests addressing conflict or misunderstanding openly, often in a group or face-to-face setting.

private confessions

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne: The novel explores the consequences of adultery in Puritan New England. Community leaders and townspeople act as moral judges, considering both public evidence and private confessions as they mete out social punishment and reconciliation. The book highlights how American society has historically balanced objective facts (the visible scarlet letter) and subjective testimony (personal guilt, confession) in resolving moral and social conflicts.

Erin Brockovich

Erin Brockovich (2000): A legal assistant investigates a company accused of contaminating a town’s water supply. The film shows the process of collecting documents, interviewing witnesses, and building a case that combines both objective facts and personal stories. The resolution depends on both documentary evidence and the lived experiences of affected residents, reflecting the American balance of facts and testimony.