Peter's Health Blog: Conflict Resolution

A theory I found on the Internet is referred to as the Interest-Based Relational (IBR) Approach. This is a conflict resolution method that looks at peoples individual differences and helps avoid getting "stuck" or not solving the problem. The method has some simple rules to follow that will solve the conflict.
First make sure that having good relationships are the top concern, this means that you must act calm and collected while respecting the other person and try to build some mutual respect. You must remain aware and calm even under pressure. Second keep personal views and the conflict separate, sometimes people will see another person doing something "just to annoy them" when they may have a valid reason and their view of the person is coloring their thinking. Third pay attention to the interests involved in the conflict, this rule means to be quiet and see why the other person is doing what they are doing. Fourth listen and then talk, to follow this rule you must think about what it being said and why it is being said, then think about what you are saying and why you are saying it. Fifth observe the facts about the situation, establish a goal and look for things that might get in the way. Last explore options together, talk about your ideas and see that maybe a third option may exist that leaves both people happy.
These rules stop conflicts from going out of control and will help limit the effects of the outcome.
This method is effective but in my opinion would take some time to learn to a point where it may be usable. Also it seems like it would require lost of self-control which not all people have.
This method came from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_81.htm.

Peter's Health Blog: Making G.R.E.A.T decisions

There are many decision making models out in the world today. One we learned about in class is the G.R.E.A.T decision making model. GREAT is used for when people are in a pressured situation and want to make the "right" decision and don't know how choose or what said decision is. Some other ones that are also useful are the Seven Steps and SWOT. The Seven steps are more goal based and what you would like to achieve in blank amount of time, more information can be found at (http://www.decision-making-confidence.com/7-step-decision-making-model.html). SWOT (Strengths. Weaknesses. Opportunities. Threats.) is looking at what a person would want to do and what the best choice of getting there is for them, it is more of a personalized path to follow, more information is available at (http://www.decide-guide.com/swot.html).
These are all similar because they all are used in making a choice and following the choice to achieve something. But they are also based on different areas of choices that were mentioned earlier, like Seven Steps is for goal setting and achieving, SWOT is path planning and analyzing what path to take, GREAT is for peer pressure situations and what to decide and follow. GREAT is more of a general decision making model and not limited to only some areas of decision making. To get the most effective model out of these three I think that some situations are better thought through with different models, but if it is just a general view of effectiveness on decisions I would say that GREAT is the most effective because it is not just geared to one specific area of choices and decisions. That is why I think GREAT is more effective than the other models.