Conflict‐Handling Behaviors of Korean Immigrants in the United States

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21186
• Published date: 01 June 2017
• Date: 01 June 2017
• Author: Yeju Choi

C R Q, vol. 34, no. 4, Summer 2017 375

© 2016 Association for Confl ict Resolution and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/crq.21186

ARTICLES

C o n  ict-Handling Behaviors of Korean

Immigrants in the United States

Yeju Choi

Although there is a great deal of literature that has focused on con-

fl icts faced by monocultural people, cross-cultural confl ict scholars have

not yet focused on the confl icts faced by bicultural people.  is topic

deserves more study as cultural clashes—confl icts between foreign-born

residents and Americans—are prevalent. Considering the number of

the immigrants in the United States and the speed of globalization,

more confl icts could arise not only in the workplace, but also anywhere

else, such as between neighbors, coworkers, colleagues, peers, and even

among intercultural family members.  erefore, in order to prepare for

this type of confl ict, this research examined confl ict-handling behaviors

of bicultural people. Among many immigrants, this study focused on

Korean immigrants in the United States through the Confl ict Com-

munication Scale ( CCS ) and compared the results with nationality, the

amount of time that the immigrants have lived in the United States,

the level of acculturation, and gender.

Introduction

A s globalization has contributed to making the world smaller, the inter-

actions among people across cultures have also increased. Since many

individuals try to communicate and work with those who have diff erent

values and beliefs, the potential for confl ict across cultures has increased

(Leong 2001 ). Confl ict is “the perceived and/or actual incompatibility

 e author wishes to thank David Schmidt and the two anonymous reviewers for their

comments which signifi cantly improved this manuscript.

376 CHOI

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of values, expectations, processes, or outcomes between two or more

parties over substantive and/or relational issues” (Ting-Toomey 1994 ,

360). According to confl ict scholars, increased cultural diversity indeed

has increased the number of confl icts (Tardif and Geva 2006 ), and this

topic—the cultural diff erences and their confl ict-related behaviors—has

been studied by many cross-cultural confl ict scholars.

However, scholars have not focused on the confl icts faced by bicultural

people. Not much literature is available on how immigrants—especially

Korean immigrants—will behave in confl ict-related situations. According

to the U.S. Census Bureau (Gambino, Trevelyan, and Fitzwater 2014 , 1),

“39.8 million foreign-born people resided” in the United States—almost

ten percent of the U.S. population—and approximately 1.1 million are

Korean immigrants. Considering that this great number of people have

numerous interpersonal relationships and confl icts in the United States, it

is very important to understand how immigrants—Korean immigrants—

behave in confl ict situations.  erefore, this study will focus on examining

confl ict-handling behaviors of Korean immigrants in the United States.

Literature Review

Con ict Management Styles

Interpersonal confl ict occurs when two or more individuals perceive them-

selves as being incompatible to each other in preferred attitudes, behaviors,

goals, outcomes, or values (Elsayed-EkJiouly and Buda 1996 ; Wilmot and

Hocker 2014 ). Although people commonly perceive confl ict negatively,

confl ict scholars have argued that confl ict is not necessarily a negative or

positive phenomen on (Kriesberg 2003 ; Ting-Toomey et al. 2000 ). Rather,

whether confl ict is constructive or destructive depends on how individuals

manage confl ict. Scholars have examined these “types of social behavior

that people exhibit during a disagreement or dispute,” and this has resulted

in the study of confl ict management styles (Posthuma et al. 2006 , 243).

Confl ict scholars have employed two dimensions to conceptualize the

confl ict management styles model (Blake and Mouton 1964 ; Hall 1969 ;

Rahim and Bonoma 1979 ;  omas 1976 ). Am ong many models, Rahim

and Bonoma ’ s ( 1979 ) dual concern model is most commonly used in the

recent fi eld of confl ict management. In their model, Rahim and Bonoma

( 1979 ) conceptualized diff erent styles of handling confl ict using concern for

self and concern for others.  rough the combination of the two dimensions,

Con ict-Handling Behaviors of Korean Immigrants 377

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they identifi ed the fi ve confl ict management styles: integrating (collabora-

tion, problem solving), obliging (accommodation, smoothing), dominating

(competition, forcing), avoiding (withdrawing), and compromising.

Integration indicates high concern for both self and others, mean-

ing that the individual tries to satisfy the goals of both parties. Obliging

indicates low concern for self and high concern for others, meaning that

the individual tries to satisfy others’ goals more than his or her own goals.

Dominating indicates high concern for self and low concern for others.

 is indicates that the individual tries to achieve his or her own goals over

others’ goals. Avoiding indicates low concern for self and others.  is means

that the individual is indiff erent to goals of self and others. Lastly, compro-

mising indicates the midpoint of concern for self and others, which means

that the individual tries to meet in-between the goals for self and others.

Cultures and Con ict Management Styles

 ere are many factors that infl uence individuals’ choice of confl ict man-

agement styles. Among them, this research will focus on how culture aff ects

confl ict management styles.

Individuals generally behave in a way that refl ects their culture (Berry

1997 ; Berry et al. 1992 ). Cul ture refers to “the subjective elements of indi-

vidual cognitions in the form of perspectives, personality, values, beliefs,

and attitudes” (Posthuma et al. 2006 , 245). According to Elsayed-EkJiouly

and Buda ( 1996 ), culture “defi nes the values and interests that are at the

core of each confl ict, which in turn shapes people ’ s perception of them-

selves and others, as well as the style by which one handles confl ict” (72).

In other words, the basic premises and norms of a culture greatly infl uence

individuals’ choice of confl ict management styles (Kaushal and Kwantes

2006 ; Posthuma et al. 2006 ; Ting-Toomey 1985 , 1988 ; Ting-Toomey et

al. 2000 ; Triandis 2000 ; Trubisky, Ting-Toomey, and Lin 1991 ).

As culture diff ers in preferred values and beliefs, every culture has its

preferred style of confl ict management (Cai and Fink 2002 ; Lee and Rogan

1991 ).  en, how diff erent are cultures? How do these diff erences aff ect

confl ict management styles?

Cross-cultural scholars have employed numerous dimensions examin-

ing the elusive concept of culture. Hof stede, Hofstede, and Minkov (2010)

used power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism, masculinity,

long-term orientation, and indulgence versus restraint to see diff erences

among cultures. Hall and Hall ( 1990 ) used dimensions such as context,