Application: Trust and Power It probably comes as no surprise that two other important but distinct factors in conflict and conflict resolution are trust and power. You will consider them both in this Application Assignment. Trust is defined differently, depending on the theory or discipline defining it, or on the people involved in any particular conflict. Chapter 5 in your textbook adopts this definition: Trust is "an individual's belief in, and willingness to act on the basis of, the works, actions, and decisions of another" (McAllister, 1995, p. 25; Lewicki, McAllister, and Bies, 1998, p. 440). It identifies three elements that contribute to level of trust, including individual dispositions, situational contexts, and relationship elements. The focus of the chapter is on the relationship aspect of trust. Power, as is pointed out in the text, is directly or indirectly inherent in all conflict, in a variety of ways. The author adopts a view that power is "the ability to make things happen" (Follet [1924] (1973); Coleman, 214, p. 139) and presents a number of distinctions to help emphasize and promote that view. He also discusses personal and environmental components of power that interact to affect your behavior, actions, and orientations related to power. It should be noted that power always is in play when there is a disparity of it in a conflict situation. Even when a third party conducts a fair, impartial process that treats the parties equally, the power realities outside of the mediation room remain in effect and, consequently, impact the dynamics of the process. Thus, a party with greater power often has alternatives to reaching an agreement outside of the mediation process, making compromise and a move toward agreement less likely. References McAllister, D. J. (1995). Affect and cognition-based trust as foundations for interpersonal cooperation in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 24-59. Lewicki, R. J., McAllister, D. J., & Bies, R. J. (1998). Trust and distrust: New relationships and realities. Academy of Management Review, 23, 438-458. Follett, M.P. (1973). Power. In E. M. Fox & L. Urwick (Eds.), Dynamic administration: The collected papers of Mary Parker Follett . London: Pitman, 1973. Coleman, P. (2014) Power and Conflict : Coleman, P., Deutsch, M., & Marcus, E. (2014). The handbook of conflict resolution: Theory and practice (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass.. To prepare for this assignment: Review Chapter 5, "Trust, Trust Development, and Trust Repair" (pp. 104-113 and 115-129), in the course text, The Handbook of Conflict Resolution , paying particular attention to the conceptualization of trust and what role it can play in conflict and conflict resolution. Bring to mind your Final Project conflict and think about what kind of trust might come into play in your conflict and how it might do so. Consider to what extent trust exists between or among the parties in your conflict an ...