Comm 3319 Instruction : I have posted more Course Content on Systems Comm 3319 Instruction : I have posted more Course Content on Systems Theory

Comm 3319
Instruction :
I have posted more Course Content on Systems Comm 3319
Instruction :
I have posted more Course Content on Systems Theory and Conflict.   Here’s your assignment: Post a Journal entry about your understanding of systems theory and how it describes a situation whereby a couple, family, company, community is trapped in a conflict.  And add what you can do about it, if anything; or alternatively, what they should do about it.
I will expect you to keep a Journal. Put your name at the top, and each time you add to the Journal place the date and your response/thoughts above the assignment. In this way I can see the whole of your work as a sequence. For example, if the assignment says, “Write a one-page double-spaced opinion about the article in the assignment,” simply add it to the previous week’s writing, but as a separate part. When you post it online simply place a date at the beginning.

Systems Theory and Non-Violent Conflict

What is a System
A set of interrelated components acting together as a unit. A holistic perspective suggests that the unit i.e.couple, family, team, organization, society, etc. is key, not the individual.
Systems theory
If human relations are thought of as systems, communication, and therefore conflict, is not only inevitable but also continual.
. Rather than being a disruption in the normal state of affairs, conflict is the normal state of affairs in any system, but it does not lead to good unless it is nonviolent.
. Conflict is necessary for the growth and adaptation of a system.
. Without conflict, a system faces the possibility of stagnation and decay.
. Conflict is the primary way in which a system adapts to the demands of its environment.
Homeostasis
A system has some purpose—it is goal-directed and adapts to its environment through self-maintenance and regulation. Homeostasis means that the system maintains itself in pursuit of a goal.
Non-Violent Conflict
Gandhi once said: I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary, the evil it does is permanent.
. Violence comes from how we were educated, not because of our nature.
. To create peace between ourselves and other people we must first create peace within ourselves.
. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love—Martin Luther King
.

A Personal Memoir
I am the oldest of two children. Both of my parents were born in East Texas before the Great Depression and had quite conservative values. But those values could be said to mean that they did not expect much of life, just as their parents did not expect much of life.
My mother’s father abandoned the family when she was five years old. She grew up as the youngest of four children in a small East Texas town called Timpson. During WWII she came to Houston and worked as a telephone operator. She met my father on a blind date and they married. I came along just after the War; my father was still at sea with the Naval Reserve.
As I grew up, and especially after my brother was born, I could see that my mother was quite stubborn. My father, whose own mother had died when he was a teenager, became the man of his house as my grandfather sank into depression after losing his business and drinking too much. My father worshipped his mother—she could do no wrong.
All relationships can breed discontent and consequently arguments can escalate from low intensity to much more. My mother’s strategy was to yell louder—she had to get her way, at any cost. My father often refused to engage and had a tendency to walk away. Thus, she almost always had the last word. Over time, they drifted apart. They remained married until she died—they were married for thirty-four years. It is clear to me now that had they possessed the ability to manage their conflict they would not have lead separate lives at the end.
My father used to joke that since she had to have the last word he would just go outside and walk around if an argument occurred. Then he could come back, having composed himself, and she could have the last word. He often said that he led a mostly outdoor life.

  Here’s your assignment: Post a Journal entry about your understanding of systems theory and how it describes a situation whereby a couple, family, company, community is trapped in a conflict.  And add what you can do about it, if anything; or alternatively, what they should do about it.
I will expect you to keep a Journal. Put your name at the top, and each time you add to the Journal place the date and your response/thoughts above the assignment. In this way I can see the whole of your work as a sequence. For example, if the assignment says, “Write a one-page double-spaced opinion about the article in the assignment,” simply add it to the previous week’s writing, but as a separate part. When you post it online simply place a date at the beginning.

Systems Theory and Non-Violent Conflict

What is a System
A set of interrelated components acting together as a unit. A holistic perspective suggests that the unit i.e.couple, family, team, organization, society, etc. is key, not the individual.
Systems theory
If human relations are thought of as systems, communication, and therefore conflict, is not only inevitable but also continual.
. Rather than being a disruption in the normal state of affairs, conflict is the normal state of affairs in any system, but it does not lead to good unless it is nonviolent.
. Conflict is necessary for the growth and adaptation of a system.
. Without conflict, a system faces the possibility of stagnation and decay.
. Conflict is the primary way in which a system adapts to the demands of its environment.
Homeostasis
A system has some purpose—it is goal-directed and adapts to its environment through self-maintenance and regulation. Homeostasis means that the system maintains itself in pursuit of a goal.
Non-Violent Conflict
Gandhi once said: I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary, the evil it does is permanent.
. Violence comes from how we were educated, not because of our nature.
. To create peace between ourselves and other people we must first create peace within ourselves.
. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love—Martin Luther King
.

A Personal Memoir
I am the oldest of two children. Both of my parents were born in East Texas before the Great Depression and had quite conservative values. But those values could be said to mean that they did not expect much of life, just as their parents did not expect much of life.
My mother’s father abandoned the family when she was five years old. She grew up as the youngest of four children in a small East Texas town called Timpson. During WWII she came to Houston and worked as a telephone operator. She met my father on a blind date and they married. I came along just after the War; my father was still at sea with the Naval Reserve.
As I grew up, and especially after my brother was born, I could see that my mother was quite stubborn. My father, whose own mother had died when he was a teenager, became the man of his house as my grandfather sank into depression after losing his business and drinking too much. My father worshipped his mother—she could do no wrong.
All relationships can breed discontent and consequently arguments can escalate from low intensity to much more. My mother’s strategy was to yell louder—she had to get her way, at any cost. My father often refused to engage and had a tendency to walk away. Thus, she almost always had the last word. Over time, they drifted apart. They remained married until she died—they were married for thirty-four years. It is clear to me now that had they possessed the ability to manage their conflict they would not have lead separate lives at the end.
My father used to joke that since she had to have the last word he would just go outside and walk around if an argument occurred. Then he could come back, having composed himself, and she could have the last word. He often said that he led a mostly outdoor life.