NUR FPX 3700 Assessment 3 Conflict and Power

Conflict and Power

When there is power, there is conflict. Each person involved in conflict possesses some degree of power. If someone has authority, it is likely to affect that person’s perception and develop the concept of superiority. By having this concept, they act in a way that makes others feel inferior. The influence of a person based on seniority can result in conflict. There are different kinds of power, and its impact on others depends upon the inherent makeup of that person, such as behavior, emotional and physical strength, intelligence, or their way of communication. In a workplace, the manager influences staff and can manage things by having the power to behave efficiently. The arrogant and rude behavior may result in conflict and improper management. This assessment will discuss factors contributing to the conflict between law enforcement and African American individuals. The assessment will also provide insight into how the perception of power on both sides leads to the conflict. It will provide information on the relational theory of power to describe how both sides’ perception of power helps resolve the issue. The assessment will also look into the conflict resolution strategies for law enforcement community conflicts and the outcome of conflict resolution strategy with the effect of it on the perception of power. Get free NUR FPX 3700 Assessment 3 Conflict and Power.

Factors that Contribute to Conflict between Police and Black People

The United States is a graded society due to unequal power, reputation, or wealth allocation. The community of African Americans in the United States frequently encounters conflicts with White police officers. Various such incidents have been viewed and recorded in the US. Sometimes, these conflicts result in the shooting and assassination of black men (Taylor et al., 2019). Multiple factors contributed to conflict between the African Americans (Black people) and the police officers. One major factor that contributes to the dispute is power. It is seen that African Americans have very little wealth and power, due to which they are more susceptible to police violence (Edwards et al., 2022). White police officers possess a considerable amount of power in their work area, which negatively influences the black community.  The police officers are afraid of white people based on power, so they cannot arrest them because they know about their influential society and have a fear of job termination. African Americans are not so powerful, so easily targeted or even killed by police officers (Edwards et al., 2022). The communication gap is another factor that leads to conflict between the police and black people. The police officers are used to communicate with the white people due to their wealth and power. Black people are not much influential, so ignored by police officers. This concept of discrimination results in a dispute. Racial discrimination contributes to conflict (Smith Lee & Robinson, 2019). 

NUR FPX 3700 Assessment 3 Conflict and Power

Police officers have the authority to control people, but sometimes they do not use this power wisely, and there is a contradiction based on prejudice. They discriminate between the people, and most of the time, they are unfair to African Americans, which makes them feel insulted and results in conflict. The fear of black people and lack of trust in police is another factor that causes disputes among both communities. Black people are afraid of police officers and do not want to interact with them. When it becomes necessary to interact with police, African Americans lose their tolerance and behave rudely based on some disputes that they had encountered in the past. Black people do not trust police officers, and even when police behave nicely, they become rude, which results in conflict. Another factor is the behavior of young black people who breach the laws, have bad attitudes, and not acting upon the police order, which leads to violent encounters. Young African Americans have set a mind regarding police officers, so they behave according to that mindset whenever they encounter police. This attitude of youth is sometimes the leading cause of disputes between them and police officers. One more factor regarding this concern is the socioeconomic conditions. These conditions include unemployment, lack of housing, or basic human needs. These conditions of the black community lead to the youth’s annoying or frustrated behavior. The young black adults engaged in harmful activities due to poor economic status frequently contact the police and behave so harshly that it leads to conflict. The integration of communities on the basis of income, tribe, or employment is also considered a factor that causes conflict (Calvert et al., 2020).

How do Perceptions of Power Contribute to Conflict?

The conflict or dispute between the black community and police officers is a matter of concern that has acquired national attention due to the increasing number of these disputes in recent years. In the United States, 13% of black people contribute to the population, and police assassinated one-quarter of these people in 2018. Black people are the most common victims of police. It is reported that black people are killed by police three times more than white people (Campbell & Valera, 2020). Studies have shown that police killing is a significant cause of death for black people (Samuels-Wortley, 2021). The leading cause of this violence is the perception of power. White police officers are in greater numbers in the United States, and they are so arrogant by possessing the ability to hold people. Most of the time, they negatively use authority by considering black people inferior, and this perception of power forced them to behave rudely.

They think that white people are superior due to acquiring wealth and power. Whenever there is a conflict, both parties are considered to contribute to it. Police officers are unfair to black people, but some African Americans are also involved in causing the dispute. Whatever the cause of violence, the perception of power leads to violent encounters (Calvert et al., 2020). Most police officers negatively use power, but many African Americans also indulge in conflict due to their perception of power. Some black people think that everyone with power or authority behaves similarly, so they consider every police officer harsh and unfair. Likewise, some African Americans think power does not mean controlling others. Due to this perception, they break the laws and breach the policies. Additionally, some young black men indulge in different crimes because they think no one can interfere in their lives. All these perceptions of black people resulted in violent encounters and serious conflicts in the United States.

Relational Theory of Power

The relational theory of power describes that possession of power results from an individual’s effort and experience in a relationship with time. It is not provided at the start of a relationship. Furthermore, power is not an individual’s characteristic but the belonging of social relationships. The theory describes that the degree of power is not set and changes with time depending upon the person’s need for resources another person offers. The relational theory of power directly impacts the perception of power between law enforcement and community members. It explains the particular characteristics of a relationship, such as financial resources, networking skills, and courtesy in one group providing power to the other group involved in a conflict. In short, power is the artifact of a communication bond. According to the relational theory of power, power is not a personal characteristic, so there must be flexibility in the behavior of every person having power. The change of perception only would create a big difference. If someone with power thinks that the power is given to manage things and maintain discipline and not to control people, then it positively impacts society (Cambridge University Press, 2018). The police officers must take the perception according to the relational theory of power. It would make them responsible and prevents them from a violent encounter.

Conflict Resolution Strategies

In order to reduce the number of conflicts in the United States, there must be some conflict resolution strategies to establish a peaceful society where every person gets equal human rights. As black people do not want to interact with police and become arrogant when communicating, they must learn how to communicate with police officers. African Americans fear the police, so they must know about using adaptive leadership to change fear with power for reducing the chances of violent encounters (Jefferson-McDonald, 2022). African Americans must gain knowledge of self-regulating their behavior by obeying all orders given by the police officers so, they must follow all the laws and not talk back to the police.

NUR FPX 3700 Assessment 3 Conflict and Power

They must not be aggressive while communicating with police in any way that the police officers could get the wrong idea and use their weapons against them. It would result in less chance of disputes between both communities. Social media and newspapers must show a positive image of black people and not promote discrimination. It would likely encourage the police to behave nicely with black people. In case of conflict, social media must show the opinions from both sides of the conflict that would help to resolve the issue. The police officers have to change their concept regarding black people. Instead of thinking about wealth and power, they must respect black people, gain their trust, and think about humanity by taking them on the same ground as others (Pryce &Chenane, 2021). Police officers can take various actions to make African Americans behave nicely with the police. There is a need for the officers to change their behavior first and encourage other staff to avoid the unnecessary killing of African Americans. 

Outcomes of Conflict Resolution Strategies

The conflict resolution strategies would result in positive outcomes. These strategies would likely change the attitude of the police toward black people and result in a behavioral change of African Americans, especially young boys, toward the police. Conflict resolution strategies help make a better society. These strategies would likely help to create a strong bond between police officers and black people and help reduce the concept of discrimination by promoting the concept of humanity. These strategies would help young people learn about communication with law enforcement and police officers. The strategies would likely assist black people in quitting crime and following the laws and principles. It would also protect young black people from unnecessary trauma and promote social justice (Burrell et al., 2021). The conflict resolution strategies would not only help to get better outcomes regarding conflict with black people but also plays a crucial role in changing the perception of power on both sides. It would likely change the way of thinking by promoting human rights and enhancing the value and respect of police officers. It would likely change the perception of the power of police officers and encourages them to behave decently and politely when dealing with black people. Likewise, it would also change the perception of the power of African Americans by motivating them to change their fear into power and trust the police as they work for the safety and protection of all.

Conclusion

A small population of black people resides in the US. The violent encounters of black people with police are increased to an alarming situation. Various factors lead to conflict between police and black people. The conflict resolution strategies would help to resolve these conflicts and provide better outcomes by changing the perception of power among both communities. 

References

Burrell, M., White, A., Frerichs, L., Funchess, M., Cerulli, C., DiGiovanni, L., & Lich, K. (2021). Depicting “the system”: How structural racism and disenfranchisement in the United States can cause dynamics in community violence among males in urban black communities. Social Science & Medicine, 272, 113469.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113469

Calvert, C. M., Brady, S. S., & Jones-Webb, R. (2020).Perceptions of violent encounters between police and young black men across stakeholder groups.Journal of Urban Health, 97(2), 279–295. 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-019-00417-6

Cambridge University Press.(2018). Power and Relation (Y. Qin, Ed.).Cambridge University Press; Cambridge University Press.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/relational-theory-of-world-politics/power-and-relation/A3EF2BF17056B80375AA949D609798A0

Campbell, F., & Valera, P. (2020). “The only thing new is the cameras”: A study of U.S. college students’ perceptions of police violence on social media. Journal of Black Studies, 51(7), 654–670.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934720935600

Edwards, T., Sharpe, T. L., Sibblis, C., McPolland, M., Bonomo, A., &DeVylder, J. (2022). Civilian perceptions of police: A thematic analysis of non-physical encounters with law enforcement. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2022.2106001

Jefferson-McDonald, L. (2022). What factors in the life experience of African Americans cause them to comply with or confront law enforcement officers? Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses.

https://aura.antioch.edu/etds/891/

Pryce, D. K., &Chenane, J. L. (2021). Trust and confidence in police officers and the institution of policing: The views of African Americans in the American South. Crime & Delinquency, 67(6-7), 001112872199182.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128721991823

Samuels-Wortley, K. (2021). To serve and protect whom?using composite counter-storytelling to explore black and indigenous youth experiences and perceptions of the police in Canada.Crime & Delinquency, 67(8), 001112872198907.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128721989077

Smith Lee, J. R., & Robinson, M. A. (2019). “That’s my number one fear in life. it’s the police”: Examining young black men’s exposures to trauma and loss resulting from police violence and police killings. Journal of Black Psychology, 45(3), 143–184. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798419865152

Taylor, E., Guy-Walls, P., Wilkerson, P., &Addae, R. (2019).The historical perspectives of stereotypes on African-American males.Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 4(3), 213–225. springer. 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-019-00096-y