December 1985 Home   Newsletters

January-February 1986

March-April 1986

January 1986 Units - Program Planning - Local and National
President's Message (Dorothy Lum)
Women's History Week
Aloha Voter
Program Planning
Conflict and Consensus: The Management of Change
Legal Research for the Non-Lawyer
State Water Code - AAUW Conference
Lotteries for Public Purposes
Running to Win - A LWV Voter Service
Automated Garbage Collection
Planning and Zoning Committee
Welcome to New Members
Channel 20 - LWV And Cablevision
Workshop for Observers
Vote Count
League Calendar

Conflict and Consensus: The Management of Change

The conclusion to presentation by Kent M. Keith, Director of Planning and Economic Development, State of Hawaii, at Dec. 7, 1985 LWV meeting noted that the world is forcing change upon us. The importance of managing the change in a fashion which builds our community was emphasized

Consensus rather than conflict was emphasized, "Whole" people are secure enough and feel adequate enough that they do not need to -- attack; they are likely to build.

Through disagreements, new ideas are generated and we learn about others and other points of view.

Those who are fearful, insecure, angry, and frustrated use the attack to gain a sense of power and self-esteem. A big problem with conflict is that one cannot judge in advance what the results will be. Conflict is thus costly, ineffective, and unpredictable.

The effort to build a consensus is gradual, consultative, interactive, and stable. Consensus is the glue which holds the society together. We must agree on enough things to be able to live together in relative peace.

December 1985 Home   Newsletters March-April 1986