Marion Shaer

Marion was involved in political and community advocacy in the 1980s at IDASA where she facilitated processes leading to democratic change. She was also involved in the Local and Regional Peace initiatives during the CODESA process. Marion completed a MA degree in Dispute Resolution at Notre Dame University in the US and applied those learnings in the labour arena where she was a mediator and facilitator for IMSSA where she was the Education Director responsible for the training, research and development. She was a commissioner at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and administered the training of the initial intake of commissioners for the CCMA.

 

Recently, in one week alone 900 people were killed in gang-related violence in the Western Cape. Service delivery protests have become violent in Lenasia South, Ennerdale, Zakariyya Park, and Eldorado Park and even our leaders have unashamedly displayed violence as members of parliament physically confronted a minister during session. 

Small conflicts, tensions, and disputes arise daily in our lives – road rage, rude service providers, slapping or punching on the playgrounds, countless domestic violence attacks. Many of these conflicts are not reported or policed so it falls on us as citizens to manage them. The workplace, where we spend most of our time, also presents challenges: meeting huge targets adds stress, retrenchments heighten emotions, personality clashes with colleagues make work unbearable. How does one deal with these situations?

One way is to ensure that we understand conflict and have the tools necessary to manage such situations rather than fuelling them further. Conflict Dynamics’ one-day workshop - Sharpen your Conflict Management Skills - focuses on the workplace to assist you to understand how interpersonal conflict develops in the workplace and your natural conflict-handling style. You will learn the skills and processes necessary to manage this conflict and prevent or resolve disputes in an effective manner. There will be opportunities to practice processes to prepare for and conduct difficult conversations and to problem solve in a participative manner.