Culture and Conflict: Orange is the New Black Aurora silva

Aurora Silva

Culture and Conflict

In the Netflix series "Orange is the New Black", there are a group of women who are in prison together that don't all come from the same cultural background. Not only is this skin deep, but some women are in prison for different reasons, some less serious than others. Throughout the TV show, we see that although these women are very different, they come together under the commonality that they are in fact, imprisoned together, and must play nice.

Not only do we see a strong bond between each of the women within the show, but we see strong differences as well. The main character, Piper is sentenced to prison for smuggling drugs which occurred 10 years before her actual sentence. She seems to be a very nice, put together woman who is engaged to the love of her life. She feels shocked and distance from the other women who all seem to be tough, street smart women who don't mind getting in each other's faces.

Immediately we see a strong distinction between each group of women but that does not stop them from finding commonalities and becoming "friends" of some sort. We also see this in many different aspects in life as well. In classrooms, we see students that may be from different racial backgrounds that share the same taste in music, therefore they are willing to set aside their cultural differences and bond over their similarities. Instances of these are seen throughout group activities as well, which can lead to conflict resolution as someone that shares interests with you becomes more likable in your eyes.

Cortlyn Buck: Culture and Conflict in Orange is the New Black

Cortlyn Buck

Culture and Conflict in Orange is the New Black

“Culture is largely constituted out of the taken-for-granted, seldom articulated patterns of everyday action and belief. To the parties in an organizational conflict, their own cultural patterns simply constitute the “natural” way to do things” (Kolb). Frequently practiced culture becomes one’s second nature, which can potentially grow into problematic issues when two or more individuals differ in culture, causing differences i.e. conflict. “In contemporary organizations, the sources of conflict often lie in the cultural patterns that distinguish and differentiate functional specialties from one another” (Kolb). Two varying culturally diverse groups attempting to come together will cause very many altercations due to varying practices and beliefs held between the groups.

In the popular Netflix series Orange is the New Black, which is based on women’s prison, is culturally diverse and presents many conflicting problematic issues. Looking in comparison and contrast of several varying racial profiles of the characters will help aid in separating the varying cultures into groups. Not only her red hair separates her, but also her hot headedness of her personality defines the character Red. She is apart of the Russian culture where family and honor are very important to her beliefs. Piper, the main character (a well-educated, middle class, white woman) commented on disliking the prison food made by Red, due to the expectation of higher quality meals she is accustom to. Red misconstrued this as a jab to her cooking capabilities, and Piper and Red soon find themselves in a whole lot of trouble.  Red also takes on the maternal/sibiling role by protecting over and watching out for many of her friends in prison throughout the course of the show, implementing the Russian cultural aspect of family as a priority. Red faced mal friendship relation issues, which constituted in to her to adapt by adopting and taking on the protective, yet hostile family/friend role. This is just merely one example of the many characters within the realm of the series.

Source: Kolb, Deborah M. Hidden Conflict in Organizations: Uncovering Behind-the-scenes Disputes. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage, 1992. Print.

Culture and Conflict: Orange is the New Black

Corrina Benavides

Focus: "Taystee"

From the very beginning, "children are socialized in their own culture to equip them with the skills necessary to cope with the complexity of adult interpersonal relationships" (Maruyama, 1212). Each of these cultures provides individuals with distinct methods of handling various situations. It's interesting to note that within what are considered Asian cultures, each region still maintains a very distinct way of handling problems. For example, "Chinese prefer obliging, dominating and avoiding more than Japanese and Koreans; Chinese and Koreans prefer integrating and compromising more than Japanese; and Japanese prefer obliging more than Koreans" (Maruyama, 1212). 

Although not as distinct as these subdivided Asian cultures, American has many subcultures as well. Each of these cultures are important on the influence and the beliefs of the individual. "Taystee", one of the main characters from Orange is the New Black, is a great example of this. Her actions, because of her background, upbringing and parental figures are different from others. When a new "gang" within the prison forms, rather than avoiding the situation all together like her best friend, Taystee joins. She works her way up to a valuable position also. This acts as a reflection of her past experiences. Rather than be homeless and beat down, she did what she could to survive (including working for a drug dealer whom conveniently also runs the gang in prison). She responds in certain ways because of her upbringing. 

Source: 
Maruyama, Hiroki, et al. "Cultural Difference In Conflict Management Strategies Of Children And Its Development: Comparing 3- And 5-Year-Olds Across China, Japan, And Korea." Early Education And Development 26.8 (2015): 1210-1233. ERIC. Web. 28 Mar. 2016

Aurora Silva- Conflict Management Styles

Aurora Silva 

One fine afternoon, a group of Ol Ags were trying to decide where they would eat on campus for lunch. One of the freshman (Jeff) had lots of meal trades left and wanted to treat his friends to food. He said "your choice" to everyone and wouldn't budge until everyone agreed on a place to eat together. 

Essentially, this made him the leader of the group. He had the control of the meal trades but also wanted to give his followers some decision making power. His 5 buddies that were with him all shouted out a completely different place to eat. No one seemed to agree on a single place to eat for lunch that day. Jeff grew very upset, he really wanted this to be a special day for everyone and something that all his friends could really enjoy.

His friends began to shout and fight claiming that their food choices were better than anyone else’s and that they were going to stick by their decision wholeheartedly. Jeff let them fight it out and began to think of some options to make everyone happy. He suggested that they go to one restaurant a day for the week. He had lots of meal trades left and that way everyone could get the food that they wanted but it wouldn’t cause a huge upset. The 5 gentlemen looked at each other and decided that it was a great idea but THEN began to argue about who would go first. Jeff then decided to go in alphabetical order according to their names and that’s how they’d arrange it for the week.

Jeff used collaborative conflict management, everyone was happy in the end because they were able to come together to form a solution without feeling left out or that they weren’t getting what they wanted. 

Matthew Ricks

March 6^th, 2016

Conflict Management Styles in the Aggie Community: Competing

At Texas A&M University, the Aggie Honor Code is a code that all aggies are supposed to live by. It states that an Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those that do. This code can become an easy conflict in the aggie community because it defines a moral guideline that should not be broken. Let’s say Alfred has a friend, Bobby, who is a student here at Texas A&M and has been doing a little bit more than just pushing the boundaries of the Aggie Honor Code. Alfred knew that that Bobby had been struggling all semester in Dr. Tarvin’s Communications 324. It was no secret that he was defiantly not the most diligent member of group 20 because he never turned in a single blog post and was no help in group projects which is why it was a huge surprise to everyone when Bobby aced his first communication 324 test after telling everyone he didn’t study. However, Alfred found the cheat sheet that used by Bobby and confronted him about it using the competing style. Alfred said straightforwardly that he was taking this issue to the aggie honor council when Bobby lashed out and threw his bag against the wall. This is an “I win, you lose” situation because this conflict could get Bobby kicked out of Texas A&M and Alfred holds all of the power. The conflict is resolved quickly and the friendship is destroyed because Bobby got kicked out of school for violating the Aggie Honor Code.

Conflict Management: Aggie Edition

Corrina Benavides
March 6, 2016

Big Al was talking with a group of his fellow students at Texas A&M University. Reveille, the most inclusive and high-spirited member of the group, asked Big Al to come to the monthly Silver Taps that night. He declined stating that he had a test to study for later in the week. Reveille stated that it was an important aggie tradition and something that sets the university apart from others. Big Al yet again declined. Reveille again pointed out that he doesn't manage his time well in general, and that this is a reasonable excuse to not study for 30 minutes unlike when he had gone to play video games earlier in the day. Big Al conceded but reminded the group that he'd still be missing valuable study time and that this test was a huge part of his overall grade.

Big Al employed the accommodation conflict style in the example. More specifically, he conceded. He still went along with his group of fellow students to the event, but still reminded them that he was going out of his way and losing 30 minutes of study time for them.

Accommodation is one of the more popular ways to handle a conflict, yet it still has its faults and can cause resentment. More importantly, it can also effect an individual's image. The most recommended and effective method of conflict management is collaborative. According to a leadership study conducted by Weng-Long Chang and Chun-Yi Lee , the collaborative style "promoted superior performance and more effective learning." It also is the most commonly used method in business courses because it functions by "identifying solutions capable of satisfying all of the parties involved." All conflict styles have situations in which they are necessary and it doesn't necessarily mean to avoid one all together.


Source:Chang, Wen-Long, and Chun-Yi Lee. "Virtual Team E-Leadership: The Effects Of Leadership Style And Conflict Management Mode On The Online Learning Performance Of Students In A Business-Planning Course." British Journal Of Educational Technology 44.6 (2013): 986-999. ERIC. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.

Veronica Phillips 

Conflict Management Styles : The Aggie Honor Code 

March 6th, 2016 

There are many conflicts that affect our generation and the decisions that we make in our everyday lives but when being a student at Texas A&M University, the Aggie Honor Code is a decision that can affect who you are and become a conflict with those surrounding you. The Aggie Honor Code is a conscious decision students make to respect it and not lie, cheat, or steal, and tolerate those who do, or to disobey it at any given time. There have been several students that I know personally who have disobeyed the Aggie Honor Code and this decision has become a major conflict within our relationship. When beginning to learn that some of my close friends disobeyed the Aggie Honor Code, I resolved the conflict by using the avoiding style.  The conflict management avoiding style is shown that, “avoiding style results in a lose-lose outcome because both parties refrain from communicating their needs, so neither has any needs met”. I chose to use this conflict style because I believed if I avoided the situation it would not affect me and would show my friends that I did not condone in in their actions. As time progressed, I noticed how them disobeying the Aggie Honor Code begin to affect our friendship with the everyday decisions they made that involved lying, cheating, and tolerating those who do. This became a known conflict within our friendship that needed to be discussed and resolved. When discussing this conflict we had, I begin by using the Competing Style/Contending. I used this style because I believed if I explained and expressed my sympathy, it would get my friend to understand that disobeying the Aggie Honor Code is affecting our friendship. As time progressed in our discussion, we decided to resolve the conflict by not being friends anymore and not letting the decisions we make that we do not agree upon affect us individually. Although there may be various opinions regarding the Aggie Honor Code, it is a decision that can affect you, your life, and those surrounding you when not obeying it.

Ctation: Antonioni, David (1998),"RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY FACTORS AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES", International Journal of Conflict Management, Vol. 9 Iss 4 pp. 336 - 355