Example input
The players in a popular MMO have just met up in order to take part in a large scale raid. They have been planning the event for weeks, and they are all excited to see each other and to begin.
The players must work together to strategize and coordinate their roles within the raid. Squad leaders of 20 member teams complain about language barriers with a handful of players. They must communicate effectively in order to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the raid is completed successfully.
Some of the players have different ideas about how the raid should be completed and they are unable to come to an agreement. As a result, they are unable to coordinate their efforts, leading to confusion and frustration amongst the group. There is also speculation that the Guild Master's tanking abilities will result in the death of everyone in the raid, making the raiding party hesitant to take risks or risk being wiped out.
Example output
Traditional and interactionist conflicts both exist in this scenario. The traditional conflict is the disagreement between the players about how the raid should be completed, while the interactionist conflict is the language barrier between players and the fear of the Guild Master's tanking abilities. This conflict is both functional and dysfunctional. It is functional in that it encourages the players to come up with creative solutions to the language barrier and to strategize to minimize the risk of failure due to the Guild Master's tanking abilities. It is dysfunctional in that it leads to confusion and frustration amongst the group, making it difficult to coordinate their efforts.
In regard to the three types of conflict and three loci of conflict, there is task conflict due to the disagreement between the players on how to complete the raid. There is also relationship conflict due to the language barrier between players, and intragroup conflict due to the speculation of the Guild Master's tanking abilities.
No conflict resolution was used in the scenario, as the players were unable to come to an agreement. Inaction was taken and the raid was not completed.
A better conflict management strategy could have been to first focus on the task conflict. The squad leaders could have encouraged the players to come up with creative solutions and compromise instead of trying to force a solution on them. This could have helped to reduce the frustration and confusion amongst the group, and also helped to minimize the risk of failure due to the Guild Master's tanking abilities. Additionally, the squad leaders could have identified and addressed the language barrier, by providing resources to help the players communicate better. This could have helped to improve the relationships between the players, and also improved their ability to strategize and coordinate their efforts.