Conflict Management

Two college roommates have a practice of borrowing each other’s possessions. When Julie and Mary first moved in together, they decided it would be inconvenient to ask each other every time they wanted to eat one another’s food or borrow an article of clothing. Mary has been keeping Julie’s things longer than Julie wants her to, however, often causing Julie to have to look for her textbooks, car keys, shirts, and even her coat. Recently Julie lost several of Mary’s possessions including a textbook she took to study with at another friend’s house. Julie feels justified since Mary has been misusing the privilege, too. They are avoiding the issue the issue and spending time away from each other.

How might Julie and Mary (realistically) solve this conflict? What conflict management strategies might they employ (other than avoiding) to resolve the conflict? What conflict and relationship concerns do they each need to take into account to solve their problem? Please prepare your response in a well-developed paragraph.