The theory of games of strategy and the assumption that dealing with conflict is one of the central tasks of an administrator are com bined to form a rationale for treating conflict situations. The rationale seeks to provide a base for: (1) classifying in-basket items and (2) clarifying the conflict structure of conflicted items through analysis of the response-feedback sequence for an item. Robert E. Ohm is Pro fessor of Education and Dean of the College of Education, University of Oklahoma.