Conflict

Management
Conflict. . .
. . . Exists
whenever
two or more
parties
are in
disagreement
 Definition of the conflict:
 A process that begins when one
party perceives that another party
has negatively affected, or is about
to negatively affect, something that
the first party cares about.
 Classification of conflicts
 Intrapersonal conflicts
 Interpersonal conflict
 Intergroup conflict
 The Conflict Process
Increased
Perceived Conflict group
performance
Conflict Handling
Antecedent Cond. Intentions
• Communication Overt Conflict
• Structure •Avoiding
•Dominating •Party’s Behavior
• Personal •Other’s reactions
•Compromising
Variables
•Problem-solving
•Accommodating
decreased
group
Felt Conflict performance

Stage I: Potential Stage II: Cognition Stage III: Stage IV: Stage V:
opposition or & personalization Intentions Behaviour Outcomes
incompatibility
Stage 1:Potential opposition or
incompatibility
 The presence of conditions that create
opportunities for conflict to arise.
 These conditions have been condensed in
three categories;communication,structure
and personal variables.
Communication:Differing word
connotations,jargon,insufficient exchange
of information and noise in the
communication channel are all barriers to
communication and may lead to conflict.
Structure:
The word structure means size, degree of
specialization in the tasks assigned to group
members, jurisdictional clarity,member-goal
compatibility,leadership styles,reward systems,and
the degree of dependence between groups.

Personal Variables:
They include the individual value system that each
person has and the personality characteristics that
account for individual idiosyncrasies and
differences.
Stage II: Cognition and personalization
 This is the stage where conflict issues tend to be
defined
 The prior mentioned conditions can only lead to
conflict when one or more of the parties are
affected by, and aware of ,the conflict.
 Perceived conflict is the awareness by one or
more parties of conditions that create
opportunities for conflict to arise.
 Felt conflict is the emotional involvement in a
conflict creating anxiety,tenseness,frustration, or
hostility.
Stage III: Intentions
 Intentions intervene between people’s
perceptions and emotions and their overt
behavior.
 These intentions are decisions to act in a
given way.
HIGH Desire to Satisfy Self LOW

Desire
to Satisfy
Others

HIGH
Conflict Styles
HIGH Desire to Satisfy Self LOW

Avoiding
Desire
to Satisfy
Others

HIGH
Conflict Styles
 Avoiding
I lose - you lose
HIGH Desire to Satisfy Self LOW

Avoiding
Desire
to Satisfy
Others

Accommodating

HIGH

Conflict Styles
Obliging or Accommodating
I lose - you win
HIGH Desire to Satisfy Self LOW

Dominating Avoiding
Desire
to Satisfy
Others

Obliging
HIGH

Conflict Styles
Dominating or Forcing
I win - you lose
HIGH Desire to Satisfy Self LOW

Dominating Avoiding
Desire
to Satisfy
Compromising Others

Obliging
HIGH

Conflict Styles
 Compromising
I give in - you give in
HIGH Desire to Satisfy Self LOW

Dominating Avoiding
Desire
to Satisfy
Compromising Others

Problem-solving Obliging
HIGH

Conflict Styles
Integrating or Collaboration
I win - you win
Stage IV: Behavior
 This is the stage when conflicts become
visible.
 It includes the statements, actions, and
reactions made by the conflicting parties.
 Consequences of Conflict

 Functional Dysfunctional
Stage V: Outcomes
 The outcomes can be Functional or
Dysfunctional.
 Conflict is functional if it improves the
quality of decisions,stimulates creativity
and innovation,encourages interest and
curiosity,provides the medium through
which the problems can be aired and
tensions released, and fosters an
environment of self-evaluation and change.
 Conflict challenges the status quo.
Dysfunctional outcomes
 Uncontrolled opposition breeds
discontent,which eventually leads to
destruction of the group.
 It reduces group effectiveness.
 Reduces group cohesiveness
 Retards effective communication.
 Negotiation
 A process in which one party
agrees to exchange a product or
service with another party in return
for something.
 Ex: Collective bargaining between
labor unions and management.
Approaches to negotiation
 Distributive bargaining
 Integrative bargaining
 Distributive bargaining
 It involves dividing fixed amount of
resources among the negotiating
parties.
 Zero-sum conditions
 Win-lose circumstances
 Integrative bargaining
 Win-win
 Based on the assumption that there
exists one or more solutions to a
problem.
 The parties should be sensitive
towards each others needs; trust
and are willing to be flexible.
 Negotiation process
 Preparation and planning (BATNA)
 Defining rules
 Clarifications and justifications
 Bargaining and problem-solving
 Closure and implementation
Issues in the negotiation process
 Biases in the decision-making
 Personality traits
 Cultural differences
 Third-party negotiations

a) Mediator
b) Arbitrator
c) Conciliator d) Consultant
 Intergroup relations
 Factors affecting them are:-
1. Interdependence: degree of
interaction and type of relations
Pooled
Sequential
Reciprocal
2. Task uncertainty: Highly routine
to highly non-routine
3. Orientation of time and goal
Managing Intergroup relations
 Rules and regulations
 Hierarchy
 Planning
 Liaison roles
 Task forces
 Teams
 Integrating departments