CONFLICT RESOLUTION &

STRATEGIC NEGOTIATION
 Conflict refers to some form of friction,
disagreement, or discord arising within a group
when the beliefs or actions of one or more
members of the group are either resisted by or
unacceptable to one or more members of
another group. Conflict can arise between
members of the same group, known as intra-
group conflict, or it can occur between members
of two or more groups, and involve violence,
interpersonal discord, and psychological tension,
known as intergroup conflict.
 Conflict and Creativity – How do you
think conflict will foster creativity.
The components of conflict

 NEEDS: Communities are composed of different

people with different needs. An unemployed
educated single young man has different needs
from an uneducated old man.
 PERCEPTION: Younger members of the community
feel that direct confrontation and protest action to
make management listen to the community
 POWER: Power is the ability to get someone to do
something you want done or make things happen in
the way you want. Power is also differently defined
and used within communities
 Values: Religious beliefs, political
ideologies and cultural backgrounds are
usually the cause of conflict in
communities. These differences can
either divide or unite communities. 
 Emotions: Often people become
emotional when communities are
confronted by difficult situations.
Types of Conflicts

 Intrapersonal
 Conflict within a person is not always easy to
identify, but it can become apparent when mood
swings are present or depression is evident.
Intrapersonal conflict is also apparent when a person
has trouble choosing between two or more goals.
 Interpersonal
 Conflict between two people is not always bad,
particularly if the differences can be resolved. People
respond in different ways to disagreements, with
personal feelings, attitudes and goals contributing to
the conflict.
 Intragroup
 Departmental harmony is essential to helping
maintain productivity and workplace morale. When
two or more people do not get along together, that
personal battle can affect everyone. Some examples
of intragroup conflict may include ethnic, religious
or gender prejudice.
 Intergroup
 Battles between your accounting and operations
team or between frontline workers and online
customer service agents can become a problem
especially where customers are involved.
Functional Conflict

 The conflict which supports the goals of a group

and also improves it performance is known as a
functional or a positive conflict.
 (i) Analytical thinking: During a conflict the
members of a group display analytical thinking in
identifying various alternatives. In absence of
conflict, they might not have been creative or even
might have been lethargic.
 (ii) Diffusing tension among the members of
the group: When conflict is allowed to express
openly it can help in reducing the tension among
the members of the group
 (iii) Promote Competition: Conflicts results in
increase competition and this increased
competition in turn results in more efforts
 (iv)Promote group cohesiveness: Some experts
believe that conflict creates solidarity among the
members of the group it also increases loyalty in
the members of the group and inculcates a feeling
of group identity.
 (v) Facing challenges: Conflict creates challenges
for them and to face these challenges individual
and group to need to be creative and dynamic.
 Dysfunctional Conflict
 (i) Increased tension: a dysfunctional conflict can
cause high level of tension among the members of a
group and in some cases it becomes difficult for the
management to resolve such a conflict.
 (ii) High rate of employee turn
over: Dysfunctional conflicts can cause some
employees to leave the organization if they are not
able to resolve the conflict in their favor.
 (iii) Increased dissatisfaction: Dissatisfaction can
be increased among the members of the party that
looses in conflict. This struggle during conflict also
results in decreased concentration on the job and in
this way it can also adversely affect the productivity
of the whole group.
 (iv) Distrust: Conflict can result in a climate of
distrust among the members of a group and also in the
organization. It can decrease the level of cohesiveness
among the group members who will have negative
feelings towards other members of the group and avoid
interaction with them.
 (v) Distraction from organizational
goals : Conflicts can distract the members of a group
from the organizational goals they are supposed to
achieved but during a conflict the members may waste
their time and energy in making efforts for emerging as
winners in the on-going conflict in the group.
Levels of Conflict

 Competitive
 At the competitive level, a person takes a position and
sticks to it. Company owners and upper management
often negotiate from a competitive level of conflict
resolution. With the competitive level, the leader states
what he wants. The leader should be persuasive and
have the knowledge to back up the request.
 Collaborative
 At the collaborative level, all ideas are deemed
important and considered. Collaboration takes a look at
all of the needs and opinions of a situation and tries to
come up with a solution that uses the best of those
ideas.
 Compromising
 The compromising level accomplishes a solution that keeps everyone
partly happy. However, each person will still need to give up something
to come to a compromise. Compromising level for situations where a
deadline is knocking at the door and the conflict prevents completing a
project.
 Accommodating
 Use an accommodating level in situations where the outcome is not vital,
but solving the conflict is. Using this style means the leader gives up his
own stance on a situation and allows others their way. It can help bring
peace to a volatile situation and build goodwill, so when management
must use a different level, employees are open to a more assertive tone.
 Avoiding
 At the avoiding level, the person simply refuses to make a decision. This
is a particularly weak response to conflict but that it can be appropriate
in situations where the outcome does not matter
Sources of Conflict

 Interpersonal Relationships
 When different personalities come together in a workplace,
there is always the possibility they won't mesh. Office gossip
and rumors can also serve as a catalyst for deterioration of co-
worker relationships.
 Supervisor vs. Employee
 Just as co-worker personalities may not mesh, a supervisor and
employee can also experience conflict. A supervisor who is seen
as overbearing or unfair can rub an employee the wrong way,
which makes the working relationship more difficult.
 External Changes
 When the economy slides into a recession or a new competitor
swoops in and steals some of a company's market share, it can
create tension within the company.
 Poor Communication
 Companies or supervisors that don't communicate
effectively can create conflict. For example, a
supervisor who gives unclear instructions to
employees can cause confusion as to who is
supposed to do what, which can lead to conflict.
 Subpar Performance
 When a worker in a department is not "pulling his
weight," it can lead to conflict within the
department, perhaps even escalating into a
confrontational situation.
 Harassment
 Harassment in the workplace can take many forms,
such as sexual or racial harassment or even the
hazing of a new employee. Companies that don't
have strong harassment policies in place are in
effect encouraging the behavior, which can result in
conflict.
 Limited Resources
 Companies that are looking to cut costs may scale
back on resources such as office equipment, access
to a company vehicle or the spending limit on
expense accounts.
Effects of Conflicts

 Mental Health Concerns

 Decrease in Productivity
 Members Leave Organization
 Violence
 Inspire Creativity
 Share And Respect Opinions
 Improve Future Communication
Need for Conflict
 Increased participation in decision
making.
 Better information
 Better choices
 Reduces anxiety
 Encourages collaboration
 Increases understanding
Life Cycle of a conflict
 Latent conflict
 Emergence
 Escalation
 Deadlock/stalemate
 De – escalation
 Resolution
 Collaborative action
Leadership Grid
 Impoverished Management – Low Results/Low
People
 The Impoverished or "indifferent" manager is mostly
ineffective. With a low regard for creating systems that
get the job done, and with little interest in creating a
satisfying or motivating team environment , his results are
inevitably disorganization, dissatisfaction and disharmony.
 Produce-or-Perish Management – High Results/Low
People
 Also known as "authoritarian" or "authority-compliance"
managers, people in this category believe that their team
members are simply a means to an end. The team's needs
are always secondary to its productivity.
 Middle-of-the-Road Management – Medium
Results/Medium People
 A Middle-of-the-Road or "status quo" manager tries to balance
results and people, but this strategy is not as effective as it may
sound. Through continual compromise, he fails to inspire high
performance and also fails to meet people's needs fully. The result
is that his team will likely deliver only mediocre performance.
 Country Club Management – High People/Low Results
 The Country Club or "accommodating" style of manager is most
concerned about her team members' needs and feelings. She
assumes that, as long as they are happy and secure, they will
work hard.
 What tends to be the result is a work environment that is very
relaxed and fun, but where productivity suffers because there is a
lack of direction and control.
 Team Management – High Production/High People
 According to the Blake Mouton model, Team
management is the most effective leadership style. It
reflects a leader who is passionate about his work and
who does the best he can for the people he works with.
 Team or "sound" managers commit to their
organization's goals and mission, motivate the people
who report to them, and work hard to get people to
stretch themselves to deliver great results. But, at the
same time, they're inspiring figures who look after their
teams. Someone led by a Team manager feels respected
and empowered, and is committed to achieving her
goals.
 How do organizations deal with conflict
 Positive perspective- conflict can be an asset to your
company if handled well. Innovation can be inspired from
creative solutions.
 Grievance Procedure- all employees voices should be
heard and they should know it. If you company culture is
friendly towards constructive conflict your staff will see the
value of their conflict being heard.
 Get to the cause- focus on the deep rooted causes, find out
the reason for the problem instead of solving it superficially.
 Equal Voices- every person should have an equal
opportunity for voicing his/her opinion. The senior people
should not be given additional advantage.
 Resolution Participation –get more people to participate
and help you solve a conflict, there will be a few suggestions
but people will want to accept them.
Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI)
Techniques to resolve Team Conflict

 Be Aware That Conflict Occurs

 Set the Ground Rules
 Stop Conflict When it Happens
 Discuss Both Sides of a Perspective
 Don't Try to Change a Team Member
 Conflict resolution 
 Third-Party Interventions in Organizations
 In today's complex organizations, there are a variety of reasons why
conflict might occur over things like competing agendas, differences of
opinions, limited resources, time constraints, and conflicting departmental
needs. The term third party is used to describe a person or group of
people who intervene to help those involved in a dispute resolve their
conflict.
 Unilateral decision making
 Group decisions include whether to continue problem solving, whether to
get help, which procedures to use, and which solution to choose.  The
authors identify common biases that interfere with good decision making. 
These include irrationally escalating commitments, assuming resources
are fixed and outcomes must be win-lose, using information because it is
available rather than relevant, and overconfidence.  People may also be
biased by the way information is presented, by irrelevant anchor points,
or by failing to take the other party's perspective into account.  Generally,
people's notions of fairness tend to be biased in their own favor.  Groups
are more likely to reach integrative solutions when the parties' power is
equal and their aspirations are high. 
 Joint Decision Making
 Based on the principle of joint decision-
making all involved partner
organizations must have the opportunity
to participate in the decision-making
within individual Development
Partnerships.
 Consequences of Conflict
 Change
 Conflict accelerates change in an organization, especially in small businesses,
where it is easy to formulate and implement new policies. Conflict prompts
modification of policies and operation procedures in the organization. In cases
of extreme conflict, the organization may conduct a complete overhaul of its
leadership, bringing in managers with fresh ideas.
 Goal Congruence
 A review of the goals and objectives of the business to meet the needs of
conflicting parties may result into achievement of goal congruence and
coherence in operations. Employees, departments and groups are
interdependent within the organization. Competition for scarce resources is a
major source of conflict due to different interests. Conflict forces the
organizations leadership to realign its objectives towards common goals in
order to foster teamwork amongst competing parties.
 Innovation
 Conflict that results into healthy competition cultivates innovation and
inventiveness amongst employees. In times of conflict, there is a high sense of
necessity that results into the emergence of divergent viewpoints amongst
employees. It is imperative among the employees to develop new strategies
and ways of conducting business in order to keep up with internal competition
from their colleagues.
 Sub-Optimization
 In instances where conflicting parties engage in extreme
disagreement, sub-optimization may result. When conflicting parties
push the pursuit of their own interest excessively, the organizations
goals end up compromised. Instead of working together to achieve
the organization's goals, conflicting parties engage in needless feuds
that result in superiority contests. Distortion of goals occurs as
parties embark on undermining each other's efforts.
 Waste of Time and Resources
 The business may lose precious time and resources at times of
conflict. Instead of concentrating on meeting their objectives,
employees waste time on divisive issues. Misuse of business
materials and funds is quite rampant when conflicting parties engage
in "warfare." Wrangles, stress and emotional confrontations reduce
the workers' productivity, and eventually, the profitability of the
business.
Negotiation
 Negotiation is a method by which people
settle differences. It is a process by
which compromise or agreement is
reached while avoiding argument and
dispute.
Approaches to Negotiation

 Distributive Negotiation or Win-Lose

Approach
 Strategy to be used: In this mode, one
seeks to gain advantage through
concealing information, misleading or
using manipulative actions. Of course,
these methods have serious potential for
negative consequences.
 Lose-Lose Approach
 This negotiation approach is adopted
when one negotiating partner feels that
his own interests are threatened and he
does all he can to ensure that the
outcome of the negotiation is not
suitable to the interests of the other
party as well. In the bargain, both the
parties end up being the loser.
 Integrative Negotiation or Win-Win Approach
 This negotiation approach is also called as collaborative
or creating value approach. It is superior to all
negotiation approaches. It results in both the parties
feeling that they are achieving what they wanted. It
results in satisfaction to both the parties.
 Collaborative Negotiations
 Collaborative negotiations are creative and friendly. For
example, business partnership negotiations are often
collaborative. Win-win negotiations that are expected to
yield big wins tend to be collaborative. Collaborative
negotiations rely on persuasive techniques, optimism
and creativity. 
Common Mistakes of Negotiation

 Lacking confidence
 Many people think they need to show a certain kind of confidence, like
being loud, bold or brazen, to successfully negotiate a deal.
 Thinking something is non-negotiable
 When you think like a negotiator, everything is negotiable! It's a mindset
you have to operate from in order to become not just a good negotiator,
but a great one. When you decide that the terms for anything can be
changed in your favor, a world of opportunity presents. 
 Not building relationships first
 This is probably one of the biggest mistakes individuals make in regards to
negotiation and in business in general. Perhaps you have attended the
standard "networking" event where you give dozens of cards out without
having a real conversation with anyone. 
 Not asking for what you want
 There is one key truth in negotiations: You must ask for what you want.
Sounds simple enough, but in practice it can often be daunting. 
The five stages of the negotiation process
are

 Preparation and Planning

 Definition of Ground Rules
 Clarification and Justification
 Bargaining and Problem Solving
 Closure and Implementation
What is Third party intervention?

 A mediator is a neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated

solution by using reasoning and persuasion, suggesting alternatives
and the like. Mediators are widely used in labor-management
negotiations and in civil court disputes.
 An arbitrator is a third party with the authority to dictate an
agreement. Arbitration can be voluntary (requested) or compulsory
(forced on the parties by law or contract).The authority of the
arbitrator varies according to the rules set by the negotiators.
 A conciliator is a trusted third party who provides an informal
communication link between the negotiator and the opponent.
Conciliation is used extensively in international, labor, family and
community disputes. Comparing its effectiveness to mediation has
proven difficult because the two overlap a great deal. 
 A consultant is a skilled and impartial third party who attempts to
facilitate problem solving through communication and analysis, aided
by his or her knowledge of conflict management. 
 Benefits of third party intervention
 The conflict can be resolved by peaceful
means
 It has an unbiased approach for both the
parties in conflict
 Since the team is external they are
always able to provide a new
perspective
 Mediation is the involvement of an impartial third party in an
existing dispute between two or more persons in which the
mediator facilitates the communication between the parties and
promotes the use of constructive conflict management behaviors.
 Merits of mediation
 Scheduling number, time, place of meetings
 Establishing the general format of each meeting and the persons
who participate
 Helping interpret the ideas and expressions of the parties
 Expanding the parties’ range of resources
 Helping parties think about what they want to do and how they
can achieve this
 Helping parties assess the consequences and the realities of their
suggestions and actions
Alternative Dispute
Resolution
 Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") refers to any means of settling
disputes outside of the courtroom. ADR typically includes early neutral
evaluation, negotiation, conciliation, mediation, and arbitration. As
burgeoning court queues, rising costs of litigation, and time delays
continue to plague litigants, more states have begun experimenting with
ADR programs. Some of these programs are voluntary; others are
mandatory.
 Features of ADR
 They are all encompassing, available for use by all people and for all types
of problems
 There is a conflict competent culture where conflict can be surfaced and
managed safely
 There are multiple access points to the system
 There are options and choices that allow disputants access to coaches and
mediators
 Support structures institutionalize the ADR system and provide safeguards
 Types of Interpersonal Conflict

 People-Focused vs. Issue-Focused

 People-focused conflicts are based on emotions and feelings, and are more of a
personal attack. Issue-focused conflicts are centered on issues and events, and
are more representative of a calm negotiation.
 Personal Differences
 A common source of interpersonal conflict is personal differences, because
every person brings a unique (and often incompatible) set of values,
perceptions and expectations to the table.
 Informational Deficiencies
 Another source of interpersonal conflict is informational deficiencies.
Communications are not always received, may be misinterpreted or different
conclusions may be drawn based on past experiences.
 Role Incompatibility
 Role incompatibility may be a cause of interpersonal conflict because of
differences between the goals and responsibilities assigned to an individual and
what the individual would rather be doing.
 Environmental Stress
 A stressful environment is another source of interpersonal conflict. Uncertainty
of future events and scarcity of resources, such as food or money, can lead to
disputes among otherwise friendly individuals.
Transactional analysis and conflict handling

 PARENT EGO STATES (Taught)

 This state contains the attitudes, feelings and behavior incorporated from
external sources, primarily parents. In outward behavior it is divided into
two parts:1 nurturing parent: concerned with caring, loving, helping
2controlling parent: criticizing, censoring, punishing
 When a person is in his or her parent state, he/she responds automatically,
almost as if the individual has a memory recording playing in his or her
head. Everyone has Parent memory recordings – some are helpful – they
enable us to carry out routine tasks automatically without having to think
too much about them. Other memory recordings can create problems – if a
Parent memory is triggered automatically in an inappropriate situation. 
 ADULT EGO STATES (Thought)
 A person’s Adult Ego State is his or her thoughts, feelings and behavior in
the here and now that is calmly appropriate to the external stimulus being
experienced at any one time. The state has nothing to do with the person’s
age. It contains those behaviors concerned with collecting information,
organizing and analyzing. It operates dispassionately and without emotion. 
 CHILD EGO STATES (Felt)
 This state contains all the impulses that come naturally to an infant. But just as
the Parent has different aspects or characteristics which relate to this state, so
does the Child state. The Child develops into two parts – the Natural or Free
Child and the Adapted Child 
 The Natural/Free Child: Is spontaneous, energetic, curious, loving and
uninhibited, the part of you that feels free and loves pleasure. Many adults
repress their natural child and exaggerate the parent.
 The Adapted Child: Your Adapted Child developed when you learned to
change (adapt) your feelings and behavior in response to the world around
you. Learned feelings of guilt, fear, depression, anxiety, envy and pride are all
characteristic of the Adapted Child. The Adapted Child can become the most
troublesome part of our personality. 
 Ego states theory has been used extensively to help better understand
communication between individuals with different Ego states once we get to
know the kind of communication that is happening amongst people we can
easily tweak it according to our own needs. Every workplace communication is
a result of these ways of communication.