Chapter Seven

Resolving Conflict with Others

Conflict
Conflict: A process in which one party perceives that its
interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another

party.

Functional conflict serves the

organizations interests while

Dysfunctional conflict threatens

the organizations interests.

Antecedents of Conflict
Incompatible personalities or value systems. Overlapping or unclear job boundaries. Competition for limited resources. Interdepartment/intergroup competition. Inadequate communication. Interdependent tasks. Organizational complexity.

Antecedents of Conflict (continued)

Unreasonable or unclear policies, standards, or rules. Unreasonable deadlines or extreme time pressure. Collective decision making. Decision making by consensus. Unmet expectations. Unresolved or suppressed conflict.

Sources of Interpersonal Conflict

Competition for Limited Resources Role Conflict Competing Work and Family Demands Building Stone Walls Personality Clashes Aggressive Personalities Including Bullies

Sources of Conflict and Use of Rational vs. Political Model

Sources of Potential Inter-group Conflict
When Conflict Is Low, Rational Model describes organization
Consistent across participants Goal Incompatibility Differentiation Task Interdependence Limited Resources Orderly, logical, rational Centralized

Organization Variables
Goals Power and Control Decision Process Rules and Norms

When Conflict Is High, Political Model describes organization

Inconsistent, pluralistic within the organization Decentralized, shifting coalitions and interest groups Disorderly, result of bargaining and interplay among interests

Norm of efficiency

Free play of market forces, conflict is legitimate and expected

Ambiguous, information used and withheld strategically

Extensive, Information systematic, accurate

Marketing Manufacturing Areas of Potential Goal Conflict

Goal Conflict MARKETING Operative goal is customer satisfaction VS. MANUFACTURING Operative goal is production efficiency

Conflict Area
Breadth of product line:

Typical Comment
Our customers demand variety. New products are our lifeblood. We need faster response. Lead times are too long. Why dont we ever have the right merchandise in inventory? Why cant we have reasonable quality at low cost?

Typical Comment
The product line is too broad, all we get are short, uneconomical runs. Unnecessary design changes are prohibitively expensive. We need realistic customer commitments that dont change like the wind direction We cant afford to keep huge inventories. Why must we always offer options that are too expensive and offer little customer utility?

New product introduction: Production scheduling:

Physical distribution:

Quality:

Desired Outcomes of Conflict

Agreement: Strive for equitable and fair agreements that
last.

Stronger relationships: Build bridges of goodwill and

trust for the future.

Learning: Greater self-awareness and creative problem

solving.

Tips for Managers Whose Employees Are Having a Personality Conflict

1. Follow company policies for diversity, antidiscrimination, and sexual harassment. 2. Investigate and document conflict. 3. If appropriate, take corrective action (e.g., feedback or B Mod). 4. If necessary, attempt informal dispute resolution. 5. Refer difficult conflicts to human resource specialists or hired counselors for formal resolution attempts and other interventions.

How to Build Cross-Cultural Relationships and minimize Conflict

Behavior
Be a good listener Be sensitive to the needs of others Be cooperative, rather than overly competitive Advocate inclusive (participative) leadership Compromise rather than dominate Build rapport through conversations Be compassionate and understanding Avoid conflict by emphasizing harmony Nurture others (develop and mentor)

Rank
1 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Tie

Five Conflict-Handling Styles

Concern for Others

High

Sharing

Accomodative

Collaborative

Low

Competitive

Avoiding

High
Concern for Self

Low

What is your Conflict-Handling Style?

How important are conflict-handling skills in the modern workplace? Explain.

Did this instrument do a reasonable good job of identifying your primary and backup conflict-handling styles? Explain.
Do you need to improve your conflict-handling skills? Explain. In your opinion, which conflict-handling style would tend to be most successful in todays workplace? Which is the least successful? What is your experience with managers who had dysfunctional conflict-handling styles? What was the impact on work motivation and job satisfaction?

Conflict Resolution
Confrontation and Problem-Solving Constructive Handling of Criticism Image Exchanging (creating empathy) Cognitive Restructuring Negotiating and Bargaining

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Techniques

Facilitation: Third party gets disputants to deal directly and
constructively with each other. between disputants.

Conciliation: Neutral third party acts as communication link

Peer review: Impartial co-workers hear both sides and render
decision that may or may not be binding.

Ombudsman: Respected and trusted member of the

organization hears grievances confidentially. own solution.

Mediation: Trained third-party guides disputants toward their

Arbitration: Neutral third-party hears both sides in a court-like

setting and renders a binding decision.

Negotiating
Negotiation: A give-and-take decision-making process
involving interdependent parties with different preferences.

Distributive negotiation: Single issue; fixed-pie; win-lose.

Integrative negotiation: More than one issue; win-win.

An Integrative Approach: Added-Value Negotiation

Clarify interests. Identify options. Design alternative deal packages. Select a deal. Perfect the deal.