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Chapter 10
Communication and Conflict

Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to answer the following questions:
1.

How would you describe the communication process?

2.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of oral versus written communication?
How do you differentiate the effectiveness of the chain, wheel, and all-channel networks? What factors affect the use of the grapevine?
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

3.

4.

Learning Objectives (contd)

5.

What are the common barriers to effective communication? How would you define conflict? How would you describe the conflict process? What are the five conflict-handling intentions? What is the difference between distributive and integrative bargaining? How would you describe the five steps in the negotiation process?
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

6. 7. 8. 9.

10.

Functions of Communication
Communication
The transference and the understanding of meaning

Communication Functions: Control member behaviour Foster motivation for what is to be done Provide a release for emotional expression Provide information needed to make decisions.

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

The Communication Process

Channel
The medium selected by the sender through which the message travels to the receiver

Types of Channels:
Formal Channels
Are established by the organisation and transmit messages that are related to the professional activities of members

Informal Channels
Used to transmit personal or social messages in the organisation. These informal channels are spontaneous and emerge as a response to individual choices.

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Elements of the Communication Process

The sender
The message Encoding

The channel

The sender initiates the message by encoding a thought. The channel is the medium through which the message travels. The receiver is the object to whom the message is directed. The message is decoded by the receiver. Noise represents communication barriers that distort the clarity of the message. Feedback is the check on how successful we have been in transferring our messages as originally intended.

Decoding

The receiver Noise

Feedback

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

The Communication Process Model

Communication Process The steps between a source and a receiver that result in the transference and understanding of meaning

Figure 10.1
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Direction of Communication

Upward

Downward

Lateral

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Interpersonal Communication

Oral Communication
Advantages: Speed and feedback Disadvantage: Distortion of the message

Written Communication
Advantages: Tangible and verifiable Disadvantages: Time-consuming and lacks feedback

Nonverbal Communication
Advantages: Supports other communications and provides observable expression of emotions and feelings
Disadvantage: Misperception of body language or gestures can influence receivers interpretation of message
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Nonverbal Communication
Body Movement Intonations

Facial Expressions

Physical Distance
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Three Common Small-Group Networks

Figure 10.2
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Small-Group Networks and Effectiveness Criteria

TYPES OF NETWORKS

Criteria
Speed Accuracy

Chain
Moderate High

Wheel
Fast High

All Channel
Fast Moderate

Emergence of a leader
Member satisfaction

Moderate
Moderate

High
Low

None
High

Table 10.1
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Grapevine
Grapevine Characteristics
Informal, not controlled by management
Perceived by most employees as being more believable and reliable than formal communications Largely used to serve the self-interests of those who use it Results from:
Desire for information about important situations Ambiguous conditions
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Grapevine

Control

Reliability

SelfInterests

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Computer-Aided Communication

E-mail
Advantages: Quickly written, sent, and stored; low cost for distribution

Disadvantages: Information overload, lack of emotional content, cold and impersonal

Instant Messaging
Advantage: 'Real time' e-mail transmitted straight to the receivers desktop

Disadvantage: Can be intrusive and distracting

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Computer-Aided Communication (contd)

Intranet
A private organisation-wide information network

Extranet
An information network connecting employees with external suppliers, customers, and strategic partners

Videoconferencing
An extension of an intranet or extranet that permits face-to-face virtual meetings via video links

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Barriers to Effective Communication

Filtering

A senders manipulation of information so that it will be seen more favorably by the receiver

Selective Perception
People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of their interests, background, experience, and attitudes

Information Overload

A condition in which information inflow exceeds an individuals processing capacity

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Barriers to Effective Communication (contd)

Emotions
How a receiver feels at the time a message is received will influence how the message is interpreted.

Language
Words have different meanings to different people.

Communication Apprehension
Undue tension and anxiety about oral communication, written communication, or both.
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Conflict

Conflict Defined
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
The point in an ongoing activity when an interaction 'crosses over' to become an interparty conflict

Encompasses a wide range of conflicts that people experience in organisations

Incompatibility of goals Differences over interpretations of facts Disagreements based on behavioural expectations
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Functional versus Dysfunctional Conflict

Functional Conflict

Conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves its performance
Positive effect

Dysfunctional Conflict Conflict that hinders group performance Negative effect

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

The Conflict Process

Figure 10.3
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Stage I: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility

Communication
Semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, and 'noise'

Structure
Size and specialisation of jobs Jurisdictional clarity/ambiguity Member/goal incompatibility Leadership styles (close or participative) Reward systems (win-lose) Dependence/interdependence of groups

Personal Variables

Differing individual value systems

Personality types
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Stage II: Cognition and Personalisation

Perceived Conflict
Awareness by one or more parties of the existence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise

Felt Conflict
Emotional involvement in a conflict creating anxiety, tenseness, frustration, or hostility

Conflict Definition

Negative Emotions

Positive Feelings
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Stage III: Intentions

Intentions Decisions to act in a given way
Cooperativeness
The degree to which one party attempts to satisfy the other partys concerns

Assertiveness
The degree to which one party attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Dimensions of ConflictHandling Intentions

Figure 10.4

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Stage III: Intentions (contd)

Dimensions of Conflict-Handling Intentions:

Competing
A desire to satisfy ones interests, regardless of the impact on the other party to the conflict

Collaborating
A situation in which the parties to a conflict each desire to satisfy fully the concerns of all parties

Avoiding
The desire to withdraw from or suppress a conflict

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Stage III: Intentions (contd)

Accommodating
The willingness of one party in a conflict to place the opponents interests above his or her own

Compromising
A situation in which each party to a conflict is willing to give up something

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Stage IV: Behaviour

Conflict Management
The use of resolution and stimulation techniques to achieve the desired level of conflict

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Conflict-Intensity Continuum

Source: Based on S.P. Robbins, Managing organizational Conflict: A Nontraditional Approach (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974), pp. 9397; and F. Glasi, 'The Process of Conflict Escalation and the Roles of Third Parties,' in G.B.J. Bomers and R. Peterson (eds.), Conflict Management and Industrial Relations (Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff, 1982), pp. 11940.

Figure 10.5

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Conflict and Unit Performance

Figure 10.7
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Conflict Management Techniques

Conflict Resolution Techniques Problem solving Superordinate goals Expansion of resources Avoidance Smoothing Compromise Authoritative command Altering the human variable Altering the structural variables
Table 10.3
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Conflict Management Techniques (contd)

Conflict Stimulation Techniques Communication Bringing in outsiders Restructuring the organisation Appointing a devils advocate

Source: Based on S. P. Robbins, Managing organizational Conflict: A Nontraditional Approach (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974), pp. 5989

Table 10.3 (contd)

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Stage V: Outcomes

Functional Outcomes from Conflict

Increased group performance Improved quality of decisions

Stimulation of creativity and innovation

Encouragement of interest and curiosity Provision of a medium for problem-solving

Creation of an environment for self-evaluation and change

Creating Functional Conflict

Reward dissent and punish conflict avoiders

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Stage V: Outcomes

Dysfunctional Outcomes from Conflict

Development of discontent

Reduced group effectiveness

Retarded communication Reduced group cohesiveness Infighting among group members overcomes group goals
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Negotiation

Negotiation
A process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for them.

BATNA
The Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement; the lowest acceptable value (outcome) to an individual for a negotiated agreement
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Bargaining Strategies

Distributive Bargaining
Negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount of resources; a win-lose situation

Integrative Bargaining
Negotiation that seeks one or more settlements that can create a win-win solution

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Distributive versus Integrative Bargaining

Bargaining characteristic Resources Motivation Interests Distributive bargaining Fixed amount to be divided Win-Lose Opposing Short term Integrative bargaining Variable amount to be divided Win-Win Convergent or congruent Long term

Duration of relationships

Source: Based on R. J. Lewicki and J. A. Litterer, Negotiation (Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1985), p. 280.

Table 10.4
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Staking Out the Bargaining Zone

Figure 10.6
Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

The Negotiation Process

BATNA
The Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement; the lowest acceptable value (outcome) to an individual for a negotiated agreement

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Summary

A clear relationship exists between communication and employee satisfaction: the less the uncertainty, the greater the satisfaction. Distortions, ambiguities and incongruities in communications all increase uncertainty having a negative impact on satisfaction. The less distortion that occurs in communication, the more likely it is that goals, feedback and other management messages to employees will be received as they were intended.
Extensive use of vertical, lateral and informal channels will increase communication flow, reduce uncertainty, and improve group performance and satisfaction. Whatever the senders expectations, the decoded message in the mind of the receiver is reality for them. And it is this reality that will determine performance, along with the individuals level of motivation and degree of satisfaction.

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Summary

Conflict can be both constructive and destructive. Levels of conflict can be either too high or too low. Either extreme hinders performance. An optimal level is one at which there is enough conflict to prevent stagnation, stimulate creativity, allow tensions to be released and initiate the seeds for change, yet not so much as to be disruptive or to deter coordination of activities.
Negotiation was shown to be an ongoing activity in groups and organisations. Distributive bargaining can resolve disputes, but it often negatively affects one or more negotiators satisfaction because it is focused on the short term and is confrontational. Integrative bargaining, in contrast, tends to provide outcomes that satisfy all parties and build lasting relationships.

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Summary

What advice can we give managers faced with excessive conflict and the need to reduce it?
Dont assume there is one conflict-handling intention that will always be best! It is important to select an intention appropriate for the situation. The following provides some guidelines Use competition when quick, decisive action is vital (in emergencies); on important issues, where unpopular actions need implementing (in cost cutting, enforcing unpopular rules, discipline); On issues vital to the organisations welfare when you know you are right; and against people who take advantage of noncompetitive behaviour. Use collaboration to find an integrative solution when both sets of concerns are too important to be compromised; when your objective is to learn; to merge insights from people with different perspectives; to gain commitment by incorporating concerns into a consensus; and to work through feelings that have interfered with a relationship.

Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia

Summary

What advice can we give managers faced with excessive conflict and the need to reduce it?
Use avoidance when an issue is trivial or more important issues are pressing; when you perceive no chance of satisfying your concerns; when potential disruption outweighs the benefits of resolution; to let people cool down and regain perspective; when gathering information supersedes immediate decision; when others can resolve the conflict more effectively; and when issues seem tangential or symptomatic of other issues. Use accommodation when you find you are wrong and to allow a better position to be heard, to learn and to show your reasonableness; when issues are more important to others than to yourself and to satisfy others and maintain cooperation; to build social credits for later issues; to minimise loss when you are outmatched and losing; when harmony and stability are especially important; and to allow employees to develop by learning from mistakes. Use compromise when goals are important but not worth the effort of potential disruption of more assertive approaches; when opponents with equal power are committed to mutually exclusive goals; to achieve temporary settlements to complex issues; to arrive at expedient solutions under time pressure; and as a backup when collaboration or competition is unsuccessful. Robbins: OB: The Essentials 2010 Pearson Australia