Organizational Behavior Ch.11

resistance point

point beyond which the team will make no further concessions

conflict outcomes

positive -better decisions -responsive organization -team cohesion Negative -stress/morale -turnover -politics -lower performance -distorted information

The stronger the level of debate, and the more the issue is tied to our self concept

the higher the chance that the constructive conflict will evolve into relationship conflict

personality clashes

the party refers to these and other interpersonal incompatibilities rather than legit differences of opinion regarding tasks or decisions

create value

to discover tother ways to achieve mutually satisfactory outcomes for both parties

claim view

to get the best possible outcomes for themselves

strategies for creating value

Gather information=info is cornerstone of effective value creation Discover priorities through offers-make multi-issue offers rather than discussing one issue at a time bc signals which ones are most important to them

situational influences on negotiations

the effectiveness of negotiating depends on environment in which negotiations occur such as location, physical setting, audience characteristics

avoiding

-conflict has become too emotionally charged -cost of trying to resolve the conflict outweighs the benefits Problems: doesn't usually resolve the conflict, may increase other party's frustration

problem solving

-interests are not perfectly opposing (not pure win lose) -parties have trust, openness, and time to share info -the issues are complex Problems: sharing info that other party might use to its advantage

yielding

-other party has substantially more power -issue is much less important to you than the other party -the value and logic of your position is not clear Problem: increases other party's expectations in future conflict episodes

compromising

-parties have equal power -time pressure to resolve the conflict -parties lack trust/openness for problem solving Problems: suboptimal solution when mutual gains are possible

forcing

-you have a deep conviction about your position -dispute requires a quick solution -the other party would take advantage of more cooperative strategies Problems: highest risk of relationship conflict and may damage long-term relations, reducing future problem solving

six main conditions that cause conflict

1. incompatible goals 2. differentiation 3. interdependence 4. scarce resources 5. ambiguous rules 6. communication problems

reducing differentiation

Reduce differences reduces dysfunctional conflict, as people develop common experiences they become more motivated to coordinate activities and resolve their disputes (SAP began organizing and intermingling people from two dfferent groups

third party conflict resolution

any attempt by a relatively neutral person to keep conflict parties resolve their differences arbitration, inquisition and mediation

arbitration

arbitrators have high control over the final decision but low control over the process, (listening to arguments from disputing employees and making a binding decision) is applied as final stage of grievances by unionized employees in many countries

if perceived differentiation is high

attempts to manage conflict through dialogue might escalate rather than reduce the relationship conflict

Positive Consequences of Conflict

better decision making -tests logic of arguments -questions assumptions more responsive to changing environment stronger team cohesion (conflict between the team and outside opponents)

cohesive team

conflict is suppressed when the conflict occurs within a highly cohesive team

manifest conflict

conflict style decisions overt behaviors

clarifying rules and procedures

conflicts arise from ambiguities can be minimized by establishing rules and procedures

inquisition

control all discussion about conflict, have high decision control because choose an action that will resolve the conflict but have high process control because they choose which info to examine and how to examine

Reducing interdependence

create buffers:any mechanism that loosens the coupling between two or more people or work units use integrators: employees who coordinate the activities of work units toward the completion of a common task (human buffers) reduce the frequency of direct interaction among work units that have diverse goals and perspectives combine jobs: both a form of job enrichment and a way to reduce task interdependence--pooled form of task interdependence

differentiation

differences among people and work units regarding their training, values, beliefs, and experiences . produces tension between employees from two companies brought together by merger

physical setting

distance between parties and formality of setting can influence orientation towards each other and disputed issues--people face to face are more likely to develop a win-lose orientation toward the conflict situation

communication problems

due to lack of opportunity, ability, or motivation to communicate effectively--when two parties lack the opportunity to communicate they tend to rely more on stereotypes to understand the other party -some people lack the skills to communicate in a diplomatic, non confrontational manner -relationship conflict is uncomfortable so people are less motivated to communicate with others in a disagreement

interdependence

extent to which employees must share materials, info, expertise to perform job--sharing resources, exchanging work clients and receiving outcomes -lowest risk conflict when working with pooled interdependence. highest risk conflict occurs in reciprocal interdependence situations

relationship conflict

focuses on the adversity rather than the issue as the source of conflict.

scarce resource

generates conflict because each person or unit requiring the same resource necessarily undermines others who also need that resource to fulfill their goals--labor strikes because financial resources

emphasizing superordinate goals

goals that the conflicting employees or departments value and whose attainment requires the join resources and effort of those parties. high order aspirations such as organization's -potentially reduce the problem of differentiation because establish shared social identity feeling

improving communication and mutual understanding

in johari window process you disclose more about yourself so that others have a better understanding of your behavior and why you act the way you do and through meaningful interaction

sources of conflict

incompatible goals differentiation interdependence scarce resources ambiguous rules poor communication

increasing resources

increase amount of resources reduces conflict caused by resource scarcity

cultural differences

influence the preferred conflict handling style -collectivist culture are more motivated to maintain good relations -low collectivism resolve conflict through avoidance or problem solving

bargaining zone model of negotiations

initial, target, and resistance

location

it is easier to negotiate on your own turf--many negotiators agree to neutral territory

conflict perceptions and emotions lead to

mainfest conflict

manifest conflict

may range from subtle nonverbal behaviors to warlike aggression

mediation

mediators have high control over intervention process but parties make final decision about how to resolve so have no control over conflict resolution decision

optimal conflict perspective

most effective when employees experience some level of conflict but become less effective with high levels of conflict

audience characteristics

most negotiators have audiences and tend to act differently when audience observes and tend to be more competitive, less willing to make concessions and more likely to engage in assertive tactics "hard-line" behavior shows audience negotiator is working in their interests

assertiveness

motivation to satisfy ones own interests

cooperativeness

motivation to satisfy other parties interests

ambiguous rules

occurs because uncertainty increases the risk that one party intends to interfere with the other party's goals. encourages political tactics and employees enter a free for all battle to win decisions

constructive conflict

occurs when people focus their discussion around the issue while showing respect for people with other points of view-different positions are thus encouraged so ideas can be clarified, redesigned and tested for logical soundness

negotiation

occurs whenever two or more conflicting parties attempt to resolve their divergent goals by redefining the terms of their interdependence

strategies for claiming value

prepare and set goals know your BATNA--best alternative to a negotiated agreement, estimates your power in negotiation because represents the estimated cost of walking away from relationship manage time-more power apply time pressure through "exploding offer"--limited time offers are frequently found in consumer sales which motivate the other party to accept and lose opp to discover BATNA manage first offers and concessions-negotiators who make first offer have the advantage in creating a position around which subsequent negotiations are anchored

Conflict

process in which one party perceives that its interest are being opposed or negatively affected by another party; ultimately based on perception that the other party is going to do so. Conflict exists whenever one party believes that another might obstruct its efforts

Mary Parker Follett

suggested there are different conflict handling styles high=forcing and problem solving (win win) med=compromising low=avoiding and yielding

structural approaches and causes of conflcit

superordinate goals, reducing differentiation, improving communication, and understanding, reducing task interdependence, increasing resources, and clarifying rules and procedures

initial offer point

team's opening offer to the other party

target point

team's realistic goal or expectation for a final agreement

men

tend to be more competitive and take short term orientation to the relationship low collectivism cultures-men are more likely to use forcing approach

win lose orientation

the belief that conflicting parties are drawing from a fixed pie, so the more one party receives the less the other party will receive

win win orientation

the belief that conflicting parties will find a mutually beneficial solution to their disagreement

build a relationship

trust is critical for solving problems so do it by discovering common backgrounds and interests also increases by developing a shared understanding of the negotiation process

Negative consequences of conflict

uses otherwise productive time less info sharing higher stress, dissatisfaction, and turnover increases organizational politics wastes resources weakens team cohesion (conflict among team members)

supportive team norms

various team norms can hold relationship conflict at bay during constructive debate when encouraging openness, discourage negative emotions towards team members,

incompatible goals

when goals of one person interfere with another's goal

emotional intelligence

when team members have high levels of emotional intelligence relationship conflict is less likely because able to control their emotions during a debate--reduces risk of escalating perceptions of hostility

women

women tend to pay more attention to the relationship and ten to adopt a compromising or occasionally problem solving style in business settings more willing to compromise to save relationship more likely to use avoiding style