Ch. 10: Managing Conflict and Negotiations (powerpoint)

dysfunctional conflict

conflict that hinders the organization's performance or threatens its interests

programmed conflict

conflict that raises different opinions regardless of the personal feelings of the managers Gets contributors to either defend or criticize ideas based on relevant facts rather than personal preference or political interest Two programmed conflict techniques with proven track records are devil's advocacy and the dialectic method.

functional conflict

conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves its performance

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

uses faster, more user-friendly methods of dispute resolution instead of traditional, adversarial approaches such as unilateral decision making or litigation. ADR has enjoyed enthusiastic growth in recent years due to lower costs and speed. ADR methods vary with respect to difficulty and expense.

distributive negotiation

usually involves a single issue—a "fixed pie"—in which one person gains at the expense of another. This position-based, "win-lose" approach of distributive negotiation is arguably the most common.

approaches to intergroup conflict: conflict resolution

work to eliminate specific negative interactions. Conduct team building to reduce intragroup conflict, and prepare for cross-functional teamwork. Encourage and facilitate friendships via social events (e.g., happy hours, sports leagues, and book clubs). Foster positive attitudes (e.g., empathy and compassion). Avoid or neutralize negative gossip. Practice the above—be a role model.

avoidance of conflict

We avoid conflict because we fear various combinations of: harm, rejection, loss of relationship, anger, being seen as selfish, saying the wrong thing, failing, hurting someone else, or getting what you want (i.e., fearing the consequences of success). Avoiding conflict doesn't make it go away; more likely the conflict situation will continue or even escalate. Instead of ignoring conflict, you may be well served to: Stop ignoring a conflict by bringing both sides together to address the issues. Act decisively to improve the outcome. Make the path to resolution open and honest. Use descriptive language instead of evaluative. Make the process a team-building opportunity. Keep the upside in mind. By managing conflict, a number of desirable outcomes can emerge: Agreement Stronger relationships Learning

dialectic method

fostering a structured debate of opposing viewpoints prior to making a decision This method alters the usual decision-making process by generating a counterproposal based on different assumptions and having the advocates of each position present and debate the merits of their proposals before key decision makers. Drawbacks of the dialectic method technique are that winning the debate may overshadow the issue at hand, and this method requires more skill training than does devil's advocacy.

Five common conflict handling styles

integrating: (problem solving) interested parties confront the issue and cooperatively identify the problem, generate and weigh alternatives and select a solution obliging: people show low concern for themselves and a great concern for others dominating: high concern for self and low concern for others, often characterized by "i win, you lose tactics avoiding: passive withdrawal from the problem and active suppression of the issue are common compromising: give and take approach with a moderate concern for both self and others

negotiation

may be thought of as giveandtake decision making process involving two or more parties with different perspectives

conventional forms of conflict: intergroup conflict

Conflict among work groups, teams, and departments is a common threat to individual and organizational effectiveness. Conflict states: shared perceptions among team members about the target (i.e., tasks or relationships) and intensity of the conflict. Conflict processes: the means by which team members work through task and relationship disagreements. Conflict processes and how teams manage their differences matter, and processes are at least as important as the source of the conflict. Group cohesiveness can turn a "group" into a "team," but excessive levels can impact the team's ability to think critically. Research has identified challenges associated with increased group cohesiveness. Managers cannot eliminate in-group thinking, but they certainly should not ignore it when handling intergroup conflicts. The contact hypothesis, conflict reduction, and creating a psychologically safe climate have been recommended as ways to handle intergroup conflict.

conflict escalation

Conflict escalation often exhibits these five characteristics: Change in tactics from light to heavy tactics (i.e., from persuasive arguments, promises, and efforts to please the other side to threats, power plays, and violence). Increase in the number of issues. Issues move from specific to general. The number of parties grows. The goals change from "doing well" or resolution to winning and even hurting the other party.

best anti-bullying strategies

Develop a workplace bullying policy. Encourage open and respectful communication. Develop clear procedures. Identify and model appropriate behaviors. System for reporting bullying. Identify and resolve conflicts quickly and fairly—avoid escalation. The Internet and particularly social media have created new avenues and weapons for bullies at school, at work, and in our social lives through cyber bullying. The Internet and particularly social media have created new avenues and weapons for bullies at school, at work, and in our social lives through cyber bullying. Virtual bullying is more common than face-to-face bullying, although the two often co-occur. Not only do face-to-face and cyber bullying directly harm the targeted person, but the fear of future mistreatment amplifies this effect. Employers should create policies to prevent and address virtual incivility, and employees should follow best practices for appropriate e-mails and social media use. Virtual bullying is more common than face-to-face bullying, although the two often co-occur. Not only do face-to-face and cyber bullying directly harm the targeted person, but the fear of future mistreatment amplifies this effect. Employers should create policies to prevent and address virtual incivility, and employees should follow best practices for appropriate e-mails and social media use. Determine the situations, policies, and behaviors likely to cause or allow bullying to occur. Provide training to employees regarding how to manage conflict. Clear consequences for engaging in bullying. Monitor and review employee relationships with particular attention to fairness.

forms of ADR

Facilitation: a third party informally urges disputing parties to deal directly with each other in a positive and constructive manner. Conciliation: a neutral third party informally acts as a communication conduit between disputing parties. Peer review: a panel of trustworthy co-workers hears both sides of a dispute in an informal and confidential meeting and may make binding decisions depending on the company. Ombudsman: someone who works for the organization and is widely respected and trusted by his or her co-workers hears grievances on a confidential basis and attempts to arrange a solution. Mediation: a trained, third-party neutral actively guides the disputing parties in exploring innovative solutions to the conflict to help the disputants to reach a mutually acceptable decision. Arbitration: a third-party neutral makes final and binding decisions based on legal merits. benefits of ADR: speed, lower cost, confidentiality, potential for win-win resolution

conflicts mat arise due to

Interdependencies Incompatibilities Overlapping or unclear boundaries Competition over limited resources Unreasonable or unclear organizational polices Organizational complexity

emotions in negotiation

Negotiation experts and researchers acknowledge that emotions are an integral part of the human experience, and they provide guidance on how to use emotions to your advantage. Emotions are contagious, and if you want the other party to be calm, creative, or energetic, then consider showing these emotions yourself. The following tips can help you prepare emotionally for an impending negotiation: Determine the ideal emotions that will best suit your objectives. Manage your emotions and determine what you can do in advance to put yourself in the ideal emotional state. Know what your hot buttons are and manage them appropriately. Use appropriate tactics to keep your balance. Set your emotional goals of how you want to feel when you are finished negotiating (e.g., relieved, satisfied, etc.).

what to consider when choosing a negotiation approach

Personality matters in the negotiation process, with people with high levels of agreeableness being best suited for integrative negotiations. Skilled negotiators manage expectations in advance of actual negotiations. It is important to consider the other person's outcome and if that party is satisfied. It is important to adhere to standards of justice. You must remember your reputation and realize that winning at all costs often has significant costs.

conventional forms of conflict: personality conflicts

Relational or interpersonal: based on personal dislike or disagreement - Particularly harmful - Critically important to identify and remedy these conflicts Personality conflicts are common and can be troublesome since personality traits are stable and resistant to change. Personality conflicts that are ignored or avoided often escalate.

ethics in negotiation

The success of negotiations is often influenced to a large extent by the quality of information exchanged. Telling lies, hiding key facts, and engaging in other potentially unethical tactics erodes trust and good will, both vital in successful negotiations.

importance of balance to reducing conflict

Work-family balance begins at home. An employer's family-supportive philosophy is more important than specific programs. Balance requires flexibility . Importance of work-life family balance varies across generations. flexspace: when policies enable employees to do their work from different locations besides the office flextime: flexible scheduling, either when work is expected to be completed (deadlines) or during which particular hours of the dat (10-5) The value of most any type of flexible work arrangement can be undermined if the employee's immediate supervisor isn't supportive.

integrative negotiation

a host of interests are considered, resulting in an agreement that is satisfactory for both parties. This kind of interest-based negotiation is a more collaborative, problem-solving approach.

psychological safe climate

a shared belief among team members that it is safe to engage in risky behaviors, such as questioning current practices without retribution or negative consequences. When employees feel psychologically safe, they are more likely to speak up and present their ideas and less likely to take disagreements personally. Recommendations for fostering a psychologically safe climate include: Ensure leaders are inclusive and accessible. Hire and develop employees who are comfortable expressing their own ideas and receptive and constructive to those expressed by others. Celebrate and even reinforce the value of differences between group members and their ideas.

incivility

any form of socially harmful behavior, such as aggression, interpersonal deviance, social undermining, interactional injustice, harassment, abusive supervision, and bullying

devil's advocacy

assigning someone the role of critic. Devil's advocacy alters the usual decision-making process by assigning an individual or group to criticize the proposal and having the critique presented to key decision makers. It is a good idea to rotate the job of devil's advocate so no one person or group develops a strictly negative reputation and to promote skill development.

bullying

bullying is different from other forms of mistreatment or incivility in at least three ways: bullying is often evident to others; bullying affects even those who are NOT bullied; and bullying has group-level implications.

climate

employees' shared perceptions of policies, practices, and procedures.

conflict

occurs when one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another part it is inevitable and may be cultivated it can have both positive and negative outcomes organizations can have too much or too little conflict can be either functional or dysfunctional a pervasive part of the human experience, and it produces undesirable consequences such as absences, avoiding work-related events, quitting, terminations, and project failures

work-family conflict

occurs when the demands or pressures from work and family domains are mutually incompatible. Work-family conflict can take two distinct forms: work interference with family and family interference with work. Hostilities in one life domain can manifest in other domains as a result of the spillover effect. Since it may not be possible to avoid or remove conflicts completely, people need to manage or balance demands between the different domains of their lives.

approaches to intergroup conflict: contact hypothesis

suggests that the more members of different groups interact, the less intergroup conflict they will experience. The contact hypothesis has been recommended as a way to reduce intergroup conflict, but just increasing the amount of interaction across groups may be a naive and limited approach for overcoming stereotyping and in-group thinking. Research indicates that contact matters, quality contact matters more, but both matter most from the in-group's perspective. Intergroup friendships are desirable, but they are readily overpowered by negative intergroup interactions. The top priority for managers faced with intergroup conflict is to identify and root out specific negative linkages between or among groups.