MANAGING CONFLICT

There are several basic reactions that can be thought of as styles, strategies, or
intentions for dealing with conflict.
No style is inherently superior, each might have its place depending on the situation.
The approaches to managing conflict reflect:
how assertive you are in trying to satisfy your own or your groups concerns
how cooperative you are in trying to satisfy the concerns of the other party

AVOIDING

ACCOMMODATING
cooperating with other party while not asserting ones own interests.
effective when you are wrong, the issue is more important to the other party, or you
want to build good will.
if other party sees it as a sign of weakness can negatively affect future interactions
COMPETING

COMPROMISE
combines intermediate levels of assertiveness and cooperation
you attempt to satisfy but not maximize your outcomes and hope the same occurs for
the other party
ex. Law - plea bargain
determining rules of exchange between the two parties is important in compromise
and thus can lead to procedural conflict
does not always result in the most creative response to conflict
not useful in resolving conflicts resulting from power imbalances because weaker
party may have little to offer stronger party
useful in dealing with conflict stemming from scarce resources
useful if other strategies fail
COLLABORATING

MANAGING CONFLICT
There are several basic reactions that can be thought of as styles, strategies, or
intentions for dealing with conflict.
No style is inherently superior, each might have its place depending on the situation.
The approaches to managing conflict reflect:
how assertive you are in trying to satisfy your own or your groups concerns
how cooperative you are in trying to satisfy the concerns of the other party

AVOIDING
a conflict management style characterized by low assertiveness of ones own
interests and low cooperation with the other party
can provide short-term stress reduction but does not change the situation
useful if the issue is trivial, information is lacking, people need to cool down, or the
opponent is very powerful and hostile.
ACCOMMODATING

COMPETING
maximizes assertiveness for your own position and minimizes cooperation.
conflict is thought of in strict win-lose terms
useful when you have lots of power, you are sure of your facts, situation is truly winlose, or you wont have to interact with the other party in the future

COMPROMISE

COLLABORATING
maximizes both assertiveness and cooperation
hope is for a win-win solution where both you and the other party get all you want
collaboration is a problem-solving exercise
works best when conflict is not intense and when each party has information that is
useful to the other
takes time and practice to develop
frequently enhances productivity and achievement