Chapter 5

CONFLICT AND CONFLICT

MANAGEMENT

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5.1. Meaning and Nature of Conflict

Conflict is 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.

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 Cont’d…………..

Common to Most is the idea that

 Conflict is a perception (If no one is
aware of conflict, then it is generally
agreed no conflict exists)
 Opposition or incompatibility and
 Some Form of Interaction needed to
begin the conflict process

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 5.2 Transitions in Conflict Thought
1) Traditional View (1930s to 1940s)
All conflict is harmful and must be avoided
2) Human Relations View (1940s to
mid-1970s)
Conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome
in any group and need not be negative
3) Inter-actionist View
Conflict is encouraged to prevent group
from becoming stale
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 5.3 TYPES OF CONFLICT

• Functional Conflict: improves group

performance
• Dysfunctional conflict: hinders group
performance
• Assessing Focus of Conflict:
 Task – work content and goals
 Relationship – interpersonal
 Process – how the work is done
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 Desired Conflict Levels

Level of Conflict
Focus of
Conflict Low Moderate High

Task Functional Dysfunctional

Relationship Dysfunctional

Process Functional Dysfunctional

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 Cont’d…………..

• all conflicts reduce trust, respect, and

cohesion in groups.
• we can minimize the negative effects of
conflict by focusing on:
 Preparing people for conflicts,
 Developing resolution strategies, and
 Facilitating open discussion.

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 5.4 Sources of Conflict
Scholars classify it as;
a. Structural factors
The causes of conflict
related to the organization's
structure include:
 specialization,
interdependence,
common resources,
 goal differences,
authority relationships,
 status inconsistencies,
and jurisdictional
ambiguities.
12/19/19 ASTU, SSU, LCM, Ch-5
b. Personal factors
The causes of conflict
that arise from individual
differences include:
• skills and abilities,
• personalities,
perceptions, values
and ethics,
• emotions and
communication
barriers.
8
5.5 The Conflict Process

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 Stage I: Potential Opposition

• Communication
 Communication barriers Exist
 Too Much or Too Little communication
• Structure
 Group Size, Age, Diversity
 Organizational Rewards, Goals, Group
Dependency
• Personal Variables
 Personality Types (Dogmatic or highly
authoritarian)
 Emotionality
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 Stage II: Cognition and Personalization

• Potential for conflict is actualized

• Parties “make sense” of conflict by defining
it and its potential solutions
• Emotions play a major role in shaping
perceptions
 Perceived Conflict – awareness needed for
actualization
 Felt Conflict - emotional involvement - parties
experience anxiety, tension, frustration, or hostility

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Stage III: Intentions
• The decision to act in a given way
• Inferred (often erroneous) intentions may
cause greater conflict

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 Stage IV: Behavior

• Where conflict becomes visible.

• Usually overt attempts to implement each party’s
intentions.
• May become an inadvertent stimulus due to
miscalculations or unskilled enactment.
 Functional Conflicts: confined to lower range
of continuum – subtle, indirect, and highly
controlled
 Dysfunctional Conflicts: upper range – highly
destructive activities such as strikes and riots.

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Stage V: Outcomes

• Functional:
 Improves decision quality
 Stimulates creativity and innovation
 Encourages interest and curiosity
 Problems are aired
 Accepts change and self-evaluation
• Dysfunctional:
 Group is less effective
 Cohesiveness and communications are reduced
 Leads to the destruction of the group
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 5.6 Creating Functional Conflict (Conflict
Stimulation)
• Methods for creating functional conflict
include:
• Reward Systems: Managers can reward
dissent and punish conflict avoiders.
• Accepting Bad News: Managers must learn
to accept bad news without sending cues
that conflict is unacceptable.
• Building Formal Systems: that encourage
dissension (e.g., formal positions for “devil’s
advocates”).
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 5.7 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Negotiation:
Negotiation is often the means to
resolve conflict.
It is a Process in which two or more
parties exchange goods or services and
attempt to agree on the exchange rate
for them.
It is synonymous with bargaining.
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 Bargaining Strategies
There are two general approaches to negotiation:
distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining

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Distributive Bargaining Zones

B’s Target
A’s Target Party Point
Point A
B’s
Aspiration
A’s
Range
Aspiration
Range
Party B’s
B Resistance
A’s
Point
Resistance Settlement
Point Range

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 Necessary Conditions for Integrative
Bargaining

• Parties must be open with information and

candid about their concerns.
• Both parties must be sensitive regarding
the other’s needs.
• Parties must be able to trust each other.
• Both parties must be willing to be flexible.

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 The Negotiation Process

• This simplified
model of the
negotiation
process is
composed of
five steps.

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 5.8 Implications for Managers:
Managing Conflict
Use in the appropriate situations (Conflict
Management style):
Five Ways of CR:
 Competition – quick action is vital Avoidance
Competing
 Collaboration – to gain Collaborating
commitment with consensus Accommodation
 Avoidance – the issue is trivial Compromising

 Accommodation – when you’re

wrong
 Compromise – opponents have
equal power and hold mutually
exclusive goals
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 Implications for Managers:
Improving Negotiation Skills
• Set Ambitious Goals
• Pay Little Attention to Initial Offers
• Research Your Opponent
• Address the Problem, Not the
Personalities
• Be Creative - Emphasize Win-Win
Solutions

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 Keep in Mind…
• Conflict is an inherent part of
organizational life: probably necessary
for optimal organizational function.
• Task conflict is the most constructive.
• Most effective negotiators use both types
of bargaining and know the appropriate
tactics.

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 End of
chapter five.
Thank You!

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