Chapter Eleven

Managing Conflict and

Negotiating
Getting Things Done
Sequence
Managing Change
Leadership
Influence, Power, and Politics
Managing Conflict
Note: menu of options available to
you in an organizational setting
11-1a

Chapter Eleven Outline

A Modern View of Conflict
A Conflict Continuum
Functional versus Dysfunctional Conflict
Antecedents of Conflict
Desired Outcomes of Conflict

Major Sources of Conflict

Personality Conflicts
Inter-group Conflict
Cross-Cultural Conflict
 Chapter Eleven Outline
11-1b

(continued)
Managing Conflict
Programming Functional Conflict
Alternative Styles for Handling Dysfunctional Conflict
Third-Party Interventions: Alternative Dispute Resolution
Negotiating
Two Basic Types of Negotiation
Added-Value Negotiation
11-2

Conflict

Conflict: A process in which one party perceives

that its interests are being opposed or
negatively affected by another party.

Functional conflict serves the

organizations interests while

dysfunctional conflict threatens

the organizations interests.
Exercise
Distinguish between the Southwest
Airlines and Gateway stories.
Are these comparable?
11-3a

Antecedents of Conflict
Incompatible personalities or value
systems.
Overlapping or unclear job boundaries.
Competition for limited resources.
Interdepartment/intergroup competition.
Inadequate communication.
Interdependent tasks.
Organizational complexity.
 Antecedents of Conflict
11-3b

(continued)
Unreasonable or unclear policies, standards,
or rules.
Unreasonable deadlines or extreme time
pressure.
Collective decision making.
Decision making by consensus.
Unmet expectations.
Unresolved or suppressed conflict.
11-4

Desired Outcomes of Conflict

Agreement: Strive for equitable and fair

agreements that last.

Stronger relationships: Build bridges of

goodwill and trust for the future.

Learning: Greater self-awareness and creative

problem solving.
Personality Conflicts
Interpersonal opposition driven by
personal dislike or disagreement
Workplace incivility
Examples:
Miltons radio
Trash talk in the office
Slurs
Personality differences
11-5
Tips for Managers Whose
Employees Are Having a
Personality Conflict

1. Follow company policies for diversity, anti-

discrimination, and sexual harassment.
2. Investigate and document conflict.
3. If appropriate, take corrective action (e.g.,
feedback or behavior modification).
4. If necessary, attempt informal dispute
resolution.
5. Refer difficult conflicts to human resource
specialists or hired counselors for formal
resolution attempts and other interventions.
Intergroup conflict
In-group thinking
Other groups are all alike
Positively and morally correct
Outsiders as a threat
Differences exaggerated.
11-6
Figure 11-1

Minimizing Inter-group Conflict: An

Updated Contact Model
Level of perceived
Recommended actions:
Inter-group conflict tends
to increase when:
Work to eliminate specific negative
Conflict within the interactions between groups (and
group is high members).
There are negative Conduct team building to reduce
interactions between intragroup conflict and prepare
groups (or between employees for cross-functional teamwork
members of those Encourage personal friendships and
groups) good working relationships across
Influential third-party groups and departments.
gossip about other group Foster positive attitudes toward
is negative members of other groups (empathy,
compassion, sympathy).
Avoid or neutralize negative gossip
across groups or departments.
11-7
Skills and Best Practices: How
to Build Cross-Cultural
Relationships
Behavior Rank
Be a good listener 1
Be sensitive to the needs of others 2
Be cooperative, rather than overly competitive Tie
2
Advocate inclusive (participative) leadership 3
Compromise rather than dominate 4
Build rapport through conversations 5
Be compassionate and understanding 6
Avoid conflict by emphasizing harmony 7
Nurture others (develop and mentor) 8
Managing conflict
Programmed conflict
Defend or criticize ideas
Based on relevant facts
Avoid personal or political preferences
Disciplined role playing
Programmed conflict techniques
Devils advocacy
Dialectic method
11-8
Figure 11-2

Five Conflict-Handling Styles

Concern for Others

High Integrating Obliging

Compromising

Low Dominating Avoiding

High Low
Concern for Self
Source: MA Rahim, A Strategy for Managing
Conflict in Complex Organizations, Human Relations,
January 1985, p 84. Used with authors permission.
11-10

Alternative Dispute Resolution

(ADR) Techniques
Facilitation: Third party gets disputants to deal
directly and constructively with each other.
Conciliation: Neutral third party acts as
communication link between disputants.
Peer review: Impartial co-workers hear both sides and
render decision that may or may not be binding.
Ombudsman: Respected and trusted member of the
organization hears grievances confidentially.
Mediation: Trained third-party guides disputants
toward their own solution.
Arbitration: Neutral third-party hears both sides in a
court-like setting and renders a binding decision.
11-11

Negotiating

Negotiation: A give-and-take decision-making

process involving interdependent parties with different
preferences.

Distributive negotiation: Single issue; fixed-pie; win-

lose.

Integrative negotiation: More than one issue; win-win.

11-12

An Integrative Approach:
Added-Value Negotiation

Clarify interests.
Identify options.
Design alternative deal packages.
Select a deal.
Perfect the deal.
Negotiating Zone
Zone defined in monetary terms
Add other issues
Soft-money
Non-monetary issues
Package possible?
How are min-max positions
established during actual
negotiations?