Chapter 11 Conflict in Organizations

Learning Goals
Define conflict and conflict behavior in organizations Distinguish between functional and dysfunctional conflict Understand different levels and types of conflict in organizations Analyze conflict episodes and the linkages among them

Learning Goals (Cont.)

Understand the role of latent conflict in an episode and its sources in an organization Describe a conflict management model Use various techniques to reduce and increase conflict Appreciate some international and ethical issues in conflict management

Chapter Overview
Introduction Functional and Dysfunctional Conflict Levels and Types of Conflict in Organizations Conflict Episodes Conflict Frames and Orientations Latent Conflict: The Sources of Conflict in Organizations

Chapter Overview (Cont.)

Conflict Management Reducing Conflict Increasing Conflict International Aspects of Conflict in Organizations Ethical Issues in Conflict in Organizations

Introduction
Conflict: What does the word mean to you?

Conflict Conflit

Conflicto

Conflito

Introduction (Cont.)
Definition
Opposition Incompatible behavior Antagonistic interaction Block another party from reaching her or his goals
Range of conflict behavior

Doubt or questioning

Annihilation of opponent

Introduction (Cont.)
Key elements
Interdependence with another party Perception of incompatible goals

Conflict events
Disagreements Debates Disputes Preventing someone from reaching valued goals

Introduction (Cont.)
Conflict is not always bad for an organization Do not need to reduce all conflict Conflict episodes: ebb and flow of conflict An inevitable part of organization life Needed for growth and survival Conflict management includes increasing and decreasing conflict Major management responsibility

Introduction (Cont.)
Brazilian Saying (Ditado popular, Portuguese)

Toda unanimidade burra.

(Its dumb if we all agree.)

Special thanks to Gustavo Sette Rabello,

Graduate Student, The Robert O. Anderson Graduate School of Management, 1996

Functional and Dysfunctional Conflict

Functional conflict: works toward the goals of an organization or group Dysfunctional conflict: blocks an organization or group from reaching its goals
Dysfunctionally high conflict: what you typically think about conflict Dysfunctionally low conflict: an atypical view Levels vary among groups

Functional and Dysfunctional Conflict (Cont.)

Functional conflict
Constructive Conflict--Mary Parker Follett (1925) Increases information and ideas Encourages innovative thinking Unshackles different points of view Reduces stagnation

Functional and Dysfunctional Conflict (Cont.)

Dysfunctionally high conflict
Tension, anxiety, stress Drives out low conflict tolerant people Reduced trust Poor decisions because of withheld or distorted information Excessive management focus on the conflict

Functional and Dysfunctional Conflict (Cont.)

Dysfunctionally low conflict
Few new ideas Poor decisions from lack of innovation and information Stagnation Business as usual

Levels and Types of Conflict

Level of conflict
Organization Type of conflict Within and between organizations

Group

Within and between groups

Individual

Within and between individuals

Levels and Types of Conflict (Cont.)

Intraorganization conflict
Conflict that occurs within an organization At interfaces of organization functions Can occur along the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the organization
Vertical conflict: between managers and subordinates Horizontal conflict: between departments and work groups

Levels and Types of Conflict (Cont.)

Intragroup conflict
Conflict among members of a group Early stages of group development Ways of doing tasks or reaching group's goals

Intergroup conflict: between two or more groups

Levels and Types of Conflict (Cont.)

Interpersonal conflict
Between two or more people Differences in views about what should be done Efforts to get more resources Differences in orientation to work and time in different parts of an organization

Levels and Types of Conflict (Cont.)

Intrapersonal conflict
Occurs within an individual
Threat to a persons values Feeling of unfair treatment Multiple and contradictory sources of socialization Related to the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Chapter 5) and negative inequity (Chapter 8)

Levels and Types of Conflict (Cont.)

Interorganization conflict
Between two or more organizations Not competition Examples: suppliers and distributors, especially with the close links now possible

Conflict Episodes
Simple conflict episode

Latent conflict

Manifest conflict

Conflict aftermath

Conflict Episodes (Cont.)

Latent conflict: antecedents of conflict behavior that can start conflict episode Manifest conflict: observable conflict behavior Conflict aftermath

Conflict reduction: lower the conflict level

End of a conflict episode Often the starting point of a related episode Becomes the latent conflict for another episode

Conflict Episodes
Latent conflict

Manifest conflict Conflict reduction Conflict aftermath

Conflict Episodes (Cont.)

Latent conflict

Manifest conflict

The antecedents of conflict Example: scarce resources

Conflict aftermath

Conflict Episodes (Cont.)

Some latent conflict in the lives of college students
Parking spaces Library copying machines Computer laboratory Books in the bookstore School and other parts of your life University policies

Conflict Episodes (Cont.)

Latent conflict

Observable conflict behavior

Manifest conflict

Conflict aftermath

Example: disagreement, discussion

Conflict Episodes (Cont.)

Latent conflict Residue of a conflict episode Example: compromise in allocating scarce resources leaves both parties with less than they wanted

Manifest conflict

Conflict aftermath

Conflict Episodes
Latent conflict

Perceived conflict

Felt conflict

Manifest conflict

Text book Figure 11.1

Conflict aftermath

Conflict reduction

Conflict Episodes (Cont.)

Perceived conflict
Become aware that one is in conflict with another party Can block out some conflict Can perceive conflict when no latent conditions exist Example: misunderstanding another persons position on an issue

Conflict Episodes (Cont.)

Felt conflict
Emotional part of conflict Personalizing the conflict Oral and physical hostility Hard to manage episodes with high felt conflict What people likely recall about conflict

Relationships Among Conflict Episodes

Episodes link through the connection of conflict aftermath to latent conflict Effective conflict management: break the connection Discover the latent conflicts and remove them

Relationships Among Conflict Episodes (Cont.)

Conflict reduction Latent conflict Manifest conflict Conflict aftermath

Latent conflict

Manifest conflict

Conflict aftermath

Latent conflict

Manifest conflict

Conflict aftermath

Conflict Frames and Orientations

Conflict frames
Perceptual sets that people bring to conflict episodes Perceptual filters
Remove some information from an episode Emphasize other information in an episode

Conflict Frames and Orientations (Cont.)

Conflict frame

Relationship-Task

Cooperate-Win

Emotional-Intellectual

Conflict Frames and Orientations (Cont.)

Conflict frame dimensions
Relationship-Task
Relationship: focuses on interpersonal relationships Task: focuses on material aspects of an episode

Emotional-Intellectual
Emotional: focuses on feelings in the conflict episode (felt conflict) Intellectual: focuses on observed behavior (manifest conflict)

Conflict Frames and Orientations (Cont.)

Conflict frame dimensions (cont.)
Cooperate-Win
Cooperate: emphasizes the role of all parties to the conflict Win: wants to maximize personal gain

Conflict Frames and Orientations (Cont.)

Conflict frames
Limited research results
End an episode with a relationship or intellectual frame: feel good about relationship with other party Cooperation-focused people end with more positive results than those focused on winning

Conflict Frames and Orientations (Cont.)

Conflict orientations
Dominance: wants to win; conflict is a battle Collaborative: wants to find a solution that satisfies everyone Compromise: splits the differences Avoidance: backs away Accommodative: focuses on desires of other party

Conflict Frames and Orientations (Cont.)

Can change during conflict episode
How firmly the person holds orientation Importance of the issues to the person Perception of opponent's power

Collaborative orientation: more positive long-term benefits than the others

Conflict Frames and Orientations (Cont.)

Conflict orientation and the conflict aftermath Collaborative

Compromise

Avoidance Accommodative Dominance

High residue

No residue Conflict aftermath

Conflict Frames and Orientations (Cont.)

Combinations of conflict orientations in a group
Dominance, avoidance Dominance, dominance Avoidance, avoidance Dominance, collaborative, compromise Collaborative, compromise, avoidance Collaborative, compromise, avoidance, dominance, accommodative

Latent Conflict: The Sources of Conflict in Organizations

Antecedents to conflict episodes Many natural conditions of organizations act as latent conflicts Lurk in the background; trigger conflict when right conditions occur Does not always lead to manifest conflict Give us clues about how to reduce dysfunctionally high conflict

Latent Conflict: The Sources of Conflict in Organizations (Cont.)

Some representative latent conflict
Scarce resources: money, equipment, facilities Organizational differentiation: different orientations in different parts of organization Rules, procedures, policies: behavioral guides that can cause clashes Cohesive groups: value and orientation differences among groups

Latent Conflict: The Sources of Conflict in Organizations (Cont.)

Some representative latent conflict (cont.)
Interdependence: forces interaction Communication barriers: shift work and jargon Ambiguous jurisdictions: areas of authority not clearly defined Reward systems: reward different behavior in different parts of the organization
Sales on commission; manufacturing rewarded for meeting schedules. Communication differences.

Conflict Management Model

Maintain conflict at functional levels
Not complete elimination Reducing to functional levels Increasing dysfunctionally low conflict Choose desired level of conflict based on perceived conflict requirements Varies in different parts of an organization Managers tolerance for conflict plays a role

Conflict Management Model (Cont.)

Organizational culture Product or service Fast-changing environment

Perceived conflict requirements

Desired conflict level

Conflict Management Model (Cont.)

Dysfunctionally low conflict Normal Dysfunctionally high conflict

Increase conflict

Decrease conflict

Text book Figure 11.2

Conflict Management Model (Cont.)

Symptoms of dysfunctionally high conflict
Low trust Information distortion Tension/antagonism Stress Sabotage of organizations product or service

Conflict Management Model (Cont.)

Symptoms of dysfunctionally low conflict
Deny differences Repress controversial information Prohibit disagreements Avoid interactions Walk away from conflict episode

Reducing Conflict
Overview
Lose-lose methods: parties to the conflict episode do not get what they want Win-lose methods: one party a clear winner; other party a clear loser Win-win methods: each party to the conflict episode gets what he or she wants

Reducing Conflict (cont.)

Lose-lose methods
Avoidance
Withdraw, stay away Does not permanently reduce conflict

Compromise
Bargain, negotiate Each loses something valued

Smoothing: find similarities

Reducing Conflict (Cont.)

Win-lose methods
Dominance
Overwhelm other party Overwhelms an avoidance orientation

Authoritative command: decision by person in authority Majority rule: voting

Reducing Conflict (Cont.)

Win-win methods
Problem solving: find root causes Integration: meet interests and desires of all parties Superordinate goal: desired by all but not reachable alone

Reducing Conflict (Cont.)

Summary
Lose-lose methods: compromise Win-lose methods: dominance Win-win methods: problem solving

Increasing Conflict
Increase conflict when it is dysfunctionally low
Heterogeneous groups: members have different backgrounds Devils advocate: offers alternative views Organizational culture: values and norms that embrace conflict and debate

Conflict Insights
Possible positive effects of conflict Latent conflict Conflict aftermath Conflict episodes Links between episodes Latent conflict and methods of reduction

International Aspects of Conflict in Organizations

Cultures that emphasize individualism and competition
Positively value conflict English-speaking countries, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium

Cultures that emphasize collaboration, cooperation, conformity

Negatively value conflict Many Asian and Latin American countries; Portugal, Greece, Turkey

International Aspects of Conflict in Organizations (Cont.)

No direct research evidence Cultural differences imply different functional conflict levels

International Aspects of Conflict in Organizations (Cont.)

Cross-cultural research has dealt with intergroup processes Collaborative and cooperative cultures expect little conflict during intergroup interactions Favor suppression of conflict with little discussion about people's feelings Felt conflict likely part of some conflict episodes but hidden from public view

International Aspects of Conflict in Organizations (Cont.)

Managers from an individualistic country operating in a less individualistic country
Acceptable to express feelings during a conflict episode Suppression of feelings could baffle them Increasing conflict can confuse local people Almost immediate dysfunctional results

Ethical Issues in Conflict in Organizations

Tolerance for conflict
Manager with a high tolerance for conflict; keeps conflict levels too high for subordinates Should such managers reveal their intentions about desired conflict levels? Full disclosure: subordinates could leave the group if conflict levels became dysfunctionally stressful Ethical question applies equally to newly hired employees

Ethical Issues in Conflict in Organizations (Cont.)

Deliberately increasing conflict is an effort to guide behavior in a desired direction
Subtle methods of increasing conflict (forming heterogeneous groups) connote manipulation Full disclosure: manager states his intention to use conflict to generate ideas and innovation If people are free to join a group or not, the ethical issue likely subsides

Ethical Issues in Conflict in Organizations (Cont.)

Experiencing intrapersonal conflict
Requests to act against one's moral values Observing behavior that one considers unethical

Reduce intrapersonal conflict

Report unethical acts Transfer to another part of the organization Quit

Ethical Issues in Conflict in Organizations (Cont.)

Different cultures place different values on conflict
Optimal conflict levels vary among countries Lower levels conflict in collectivistic countries than individualistic countries
Should managers honor such values even if their home country values support higher levels of conflict?