Readings Notes Conflict Management

CLASS No. 2 READINGS

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW There are four strategies to approach conflicts, these are: Active Strategies (Imply constant action of both parties into the conflict) - Contending: trying to impose ones position. - Yielding: lowering ones position and compromising. - Problem solving: pursuing an alternative that satisfies both parties interests. Passive strategy (no effort to settle the conflict) - Avoiding: not engaging in the conflict. It can be through: - Inaction: doing nothing waiting for the other party to act. - Withdrawal: abandoning the conflict. CONFLICT Traditional view Fight or battle Modern view Perceived divergence of interests. A party perceives its interests are incompatible with the other partys interests. It is a mistake to assume that conflicts always involve a heavily escalated form. Conflicts are not destructive always, they are necessary for social change and progress; however, it is necessary to be aware of the consequences (good or bad) of conflicts. Good consequences Positive functions of Conflicts: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. When it leads to action, it promotes social change. It discourages premature decision making. It facilitates reconciliation of peoples interests. It fosters long-run group solidarity (unity among group members). It produces solidarity between different groups in conflict.

Bad consequences If it is highly contentious it can cause suffering not only to the involved parties, but also to third parties. E.g. Children in marital conflicts. It also can leave post-conflict traumas (individual or collective).

CHAPTER 2: NATURE AND SOURCES OF CONFLICT Components of Conflicts: 1. Interests: peoples feelings about what is desirable. 2. Aspirations: mental representations of what the party believes it must achieve. 3. Goals. 4. Standards: that party wants to meet or exceed.

Relative Deprivation when those standards and aspirations are not achieved. Conditions that encourage conflicts 1. Features of the situation 1.1. Scarcity: parties pursue a limited resource. If the scarcity perceived is high, aspirations are more rigid and higher and there is time pressure. 1.2. Rapidly expanding achievement: people become more hopeful and aspirations expand causing conflict. 2. Features of the parties 2.1. Zero-sum thinking: the belief that one party must win and the other must lose. The parties see no way both sides can achieve their inspirations. 3. Features of the Relationship between the parties 3.1. Ambiguity about relative power: each party thinks its source of power is stronger. 3.2. Invidious comparisons: party thinks the other has better conditions or privileges. 3.3. Status consistency: there are different criteria to assess peoples performance; each party is good at one of these criteria. People compare each other. 3.4. Distrust: the belief that the other party is indifferent to ones welfare. 4. Features of community 4.1. Security dilemma: distrust in the other party, non-cooperative behavior. 4.2. Lack of normative consensus: lack of norms that satisfies both parties. Group Mobilization developing a common group identity, producing a leadership structure and adopting group goals in pursuit of the common interests.

CLASS No. 3 READINGS

CHAPTER 2: NATURE OF CONFLICT Common elements of all conflicts Opposing interests Recognition of the conflict Belief that the other will thwart my interests. Process that evolves Actions to thwart others goals

Threshold of Conflict In order to be a conflict, it must be serious enough before the party experience conflict. It can vary among individuals, why some individuals get involved in conflict more than others. The difference between Conflict and Competition is that in the first one the individuals are aware of the incompatibility and want to interfere with others interests. Moreover, competition can be regulated by norms. Conflict is a subset of competition. SOURCES OF CONFLICTS 1. Affective conflict: when feeling and emotions regarding some issues are incompatible, characterized anger, frustration and other negative feelings. 2. Substantive conflict: disagreement of ideas and opinions about a task or other business-related conflict. 3. Conflict of interest: inconsistency of two parties in their preferences for the allocation of a scarce resource. 4. Conflict of values: difference of values and ideologies. 5. Goal conflict: when a preferred or an end-state of two parties is inconsistent. 6. Realistic vs. Nonrealistic conflict: realistic when it comes from rational things, nonrealistic when it comes from a partys needs to release tension and express inconformity. 7. Institutionalized vs. Noninstitutionalized conflict: institutionalized when actors follow explicit rules and their relationship has continuity. 8. Retributive conflict: the actors feel the need for a long and persistent conflict to punish the opponent. 9. Misattributed conflict: incorrect assignment of causes to conflict. 10. Displaced conflict: when the parties direct their frustration to social entities that are not involved in conflict or argue over secondary issues. LEVELS OF CONFLICTS 1. Intrapersonal: an individual is required to perform a task or role that does not match his or her expertise, interests, goals, etc. 2. Interpersonal (dyadic conflict): conflict between two or more organizational members of the same or different hierarchical levels. 3. Intragroup: conflict among members of a group. 4. Intergroup: conflict between two or more groups or departments in an organization

MODEL OF THE STYLES OF HANDLING INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT 1. Integrating style (PROBLEM SOLVING, POSITIVE SUM, WIN-WIN): It involves collaboration between the parties, a process through which parties who see different aspects of a problem can constructively explore their differences and search for solutions that go beyond their own limited vision of what is possible.

2. Obliging style (ACCOMODATING, NEGATIVE SUM, WIN-LOSE): satisfy the concerns of the other party, self-sacrifice. 3. Dominating style (COMPETING, ZERO SUM, WIN-LOSE): ignore the needs and expectations of the other party, standing up for ones rights or defending ones position, win to any cost. 4. Avoiding style (NEGATIVE SUM, LOSE-LOSE): fails to satisfy ones concern as well as the concern of the other party. 5. Compromising (MIXED SUM, NO WIN-NO LOSE): involves give and take, both parties give up something to make a mutually acceptable decision. INTEGRATIVE DIMENSION (Integrating-Avoiding)Problem Solving DISTRIBUTIVE DIMENSION (Dominating-Obliging) Bargaining