LEADERSHIP &

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Instructor: Sameia Farhat
 CONFLICT AND
NEGOTIATION
Lecture No. 7
Chapter 14 – Page No. 497
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2017). Organizational
Behavior.
OBJECTIVES
AFTER STUDYING THIS CHAPTER,
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

1. Define conflict.
2. Differentiate between the traditional, human
relations, and interactionist views of conflict.
3. Contrast task, relationship, and process conflict.
LEARNING

4. Outline the conflict process.

5. Describe the five conflict-handling intentions.
6. Contrast distributive and integrative bargaining.
7. Identify the five steps in the negotiating process.
8. Describe cultural differences in negotiations.
 CONFLICT DEFINED

 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
 That point in an ongoing activity when an interaction
“crosses over” to become an interparty conflict
 Encompasses a wide range of conflicts that people
experience in organizations
 Incompatibility of goals
 Differences over interpretations of facts
 Disagreements based on behavioral expectations
TRANSITIONS IN CONFLICT
THOUGHT
Traditional View of Conflict
The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be avoided.
Prevalent view in the 1930s-1940s

Causes:
• Poor communication
• Lack of openness
• Failure to respond to
employee needs
 CONTINUED TRANSITIONS IN
CONFLICT THOUGHT

• Human Relations View of Conflict

• The belief that conflict is a natural and inevitable
outcome in any group
• Prevalent from the late 1940s through mid-1970s

• Interactionist View of Conflict

• The belief that conflict is not only a positive force in a
group but that it is absolutely necessary for a group to
perform effectively
• Current view
FUNCTIONAL VERSUS
DYSFUNCTIONAL CONFLICT
Functional Conflict
Conflict that supports the goals of the
group and improves its performance.

Dysfunctional Conflict
Conflict that hinders group
performance.
TYPES OF CONFLICT

Task Conflict
Conflicts over content and goals of the work.

Relationship Conflict
Conflict based on interpersonal relationships.

Process Conflict
Conflict over how work gets done.
THE CONFLICT PROCESS

E X H I B I T 14–1
 STAGE I: POTENTIAL OPPOSITION
OR INCOMPATIBILITY
 Communication
 Semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, and “noise”
 Structure
 Size and specialization of jobs
 Jurisdictional clarity/ambiguity
 Member/goal incompatibility
 Leadership styles (close or participative)
 Reward systems (win-lose)
 Dependence/interdependence of groups
 Personal Variables
 Differing individual value systems
 Personality types
 STAGE II: COGNITION AND
PERSONALIZATION
Perceived Conflict
Awareness by one or more
parties of the existence of
conditions that create
opportunities for conflict to
arise.
Conflict Definition
Negative Emotions
Felt Conflict
Emotional involvement in a
conflict creating anxiety,
tenseness, frustration, or
hostility.
Positive Feelings
STAGE III: INTENTIONS

Intentions
Decisions to act in a given way.

Cooperativeness:
• Attempting to satisfy the other party’s
concerns.
Assertiveness:
• Attempting to satisfy one’s own concerns.
DIMENSIONS OF CONFLICT-
HANDLING INTENTIONS

E X H I B I T 14–2
STAGE III: INTENTIONS (CONT’D)
Competing
A desire to satisfy one’s interests, regardless of the
impact on the other party to the conflict.

Collaborating
A situation in which the parties to a conflict each desire to
satisfy fully the concerns of all parties.

Avoiding
The desire to withdraw from or suppress a conflict.
 STAGE III: INTENTIONS (CONT’D)

Accommodating
The willingness of one party in a conflict to place the
opponent’s interests above his or her own.

Compromising
A situation in which each party to a conflict is
willing to give up something.
STAGE IV: BEHAVIOR

Conflict Management
The use of resolution and stimulation techniques to
achieve the desired level of conflict.
STAGE IV: BEHAVIOR (CONT’D)
 CONFLICT RESOLUTION
TECHNIQUES
 Problem solving  Altering the structural
 Superordinate goals variables
 Expansion of resources  Communication
 Avoidance  Bringing in outsiders
 Smoothing  Restructuring the
 Compromise organization
 Authoritative command  Appointing a devil’s
advocate
 Altering the human
variable
STAGE V: OUTCOMES

 Functional
 Increased group performance
 Improved quality of decisions
 Stimulation of creativity and innovation
 Encouragement of interest and curiosity
 Provision of a medium for problem-solving
 Creation of an environment for self-evaluation and
change
 STAGE V: OUTCOMES (CONT’D)

 Dysfunctional
 Development of discontent
 Reduced group effectiveness
 Retarded communication
 Reduced group cohesiveness
 Infighting among group members overcomes group
goals

 Creating Functional Conflict

 Reward dissent and punish conflict avoiders
 NEGOTIATION

 Negotiation (Bargaining)
 A process in which two or more parties exchange goods or
services and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for
them
 Two General Approaches:
 Distributive Bargaining
 Negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount of
resources; a win-lose situation
 Integrative Bargaining
 Negotiation that seeks one or more settlements that can
create a win-win solution
DISTRIBUTIVE VERSUS
INTEGRATIVE BARGAINING

Exhibit 15-5
BARGAINING TACTICS AND THE
BARGAINING ZONE

 Distributive Tactics
 Make an aggressive first offer
 Reveal a deadline
 Integrative Tactics
 Bargain in teams
 Put more issues on the table
 Don’t compromise
 THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS

 BATNA
 The Best Alternative To
a Negotiated
Agreement
 The lowest acceptable
value (outcome) to an
individual for a
negotiated agreement
 The “Bottom Line” for
negotiations
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN
NEGOTIATION EFFECTIVENESS
 Personality Traits
 Extroverts and agreeable people weaker at
distributive negotiation – disagreeable introvert is
best
 Intelligence is a weak indicator of effectiveness
 Mood and Emotion
 Ability to show anger helps in distributive bargaining
 Positive moods and emotions help integrative
bargaining
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN
NEGOTIATION EFFECTIVENESS
 Gender
 Men and women negotiate the same way, but may
experience different outcomes
 Women and men take on gender stereotypes in
negotiations: tender and tough
 Women are less likely to negotiate
THIRD-PARTY NEGOTIATIONS

 Four Basic Third-Party Roles

1. Mediator
 A neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated
solution by using reasoning, persuasion, and
suggestions for alternatives
2. Arbitrator
 A third party to a negotiation who has the
authority to dictate an agreement.
THIRD-PARTY NEGOTIATIONS

3. Conciliator
 A trusted third party who provides an informal
communication link between the negotiator and
the opponent
4. Consultant
 An impartial third party, skilled in conflict
management, who attempts to facilitate creative
problem solving through communication and
analysis
 GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS

 Conflict and Culture

 Japanese and U.S. managers view conflict differently
 U.S. managers more likely to use competing tactics while
Japanese managers are likely to use compromise and avoidance
 Cultural Differences in Negotiations
 Multiple cross-cultural studies on negotiation styles, for
instance:
 American negotiators are more likely than Japanese
bargainers to make a first offer
 North Americans use facts to persuade, Arabs use emotion,
and Russians used asserted ideals
 Brazilians say “no” more often than Americans or Japanese