Michael Scott Murphy

Pearl Diving: Module 11

People in your current workplace work very hard to avoid any conflict.  Your organization
is getting ready to develop a new strategic plan and the company is at a crossroads,
needing to meet increasing competition for market share effectively.  You are concerned
that the lack of conflict skills may impact the strategic planning process.  How might you
proceed to help your organization embrace constructive conflict.  Be specific in outlining
and justifying 3-5 steps you'd take to prepare for the strategic planning process.

I. Overview:
The organization is about to change direction in order to meet the demands of
increasing competition. The people within my company are not accustomed to
dealing with conflict in a cooperative and assertive manner; they prefer to avoid
conflict when able. Unfortunately, avoiding conflict often leaves issues left
unresolved.

The changing direction of the organization requires implementing a new strategic

plan that will inevitably change the way resources and labor are allocated and
prioritized. Since we are making changes that must benefit the organization, it’s likely
that some company departments may benefit while others will be scaled back to
meet the demands of the organization. Regardless, avoiding the conflicts associated
with developing a strategic plan is not feasible for the long-term future of the
company.

The planning process will consist of management from the various departments of
the company; therefore, I am taking steps to provide the framework for a
collaborative team approach to developing a strategic plan that will empower key
members of the company while constructing a comprehensive strategic plan properly
orienting the future of the company.

II. Step 1: Establish conditions encouraging a collaborative approach among the

“planners”

a. Summary: I will consult higher level members within the organization to minimize
time constraints associated with strategic plan implementation. In addition, a
planning team of specific individuals should be organized to promote cooperation
and foster supportive, productive, and ongoing working relationships amongst all
members.

b. Justification

i. When used appropriately, the collaborative approach has been shown to

have the most beneficial effect for the involved parties since it
Michael Scott Murphy

“encourages norms of collaboration and trust while acknowledging the

value of assertiveness.”1
ii. Because the strategic plan process is deemed as a “critical” issue for the
company and maintaining managerial relationships is important for the
long-term future of the company, collaboration is the most appropriate
conflict management approach for developing the strategic plan.
iii. The collaboration approach is proven to be most effective when there are
few pressing time constraints present.2

III. Step 2: Establish SMART goals for the Strategic Planning Process

a. Summary: For the planning team to collaborate effectively, I need to establish

common goals that will “sensitize the parties to the mutual benefits of resolving
their differences”.3 These SMART goals will define the desired end-state of the
strategic planning process, all of which will be congruent with ensuring the
company meets the changing direction of the organization and increased
competition for market share.

b. Justification

i. To avoid personal bias based on the values and expectations of individual

planners, setting SMART goals for the desired end-state of the
company’s transition will set explicit expectations aligned with the needs
of the company.
ii. SMART goals for the planning process will help paint a picture of what the
organization is expected to look like at the end of plan implementation.
This will help mitigate conflict derived from environmental stress,
specifically uncertainty about the company and its resources.
iii. Establishing overarching SMART goals will encourage a collaborative
approach amongst planners since expectations will be clearly defined in
working towards a common goal.

IV. Step 3: Clearly identify the issues associated with building a new strategic
plan and depersonalize the issues being discussed.

a. Summary: Since my organization typically avoids conflict, I am worried that the

planning team may struggle with being placed in a meeting setting where conflict
is unavoidable. To help encourage constructive conflict in a setting where
discussion is necessary and disagreements are likely, I need to ensure the
people are separating themselves from the issues.

b. Justification

1
Whetton & Cameron, “Developing Management Skills”, Page 314
2
Whetton & Cameron, “Developing Management Skills”, Page 317
3
Whetton & Cameron, “Developing Management Skills”, Page 319
Michael Scott Murphy

i. It’s shown that “interpersonal confrontations are more likely to result in

mutual satisfaction if the parties depersonalize their disagreements”.4
ii. The company is comprised of multiple departments/divisions, so it is safe
to assume that planning members will not share similar interests or
perspectives in how to develop strategic plan.
iii. The planning members are used to the “avoidance approach” with conflict
management which is both uncooperative and unassertive; acting as a
mediator, I will help to compensate for the lack of experience in using an
approach that requires more cooperation and assertiveness.

V. Step 4: Identify the interests of individual departments within the company

a. Summary: I will meet with individual department representatives and acquire

input on their interests and concerns with the strategic planning process. I will
compile the input from across the company to be presented during the planning
process in order to determine options for achieving mutual gains while satisfying
the needs of the company.

b. Justification

i. Standard work experience shows that “it is easier to establish agreement

on interests (not positions), given that they tend to be broader and
multifaceted.”5
ii. Establishing interests helps to focus parties’ attentions towards working
towards agreeable solutions (collaboration), rather than fostering the
dynamics of competitiveness.6
iii. By broadening the options associated with individual interests, there is an
increased likelihood of the parties finding common ground.7

VI. Conclusion:
Orienting the company from managing conflict by “avoidance” towards the more
engaged “collaborative” approach is the best course of action for proceeding through
the strategic plan process. It is worth nothing that certain variables may make
collaboration difficult. In a previous experience, I was required by upper-level
management to follow a condensed timeline with no flexibility in implementing a
company policy change; meeting this timeline required making several FORCED
“90% complete” decisions based on only my own input, ultimately impeding the
progress of several other working units frustrated with my decisions. If I am unable to
eliminate time constraints for this planning process, some of our conflicts may also
have to resort to either “compromising” or “forcing” in order to push towards meeting
a deadline. Certain conflicts may also arise from decision points not having
unanimous support across all departments. In my experience, perfect collaboration
amongst several parties with individual interests is improbable; decisions built upon
4
Whetton & Cameron, “Developing Management Skills”, Page 319
5
Whetton & Cameron, “Developing Management Skills”, Page 320
6
Whetton & Cameron, “Developing Management Skills”, Page 320
7
Whetton & Cameron, “Developing Management Skills”, Page 320
Michael Scott Murphy

the collaboration of some parties are sometimes imposed on a minority that

disagree. As such, majority-rule of collaborating parties may have to “force” some
milestone decisions if unanimous agreeance can’t be achieved.

The steps I have identified above are based on a six-step framework commonly used
to outline the problem-solving process through the collaborative approach. Unlike
some of the other conflict management approaches that exist, collaboration provides
the only avenue towards actively working towards a solution without undermining or
ignoring the concerns of lower levels of management. While collaboration may not be
most effective at all points, it provides the best baseline for encouraging constructive
conflict.