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COMMERCE 2BA3
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Class 9

Conflict and Stress

Dr. Christa Wilkin

 Brain Teasers
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Right = Right Job I'm Job

MAN R|E|A|D|I|N|G
BOARD
 Last Class
3

People do not always make rational decisions

Different types of power can lead to higher
commitment
Some people may behave for political gains and
may behave unethically

THIS CLASS
Conflict and stress
 Agenda
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Types of conflict
Managing conflict
Causes of stress
Outcomes of stress
How our personality affects stress levels
Coping with stress
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CH 13: CONFLICT AND STRESS

 What is Conflict?
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Interpersonal conflict is a process that occurs when

one person, group, or organizational subunit
frustrates the goal attainment of another.
 Types of Conflict
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Relationship conflict (the who)

Interpersonal tensions among individuals that have to
do with their relationship per se, not the task at hand
E.g., personality clashes

Task conflict (the what)

Disagreements about the nature of work to be done
E.g., this is the answer

Process conflict (the how)

Disagreements about how work should be organized
and accomplished
E.g., I want to do this part
 Question
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Should we avoid conflict at all costs?

 Approaches to Managing Conflict
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There are five styles for dealing with conflict.

None of the five styles is inherently superior.
Each style might have its place given the situation in
which the conflict episode occurs.
 Avoiding
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A conflict management style characterized by low

assertiveness of ones own interests and low
cooperation with the other party.
It might be a sensible response when:
The issue is trivial.
Information is lacking.

People need to cool down.

The opponent is very powerful and hostile.

 Accommodating
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A conflict management style in which one

cooperates with the other party, while not asserting
ones own interests.
It can be an effective strategy when:
You are wrong.
The issue is more important to the other party.

You want to build good will.

 Competing
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A conflict management style that maximizes

assertiveness and minimizes cooperation.
It can be effective when:
You have a lot of power.
You are sure of your facts.

The situation is truly win-lose.

You will not have to interact with the other party in the
future.
 Compromise
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A conflict management style that combines

intermediate levels of assertiveness and
cooperation.
It is a sensible reaction to conflict stemming from
scarce resources and it is a good fall-back position
if other strategies fail.
 Collaborating
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A conflict management style that maximizes both

assertiveness and cooperation.
It is an attempt to secure an integrative agreement
that fully satisfies the interests of both parties (a
win-win resolution).
It works best when the conflict is not intense and
when each party has information that is useful to
the other.
 How to Manage Conflict
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Too much is bad, too little is also bad, some is ok

Emphasize common goals
e.g., project, organization
Reduce differentiation
The more team members think they have common
experiences or backgrounds, more motivated to resolve
conflict
Create common experiences (e.g., socialize)
 How to Manage Conflict
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Improve communication and understanding

Caveat: People from different cultures may vary in their
preference of direct communication
Clarify rules and procedures (ambiguous)
Show ultimate frisbee video
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QUESTIONS?
 Individual Exercise
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How do you cope with stress? Lets find out.

For each of the 20 statements, indicate the extent to
which each statement describes you. Once you have
completed all 20 questions, follow the scoring
instructions provided. First, you must add up the
numbers you circled for the four questions that make
up each of the five scales. Second, you then add the
scores from all five scales to give you an overall
total score that can range from 20 to 100.
 Stress
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An adaptive response to a situation that is

perceived as challenging or threatening
 The Myth of Stress
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Video clip
 What causes stress? (Stressors)
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? Stress
 Organizational Stressors
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Work overload
Too much work (paid, overtime, unpaid overtime)
Role conflict
When fulfilling the requirements of one role interferes
with the fulfillment of another role requirement
Inter-role: two different roles conflict

Intra-role: conflicting instructions on what to do (one role)

Person-role: expectations conflict with values

Role ambiguity
Uncertainty about job duties, performance expectations,
level or source of authority, etc.
 Quiz Question
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Dereks supervisor asks him to work late into the

evening on a report that is due next week but he is
supposed to pick up the kids from daycare. We can
be sure that Derek:
A) is experiencing burnout.
B) is experiencing role ambiguity.
C) is a Type A personality.
D) is experiencing intra-role conflict.
E) is experiencing inter-role conflict.
 Organizational Stressors
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Psychological Environment Stressors

Organizational injustice, interpersonal conflict
Psychological contract

Job insecurity

Organizational change

Physical Environment Stressors

Excessive noise
Poor lighting

Safety hazards
 Work Non-work Stressors
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Time conflict
Time required for non-work activities interferes with work
E.g.,family responsibilities (e.g., caring for sick parents),
volunteer work etc.
Strain conflict
Stress from one domain spills into other
Relationships,finances, new responsibilities, etc.
Attitudes can be transmitted to other people
 Outcomes of Stress?
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Stress ?
 Outcomes of Stress
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Psychological reactions
Physiological reactions
High blood pressure, sweatiness, heart palpitations,
dizziness, more cortisone, etc.
Behavioural reactions
Attempts to cope (e.g., shopping, exercise)

Videos of Office Stress

 Burnout
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Emotional exhaustion
Lack of energy, difficulty emoting
Compassion fatigue: no longer able to empathize

Cynicism / depersonalization
Indifferent attitude to work
Treating individuals as objects / callousness
Strict adherence to rules and regulations

Reduced professional accomplishment

Lower self-efficacy
No longer see value of extra effort
 Organizational Outcomes
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Too much stress can lead to:

Job dissatisfaction

Occupational injuries and illnesses

Decision-making, cognitive abilities, task performance

Absenteeism, turnover
 Question
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Are certain types of people more stressed out than

others?
 Personality
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Personality can affect both the extent to which

potential stressors are perceived as stressful and
the types of stress reactions that occur.
Personality

Stressors Stress Outcomes

 Locus of Control
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Peoples beliefs about the factors that control their

behaviour
Externals are more likely to feel anxious in the face
of potential stressors
E.g., The world is against me
Internals are more likely to confront stressors
directly
E.g., I can get through this
 Type A Behaviour Pattern
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A personality pattern that includes aggressiveness,

ambitiousness, competitiveness, hostility, impatience,
and a sense of time urgency.
Type A: cant relax, constantly busy, impatient
Type B: easy-going, patient, relaxed

Question: Which personality type are you? Are you

one or the other?
 Negative and Positive Affectivity
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Negative: The propensity to view the world,

including oneself and other people, in a light
E.g., pessimistic, moody
Positive: View world in a + light
E.g., happy go lucky, always smiling, optimistic
People high in NA report more stressors in the work
environment and feel more subjective stress
 Reducing or Coping with Stress
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Some of the things that organizations can do to

reduce workplace stress and assist employees in
coping with stress include:
Job redesign
Social support

Family-friendly human resource policies

Stress management programs

Work-life balance programs

 Job Redesign
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Organizations can redesign jobs to reduce their

stressful characteristics.
Most formal job redesign efforts involve enriching
operative-level jobs to make them more stimulating
and challenging.
There is growing evidence that providing more
autonomy in how service is delivered can alleviate
stress and burnout.
 Social Support
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Social support refers to having close ties with other

people.
A social network acts as a buffer against stress.
The buffering aspects of social support are most
potent when they are directly connected to the
source of stress.
Coworkers and superiors are the best sources of
support for dealing with work-related stress.
 Family Friendly Human
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Resource Policies
Family friendly human resource policies include
some combination of formalized social support,
material support, and increased flexibility to adapt
to employee needs.
A common form of material support is corporate
daycare centres.
Flexibility is also important and includes flex-time,
telecommuting, job sharing, and family leave
policies.
 Stress Management Programs
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Programs designed to help employees manage

work-related stress.
Stress management programs involve techniques
such as meditation, training in time management,
and biofeedback training.
They can be useful in reducing physiological
arousal, sleep disturbances, and self-reported
tension and anxiety.
 Work-Life Balance Programs
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Work-life balance programs encourage employees

to participate in activities to improve their mental
and physical health.
Work-life balance programs include fitness facilities
and memberships, employee assistance programs,
and health food programs.
Work-life programs are believed to lower health-
care costs due in part to stress reduction.
 Wellness Programs Research
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My study on wellness programs

Findings suggest that after one year health promo
initiatives decrease return on assets (ROA), while
work-life balance initiatives increase ROA. However,
both effects become non-significant after three
years.
 Group Exercise
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Form groups of 5 to 6 people. Share your results

within your group from your stress test. Talk about
potential stressors and outcomes of your stress. Talk
about effective ways to deal with stress.
Pick a spokesperson to summarize your results
I will randomly call on a few groups to present
 Summary
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There are different styles to managing conflict

but no style is inherently superior (contextual)
Stress isnt necessarily a bad thing but it depends
on how we cope with it
 For Next Class
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Read Chapter 14 on organizational structure

Hand in group assignment at the beginning of class