CONFLICT & NEGOTIATION

ON
HUMAN BEHAVIOR
BBA 352 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

DR. S. CHAN

Sources:

Charmaine@chuhai.edu.hk / http://home.chuhai.hk/~charmaine/
WHAT IS CONFLICT?

• A process that begins when one party perceives

that the another party has negatively affected, or
is about to negatively affect, something that the
first party cares about
WHAT IS CONFLICT?

• Encompasses a wide range of conflicts that people

experience in organizations
TYPES OF CONFLICT

• Interpersonal
• Intrapersonal
• Inter-group conflict
INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT

• Is among individuals such as co-workers, a

manager and an employee, or a CEO and the
staffs
• Usually occurs in the workplace between 2
individuals who perceive interference, lack of
cooperation or resources needed for work
INTRAPERSONAL CONFLICT

• Arises within the person

• Caused by boredom, frustration, anxiety when
forced to a certain tasks or decisions
INTER-GROUP CONFLICT

• Refers to the overt expressions of hostility

between groups and intentional interference with
each other activities
QUESTION…

• Is conflict always bad?

CAUSES OF CONFLICT

• Organizational structure
• Limited resources
• Tasks interdependence
• Incompatible goals
• Personality differences
• Communication problems
WAYS TO MANAGE CONFLICT

• Change the structure

• Change the composite of the team
• Create common opposing force
• Consider majority rule
• Problem solving
TRANSITION IN CONFLICT THOUGHT

• Traditional View of Conflict

• The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be avoided
• Prevalent view in the 1930s-1940s
Conflict resulted from:
• Poor communication
• Lack of openness and trust between people
• Failure to respond to employee needs
TRANSITION IN CONFLICT THOUGHT

• Human Relations View of Conflict

• The belief that conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group
• Human relations school advocated acceptance of conflict, which may
sometimes benefit a group’s performance
• Prevalent from the late 1940s through mid-1970s
TRANSITION IN CONFLICT THOUGHT

• 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
• Includes:
• Forms
• Types
FORMS OF INTERACTIONIST CONFLICT

Functional
Conflict

Dysfunctional
Conflict
FUNCTIONAL CONFLICT

• Conflicts which are constructively support the

goals of the group and improve its performance
DYSFUNCTIONAL CONFLICT

• Conflictsthat destructively hinder group

performance or involve personal attack
DISTINCTIONS OF INTERACTIONIST
CONFLICT
• Functional Conflict • Dysfunctional Conflict
• Open • Closed
• Honest • Deceitful
• Calm • Tense
• Focused • Proliferation
• Flexible • Rigid
• Energizing • Draining
• Creative • Stupifying
TYPES OF INTERACTIONIST CONFLICT

• Task Conflict- occurs when parties are unable to

move forward on a task due to differing needs,
behaviors, and attitudes
• Relationship Conflict- resulting from personality
clashes or negative emotions
• Process Conflict
STAGES OF CONFLICT PROCESS

POTENTIAL
STAGE OPPOSITION /
1 INCOMPATIBILITY

OUTCOMES STAGE STAGE COGNITION &

5 2 PERSONALIZATION

STAGE STAGE
BEHAVIOR 3 INTENTIONS
4
STAGE 1:POTENTIAL OPPOSITION

• Creates opportunities for conflict to develop

• Potential Areas:
 Communication
 Structure
 Personal Variables
STAGE 2: COGNITION

• A conflict must be perceived (cognition) and it

must be felt (personalization)
• Two Important Stage:
 Conflict is defined / Perceived Conflict
 Emotions are expressed that have a strong impact on the eventual
outcome / Felt Conflict
STAGE 3: INTENTIONS

• Intervene between people’s perceptions and

emotions and their overt behavior
• Two types of Intentions:
 Assertiveness
 Cooperativeness
STAGE 3: INTENTIONS

• Dimensions of Conflict-Handling Intentions

 Competing- one seeks to satisfy his or her own interest regardless of
the impact on the other parties, one wins and the other losses

 Collaborating- search for cooperation and a mutually beneficial

outcome (Win-Win Solution)
STAGE 3: INTENTIONS

 Avoiding- one to withdraw or suppress the conflict

 Accommodating- one attempts to place the other conflicting parties

interest above his or her own in order to maintain relationship

 Compromising- seeks to give up something to results a compromised

outcome
STAGE 4: BEHAVIOR

• This is the stage where conflict actually takes

place
• Conflict Intensity varies on a spectrum:
1. Annihilatory Conflict: Overt efforts to destroy the other party
2. No Conflict: Minor disagreements or no conflict at all
STAGE 5: OUTCOMES

• Based on how conflict is being handled

• Outcome may either be:
 Functional
 Dysfunctional
STAGES OF CONFLICT PROCESS
WHAT IS NEGOTIATION?

• Also called as Bargaining

• A process in which two or more parties exchange
goods or services and attempt to agree on the
exchange rate for them
2 GENERAL BARGAINING STRATEGIES

• Distributive Bargaining- negotiation that seeks to:

• To divide fixed amount of resources
• Interest of the parties are opposed
• Short term relationship of the parties
2 GENERAL BARGAINING STRATEGIES

• Integrative Bargaining
• Motivational Factor:
There are a variable amount of resources to be
divided
The relationship between the parties is long term
DISTRIBUTIVE VS INTEGRATIVE

BARGAINING CHARACTERISTICS DISTRIBUTIVE INTEGRATIVE

GOAL Get all the pie you Expand the pie

can
MOTIVATION Win-Lose Win-Win

FOCUS Positions Interests

INFORMATION SHARING Low High

DURATION OF RELATIONSHIP Short term Long term

BARGAINING TACTICS

DISTRIBUTIVE TACTICS INTEGRATIVE TACTICS

• Make an aggressive first offer • Bargain in teams
• Reveal a deadline • Put more issues on the table
• Don’t compromise
BARGAINING ZONES

• The range or area in which an agreement is

satisfactory to both negotiating parties.
• Essentially the overlapping area between walk
away positions in a negotiation.
INTEGRATIVE BARGAINING CONDITION

• Parties must be open with information and candid

about their concern
• Both parties must be sensitive regarding the
others needs
• Parties must able to trust each other
• Both parties must be willing to be flexible
THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS

PREPARATION AND PLANNING

DEFINITION OF GROUND RULES

CLARIFICATION AND JUSTIFICATION

BARGAINING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

CLOSURE AND IMPLEMENTATION

THANK YOU