LECTURE TWO; Apply negotiation techniques to

manage conflicts in business organizations

 Explain the concept of conflict

 Identify sources of conflict in communication process
 Identify conflict resolution strategies
 Explain various types of partners.
 Apply Motivation of each partner (Maslow hierarchy of needs in use)
 CONFLICT
 Is a situation of having different
opinions and interests.
 It is a disagreement btn two or
more groups where each group
want to monopolize others.
 The important point is to manage
the conflict, not to suppress
conflict and not to let conflict
escalate out of control.
 Do not avoid conflict when it
arises but use it as a critical
aspect of creativity and
motivation.
Causes of conflicts
 Poor communication; few information, irrelevant channel
 Behavioral aspects of conflicts; Individual dominance, aggressiveness,
authoritarianism, and tolerance for ambiguity all seem to influence how an
individual deals with potential conflict
 Reward systems; favor
 Emotions; annoyance, anxiety
 Limited resources; demand vs supply
 Goal incompatibilities; irrelevant goals
 New changes; leadership, life style
 Equity vs. equality ((the belief that we should be rewarded relative to our
contributions) and equality (belief that everyone should receive the same or
similar outcomes
 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CONFLICT
 Our feelings are based on norms, values, beliefs, and ideologies that
we wish to uphold (culture/gender/age/social class, etc.);
 We sometimes get “locked in” our feelings without recognizing the
psychology of conflict;
 As our feelings escalate, we may move from criticizing the action to
criticizing the person;
 Our selective perception of that person may lock us into stereotyping
him/her;
• As we focus only on these perceptions of the person, we may feel
entrapped by his/her behaviour;
• We become more positional and see this as an issue of honour/
saving face;
• We move into a stalemate, and only when we get tired of this state,
will we move to resolution
 Types of conflicts

 Interpersonal conflict; conflict btn two ppl as the

result of differing in views or interest.
 Intrapersonal conflict; within an individual due
to thoughts, values, principles and emotions. It is
more psychological as it works on individual’s
mind then reflect through behaviors.
 Intragroup conflict; conflict btn individuals
within a group/teams.
 Intergroup conflict; conflict btn two or more
groups eg sales department vs customer service
department
Outcomes of conflicts
Conflict resolution strategies

 Avoiding; (win-lose) withdraw from the conflict

 Accommodating; (win-lose) self-sacrifice, place the interest of others above yours.
 Smoothing; (win-win) suppress differences existing btn parties to meet common
interests.
 Collaborating; (win-win) cooperate with other parties to reach on agreeable
decision.
 Competing; (win-lose) bargaining the use of authoritative measures to rescue the
situation by instilling pressure to the other part.
 Compromising; Integrative (win-win) sacrifice some goals to meet a resolution. It
involves give-and-take techniques
 Recommendations; (win-win) suggesting the best ways to handle difference
Partnership • A partnership is an arrangement where parties,
 Partnership
 A partnership is an arrangement where parties,
known as business partners, agree to cooperate
to advance their mutual interests.
 The partners in a partnership may be individuals,
businesses, interest-based organizations, schools,
governments or combinations.
 There are various types of partners based on the
extent of their liability, or their participation in
the firm – like an active partner or dormant
partner etc.
Particular Partnership
 A partnership can be formed for carrying on continuous
business, or it can be formed for one particular venture or
undertaking.
 After the completion of the said venture or activity, the
partnership will be dissolved.
 However, the partners can come to an agreement to
continue the said partnership.
 But in the absence of this, the partnership ends when the
task is complete
 General Partnership
 When the purpose for the formation of the
partnership is to carry out the business, in general,
it is said to be a general partnership.
 Unlike a particular partnership in a general
partnership the scope of the business to be carried
out is not defined.
 So all the partners will be liable for all the actions
of the partnership
 Elements of a Partnership
Contract for Partnership
 A partnership is contractual in nature.
 As the definition states a partnership is an association of two
or more persons.
 So a partnership results from a contract or an agreement
between two or more persons.
 A partnership does not arise from the operation of law
neither can it be inherited.
 It has to be a voluntary agreement between partners.
 A partnership agreement can be written or oral.
 Sometimes such an agreement is even implied by the
continued actions and mutual understanding of the
partners
 Cont…
Association of Two or More Persons
 A partnership is an association between two or more persons.
 And persons by law only includes individuals, not other firms.
 The law also prohibits minors from being partners.
 But minors can be admitted to the benefits of a partnership
 Carrying on of Business
 There are two aspects of this element.
 Firstly the firm must be carrying on some business. Here the business will include any trade,
profession or occupation. •
 Only that some business must exist and the partners must participate in the running of such business.
 Secondly, the business must be run on a profit motive. The ultimate aim of the business should be to
make gains, which are then distributed among the partners.
 So a firm carrying on charitable work will not be a partnership. If there is no intention to earn profits, there is
no partnership
Cont…
Profit Sharing •
 The profit sharing ratio or the manner of sharing profits is important and one
partner cannot be entitled to the entire profits of the firm.
 However, the sharing of losses is not of any essence.
 It is up to the partners whether the losses will be shared by all the partners.
 If nothing is said then the losses are also split in the profit sharing ratio.
 Say for example two individuals are operating out of the same warehouse. So they
agree to divide the rent amongst themselves.
 This is not a partnership since there is no profit sharing between the two
Cont…
Mutual Agency
 The definition states that the business must be carried out by the partners,
or any partner/s acting for all of them.
 This means that every partner is both a principle as well as an agent for all
the other partners of the firm.
 An act done by any of the partners is binding on all the other partners and
the firm as well. And so every partner is bound by the acts of all the other
partners.
 This is one of the most important aspects of a partnership. It is, in fact, the
truest test of a partnership
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
assignment

 Read the following article and then write a short description of it.
 https://www.mondaq.com/corporatecommercial-law/18999/succeeding-in-n
egotiation--
a-practical-guide