Interpret and manage conflicts

within the workplace

US 114226

Facilitator: Irene Stavast

 Facilitator: Irene Stavast

Arriving Tea / Coffee: 08:00

Starting Time: 08:30
Ending Time: 16:30
Tea Break: 10:00 – 10:15 (Biscuits)
Lunch: 13:00 - 14:00 (Served)
Tea Break: 14:45 – 15:00 (Without Snack)
Finishing: 16:30
 Facilitator: Irene Stavast

Starting Time: 08:00 (Arrival)

Ending Time: 14:00
Tea: 10:00 – 10:30 (Biscuits)
Lunch: 14:00 - 15:00 (Lunch)
 House Rules

?
1. Main sources of conflict Agenda
2. Difference between conflict and dispute
3. Positive & Negative of Conflict
4. Conflict Modes (personality test)
5. Enneagram (Tests)
6. Techniques to use during conflict
7. Resolution route
8. Action plan and strategy to manage conflict
9. Selection appropriate techniques for specific conflict
situation
10. Organizational role (Policies and Procedures) during
conflict
11. Conflict managers attributes
12. Preparing for negotiation
13. Engaging in negotiation
14. Understand your own developmental areas for conflict
management and negotiations
15. POE – Explanation
Conflict Management
What is conflict?
How would you
describe it?
What is conflict?
Dictionary definition:
- disagreement, struggle, fight,
incompatible
 Conflict vs Dispute
Dispute
A dispute is a disagreement over a
particular issue between two people
or groups. A dispute is a short-term
occurrence. A common disagreement
at work might be who gets to work
the best shift, for instance. If a
dispute arises over hours because
employees get to choose them,
management will resolve the dispute
by assigning their shifts. The incident
will not affect their work throughout
the day, however.
Conflict
Conflict results from continual
disputes as the frustration level rises,
according to the Beyond
Intractability Project. If two workers
continually dispute one another over
their tasks, for example, they may
begin to see each other as stubborn,
aggressive or hostile and develop a
mutual dislike of one another. This
can increase their disputes and
eventually result in full-blown
conflict over their work methods or a
conflict on a personal level
Working together isn’t
always easy
Video - Economic systems (Not kid approved)
13:44
 Learner Guide activity – Page 8

Who was involved?

When and where did it happen?

What happened?

Whose fault was it?

What was the outcome?

 Where does Conflict come from?

Conflict arises from a clash of perceptions, goals, or values in an

arena where people care about the outcome.

The breeding ground for conflict may lie in confusion about, or

disagreement with, the common purpose and how to achieve it
while also achieving individual goals within an organisation. In
addition, the competition for limited (internal and external)
resources will feed conflict.
 Learner Guide Case Study– Page 11

Case Study 1: Lucy cannot complete her report until

John gets all of the numbers to her. Lucy believes that
John procrastinates until the last minute, forcing her to
do a rushed job which increases her stress and makes
her fear that she will look bad to the boss.
John feels like Lucy puts too much pressure on both of
them, and sets unrealistic deadlines. As the conflict
increases, the productivity and efficiency decrease. Both
employees feel bad about this, but are lost as to how to
overcome the problem. This is where the parties may
need to have a manager intervene and mediate the
dispute.
 Learner Guide Case Study– Page 11

Case Study 2: Two employees must use the same printer.

When one has a big printing job and ties up the printer, the
other employee is sometimes delayed and can't get a promised
document out on time. One employee is now forced to prepare
the printing they need in their own (lunch times) in order to
ensure that they are able to complete their workload within the
timeframes.
Tea: 15 Minutes
Main sources of conflict - Triggers
 Emotional Vs Rational
• The 'Emotional' brain vs. feelings
• Quickly processes incoming
information
• Filters for potential threat
• Triggers fight or flight
 Emotional Vs Rational
•The 'Rational' brain
•Allows objectivity
•Makes sense of any
risk
 Fight or Flight?

• Body produces adrenaline

• Natural animal instinct
• Bodies response to perceived threat
• Blood redirected to major muscle groups
• Hearing level drops off
• Eyesight improves
 Red rag phrases - barriers
• “I think the best way would be to….”
• “Yes, but…”
• “Yes, but I still think…”
• “What you don’t seem to realise is…”
• “Whatever you say, but what I am going
to do is.”
• “Why don’t you listen to sense”
• “You are the one being difficult”.
 Inhibitors

• Social or legal consequences

• Self control
• Personal values
• Fear that the other person will fight
back
 Origins of Conflict

• Interpersonal Origins . . .
– Faulty assumptions and inferences.
– Lasting grudges/history together.
– Poor communication and misunderstanding.
– Lack of respect/appreciation for differences in personality,
beliefs, etc.
• Organizational Origins . . .
– Methods for allocating resources.
– Organizational design/structure.
– Reward systems.
– Poorly defined roles, responsibilities, and expectations.
– Lack of accountability/consequences.
 Where does Conflict come from?

Conflicts occur when people (or other parties) perceive that, as a

consequence of a disagreement, there is a threat to their needs,
interests or concerns. ... A conflict is more than a mere
disagreement - it is a situation in which people perceive a threat
(physical, emotional, power, status, etc.) to their well-being.
1. Ethnic Conflict & National Conflict
2. East - West Conflict (Communism vs. Democracy)
3. Religious Conflict
4. Traditional Conflict (Culture, Background, etc)
5. Environmental Conflicts
6. Capabilities
7. Behaviours
Consequences of conflict
 Effect of conflict in the Workplace

Conflicts occur when people (or other parties) perceive that, as a

consequence of a disagreement, there is a threat to their needs,
interests or concerns. ... A conflict is more than a mere
disagreement - it is a situation in which people perceive a threat
(physical, emotional, power, status, etc.) to their well-being.
1. Ethnic Conflict & National Conflict
2. East - West Conflict (Communism vs. Democracy)
3. Religious Conflict
4. Traditional Conflict (Culture, Background, etc)
5. Environmental Conflicts
6. Capabilities
7. Behaviours
 Learner Guide Activity – Page 31-32

1. Religious Conflict
2. Traditional Conflict
3. Personal Conflicts
4. Economic
Lunch: 60 Minutes
Lack of conflict is a sign of over conformity.
It is unhealthy when there is no conflict
 Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal conflict occurs when a person or group of

people frustrates or interferes with another person's
efforts at achieving a goal. According to some
researchers, conflict can consist of three different
components.
Interpersonal Communication
Good Consequences of Conflict
 Positive impact of Conflict

• Improve the quality of decisions

• Stimulate involvement in the discussion
• Arouse creativity and imagination
• Facilitate employee growth
• Increase movement toward goals
• Create energetic climate
• Build more synergy and cohesion among teams
• Foster new ideas, alternatives, and solutions
• Test positions and beliefs
increased
creativity
It forces people to clarify their
views
 Positive impact of Conflict on a Group

1. Attempt to pursue a common goal rather than individual

goals
2. Openly and honestly communicate with other people
3. Do not manipulate others
4. Do not use threats or bluffs to achieve goals
5. Try to understand personal needs and the needs of others
accurately
6. Evaluate ideas and suggestions on their own merits
7. Attempt to find solutions to problems
8. Strive for group cohesiveness
 It can produce
constructive social
change
It gives people the opportunity to
test their capacities
•development of group and
organization cohesion
Negative impact of Conflict
 Negative impact of Conflict

• Be destructive and uncontrollable

• Create ineffective working groups
• Cause productivity to suffer
• Reduce the exchange of ideas and information
• Develop animosities
• Break down communication
• Diminish trust and support
Violence
breakdown of relationships
polarization of views into static positions
A breakdown of
collaborative
ventures
Destruction of Communication
The cost of conflict - Relationships
 Main
sources of
•conflict
The aggressive
or competitive
behaviour of
human beings
The cost of conflict – The Individual
The cost of conflict – The Company
Graphic of Tension and Conflict
 Learner Guide Activity – Page 45

1. Positive Conflict
2. Negative Conflict
 Learner Guide Activity – Page 53

Identify two types of organisational conflicts which you know

of, either internal or external organisations.
 Personality Conflict

Personality Type And Conflict Styles. While the full four-letter personality type
according to Briggs Myers' system is important in understanding how people
respond to conflict, the greatest areas of conflict exist between the Feeling-Thinking
and Judging-Perceiving preferences.
Stages of Conflict
 Learner Guide Activity – Page 41 - 43

Activity 3 – Self Reflection – Conflict response Questionnaire

 7 Types of Narrative Conflict

1. Person vs. Fate/God

2. Person vs. Self
3. Person vs. Person
4. Person vs. Society
5. Person vs. Nature
6. Person vs. Supernatural
7. Person vs. Technology
Personalities
 Learner
Guide
Activity –
Page 53 -5 8
End of day 1
1. Main sources of conflict Agenda
2. Difference between conflict and dispute
3. Positive & Negative of Conflict
4. Conflict Modes (personality test)
5. Enneagram (Tests)
6. Techniques to use during conflict
7. Resolution route
8. Action plan and strategy to manage conflict
9. Selection appropriate techniques for specific conflict
situation
10. Organizational role (Policies and Procedures) during
conflict
11. Conflict managers attributes
12. Preparing for negotiation
13. Engaging in negotiation
14. Understand your own developmental areas for conflict
management and negotiations
15. POE – Explanation
 Animal Selection Game

1. Type of animal?
2. Why?
3. Habitat and food?
4. Characteristics?
5. Benefits?
6. Bad thing if you are this animal?
7. Sound?
Self assessment: Conflict Style

Which one are you?

General dispute
resolution
process example
 Conflict Resolution Techniques

Video – Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

2:34
Embrace your style is different than others
 Organisational conflict styles

A. Avoiding – You bend, I bend

B. Competing – I win, you lose

C. Accommodating – I lose, you win

D. Compromising – I bend, you bend

E. Collaborating – I win, you win

Resolving Conflict
Reaching win-win
 Learner Guide Activity – Page 73 – 75
Scenario and Case Study

1. Stole Cell Phone

2. Sexual Harassment at the Office
3. Religious Conflict at the workplace
a) Which method of conflict resolution would you use
in this case?
b) Why would you use this method?
Ergonomics conflict
Ergonomics conflict
Resolution Cycle and Mediation
•Rather than imposing a solution, a professional mediator works with the conflicting
sides to explore the interests underlying their positions.
Mediation can be effective at allowing parties to vent their feelings and fully explore
their grievances. Types of dispute
Working with parties together and sometimes separately, mediators try to help them
hammer out a resolution that is sustainable, voluntary, and nonbinding.
2. Arbitration
In arbitration, a neutral third party serves as a judge who is responsible for resolving
the dispute.
•The arbitrator listens as each side argues its case and presents relevant evidence, then
renders a binding decision.
The disputants can negotiate virtually any aspect of the arbitration process, including
whether lawyers will be present and which standards of evidence will be used.
Arbitrators hand down decisions that are usually confidential and that cannot be
appealed.
Like mediation, arbitration tends to be much less expensive than litigation.
3. Litigation
The most familiar type of dispute resolution, civil litigation typically involves a
defendant facing off against a plaintiff before either a judge or a judge and jury.
•The judge or the jury is responsible for weighing the evidence and making a ruling.
Information conveyed in hearings and trials usually enters the public record.
Lawyers typically dominate litigation, which often ends in a settlement agreement
during the pretrial period of discovery and preparation.
Dispute resolution process steps in South Africa
6 Steps for resolution
 Learner Guide Activity – Page 81

The scenario:
You started working at a new company as a delivery driver.
When you applied for the position, you required a driver’s
licence, which you had. But the company bought a new
delivery vehicle which requires a different licence. The
company is not willing to pay for you to get your new licence
and tells you that you need to have the licence to complete
your duties. If you do not have your licence in tone week, they
will retrench you.
Resolving the Conflict

Looking for a win-win

How can conflict be managed successfully?

Win-win conflict.
Both parties achieve their desires.
Collaboration or problem solving are forms of
win-win conflict.
 To Achieve Win/Win Results

1. Gain participation from everyone involved in

the conflict.
2. State the reason to work on a solution.
3. Use empathy. Have each party see the
problem/situation from the other point of
view. State what you want.
4. Repeat what you hear.
Transactional Analysis

P - Parent
A - Adult
C - Child
Transactional Analysis
Transactional Analysis
Video – Who moved my cheese
15:59
112
Policies and Procedures
Video – Labour Relations Act
5:20
Change starts with…
A paradigm shift
Swan and… squirrel?
How many legs does the elephant have?
What do you see?
Besides the obvious tiger, do you see The Hidden Tiger…
What do you see?
Do you see a rabbit or a duck?
Old or Young woman?
Polar bear or a seal?
What do you see?
Are there really just flowers?
There are 5 wolves in this picture
High society donkey
What do you see?
Face of a soldier and a man that is bending over
Do you see the man fishing?
 Learner Guide Activity – Page 115

Now that we have covered the required aspects of a good

conflict manager, you need to complete the table below. In this
table you need to list the negative attributes a conflict manager
must avoid, as well as give an explanation of how it can
influence the outcome of conflict resolution, negatively.
 Learner Guide Activity – Page 116 - 121

Understanding your own skills requirements as a conflict

manager
Learner Guide Personal Action Plan
Page 122 - 124
 Dealing with Difficult People at Work

• Here's 9 tips which I've found to work in dealing with such

people:

• Be calm.
• Understand the person's intentions.
• Get some perspective from others.
• Let the person know where you are coming from.
• Build a rapport.
• Treat the person with respect.
• Focus on what can be actioned upon.
• Ignore.
• Escalate to a higher authority for resolution.