Chapter 5

Conflict, and Conflict

Management
 What is conflict?
• What is conflict?
• A process that begins when one party perceives that another party has
negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the
first party cares about.
• Conflict also involves opposition or incompatibility, and some form of
interaction between the parties
 Functional vs. Dysfunctional Conflict
• Not all conflict is bad.
• Some conflicts support the goals of the group and improve its
performance; these are functional, or constructive, forms of conflict.
• But there are conflicts that hinder group performance; these are
dysfunctional, or destructive, forms of conflict.
• If a group is unable to achieve its goals because of conflict, then the
conflict is dysfunctional.
 Research findings conflict
• Research on conflict has yet to clearly identify those situations in which
conflict is more likely to be constructive than destructive.
• Cognitive conflict, which is task-oriented and occurs because of
differences in perspectives and judgments, can often result in identifying
potential solutions to problems.
• Thus it would be regarded as functional conflict.
• Affective conflict, which is emotional and aimed at a person rather than
an issue, tends to be dysfunctional conflict.
 How can conflict be resolved?
• Conflict in the workplace can affect the effectiveness of individuals, teams, and
the entire organization.
• One study found 20 percent of managers’ time is spent managing conflict.
• Conflict researchers often use dual concern theory to describe people’s conflict
management strategies.
• Dual concern theory considers how one’s degree of cooperativeness (the degree
to which one tries to satisfy the other person’s concerns) and assertiveness (the
degree to which one tries to satisfy one’s own concerns) determine how a
conflict is handled.
• The five conflict-handling strategies identified by the theory are as follows:
• Forcing. Imposing one’s will on the other party.
• Problem solving. Trying to reach an agreement that satisfies both one’s own and
the other party’s aspirations as much as possible.
• Avoiding. Ignoring or minimizing the importance of the issues creating the conflict.
• Yielding. Accepting and incorporating the will of the other party.
• Compromising. Balancing concern for oneself with concern for the other party in
order to reach a solution.
 What Can Individuals Do to Manage
Conflict?
• Problem solving. Requesting a face-to-face meeting to identify the problem and
resolve it through open discussion.
• Developing superordinate goals. Creating a shared goal that requires both parties to
work together, and motivates them to do so.
• Smoothing. Playing down differences while emphasizing common interests with the
other party.
• Compromising. Agreeing with the other party that each will give up something of
value to reach an accord.
• Avoidance. Withdrawing from, or suppressing, the conflict.
• Expansion of resources. The scarcity of a resource—say, money, promotion opportunities,
office space—can create conflict. Expansion of the resource can create a win - win
solution.
• Authoritative command. Management can use its formal authority to resolve the conflict
and then communicate its desires to the parties involved.
• Altering the human variable. Behavioural change techniques such as human relations
training can alter attitudes and behaviours that cause conflict
• Altering the structural variables. The formal organization structure and the interaction
patterns of conflicting parties can be changed through job redesign, transfers, creation of
coordinating positions, and the like.
 Negotiation
• negotiation A process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services
and try to agree upon the exchange rate for them.
• There are two general approaches to negotiation—distributive bargaining and
integrative bargaining.
• Distributive bargaining is a negotiating strategy that operates under zero-sum
(win-lose) conditions.
• In contrast to distributive bargaining, integrative bargaining operates under the
assumption that there exists one or more settlements that can create a win-win
solution.
 Distributive vs. Integrative Bargaining

Bargaining Characteristic Distributive Bargaining Integrative Bargaining

Available resources Fixed amount of resources to be Variable amount of resources to

divided be divided

Primary motivations I win, you lose I win, you win

Primary interests Opposed to each other Convergent or congruent with

each other

Focus of relationships Short-term Long-term

 How to Negotiate

• It views negotiation as made up of five steps:

(1) developing a strategy;
(2) Defining ground rules;
(3) Clarification and justification;
(4) Bargaining and problem solving; and
(5) Closure and implementation.
End of chapter 5
Any questions for
discussion?