Managing Conflict and Negotiating Chapter Eleven Managing Conflict and Negotiating McGraw-Hill/Irwin Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills & Best Practices, 3/e Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

After reading the material in this chapter, you should be able to: Define the term conflict, distinguish between functional and dysfunctional conflict, and identify three desired outcomes of conflict. Define personality conflicts, and explain how they should be managed. Discuss the role of in-group thinking in intergroup conflict, and explain what can be done to avoid cross-cultural conflict.

After reading the material in this chapter, you should be able to: Explain how managers can program functional conflict, and identify the five conflict handling styles. Identify and describe at least four alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques. Draw a distinction between distributive and integrative negotiation, and explain the concept of added-value negotiation.

Major Trends that Make Conflict Inevitable Constant change Greater employee diversity More teams (virtual and self-managed) Less face-to-face communication Global economy with increased cross-cultural dealings

A Modern View of Conflict Conflict - one party perceives its interests are being opposed or set back by another party

Functional versus Dysfunctional Conflict Functional conflict - serves organization’s interests. Dysfunctional conflict - threatens organization’s interests.

Antecedents of Conflict Incompatible personalities or value systems. Overlapping or unclear job boundaries. Competition for limited resources. Interdepartment/intergroup competition. Inadequate communication. Interdependent tasks. Organizational complexity

Antecedents of Conflict Unreasonable or unclear policies, standards, or rules. Unreasonable deadlines or extreme time pressure. Collective decision making Decision making by consensus. Unmet expectations. Unresolved or suppressed conflict.

Why People Avoid Conflict Harm Rejection Loss of relationship Anger Being seen as selfish Saying the wrong thing Intimacy

Desired Outcomes of Conflict Agreement Stronger relationships Learning

Major Forms of Conflict Personality conflict - interpersonal opposition driven by personal dislike or disagreement.

How to Deal With Personality Conflicts

Intergroup Conflict Intergroup conflict – conflict among work groups, teams, and departments Too much cohesiveness can breed groupthink because a desire to get along pushes aside critical thinking

Handling Intergroup Conflict Contact hypothesis – the more the members of different groups interact, the less intergroup conflict they will experience Managers should identify and root out specific negative linkages between groups

Managing Intergroup Conflict Figure 11-1

How to Build Cross-Cultural Relationships Be a good listener Be sensitive to the needs of others Be cooperative, rather than overly competitive Advocate inclusive (participative) leadership Compromise rather than dominate Build rapport through conversations Be compassionate and understanding Avoid conflict by emphasizing harmony Nurture others (develop and mentor)

Programming Functional Conflict Programmed Conflict - encourages different opinions without protecting management’s personal feelings.

Programming Functional Conflict Devil’s advocacy - assigning someone the role of critic. Dialectic method - fostering a debate of opposing viewpoints to better understand an issue.

Techniques for Stimulating Functional Conflict: Devil’s Advocacy Figure 11-2

Five Conflict Handling Styles Figure 11-3

Question? Which style for handling conflict relies on formal authority to force compliance? Integrating Obliging Dominating Avoiding The correct answer is “C” – dominating. See slide 11-25

Alternative Styles for Handling Dysfunctional Conflict Integrating – interested parties confront the issue and cooperatively identify the problem, generate and weigh alternative solutions, and select a solution Appropriate for complex issues plagued by misunderstanding

Alternative Styles for Handling Dysfunctional Conflict Obliging (Smoothing) – involves playing down differences while emphasizing commonalities Appropriate when it is possible to get something in return

Alternative Styles for Handling Dysfunctional Conflict Dominating (Forcing) – relies on formal authority to force compliance Appropriate when an unpopular solution must be implemented

Alternative Styles for Handling Dysfunctional Conflict Avoiding – involves either passive withdrawal from the problem or active suppression of the issue Appropriate for trivial issues

Conflict Monitoring Read an article on Conflict monitoring

Alternative Styles for Handling Dysfunctional Conflict Compromising – give-and-take approach involves moderate concern for both self and others Appropriate when parties have opposite goals

Question? What is the process of avoiding costly lawsuits by resolving conflicts informally or through arbitration? Distributive negotiation Integrative negotiation Alternative Dispute Resolution Added-Value Negotiation The correct answer is “C” – alternative dispute resolution. See next slide.

Third Party Interventions: Alternative Dispute Resolution Alternative Dispute Resolution - avoiding costly lawsuits by resolving conflicts informally or through mediation or arbitration

Alternative Dispute Resolution Facilitation Conciliation Peer review Ombudsman Mediation Arbitration

Negotiation Negotiation: give-and-take process between conflicting independent parties. Two types: Distributive Integrative

Added-Value Negotiation Added-Value Negotiation - cooperatively developing multiple-deal packages while building a long-term relationship

Added-Value Negotiation Steps Clarify interests Identify options Design alternative deal packages Select a deal Perfect the deal

Seven Steps To Negotiating Your Salary Know the going rate Don’t fudge your past compensation Present cold, hard proof of your value Let the other party name a figure first Don’t nickel-and-dime Avoid extravagant extras Seek incentives and practical perks

Video: Toxic Coworkers Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster discuss their book, “Working with You is Killing Me” and ways to get along with fellow employees. (4:45)