Bill Roche Professor of Industrial Relations & Human Resources School of Business University College Dublin Conflict Management Systems Presentation to ESRC Seminar, Queen’s University Belfast, 18 th April 2013

Conflict Management Systems  Influential concept in field of conflict management  CMS theory persuasive: o combinations of interest-based and rights based CM options optimal o primacy should be accorded to interest-based options o multiple access points to CM options o fixed linear steps avoided – simultaneous use of interest- and rights-based options & ‘loop forward’ & ‘loop back’ possibilities o proactive line and supervisory engagement in CM o concept of ‘complementarities’ (Bendersky) important  Bias in literature towards handling individual grievances

Empirical Evidence of Conflict Management Systems  Literature mainly prescriptive – ‘how to’ books  Few empirical studies of incidence of CMSs: o Lipsky/Avgar et al – c. 33% of US Fortune 1,000 firms have features associated with CMSs o Roche and Teague 2011 – c. 30% of firms in Ireland with 50 or more employees had some combinations of rights-based & interest-based CM practices for dealing with collective/group conflict o Roche and Teague (2011) could find no evidence of ‘systems’ of CM practices for handling individual grievances and neither could Doherty and Teague (2011) in 83 non-union MNCs in Ireland

Conflict Management Systems & Associated Practices Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4 Minimal System Traditional IR System ADR System Hybrid ADR System Cluster Size/Proportions of firms with each system 41% 29% 25% 5% Formal written dispute procedure involving progressively higher levels of management in resolving disputes Resort at final stage in procedure, where deadlock remains, to Labour Relations Commission and Labour Court Use of external arbitrators (other than Labour Relations Commission or Labour Court) to adjudicate disputes Use of external experts early to assist in reaching settlement, or to prevent deadlock in discussion or negotiation within the company Use of ‘brainstorming’, problem solving & related techniques to solve problems or resolve disputes Use of formal interest-based (‘win-win’) bargaining techniques to resolve disputes Intensive formal communication regarding impending change with groups of employees with a view to avoiding disharmony or conflict

Empirical Evidence of CMS Outcomes  Positive outcomes for employees, employers (and sometimes unions) posited in the theoretical literature  Few case accounts or case studies of operation and effects of CMSs and some report variegated results  Bendersky’s (2007) comparisons of 2 CMSs combining interest and rights options with a conventional rights- based procedure in a Canadian government agency reported positive employee outcomes (conflict-related attitudes & behaviour) for the most developed CMS – but comparison of CMS effects limited in this study and other technical problems arise

Empirical Evidence of CMS Outcomes  Roche and Teague (2012) sought evidence for a series of possible CM ‘systems effects’ on a sample of Irish firms employing 50 or more employees: o no systems effects arising from ‘complementarities’ evident in organizational outcomes o only line and supervisory management engagement in conflict resolution associated with positive organizational outcomes  Caveat – the study was undertaken on all firms & not restricted to formally-designed CMSs

Import of Empirical Literature and Findings  Basic research on the operation and outcomes of CMSs required to advance the field: o case studies of the dynamics and outcomes of CMSs o more sophisticated quantitative studies of the genesis and outcomes of CMSs and of complementarities (latent class models and appropriate forms of regression) o more empirically-inclined theory development