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Managing Conflict Learning Objectives / Proficiencies • Diagnose the focus and source of conflicts • Select appropriate conflict management strategies • Resolve interpersonal confrontations through collaboration • • • Communication Emotions Problem-solving 2 The Good, the Bad…the Inevitable Conflict can: • Be source of new ideas and innovation • Promote diversity • Build loyalty, trust, understanding • Bring problems into open • Increase organizational commitment • Lead to better outcomes Conflict can: • Increase stress • Divert energy and attention • Make leaders shift to authoritarian style • Increase negative stereotyping • Lead to group think 3 Organizational Outcomes The Relationship Between Conflict and Outcomes Positive Negative Low High Level of Conflict 4 Some Implications for Conflict Management • Conflicts and interdependence go hand-in hand • Recognizing independencies can be a key to finding collaborative solutions – Meeting my needs – Meeting the needs of the other party • Perceptions matter – Normative expectations – Prior Experiences 5 Good versus Bad Conflict • Cognitive (task-oriented) versus Affective Conflict (emotionally oriented) • Cognitive conflict improves performance , while affective conflict degrades, decision making in teams (e.g.,Jehn) – Promotes dialogue – Information sharing – Synthesis • Results – Superior group decision to any individual perspective (e.g.,Schweiger & Sanberg, & Rechner). – Higher levels of innovation (potentially) – Higher levels of commitment to decision (Amason) 6 Cognitive (task- oriented) Conflict DECISION QUALITY (+) (+) GOAL ACHIEVEMENT (+) (+) COGNITIVE CONFLICT (+) DECISION CONSENSUS (+) WITHIN SCHEDULE What Can Leaders Do About Conflict? –Promoting the good while minimizing the bad • While much of the conflict research has focused on attributes of the team as determinants of conflict, leaders can have an impact on cognitive conflict. Goal Clarity Trust Perceptions Communication Norms (Contentious Vrs. Collaborative) Team Conflict (Constructive Vrs. Affective) 8 Conflict and Communication To answer the items below, think about the types of statements that are most often made when disagreements occur within your work organization. How similar are the statements below to the types of statements made when disagreements occur? Use the first column to rate yourself. Use the second column to rate your organization overall. [1]1 = Extremely Dissimilar (virtually never) 2 = Dissimilar (once in while but still rare); 3 = Neither similar or dissimilar (sometimes); 4 = Similar (more typical than not) 5 = Extremely Similar (almost always) Me My Organization 1. Let’s reach a consensus before we decide what to do. _______ _______ 2. Why are you being so stubborn? _______ _______ 3. Let’s evaluate our options objectively. _______ _______ 4. You're being difficult and rigid. _______ _______ 5. We will be working together for a while. It is important that we both [all] feel comfortable with a solution. _______ _______ 6. We seem unable to agree on anything. _______ _______ 7. Let me see, from your point of view the situation looks like this [followed by a description of what you heard.] _______ _______ 8. You're not listening. _______ _______ 9. Our working relationship is important to me. _______ _______ 10. Let’s try to look at other ways to deal with this problem. We may find a solution that satisfies both [all] of us. _______ _______ 11. What are your concerns about my [our] request? Can you help me [us] understand them? ____ ____ 12. Most of us agree. Can the rest of you live with this decision? _______ _______ 13. There’s no solution to the problem that both [all] of us will like. _______ _______ 14. Let’s not judge the options we’re discussing too soon. _______ _______ 15. I don’t think we are in agreement yet. We can’t act until we all agree. _____ _______ 16. Of these things that you want, what is the most important to you? Why? ___ _______ 17. Face it there is no way all of us will be satisfied with this decision. You win some. You lose some. _______ _______ 9 Scoring key Contentious Communication (Sum your Collaborative Communication (Sum your responses to the following items and divide by responses to the following items and divide by 11) 6) You 2 ____ 4 ____ 6 ____ 8 ____ 13____ 17____ _____Sum _____ Average (Divide sum by 6) Your Organization 2 ____ 4 ____ 6 ____ 8 ____ 13____ 17____ _____Sum _____ Average (Divide sum by 6) You 1 ____ 3 ____ 5 ____ 7 ____ 9____ 10____ 11____ 12____ 14____ 15____ 16____ _____Sum _____ Average (Divide sum by 11) Your Organization 1 ____ 3 ____ 5 ____ 7 ____ 9____ 10____ 11____ 12____ 14____ 15____ 16____ _____Sum _____ Average (Divide sum by 11) 10 Reflection: Communications Skills & Conflict Which communications skills are pre-requisites to taskoriented conflict resolution? Which communications skills “go out the window” for you when in the middle of a conflict discussion? What can you do to minimize or break these habits? 11 Sources of Conflict SOURCES OF CONFLICT FOCUS OF CONFLICT Personal differences Perceptions and expectations Informational deficiency Misinformation and misrepresentation Role incompatibility Goals and responsibilities Environmental stress Resource scarcity and uncertainty © Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson 12 Four Sources of Interpersonal Conflict Personal Differences: Conflicts stem from personal values and needs Informational Deficiencies: Conflicts evolve from misinformation and misunderstanding Role Incompatibility: From the perception that assigned goals and responsibilities compete with those of others Environmentally Induced Stress: Results from the stressful events of the organizational environment. 13 Practice Diagnosis Describe and write about a recent conflict Diagnose the major sources of conflict. • Was (is) the conflict about issues or people? • What is the main source of conflict? (Personal Differences, Information Deficiencies, Incompatible Roles, Environmental Stress) Given the main source of conflict, what would you hope to focus on: • Perceptions and Expectations? • Misinformation and Misrepresentation? • Goals and Responsibilities? • Resource Scarcity and Uncertainty? 14 Strategies for Handling Conflict Indicate how often you use each of the following by writing the appropriate number in the blank. Choose a number from a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “rarely,” 3 being “sometimes,” and 5 being “always.” After you have completed the survey, use the scoring key on the next page to tabulate your results. _______ 1. I argue my position tenaciously. _______ 2. I put the needs of others above my own. _______ 3. I arrive at a compromise both parties can accept. _______ 4. I don’t get involved in conflicts. _______ 5. I investigate issues thoroughly and jointly. _______ 6. I find fault in other persons’ positions. _______ 7. I foster harmony. _______ 8. I negotiate to get a portion of what I propose. _______ 9. I avoid open discussions of controversial subjects. _______ 10. I openly share information with others in resolving disagreements. _______ 11. I enjoy winning an argument. _______ 12. I go along with the suggestions of others. _______ 13. I look for a middle ground to resolve disagreements. _______ 14. I keep my true feelings to myself to avoid hard feelings. _______ 15. I encourage the open sharing of concerns and issues. _______ 16. I am reluctant to admit I am wrong. _______ 17. I try to help others avoid “losing face” in a disagreement. _______ 18. I stress the advantages of “give and take.” _______ 19. I encourage others to take the lead in resolving controversy. _______ 20. I state my position as only one point of view. 15 Scoring Key FORCING Item 1 6 11 16 Total Score ________ ________ ________ ________ ________ AVOIDING ITEM SCORE 4 ________ 9 ________ 14 ________ 19 ________ Total ________ ACCOMMODATING Item Score 2 ________ 7 ________ 12 ________ 17 ________ Total ________ COMPROMISING Item Score 3 ________ 8 ________ 13 ________ 18 ________ Total ________ INTEGRATING ITEM SCORE 5 ________ 10 ________ 15 ________ 20 ________ Total ________ Primary conflict management strategy (highest score): ________ Secondary conflict management strategy (next-highest score): ________ 16 Reflection – Your Conflict Style Scores Conflict Style My Score Competing/Forcing: Avoiding: Compromising: Accommodating: Collaborating: My most frequent strategy is: ______________ My least frequent strategy is: _______________ 17 Conflict Resolution Strategies Insert figure 7.3 18 Approaches and Objectives Forcing / Competing approach (assertive, uncooperative) attempts to satisfy one’s needs at the expense of the other person’s. “To win.” Avoiding approach (uncooperative, unassertive) neglects the interests of both parties by postponing or sidestepping the problem. “To avoid or delay.” Compromising model, intermediate on both assertiveness and cooperativeness, tries to obtain some satisfaction for both parties. “To settle quickly.” Accommodating approach (cooperative, unassertive) satisfies the other party’s concerns while neglecting one’s own. “To not upset the other person.” Collaborating mode (cooperative, assertive) attempts to address fully the needs of both parties and is often called the problem-solving approach. “To solve together – win-win.” 19 Maintaining a Healthy Balance Conflict Style Consequences of TOO MUCH Consequences of TOO LITTLE Competing/Forcing Lack of feedback; use of unskilled, inflammatory statements; “back-stabbing.” Indecisiveness; slow to act; withheld contributions. Avoiding Low level of input; decision-making by default; breakdown in communication. Hurt feelings; decisions made with wrong people, wrong time Loss of long-term goals, a lack of trust; being viewed as having no firm values; can result in making concessions without resolving the original conflict. Unnecessary confrontations, frequent power struggles; ineffective negotiating. Getting little attention; restricted influence; lack of desire to change; loss of contribution. Lack of rapport; low morale; inability to yield; display of apathy. Spending too much time on trivial matters, diffusion of responsibility, being taken advantage of; being overloaded with work. Using quick fix solutions; lack of commitment by others; disempowerment; loss of innovation. Compromising Accommodating Collaborating 20 Reflection – Conflict Strategy Preferences What did you notice about your pattern of conflict resolution strategy preferences? In what ways are your preferences assets? In what ways are your preferences liabilities? What are some things you could do to expand your repertoire? 21 Conflict Resolution by Conflict Type & Method of Resolution 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 F o r c i n g Conflict Type Communication 22 © Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson Structure Personal P r o b l e m S o l v i n g C o m p r o m i s e A v o i d a n c e Method of Resolution Matching Conflict Management Approach with the Situation Situational Considerations Conflict Management Approach Forcing Compromising Avoiding Accommodating Collaborating High Medium Issue Importance Relationship Importance Relative Power Time Constraints 23 © Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson Low Low Low High Medium High High Low High Equal Low Medium-High Medium-High Equal Low-High Low Low MediumHigh Choosing a Conflict Management Strategy 24 • Take a few minutes to read the Phelps, Inc. Case • What are the salient situational factors? • What do you think is the best conflict management strategy? • Can you think of a personal experience where any of these situational considerations were factored into your conflict management style © Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson Phelps, Inc. You are Philip Manual, the head of sales for an office products firm, Phelps, Inc. Your personnel sell primarily to small businesses in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Phelps is doing about average for this rapidly growing market. The firm’s new president, Jose Ortega, is putting a lot of pressure on you to increase sales. You feel that a major obstacle is the firm’s policy on extending credit. Celeste, the head of the credit office, insists that all new customers fill out an extensive credit application. Credit risks must be low; credit terms and collection procedures are tough. You can appreciate her point of view, but you feel it is unrealistic. Your competitors are much more lenient in their credit examinations; they extend credit to higher risks; their credit terms are more favorable; and they are more lenient in collecting overdue payments. Your sales personnel frequently complain that they aren’t “playing on a level field” with their competition. When you brought this concern to Jose, he said he wanted you and Celeste to work things out. His instructions didn’t give many clues to his priorities on this matter. “Sure, we need to increase sales, but the small business failure in this area is the highest in the country, so we have to be careful we don’t make bad credit decisions.” You decide it’s time to have a serious discussion with Celeste. A lot is at stake. 25 © Peter Dominick, Zvi Aronson Positional versus Integrative Bargaining • Start with an extreme position, stubbornly hold it, deceive the other party as to your true views and make only small concessions • Avoiding, forcing, accommodating, compromise are all positional approaches • Leads to dragging one’s feet, stonewalling and other relationship-busting tactics AVOID THIS!!! 26 Framework for Collaborative Problem Solving • Of all the approaches, collaboration is the best. However, it is the most difficult to implement. • Principles for Collaborating • • • • • • Establish super-ordinate goals Separate the people from the problem Focus on interests, not positions Invent options for mutual gains Use objective criteria for evaluating alternatives Define success in terms of real gains, not imaginary losses 27 Separate People from the Problem • People have strong emotions and may have radically different perceptions • Emotions typically become tangled with the objective merits of the problem • Egos become identified with their positions • Participants should see themselves as working side by side, attacking the problem, not each other 28 Insist on Using Objective Criteria • Some negotiators try to obtain a favorable result by being stubborn – rewards intransigence and produces arbitrary results • Forcing can be countered by insisting that agreement must reflect some fair standard independent of the naked will of either side – market value, custom, law, agreed-on definition of “practicality”… • Both parties can stop worrying about “giving in” and defer to the fair solution 29 Four Phases of Collaborative Problem Solving Problem Identification Solution Generation Action Plan Formulation and Agreement Implementation and Follow-Up 30 Phase 1: Problem Identification Initiator Maintain personal ownership of problem Describe problem in terms of behaviors, consequences, and feelings Avoid drawing conclusions and attributing motives Persist until understood Encourage two-way discussion 31 Phase 2: Solution Generation Initiator Focus on commonalities as the basis for requesting a change 32 Phase 1: Problem Identification Responder Establish a climate for joint problem solving – show genuine interest & concern Seek additional information by asking questions Agree with some aspect of the complaint 33 Phase 2: Solution Generation Responder Ask for suggestions of acceptable alternatives 34 Phase 1: Problem Identification Mediator’s Role Establish a problem solving framework Maintain a neutral posture regarding the disputants Serve as facilitator, not judge Insure discussion to ensure fairness 35 Phase 2:Solution Generation Mediator Explore options by focusing on interests; create agreement on action plan and follow-up 36 3. Settle the Conflict Principled Negotiation: Participants are joint problem solvers. The goal is a wise outcome achieved efficiently and amicably. Work to reach a mutually acceptable balance of interests. 37 Emotional Concerns in Conflict • Five core concerns drive most emotions in conflicts and negotiation: • • • • • Appreciation Affiliation Autonomy Status Role • Levers and Lenses: – Identify things you can do to that might address these concerns during a Conflict or Negotiation 38 Appreciation • Understand points of view: – Listen for mood as well as words. – Listen for meta-messages /themes (key words). • Find merit in what others think, how they feel and what they do. • Communicate understanding. • To help others understand your point of view: – Propose time to be listened to. – Tailor your message to be heard. • To help others find merit in your interests: – Ask them to do so. – Use metaphors. • To help others hear your message: – Have a few big points. – Ask them to state what they heard you say. 39 Affiliation • Look for connections. • Treat each other as colleagues. • Reduce personal distance: – Meet in person. – Discuss things you care about. – Provide “space”. • Make it easier to build personal connections: – Private, unofficial meetings. – Reshape public perceptions. – Subcommittees for specific issues. • Protect yourself from being manipulated by affiliation: – With your head. – With your gut. 40 Autonomy • Expand our own: – Make recommendations. – Explore interests. – Explore options before deciding. • Don’t impinge on theirs: – Consult and inform stakeholders. • Establish guidelines for decision making. 41 Acknowledge Status • • • • • • • Status can enhance esteem and influence. Courtesy and respect go a long way. Become aware of what people value about themselves. Look for each person’s particular status. Acknowledge their status, then yours. Take pleasure in your areas of status. Know the limits of status: – Be ready to clarify your role. – Avoid “status spillover” • Seek second opinions. • Ask others to help you explore pros and cons of other options. • Acknowledge the status of others. 42 Role • Make conventional roles more fulfilling: – Potential role conflicts. – Shape roles/redefine activities. • What would you add? • What would you take away? • What would you modify? • Appreciate the conventional roles others want to play. • Manage temporary/informal roles: – Adopt roles that foster collaboration: • Listener. • Devil’s advocate. • Learner. • Advisor. • Don’t let roles impede problem-solving. 43 Hofstede’s Cultural Values Dimensions • • • • Power distance index. Uncertainty avoidance. Individualism versus collectivism. Masculinity versus femininity. – (a) women's values differ less among societies than men's values; – (b) extent to which male and female values more likely to stress modesty and caring • Long-term orientation versus short-term orientation. 44 Hofstede Values Profiles & Vigilance Project: Implications for Conflict 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 France United States Switzerland Power Distance Uncertainty Individualism Masculinity Avoidance 45 Summary Model of Conflict Management Insert figure 7.6 46 Reflection – Conflict Skills As the initiator of a conflict discussion, I am As the responder to a conflict discussion initiated by others, I am As a mediator of conflicts between other people, I am 47