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Chapter Eleven
Interpersonal Behavior
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Chapter Objectives
 To understand:
• The nature and types of conflict
• Conflict outcomes and resolution strategies
• Different personality types
• Assertive behavior
• Types of power
• Organizational politics and influence
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Introduction
Almost every working relationship will
produce some degree of conflict across time.
Whether conflicts are destructive or constructive
depends on the attitudes and skills of participants.
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The Nature of Conflict
 An interpersonal process that can arise from
disagreement over almost anything
• Managers spend about 20 percent of their time
dealing with conflict
 Levels of Conflict
• Intrapersonal
• Interpersonal
• Intergroup
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Intrapersonal Conflict
Within the individual, which may happen when someone takes
on competing roles.
Examples:
1) A Managing Director who is also an environmentalist. His
company plans a very profitable development on the seafront.
This area is an important place for migratory birds.
2) A manager has to decide between employing his son or a
more highly qualified person as a Supervisor.
3) A man hates his job, but has to stay in it to support his
family.
4) You manager has given you an order to carry out. You do
not feel that the order is ethical.
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Interpersonal Conflict
Conflict between individuals, Can be very serious as
people’s emotions are affected. Self-image and selfesteem are often involved.
Examples:
1) Two people fight for control of a group.
2) Conflict between a manager and a computer engineer
about which new system to buy. The Manager feels
that the engineer is threatening his authority. The
Engineer feels that the Manager is ignoring his
professional knowledge.
3) Since they met, two people who work together have
never liked one another and have always argued.
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Intergroup Conflict
These arise because of differing viewpoints, group
loyalties and complication of resources.
Can often be between two departments in an
organization which have competing goals. For
example:
1) The production department wants to buy new machinery.
The Sales Department wants to employ more staff. The
company has only resources to do one of these.
2) The Sales Department wants to make more sales by selling
a product cheaply. The Accounting department feels that
the company needs to achieve a high profit margin.
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Case Study
Noura is the manager of the Al Ain Advertising Agency. The agency is
currently experiencing problems between the Sales Department and the
Design Department. Sales for the company have decreased, and each
department blames the other. Employees in the Sales Department say that
the decrease is because of poorly designed advertisements created by the
Design Department. Employees in the Design Department claim that the
decrease is due to poor performance by the Sales Department.
There are also often arguments between Fatma, Manager of the Sales
Department, and Ahmed, in charge of the Design Department. Fatma says
that Ahmed is neither properly qualified nor creative enough for his job.
Ahmed claims that Fatma lacks the experience to manage a Sales
Department.
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Case Study
Noura and Fatma have been close friends since they went to school
together. However, Noura believes that Ahmed is correct, and that Fatma is
not doing her job well. While she believes that Ahmed is competent, Noura
finds it very difficult to work with him. Ahmed has a masters degree,
whereas Noura has a Higher Diploma from the HCT. Ahmed annoys Noura
by often commenting that he is more highly qualified than her.
Noura has decided that one of the managers must go, but is not sure who it
should be. This decision is causing her a lot of worry.
Question
Identify all the levels of conflict in this case.
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Sources of Conflict
 Interpersonal conflict arises from:
• Organizational change
• Different sets of values
• Threats to status
• Contrasting perceptions
• Lack of trust
• Personality clashes
• Incivility
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Organizational Change
People argue about the types of changes an organization needs,
the pace of change, the results anticipated from changes etc.
Personality Clashes
People have individual differences. Individuals will always
find that there are other individuals they do not get on with
Differing Sets of Values
Individual differences can result in people having different
values. We learnt in Cultural Issues that differing values can
be a problem when people from different countries work
together.
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Threats to Status
Most people react very strongly when their status is threatened. In many
cultures “Face” or face saving is a very important issue.
Contrasting Perceptions
We learnt about perception in Goal 1. People see things according to their
own experiences and expectations.
Conflict can occur when two people see the same thing differently.
Lack of Trust
Trust is the ability to depend on each other’s words and actions.
It takes time to build, but can easily be destroyed.
Conflict can occur when someone perceives a reason not to trust someone
else.
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Activity
Identify the source of conflict in each of the following situations:
1) Ibrahim and Mustafa had been in conflict since Mustafa
broke his promise to promote Ibrahim.
2) Nada and Hudda had disliked each other since they had first
met.
3) Saeed and Khalifa conflicted since Khalifa criticized
Saeed’s work at a management meeting.
4) Maryam and Amal conflicted over the changes the company
planned. Maryam only saw the advantages, while Amal
only saw the costs.
5) John, the English General Manager, and Dileep, the
Production Manager, were in conflict. John instructed that
employees should use the first name of managers when
addressing them. Dileep felt that employees should always
use “Mr.” or “Sir when talking with a manager.
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Activity
Students, working in pairs, give an example of each
source of conflict.
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Personality Factors
 Personality traits cluster around five major
factors:
• Agreeableness
• Conscientiousness
• Openness to experience
• Emotional stability
• Extroversion
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Personality Factors
Trait
Positive Extreme
Negative Extreme
Agreeableness
Caring, sensitive,
empathetic
Uncooperative, irritable
Conscientiousness
Dependable,
self-disciplined
Disorganized, careless
Openness to
experience
Curious, flexible,
receptive
Closed, fixed, resistant
Emotional stability
Calm, relaxed,
comfortable
Self-critical, questioning,
pessimistic
Extroversion
Assertive, outgoing,
talkative
Quiet, reserved,
cautious
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Effects of Conflict
 Advantages
• Parties learn each other’s preferences and views
• Provides stimulus to find improved approaches
that lead to better results
• Energizes creativity, promotes experimentation
• Hidden problems are brought to the surface
• Deeper understanding among the parties
• Once the conflict is resolved, individuals may be
more committed to the outcome
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Effects of Conflict
 Disadvantages
• Distrust may grow
• Individuals may feel defeated
• Self-image may decline
• Stress levels may rise
• Reduced motivation
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Conflict Resolution Through Confrontation
• Agree on a common goal: to solve the problem
• Commit to fluid, not fixed, positions
• Clarify the strengths/weaknesses of all positions
• Recognize the need for face-saving
• Avoid arguing or using “yes, but” responses
• Control your emotions
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Conflict Resolution Through Confrontation
• Try to understand others’ viewpoints, needs, and
bottom line
• Ask questions; probe for deeper meanings and
support
• Be sure all parties have interest in success
• Give the other party substantial credit when the
conflict is over
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Negotiating Tactics
 To resolve conflict in a win-win fashion:
• Arrange seating in a comfortable fashion
• Prohibit observers
• Set deadlines to force a resolution
• Set minimum and optimum goals in advance
• Gather data thoroughly
• Listen carefully
• Focus on issues, not personalities
• Separate facts from feelings
• Search for areas where concessions are possible
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Assertive Behavior
 Assertiveness
• Expressing feelings
• Asking for legitimate changes
• Giving and receiving honest feedback
• Asking another to change an offensive behavior
• Comfortably refusing unreasonable requests
• Being direct, honest, and expressive
• Feeling confident
• Making others feel valued
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Assertive Behavior
 Stages in Assertiveness
• Describe the behavior
• Express your feelings
• Empathize
• Offer problem-solving alternatives
• Indicate consequences
 Assertiveness is most effective when it integrates
verbal and nonverbal components
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Power and Politics
Power is the ability to
influence other people and events.
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Types of Power
 Five Bases of Power
• Personal power
• Legitimate power
• Expert power
• Reward power
• Coercive power
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Personal Power
• Comes from the leader individually
• Leader develops followers through the strength of his or
her personality
• People follow because they want to
• Also called charismatic power, and power of personality
Legitimate Power
• Comes from formal authority.
• Gives leaders the power to allocate resources and to reward
and punish others.
• People follow because they have to or because of social
pressure.
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Expert Power
• Comes from a person’s knowledge of and information
about a complex situation.
• Depends on education, training, and experience.
• Important source of power in today’s complex,
technological society
Reward Power
• Power to give rewards, - for example pay rises, promotion,
transfer, favourable work assignments, recognition.
Coercive Power
• Capacity to punish others – for example threaten job
security, threaten or administer physical force.
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Activity
1.
Mohammed was only 24 years old, and had just joined an engineering
company. However, he had a PhD in production design. Fellow
employees followed his advice about the new production techniques
the company used.
2. Ahmed was neither liked nor a very bright student, but he was very
large for his age and a bully. Other students in his class normally did
what he told them to do.
3. Ibrahim was confident, good looking, athletic and very bright. Other
students looked up to him and wanted to be like him.
4. Maha was not a manager with the company, but her fellow employees
tended to do what she told them to. They knew that she was the best
friend of Aisha, the manager, and that Aisha often listened to her
advice about who to promote or who to fire.
5. No one liked or respected Abdullah, but the employees did what he
told them to do because he was the manager.
Question:
Students, working in pairs, give an example of each type of power.
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Organizational Politics
Intentional behaviors used to enhance or protect
a person’s influence and self-interest
while inspiring confidence and trust in others
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Organizational Politics
 Political skill consists of:
• Being socially astute
• Having interpersonal influence
• Creating useful networks
• Expressing sincerity
 Pros and Cons
• Can help attain promotion or sell proposal
• Can gain personal visibility
• Can be self-serving, manipulative, and deceivful
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Organizational Politics
 Many managers agree that…
• Politics is common in most organizations
• Managers must be good at politics to succeed
• Politics becomes more important at higher levels
• Politics can detract from organizational
efficiency
 Traditional power sources no longer work
• One can influence others through mutually
beneficial exchanges
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Influence and Political Power
 Steps to increase your influence…
• Treat the other party as a potential ally
• Specify your objectives
• Learn about other’s needs, interests, and goals
• Inventory your own resources to identify
something of value to offer
• Assess your relationship with the other person
• Decide what to ask for and what to offer
• Make the actual exchange that produces a gain
for both parties
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Tactics to Gain Political Power
 Networking
 Social exchange
 Form alliances
 Become identified with a higher authority
 Control information
 Give service selectively
 Acquire power and status symbols
 Grab power from others
 Join or form interest groups
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Tactics to Gain Political Power
 Political Power
• Comes from support of key individuals/groups
• Arises from the ability to work with people and
social systems to gain allegiance and support
 Self-Monitors
• High self-monitors are better at using
organizational politics than are others
• Low self-monitors are more insulated from
social cues, behave as they wish, show less
concern for making a positive impression
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Impression Management
Protecting self image while
intentionally affecting another’s assessment
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Impression Management
 Common Impression Management Strategies
• Personal competence and high performance
• Meeting commitments or solving a crisis
• Sending positive nonverbal cues
• Appropriate and/or edited self-disclosure
• Self-promotion based on results, along with
name dropping
• Ingratiation activities
• Exaggerating skills and achievements
• Attributing one’s problems to others
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