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COMMERCE 2BA3 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Class 9 Conflict and Stress Dr. Christa Wilkin

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Brain Teasers

Right = Right Job I'm Job MAN BOARD R | E | A | D | I | N | G

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Last Class

   People do not always make rational decisions Different types of power can lead to higher commitment Some people may behave for political gains and may behave unethically

THIS CLASS

 Conflict and stress

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Agenda

 Types of conflict  Managing conflict  Causes of stress  Outcomes of stress  How our personality affects stress levels  Coping with stress

CH 13: CONFLICT AND STRESS

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What is Conflict?

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 Interpersonal conflict is a process that occurs when one person, group, or organizational subunit frustrates the goal attainment of another.

Types of Conflict

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 Relationship conflict (the who)  Interpersonal tensions among individuals that have to do with their relationship per se, not the task at hand  E.g., personality clashes  Task conflict (the what)  Disagreements about the nature of work to be done  E.g., this is the answer  Process conflict (the how)  Disagreements about how work should be organized and accomplished  E.g., I want to do this part

Question

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 Should we avoid conflict at all costs?

Approaches to Managing Conflict

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 There are five styles for dealing with conflict.

 None of the five styles is inherently superior.

 Each style might have its place given the situation in which the conflict episode occurs.

Avoiding

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 A conflict management style characterized by low assertiveness of one’s own interests and low cooperation with the other party.

 It might be a sensible response when:  The issue is trivial.

 Information is lacking.

 People need to cool down.

 The opponent is very powerful and hostile.

Accommodating

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 A conflict management style in which one cooperates with the other party, while not asserting one’s own interests.

 It can be an effective strategy when:  You are wrong.

 The issue is more important to the other party.

 You want to build good will.

Competing

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 A conflict management style that maximizes assertiveness and minimizes cooperation.

 It can be effective when:  You have a lot of power.

 You are sure of your facts.

 The situation is truly win-lose.

 You will not have to interact with the other party in the future.

Compromise

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 A conflict management style that combines intermediate levels of assertiveness and cooperation.

 It is a sensible reaction to conflict stemming from scarce resources and it is a good fall-back position if other strategies fail.

Collaborating

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 A conflict management style that maximizes both assertiveness and cooperation.  It is an attempt to secure an integrative agreement that fully satisfies the interests of both parties (a win-win resolution).

 It works best when the conflict is not intense and when each party has information that is useful to the other.

How to Manage Conflict

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 Too much is bad, too little is also bad, some is ok  Emphasize common goals  e.g., project, organization  Reduce differentiation  The more team members think they have common experiences or backgrounds, more motivated to resolve conflict  Create common experiences (e.g., socialize)

How to Manage Conflict

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 Improve communication and understanding  Caveat: People from different cultures may vary in their preference of direct communication  Clarify rules and procedures (ambiguous)  Show ultimate frisbee video

QUESTIONS?

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Individual Exercise

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 How do you cope with stress? Let’s find out.

 For each of the 20 statements, indicate the extent to which each statement describes you. Once you have completed all 20 questions, follow the scoring instructions provided. First, you must add up the numbers you circled for the four questions that make up each of the five scales. Second, you then add the scores from all five scales to give you an overall total score that can range from 20 to 100.

Stress

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 An adaptive response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or threatening

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 Video clip

The Myth of Stress

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What causes stress? (Stressors)

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Stress

Organizational Stressors

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 Work overload  Too much work (paid, overtime, unpaid overtime)  Role conflict  When fulfilling the requirements of one role interferes with the fulfillment of another role requirement  Inter-role: two different roles conflict  Intra-role: conflicting instructions on what to do (one role)  Person-role: expectations conflict with values  Role ambiguity  Uncertainty about job duties, performance expectations, level or source of authority, etc.

Quiz Question

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Derek’s supervisor asks him to work late into the evening on a report that is due next week but he is supposed to pick up the kids from daycare. We can be sure that Derek: A) is experiencing burnout.

B) is experiencing role ambiguity.

C) is a Type A personality.

D) is experiencing intra-role conflict.

E) is experiencing inter-role conflict.

Organizational Stressors

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 Psychological Environment Stressors  Organizational injustice, interpersonal conflict  Psychological contract  Job insecurity  Organizational change  Physical Environment Stressors  Excessive noise  Poor lighting  Safety hazards

Work – Non-work Stressors

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  Time conflict  Time required for non-work activities interferes with work  E.g., family responsibilities (e.g., caring for sick parents), volunteer work etc. Strain conflict  Stress from one domain spills into other  Relationships, finances, new responsibilities, etc.  Attitudes can be transmitted to other people

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Outcomes of Stress?

Stress ?

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Outcomes of Stress

 Psychological reactions  Physiological reactions  High blood pressure, sweatiness, heart palpitations, dizziness, more cortisone, etc.

 Behavioural reactions  Attempts to cope (e.g., shopping, exercise)  Videos of Office Stress

Burnout

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   Emotional exhaustion  Lack of energy, difficulty emoting  Compassion fatigue: no longer able to empathize Cynicism / depersonalization  Indifferent attitude to work  Treating individuals as objects / callousness  Strict adherence to rules and regulations Reduced professional accomplishment  Lower self-efficacy  No longer see value of extra effort

Organizational Outcomes

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Too much stress can lead to:  Job dissatisfaction    Occupational injuries and illnesses Decision-making, cognitive abilities, task performance Absenteeism, turnover

Question

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 Are certain types of people more stressed out than others?

Personality

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 Personality can affect both the extent to which potential stressors are perceived as stressful and the types of stress reactions that occur.

Personality Stress Outcomes Stressors

Locus of Control

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 People’s beliefs about the factors that control their behaviour  Externals are more likely to feel anxious in the face of potential stressors  E.g., The world is against me  Internals are more likely to confront stressors directly  E.g., I can get through this

Type A Behaviour Pattern

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 A personality pattern that includes aggressiveness, ambitiousness, competitiveness, hostility, impatience, and a sense of time urgency.

 Type A: can’t relax, constantly busy, impatient  Type B: easy-going, patient, relaxed  Question: Which personality type are you? Are you one or the other?

Negative and Positive Affectivity

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 Negative: The propensity to view the world, including oneself and other people, in a – light  E.g., pessimistic, moody  Positive: View world in a + light  E.g., happy go lucky, always smiling, optimistic  People high in NA report more stressors in the work environment and feel more subjective stress

Reducing or Coping with Stress

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 Some of the things that organizations can do to reduce workplace stress and assist employees in coping with stress include:  Job redesign  Social support  Family-friendly human resource policies  Stress management programs  Work-life balance programs

Job Redesign

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 Organizations can redesign jobs to reduce their stressful characteristics.

 Most formal job redesign efforts involve enriching operative-level jobs to make them more stimulating and challenging.

 There is growing evidence that providing more autonomy in how service is delivered can alleviate stress and burnout.

Social Support

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 Social support refers to having close ties with other people.

 A social network acts as a buffer against stress.

 The buffering aspects of social support are most potent when they are directly connected to the source of stress.

 Coworkers and superiors are the best sources of support for dealing with work-related stress.

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“Family Friendly” Human Resource Policies

 “Family friendly” human resource policies include some combination of formalized social support, material support, and increased flexibility to adapt to employee needs.

 A common form of material support is corporate daycare centres.

 Flexibility is also important and includes flex-time, telecommuting, job sharing, and family leave policies.

Stress Management Programs

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 Programs designed to help employees “manage” work-related stress.

 Stress management programs involve techniques such as meditation, training in time management, and biofeedback training.

 They can be useful in reducing physiological arousal, sleep disturbances, and self-reported tension and anxiety.

Work-Life Balance Programs

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 Work-life balance programs encourage employees to participate in activities to improve their mental and physical health.

 Work-life balance programs include fitness facilities and memberships, employee assistance programs, and health food programs.

 Work-life programs are believed to lower health care costs due in part to stress reduction.

Wellness Programs Research

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 My study on wellness programs  Findings suggest that after one year health promo initiatives decrease return on assets (ROA), while work-life balance initiatives increase ROA. However, both effects become non-significant after three years.

Group Exercise

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 Form groups of 5 to 6 people. Share your results within your group from your stress test. Talk about potential stressors and outcomes of your stress. Talk about effective ways to deal with stress.  Pick a spokesperson to summarize your results  I will randomly call on a few groups to present

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Summary

 There are different styles to managing conflict but no style is inherently superior (contextual)  Stress isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it depends on how we cope with it

For Next Class

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 Read Chapter 14 on organizational structure  Hand in group assignment at the beginning of class