Lecture 9 Conflict and Negotiation

S Chan Department of Business Administration

Definition of Conflict



A process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares about

– That point in an ongoing activity when an interaction “crosses over” to become an interparty conflict 

Encompasses a wide range of conflicts that people experience in organizations

– – – Incompatibility of goals Differences over interpretations of facts Disagreements based on behavioral expectations

Transitions in Conflict Thought



Traditional View of Conflict

– The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be avoided – Prevalent view in the 1930s-1940s 

Conflict resulted from:

– Poor communication – Lack of openness and trust between people – Failure to respond to employee needs

Continued Transitions in Conflict Thought



Human Relations View of Conflict

– The belief that conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group – Human relations school advocated acceptance of conflict, which may sometimes benefit a group’s performance – Prevalent from the late 1940s through mid-1970s 

Interactionist View of Conflict

– The belief that conflict is not only a positive force in a group but that it is absolutely necessary for a group to perform effectively – Current view

Forms of Interactionist Conflict

Functional conflicts:

- Conflicts which are constructively support the goals of the group and improve its performance

Dysfunctional conflicts:

-Conflicts that destructively hinder group performance or involve personal attack.

Types of Interactionist Conflict



Task Conflict

– – Conflicts over content and goals of the work Low-to-moderate levels of this type are

FUNCTIONAL



Relationship Conflict

– Conflict based on interpersonal relationships – Almost always

DYSFUNCTIONAL



Process Conflict

– Conflict over how work gets done – Low levels of this type are

FUNCTIONAL

The Conflict Process



We will focus on each step in a moment… © 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

E X H I B I T 15-1

Stage I: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility



Communication

– Semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, and “noise” 

Structure

– Size and specialization of jobs – – – Jurisdictional clarity/ambiguity Member/goal incompatibility Leadership styles (close or participative) – – 

Personal Variables

– Reward systems (win-lose) Dependence/interdependence of groups Differing individual value systems – Personality types

Stage II: Cognition and Personalization



Important stage for two reasons:

1. Conflict is defined •

Perceived Conflict

– Awareness by one or more parties of the existence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise 2. Emotions are expressed that have a strong impact on the • eventual outcome

Felt Conflict

– Emotional involvement in a conflict creating anxiety, tenseness, frustration, or hostility

Stage III: Intentions



Intentions

– Decisions to act in a given way – Note: behavior does not always accurate reflect intent 

Dimensions of conflict-handling intentions:

– Cooperativeness • Attempting to satisfy the other party’s – concerns Assertiveness • Attempting to satisfy one’s own concerns

Source:

K. Thomas, “Conflict and Negotiation Processes in Organizations,” in M.D. Dunnette and L.M. Hough (eds.),

Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology

, 2nd ed., vol. 3 (Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1992), p. 668. With permission.

E X H I B I T 15-2

Stage III: Intentions

Dimensions of conflict-handling intentions:

– Competing • One seeks to satisfy his/her own interests, regardless of the impact on other parties, one wins and the other losses. – Collaborating • Search for cooperation and a mutually beneficial outcome—Win Win solution. Party solve problems by clarifying differences rather than by accommodating various points of view. – Avoiding • One to withdraw or suppress the conflicts. E.g. trying to ignore a conflict and avoid others with whom you disagree. – Accommodating • One attempts to place the other conflicting party’s interest above his/her own in order to maintain relationship. More self sacrificing – Compromising • Each party to a conflict seeks to give up something to results a compromised outcome. No clear winner or loser.

 –

Stage IV: Behavior

Conflict Management

The use of resolution and stimulation techniques to achieve the desired level of conflict 

Conflict- Resolution Techniques: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Problem solving

: Face to face meeting of the conflicting parties to identifying the problems and resolving it through open discussions.

Super-ordinate goals

: Creating a shared goal that cannot be attained without the cooperation of each of the conflicting parties

Expansion of Resources:

If conflict is caused by scarcity of resources,I.e. money, promotion and opportunities– expansion of resources can create win win solution.

Avoidance:

Withdrawal from or suppression of the conflict.

15-11



Stage IV: Behavior

Conflict- Resolution Techniques (con’t): 5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Smoothing:

Playing down differences while emphasizing common interests between the conflicting parties

Compromise

: Each party to the conflicts gives up something of values.

Authoritative command

: Management uses its formal authority to resolve the conflict then communicates its desires to the parties involved.

Altering the human variable

: Using behavioral change techniques such as human relation training to alter attitudes and behaviors that cause conflict.

Altering the structural variables:

Changing the formal organization structure and the interaction patterns of conflicting parties through job redesign, transfer, creation of coordinating position..

Source:

Based on S. P. Robbins,

Managing Organizational Conflict: A Nontraditional Approach

(Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974), pp. 59 –89

Stage V: Outcomes



Functional

– Increased group performance – Improved quality of decisions – Stimulation of creativity and innovation – Encouragement of interest and curiosity – Provision of a medium for problem-solving – Creation of an environment for self-evaluation and change 

Dysfunctional

– – Development of discontent Reduced group effectiveness – – Retarded communication Reduced group cohesiveness – Infighting among group members overcomes group goals 

Creating Functional Conflict

– Reward dissent and punish conflict avoiders

Negotiation



Negotiation (Bargaining)

– A process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for them 

Two general bargaining strategies:

– Distributive Bargaining • Negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount of resources; a win-lose situation (labour-management negotiations over wages) – Integrative Bargaining • Negotiation that seeks one or more settlements that can create a win-win solution

Distributive versus Integrative Bargaining

Bargaining Characteristic

Goal Motivation Focus Information Sharing Duration of Relationships

Distributive Bargaining

Get all the pie you can Win-Lose Positions Low Short-Term

Source:

Based on R. J. Lewicki and J. A. Litterer,

Negotiation

(Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1985), p. 280.

Integrative

Yours Mine

Distributive Integrative Bargaining

Expand the pie Win-Win Interests High Long-Term Yours Mine

Bargaining Tactics and the Bargaining Zone



Distributive Tactics

– Make an aggressive first offer – Reveal a deadline 

Integrative Tactics

– – – Bargain in teams Put more issues on the table Don’t compromise

© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

E X H I B I T 15-6 15-16

The Negotiation Process



BATNA

– The

B

est

A

lternative

T

o a

N

egotiated

A

greement – The lowest acceptable value (outcome) to an individual for a negotiated agreement 

The “Bottom Line” for negotiations

E X H I B I T 15-7

Individual Differences in Negotiation Effectiveness



Personality Traits

– Extroverts and agreeable people weaker at distributive negotiation – disagreeable introvert is best – Intelligence is a weak indicator of effectiveness 

Mood and Emotion

– Ability to show anger helps in distributive bargaining – Positive moods and emotions help integrative bargaining 

Gender

– Men and women negotiate the same way, but may experience different outcomes – Women and men take on gender stereotypes in negotiations: tender and tough – Women are less likely to negotiate

Global Implications



Conflict and Culture

– – Japanese and U.S. managers view conflict differently U.S. managers more likely to use competing tactics while Japanese managers are likely to use compromise and avoidance 

Cultural Differences in Negotiations

– Multiple cross-cultural studies on negotiation styles, for instance: • American negotiators are more likely than Japanese bargainers to make a first offer • North Americans use facts to persuade, Arabs use emotion, and Russians used asserted ideals • Brazilians say “no” more often than Americans or Japanese