Transcript Slide 1

Workplace Conflict
Resolution
Jim Wohl, DVM, MPA
University Ombuds Office
Quad Center, Suite 005
Auburn University, AL
36849-5274
TEL: (334) 844-7170
FAX: (334) 844-7089
[email protected]
www.auburn.edu/ombuds
What Is Conflict?
Competition between
perceived or actual
compatible needs,
goals, desires, ideas, or
resources.
Conflict Styles
Competing
Collaborating
Assertiveness
Compromising
Avoiding
Accommodating
Cooperativeness
- Brinkert, Thomas – Killman Inventory
Which styles when?
• 1. Competing
– Emergencies
– Being right matters
more than relationship
– Trivial matters
Which styles when?
• 2. Avoiding
– Trivial matters
– Insignificant relationship
– Time is short
– Powerless but want to block
Which styles when?
• 3. Collaborating
– Issues and relationship are
both significant
– Cooperation is important
– Addressing all concerns is
possible
– Creative end is important
Which styles when?
• 4. Accommodating
– Don’t care
– Powerless but no desire to
block
– Realized you’re wrong
Which styles when?
• 5. Compromising
– Cooperation important but
time is short
– Finding some solution is
better than stalemate
– Efforts to collaborate would
be misunderstood as forcing
Points To Ponder…
• Choosing a conflict style is situational:
The type of conflict and external
environment provide the context
• But….most people gravitate
(specialize?) toward a particular
conflict style
Goals & Objectives During Conflict
• Content Goals/Issues
– Who wants what?
– Contending over the same
things (e.g. fixed resources)
– Parties want different things?
– Usually, easiest issues to
identify
– Often, the presenting issues
- Willmort & Hocker
Goals & Objectives During Conflict
• Relational Issues
– Who are we to each other?
• Concerning value, purpose, and
expectation of the relationship
– How interdependent are
parties?
– Is there a shared understanding
of the relationship?
- Willmort & Hocker
Goals & Objectives During Conflict
• Identity Issues
– Who am I in this interaction?
– Affect of the conflict on the
individual
– Disrespected, attacked, shamed ?
– Defensiveness, retaliation?
– Has adequate time elapsed to
recover from assault on identity
or self-esteem?
- Willmort & Hocker
Goals & Objectives During Conflict
• Process Issues
– Will a fair process be used in
resolving the conflict?
– Present in all conflicts but may
be latent
– Related to procedural justice in
civil, legal, and workplace
environments
– Fairness, transparency, and
participation may be key
- Willmort & Hocker
CRIP Framework
C
C
R
I
Party A’s goals/issues
I
R
Party B’s goals/issues
Often, conflicts are presented about a
specific topic or issue – a content issue.
However, there are almost always
underlying relational and identity goals
and many times these categories of issues
overlap.
- Willmort & Hocker
Points To Ponder…
• Not all types of goals emerge in all disputes
• Interests overlap, and differ in primacy
• Identity and relational issues are “drivers” (they
underlie content and process issues)
• Parties often specialize in one type of goal
• Goals may emerge in a different form
• Identity issues are often best approached privately
• Relational issues are often best discussed jointly
• Finding common issues (CRIP) among parties can
be effective in reaching agreements
Negotiation: Interests vs
Positions
• Negotiation: Discussions or
problem solving between two or
more parties where some form of
interdependence exists. Thus, both
parties believe they can
accomplish their goals (or defend
their goals or interests) to a higher
degree than working independent
of the other party or parties.
• BATNA: Best Alternative to a Negotiated
Agreement (aka “walk away”, what will
you do if no agreement is made).
Zone of Possible Agreement
(positive bargaining zone)
Seller’s RP
Buyer’s RP
• Position: A claim of what a party must have
statement of what a party claims
• Interests: The reasons that underlie positions. The
“why” behind the position.
• Creating Value, Expanding the Pie: including
elements of a negotiation which help one or both
sides gain more.
– must be uncovered during the negotiation
– valued differently by each party.
– parties can increase their gains at minimal or
no cost to the other party.
Increasing power or bargaining
strength
• Improve your BATNA (often best done
before entering negotiations)
• Define your Reservation Point (RP) (and
don’t forget it!)
• Define your Target but remember your
BATNA
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Identify your interests
Identify your counterpart’s interests
Know your counterpart’s BATNA
Appeal to objective third party
expertise
From Beyond Reason
by Fisher and Shapiro
• When emotions run high during a workplace conflict or
negotiation consider these five core concerns that
may underlie those emotions:
• Appreciation: Are our thoughts feelings and actions
devalued, or are they acknowledged as having merit?
• Autonomy: Is our freedom to make decisions
impinged upon or is it respected?
• Affiliation: Are we treated as an adversary and kept at
a difference, or are we treated as a colleague?
• Status: Is our standing treated as inferior to others, or is
it given full recognition where deserved?
• Role: Are the many roles we play meaningless, or are
they personally fulfilling?
Ombudsman (OM-buds-man )
• Sweden 1809
• Classic Ombuds model:
– Statutory/investigative role
• Organizational Ombuds: North
America
– Facilitative role, dispute
resolution practitioner
– Academia & Corporate US
– 34% increase in US higher
education since 2004
Organizational Ombuds
• IOA: Standards of Practice
and Code of Ethics
• Guiding Principles
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Informality
Neutrality
Confidentiality
Independence
Opening an Ombuds Office
• Proposed by employee
governance groups
• Imposed / suggested as a result of
prior controversy
• Instituted by executive
• Promoting Activities
– Reaching the four corners
– Organizational versus Classical Model
– Communicating senior leadership
endorsement
An Ombudsperson Does NOT:
• Make decisions, findings of fact, or
determine the “guilt” or “innocence” of
those accused of wrongdoing
• Establish, change, or set aside policies or
administrative decisions
• Offer legal advice
• Offer psychological counseling
• Participate in grievances or other formal
processes
• Serve as an agent of notice for Auburn
University
• Serve as an advocate for any individual
An Ombudsperson Does:
• Actively listens to your
questions and concerns
• Offers information: policies,
procedures, and programs
• Discuss your concerns and
clarify issues
• Help identify and evaluate a
range of options
• Gather information and offer
referral
An Ombudsperson Does:
• Advise steps to resolve a problem
informally
• Facilitate communication indirectly
• When given permission, serve as
an impartial third party
• Collaborative agreements through
negotiation or mediation
• Track perceived issues and trends
• Make recommendations for review
of policies or procedures to
appropriate bodies
Contact Information:
• International Ombudsman Association
(IOA)
– http://www.ombudsassociation.org/
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Jim Wohl, DVM, MPA
University Ombudsperson
Suite 005 Quad Center
Auburn University, AL 36849-5274
334 – 844-7170
www.auburn.edu\ombuds
*[email protected]
A parting task…
• Think of an important conflict you’ve
had at work (or the last good fight you
tried to mediate).
• What conflict style did you (or another)
utilize?
– competing, avoiding, collaborating,
accommodating, compromising?
• Which of the 5 core concerns were
underlying your (or another’s)
emotions?
– appreciation, autonomy, affiliation, status,
role?
Interested? Try one of these…
•
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by
Roger Fisher, William Ury, Bruce Patton. Penguin (NonClassics); 2nd/Rep edition (December 1, 1991) (ISBN-10:
0140157352)
•
Getting Past No by William Ury. Bantam; Revised edition
(January 1, 1993) (ISBN-10: 0553371312 )
•
The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
by Don Miguel Ruiz. Amber-Allen Publishing; 1 edition
(January 15, 2001) (ISBN-10: 1878424505)
•
Breaking Robert's Rules: The New Way to Run Your Meeting,
Build Consensus, and Get Results by Lawrence E. Susskind,
Jeffrey L. Cruikshank. Oxford University Press, USA (July 19,
2006) (ISBN-10: 0195308360)
•
Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as you Negotiate by Roger
Fisher and Daniel Shapiro. Viking Adult (October 6, 2005)
(ISBN-10: 0670034509 )
•
Leading Leaders: How to Manage Smart, Talented, Rich, and
Powerful People by Jeswald W. Salacuse. AMACOM
(November 3, 2005) (ISBN-10: 0814408559)_