Transcript Chapter 3 Personality, Perception, and Attribution Authors???

Chapter 13
Conflict at Work
Nelson & Quick
Nature of Organizational Conflict
Conflict - any situation in which incompatible goals,
attitudes, emotions, or behaviors lead to
disagreement or opposition between two or more
parties
Functional conflict - a healthy, constructive
disagreement between two or more people
Dysfunctional conflict - an unhealthy, destructive
disagreement between two or more people
Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Emotional intelligence - the ability to manage
conflict. It is the power to
–
–
–
–
control one’s emotions
perceive emotions in others
adapt to change
manage adversity
Consequences of Conflict
Positive
Consequences
Leads to new ideas
Negative
Consequences
Diverts energy from work
Stimulates creativity
Threatens psychological
well-being
Wastes resources
Motivates change
Promotes organizational
vitality
Helps individuals & groups
establish identities
Serves as a safety valve to
indicate problems
Creates a negative climate
Breaks down group
cohesion
Can increase hostility &
aggressive behaviors
Causes of Conflict
in Organizations
Structural Factors
• Specialization
• Interdependence
• Common resources
• Goal differences
• Authority relationships
• Status inconsistencies
• Jurisdictional ambiguities
Personal Factors
• Skills & abilities
• Personalities
• Perceptions
• Values & ethics
• Emotions
• Communication barriers
• Cultural differences
Globalization & Conflict
Cultural differences & individual differences
increase the potential for conflict
Long-term/
Short-term
orientation
Forms of Conflict
in Organizations
• Interorganizational conflict - conflict that
occurs between two or more organizations
• Intergroup conflict - conflict that occurs
between groups or teams in an organization
• Interpersonal conflict - conflict that occurs
between two or more individuals
Forms of Conflict
in Organizations
Intrapersonal conflict - conflict that occurs within an
individual
Interrole conflict - a person’s experience of conflict
among the multiple roles in his/her life
Intrarole conflict - conflict that occurs within a single
role, such as when a person receives conflicting
messages from role senders about how to perform a
certain role
Person-role conflict - conflict that occurs when an
individual is expected to perform behaviors in a
certain role that conflict with his/her personal values
An Organizational Member’s
Role Set
Outside the organization
Inside the organization
Super
visor
Client
Focal
Role
Supplier
Potential
employee
Employee
1
Employee Employee
2
3
Boundary of
the organization
J. C. Quick and J. D. Quick, Organizational Stress and Preventive Management, 1997.
Reprinted by permission.
Superior
Superior
role
senders
Colleague
Peer
role
senders
Employee’s
colleagues
Employee
role
senders
Power Relationships in
Organizations
Types of power
relationships
Equal vs. equal
Behavioral
tendencies &
problems
Suboptimization
High vs. low
Control vs.
autonomy
High vs. middle vs. low
Role conflict, role
ambiguity, stress
Examples of
Interventions
 Integrate units
 Teach
negotiating skills
 Bureaucratize
power through
rules
 Use a different
leadership style
 Improve
communication
 Clarify tasks
 Teach power
strategies
From W. F. G. Mastenbroek, Conflict Management and Organizational Development, 1987.
Copyright John Wiley & Sons Limited. Reproduced with permission.
That won’t work!
Defense Mechanisms
Aggressive Mechanisms
Fixation - an aggressive mechanism in which an
individual keeps up a dysfunctional behavior that
obviously will not solve the conflict
Displacement - An aggressive mechanism in which an
individual directs his/her anger toward someone who
is not the source of the conflict
Negativism - an aggressive mechanism in which a
person responds with pessimism to any attempt at
solving a problem.
Defense Mechanisms
Compromise Mechanisms
Compensation - a compromise mechanism in which an
individual attempts to make up for a negative
situation by devoting himself/herself to another
pursuit with increased vigor
Identification - a compromise mechanism whereby an
individual patterns his or her behavior after another’s
Rationalization - a compromise mechanism
characterized by trying to justify one’s behavior by
constructing bogus reasons for it
Defense Mechanisms
Withdrawal Mechanisms
Flight/withdrawal - a withdrawal mechanism that entails
physically escaping a conflict (flight) or
psychologically escaping (withdrawal)
Conversion - a withdrawal mechanism in which
emotional conflicts are expressed in physical
symptoms
Fantasy - a withdrawal mechanism that provides an
escape from a conflict through daydreaming
Coping with Difficult Behavior
Hostile/
Aggressive
• Stand up for
yourself
• Allow run-down
time
• Avoid direct
confrontation
Indecisive
stallers
• Raise the issue of
the hesitancy
• If you are the
problem, ask for
help
• Keep action steps in
own hands
Superagreeables
• Value them as
people
• Compromise &
negotiate
• Discern their
humor’s hidden
meaning
Coping with Difficult Behavior
Complainers
• Listen
attentively
• Acknowledge
feelings
• Use problemsolving
Clams
• Ask open-ended
questions
• Wait patiently for a
response
• Ask more openended questions
Negativists
• Discuss
problems; don’t
offer solutions
• Be ready to take
action alone
• Stay out of their
despair
Coping with Difficult Behavior
Know-It-Alls
Bulldozers
• Prepare
yourself
• Listen &
paraphrase
main points
• Question
Balloons
Information on slides 14-16 adapted from Table 13.3.
From Coping with Difficult People by Robert Bramson.
Copyright© 1981 by Robert Bramson. Used by permission
of Doubleday, a division of Random House and Carol
Mann Literary Agency on behalf of author.
• State facts as
your own
perception
• Help them save
face
• Confront when
they are alone
Managing Intrapersonal Conflict
Person-role conflicts
Find out as much
as you can about
the company’s
values
Intrarole or interrole conflicts
Ask role
senders what
they expect
of you
Win-Lose versus Win-Win
Strategies
Strategy
Competitive
Cooperative
Dept. A Dept. B Organization
Lose
Lose
Win
Win-
Lose
Win
Lose
Win-
Lose
Lose
Lose
Win
Ineffective Techniques for
Dealing with Conflict
Nonaction - doing nothing in hopes that a conflict will
disappear
Secrecy - attempting to hide a conflict or an issue that
has the potential to create conflict
Administrative orbiting - delaying action on a conflict by
buying time
Due process nonaction - a procedure set up to address
conflicts that is so costly, time-consuming, or
personally risky that no one will use it
Character assassination - an attempt to label or
discredit an opponent
Effective Techniques for
Dealing with Conflict
Subordinate Goals
Confronting
&
Negotiating
Changing
Structure
X
Conflict
Expanding
Resources
Changing
Personnel
Conflict Management Styles
Avoiding - deliberate decision to take no action on a
conflict or to stay out of a conflict
Accommodating - concern that the other party’s goals
be met but relatively unconcerned with getting own
way
Competing - satisfying own interests; willing to do so at
other party’s expense
Compromising - each party gives up something to reach
a solution
Collaborating - arriving at a solution agreeable to all
through open & thorough discussion
Conflict Management Styles
Assertive Competing
Assertiveness
(Desire to satisfy one’s
own concerns)
Collaborating
Compromising
Accommodating
Unassertive Avoiding
K. W. Thomas, “Conflict and Conflict
Management,” in M. D. Dunnette,
Handbook of Industrial and
Uncooperative
Cooperative
Organizational Psychology, 900,
Cooperativeness
(Chicago, IL; Rand McNally, 1976).
(Desire to satisfy another’s concerns)
Negotiation
Negotiation - a joint process of finding a
mutually acceptable solution to a complex
conflict
Useful under these conditions
–
–
–
–
Two or more parties
Conflict of interest between the parties
Parties are willing to negotiate
Parties prefer to work together rather than to fight
openly, give in, break off contact, or take the
dispute to a higher authority
2 Negotiating Approaches
Integrative Negotiation focuses on the merits
of the issues & seeks
a win-win solution
Distributive Bargaining the goals of the parties
are in conflict,
& each party seeks
to maximize its resources
3 Organization Views of Conflict
Competitive
conflict
Avoidance of
conflict
Positive
conflict
Belittle
differences
Evade
differences
Value
diversity
Suspect
Seek
win-lose
situation
Blame
Despair
Reduce
risks
Take
Stock
Withdraw
D. Tjosvold, The Conflict-Positive Organization. 1991 (pages 41/42). Copyright© 1991 by AddisonWesley Publishing Company Inc. Reprinted by permission of Addison Wesley Longman.
Seek
mutual
benefit
Empower