Conflict in the Organization Chapter 9 (pp. 157-171

1
Conflict in the Organization

• Chapter 9
• (pp. 157-171)

2
Overview

• Communication Conflict
• Defining Conflict
• Origins
• Consequences
• Factors Influencing Conflict
• Conflict Styles
• Disputes and Negotiation
• Conflict Management Resolution Skills

3
Communication Conflict

• Mild tensions vs. Incapacitation
• Understanding conflict is critical to
  communication success
• Communication constitutes the essence of conflict
  in that it undergirds the formation of opposing
  issues, frames perceptions of the felt conflict,
  translates emotions and perceptions into conflict
  behaviors, and sets the stage for future
  conflicts (Putnam Poole, 1987)

4
Conflict Defined

• Two or more interdependent parties who perceive
  incompatible goals, scarce resources, and
  interference from others in achieving that goal
  (Hocker Wilmot, 1995)
• Competition between interdependent parties who
  perceive that they have incompatible needs,
  goals, desires, or ideas (Van Slyke, 1999)
• The interaction of interdependent people who
  perceive opposition of goals, aims, and values,
  and who see the other party as potentially
  interfering with the realization of these goals
  (Putnam Poole, 1987)

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Conflict Defined

• Interdependence
• Perceived Incompatible Goals
• Scarce Resources
• Interference
• Social Interaction
• Central to Conflict
• How conflict is identified and framed

6
Origins of Conflict

• Four Events that precipitate interpersonal
  conflict
• REBUFFS
• Failure to respond to appeal for desired action
• ILLEGITIMATE DEMANDS
• Unjust or extreme request
• CRITICISMS
• Unfavorable or demeaning verbal or nonverbal act
• CUMULATIVE ANNOYANCES
• Repetition of instances that crosses tolerance
  threshold
• Five Factors that favor the development of
  conflict
• Frequency of Occurrence
• Goal Mutuality
• Goal-Path Uncertainty
• Attribution of Cause
• Negative Feelings

7
Consequences of Conflict

• Negative Consequences
• Less Effective
• Suboptimal Productivity
• Inhibited Cognitive Functioning
• Positive Consequences
• Identify and Better Understand Issues
• Clarify Issues
• Creative Solutions

8
Factors Influencing Conflict

• Content Related vs. Personal
• Size of Conflict
• Rigidity of the Issue
• Power Differences
• Individual Personalities, Traits, and
  Dispositions

9
Conflict Styles

• Strategy Effectiveness
• Adapt to the Situation
• Be Fair and Objective
• Appropriate and Effective Communication
• Mutual Awareness
• Open-minded Attitudes
• Willingness to Ignore Power Issues
• Problem-Solving Procedures

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Characterizing Conflict Styles

• 5 Basic Conflict Styles
• Withdrawing (Avoiding)
• Smoothing (Accomodating)
• Forcing (Dominating Competing)
• Confronting (Collaborating, Problem Solving,
  Integrating)
• Compromising
• Ethical Climate Determines Effectiveness of
  Conflict Style
• Formal Procedures / Rules
• McKinney, Kelly, and Duran (1997)
• CMMS scale Ross DeWine (1988)
• Concern for other, self, and issue
• Nicotera (1994)

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Conflict Styles Research

• McKinney, Kelly, and Duran (1997)
• Concern for other and issue positively related to
  social confirmation
• Concern for other and issue positively related
  with social experience
• Concern for self negatively related to social
  composure
• Nicotera (1994)
• AVOID - evasive vs. estranged
• ACCOMMODATE - accommodate vs. patronize
• COMPETE - assertive vs. aggressive
• COLLOBORATE - consolidate vs. begrudge
• COMPROMISE - ?
• Flexibility is influenced by liking, loyalty, and
  personality factors (aggressiveness, tolerance,
  and innovativeness)

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Conflict Styles Research

• Superiors Conflict Styles and Rewards for
  Subordinates
• System Rewards (salary, benefits, promotions)
• Performance Rewards (responsibility, decision
  making input, meaningful/challenging work)
• Interpersonal Rewards (recognition, friendship,
  status, appreciation, feeling of belonging)
• Results
• Collaboration and Forcing styles predict
  Interpersonal and Performance Rewards
• No relationships identified . . .
• between accommodation and perceived rewards
• between manager conflict styles and system rewards

13
Conflict Styles Research

• Diversity and Gender
• Workplace diversity and orientations toward
  conflict can heighten the frequency and intensity
  of conflict situations
• Lack of understanding of cultural differences can
  result in conflict
• Personality has a greater impact on conflict
  style than biological sex

14
Disputes and Negotiation

• Bargaining as Compromise
• Participants negotiate mutually shared rules and
  then cooperate within these rules to gain a
  competitive advantage over opponent
• Bargaining and Negotiation are interchangeable
• Organizational Responses (Disputing Process
  Instrument (DPI) Morrill Thomas, 1992)
• Aggressiveness - expense of others
• Authoritativeness - resources of social position
• Observability visible to social audience
• Seven Conflict Behaviors (DPI)

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The Negotiation Process

• The goal of negotiation is no longer exclusively
  getting an effective settlement
• Redefinition of the problem
• Perceptual change in the elements of the problem
• New appreciation of the socio/historical context
  of the dispute
• Communication-as-Negotiation
• Transformational power that transcends notions of
  technical and instrumental rationality
• Participants define the conflict and its
  environment
• Rationality and Effectiveness (and
  Appropriateness) help define many aspects of
  organizational life

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Conflict Management Resolution Skills

• First, understand the factors contributing to
  conflict
• Next, we identify the methods for resolving
  conflict
• Two Forms of Conflict Resolution
• Distributive Conflict Resolution
• Winning through the use of negative behaviors
• Disagreement to prevent others from reaching
  their goals
• Serves personal needs and goals at the expense of
  others
• Conflict as WIN - lose
• Integrative Conflict Resolution
• Foster cooperation and shared solutions
• Modifying ideas, bargaining for an acceptable
  compromise
• Search for solutions and provide support for
  others
• Cooperative and not mutually exclusive
• Objective is to share values, highlight common
  objectives, and help achieve consensus
• Transition from distributive to integrative
  conflict resolution occurs when the need to
  accomplish a common goal is recognized.

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Conflict Management Resolution Skills

• Once individuals realize that it will be
  impossible to achieve the desired goal without
  resources and abilities beyond their own, the
  transition can take place.
• INTEGRATIVE CONFLICT RESOLUTION SKILL SET
• Ability to establish effective working
  relationships
• Must have cooperative and problem-solution
  attitudes
• Must be able to manage the group process and
  group decision making be knowledgeable about the
  issues
• Interpersonal Relationships are at the core of
  our ability to resolve conflict
• Effective development of interpersonal
  relationships among co-workers can potentially
  decrease the severity of grievances filed
• Metaphors to describe attitudes toward conflict
• CONFLICT as WAR (great personal cost)
• CONFLICT as IMPOTENCE (powerless to impact)
• CONFLICT as RATIONAL PROCESS (collaboration)
• Most frequent - conflict as impotence

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Conflict Management Resolution Skills

• Having skills and knowledge of different
  approaches to conflict may help one overcome a
  sense of helplessness in conflict settings
• Resolving conflicts depends on the perceptions of
  the negotiation
• Misinformation can lead to negative perceptions
• Organizational conflict can be one of the most
  frustrating and difficult aspects of working in
  an organization
• Especially frustrating when people feel they have
  no control over the outcome
• Be sensitive to your own style of interacting and
  managing conflict and pay attention to the styles
  of others
• Conflict is expected and anticipated in the
  communicative organization (CO)
• The only UNKNOWN is how parties respond to
  conflict

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Strategies for Dealing with Conflict

• Be Objective
• Analyze and separate content and personal issues
• Planning stage for strategic communication
• Be Aware of Preferred Style of Conflict
  Resolution
• Plan, Recognize, Contain, and Cope
• Distinguish Symptoms from Causes
• Symptoms let us know a conflict is present
• Causes of conflict are issues underlying the
  symptoms
• Identify Success of Methods already Implemented
• Ignore problems
• Persuasion
• Compromise
• Be Sensitive to Different Approaches and Views of
  Conflict based on Gender and Cultural Diversity

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Summary

• Communication Conflict
• Defining Conflict
• Origins
• Consequences
• Factors Influencing Conflict
• Conflict Styles
• Disputes and Negotiation
• Conflict Management Resolution Skills