Managing Organizational Conflict, Politics, and Negotiation

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Managing Organizational Conflict, Politics, and
Negotiation
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Overview

• Why does conflict arise?
• What are its sources in an organization?
• How can we resolve it?
• What is integrative bargaining and why is it
  better than distributive negotiation?

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Overview

• How can we promote integrative bargaining in
  organizations?
• Why is organizational politics important and how
  can you become good at it?

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Organizational Conflict

• Organizational Conflict
• Conflicting goals, interests or values cause
  different individuals or groups to block each
  others efforts.
• Given the wide range of goals pursued by
  different stakeholders, conflict is inevitable.
• Because it forces exploration of alternative
  strategies, no organization can be successful
  without conflict (diversity)

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Types of Conflict

• gtIndividual
• gtIntragroup
• gtIntergroup
• gtInterorganzational
• Many times during your business career, you will
  play a key role in resolving one or all of these
  types of conflict.

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Sources of Conflict

• Different Goals and Time Horizons
• Different groups have differing goals and
  differing timetables for achieving them
• Overlapping Authority
• Two or more managers claim authority for the same
  activity, leading to conflict between them and
  their teams (two dogs, one fire hydrant)

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Sources of Conflict

• Task Interdependencies
• One member or a group fails to finish a task
  that another member or group depends on, causing
  work to fall behind and recriminations to flow.
• Different Evaluation/Reward System
• Rewarding the achievements of two different
  groups with conflicting goals.

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Sources of Conflict

• Scarce Resources
• Managers can come into conflict over the
  allocation of scarce resources (example budgets
  and people).
• Status Inconsistencies
• Some individuals and groups have a higher
  organizational status than others for example,
  sales versus staff -- leading to envy and
  conflict.

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Conflict Management Strategies

• Functional Conflict Resolution
• Handling conflict by compromise or collaboration
  between parties.
• Compromise each party is concerned about their
  goal accomplishment and is willing to engage in
  give-and-take exchange to reach a reasonable
  solution.
• EQUAL PAIN
• Collaboration parties try to handle the conflict
  without making concessions by coming up with a
  new way to resolve their differences that leaves
  them both better off.
• EQUAL GAIN

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Conflict Management Strategies

• Accommodation one party simply gives in to the
  other party
• Avoidance two parties try to ignore the problem
  and do nothing to resolve the disagreement can
  produce a festering problem not a fruitful
  approach

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Conflict Management Strategies

• Competition each party tries to maximize its
  own gain and has little interest in understanding
  the others position stupid!

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Strategies Focused on Individuals

• Increasing awareness of the sources of conflict
• Increasing diversity respect and skills
• Practicing job rotation (forcing them to walk in
  each others shoes) sales versus staff
• Using permanent transfers or dismissals when
  necessary (move or fire the problem)

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Strategies Focused on the Whole Organization

• Changing an organizations structure or culture
• (make conflict unpopular or unacceptable)

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Negotiation

• Negotiation
• A method of conflict resolution in which two
  parties of equal power try to find an acceptable
  solution by considering various alternatives to
  allocate resources to each other.

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Negotiation

• Third-party negotiator an impartial expert who
  helps parties in conflict reach an acceptable
  solution

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Third-party Negotiators

• Mediator facilitates negotiations but has no
  authority to impose a solution
• Arbitrator facilitates discussion, but can then
  impose a fair solution that both parties are
  obligated to abide by

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Negotiation Strategies for Integrative Bargaining

• Distributive negotiation
• The parties see the conflict as win-or-lose
  because they believe the resource base of the
  conflict is fixed. Zero-sum mentality If you
  win, I lose.
• Usually leads to compromise (equal pain)

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Negotiation Strategies for Integrative Bargaining

• Integrative negotiation
• Parties increase total resources by coming up
  with a creative, new solution.
• Leads to collaboration and win-win.

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Negotiating Tips

• First find the middle ground all share.
• Focus on the problem, not the people.
• Focus on needs, not demands.

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Organizational Politics

• Organizational Politics
• Accumulating power with which to overcome
  opposition and achieve goals
• Political strategies
• How to accumulate power

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The Importance of Organizational Politics

• Politics
• Can be negative when managers act only for their
  own benefit.
• Can be positive when used by managers to advance
  organizational goals, benefiting everyone
• Leaders learn to persuade!

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Political Strategies for Gaining and Maintaining
Power
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Strategies for Exercising Power