Conflict Management

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Conflict Management
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Agenda

• Objectives
• Conflict - definition, sources, indicators
• Conflict management styles
• Why manage conflict?
• Constructive Vs Destructive conflict
• Outcome of Conflict
• How to resolve Conflict constructively

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Objectives

• To identify how conflicts arise
• To recognize our preferred conflict management
  style
• To become familiar with techniques that can
  ensure optimal outcomes
• To develop strategies for dealing with conflict
  more effectively

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What is conflict?

• A disagreement between people that may be the
  result of different
• Ideas
• Perspectives
• Priorities
• Preferences
• Beliefs
• Values
• Goals
• Organizational structures

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Sources of conflict

• Instrumental conflicts
• concern goals, means, procedures and structures.
• Conflicts of interest
• concern the distribution of means such as money,
  time, staff, and space
• concern factors that are important for the
  distribution of these means, such as importance,
  ownership, competence and expertise.
• Personal conflicts
• questions of identity and self-image, and
  important aspects in relationships
• Relational conflicts
• center on loyalty, breach of confidence, lack of
  respect, or betrayal of
  friendship

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Conflict indicators

• Body language
• Lack of clear goals
• Disagreements, regardless of issue
• Withholding bad news
• Strong public statements
• Desire for power
• Increasing lack of respect
• No discussion of progress

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Task 1

• Recollect two recent conflict scenarios and make
  a note of
• what caused the conflict?
• what frustrated you?
• You can either use the scenarios shown in next
  slides
• Note Tell us what you would do rather than what
  is ideal for the situation

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• Scenario 1
• Students from one department
• feel that their department is great and all other
  departments are of no use
• degrade and dominate the students from other
  departments
• This culture passes on to all the batches that
  are coming in
• Scenario 2
• During a discussion, you made one statement and
  another person responded with an explanation
  which proves you wrong

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• Scenario 3
• You believe very much in classroom learning and
  always try to do your best in the class. So, you
  would want to see full attendance to your class
  at all times. There is one student who has a
  promising career in Tennis, but misses your class
  frequently because she needs to go for practice
• Scenario 4
• Students complain that the test or grading
  practices are unfair

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• Scenario 5
• Student comes to class, sits in the back of the
  class near the door, rarely speaks to classmates,
  does not participate in class
• Scenario 6
• Students talking in class or reading some thing
  else or chatting using cell phones or students
  coming in late
• Scenario 7
• Students compromising on the lab sessions and not
  considering them important compared to
  the external theory examinations

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Conflict Management Styles
Desire to satisfy own concerns
Desire to satisfy others concerns
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Compete

• Power, position or strength settles conflict
• Appropriate to use when
• quick, decisive action is vital
• issues vital to welfare
• protect yourself against people who take
  advantage of non-competitive behaviour
• Inappropriate to use when
• Losers are powerless to express themselves

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Avoid

• People just avoid a conflict by denying its
  existence
• Appropriate to use when
• trivial issues, or when other important issues
  are pressing
• potential damage of confronting a conflict
  outweighs benefits of resolution
• others can resolve conflict more effectively
• Inappropriate to use when
• Conflict is important and will not disappear

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Compromise

• Each party gives up something in order to
  meet midway
• Appropriate to use when
• moderately important goals
• two opponents with equal power
• expedient solutions needed under time pressure
• collaboration or competition fails
• Inappropriate to use when
• Solution becomes so watered down that
  commitment by both parties is doubtful

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Accommodate

• Differences are played down and surface
  harmony is maintained
• Appropriate to use when
• you realize that you are wrong
• issue is more important to other person than to
  yourself
• build up social credits for later issues
• continued competition would only damage your
  cause
• Inappropriate to use when
• If smoothing over leads to evading the issue
  when others are ready to deal with it

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Collaborate

• Mutual respect and agreement to work
  together
• Appropriate to use when
• both sets of concerns are too important to
  compromise
• insights from people with different perspectives
  need to be merged
• hard feelings interfering with interpersonal
  relationship
• Inappropriate to use when
• Time, commitment and ability are not present

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Task 2

• Focus on the scenarios
• What was your behavior?
• Avoidance
• Accommodation
• Compromise
• Compete
• Collaborate
• What communication skills did you use?

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Communication Freezers

• Telling the other person what to do
• Threatening with or else
• Making suggestions without being asked
• Attempting to educate the other person
• Judging the other person negatively
• Giving insincere praise
• Making intermittent conclusions

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Going beyond freezing behaviors

• Begin with communication
• Separate the person from the problem
• Use I statements
• Focus on actions, not intent
• Practice active listening skills
• Ask open and closed questions to clarify points
• Be descriptive and specific (bring data)
• Negotiate partial solutions or compromise

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Task 3

• Focus on the scenarios
• What happened as a result of your behavior?
• Constructive
• Destructive
• No result at all

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Constructive Vs Destructive conflict

• Constructive Conflict
• Clarification and resolution of important issues
• Solutions to problems
• Helps release emotion, anxiety, and stress
• Builds cooperation among people through learning
  more about each other
• Helps individuals develop understanding skills

• Destructive Conflict
• Takes attention away from other important
  activities
• Undermines morale or self-concept
• Polarizes people reducing cooperation
• Increases difference
• Leads to irresponsible and harmful behavior

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Outcome of conflict
WIN / LOSE
WIN / WIN
NO ONE WINS
Desire to satisfy own concerns
LOSE / WIN
LOSE / LOSE
Desire to satisfy others concerns
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Task 4

• Focus on the scenarios
• Map the outcome of your conflict
• Win / Lose
• Lose / Lose
• No one wins
• Lose / Win
• Win / Win

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ConflictConstructive Resolution
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Steps to follow
Adopt right frame of mind
Consider time factors
Set some ground rules
Discuss
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Approach

• Right attitude
• Positive non-verbal signals
• Focus on real issues
• Attention to communication style

Adopt right frame of mind
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Attitude
Adopt right frame of mind

• Leave Behind
• desire to win, punish, or control
• desire that everything be fair
• assumption that it wont work
• tendency to think in black and white, right or
  wrong
• determination to be right

• Take With You
• willingness to
• work towards resolution
• learn from the situation
• acknowledge your own contribution to the problem
• understanding that perception is reality both for
  you and those around you.

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Be aware of nonverbal signals
Adopt right frame of mind
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Focus on underlying issues

• What happened?
• Difference in expectations
• Intention inventory
• Feelings
• Dont ignore to acknowledge
• Feelings make relationships enjoyable, difficult
  conversations difficult
• Identity
• Am I competent / good person /
  worthy of love?

Adopt right frame of mind
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Consider time factors

• Be timely - talk while issues are current
• Consider other persons time needs

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Set some ground rules

• No interruptions, no yelling, no deviation from
  topic
• Time limit on certain topics of discussion
• Words to avoid
• Agreement on what to do if you cant agree ahead
  of time

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Discussion

• Define the conflict
• Communicate understanding
• Explore alternative solutions
• Agree on most workable solution
• Evaluate after time

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Task 5

• Focus on the scenarios
• Work out what you did that was effective
• What could you have improved?
• What would you do differently?
• Role play a new ending

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Thank You