Conflict and Negotiation

Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Chapter 8

Conflict and Negotiation


Chapter Outline

• Conflict Defined• Sources of Conflict• From Potential to Actual Conflict• Conflict Management and Teams• Negotiation• Issues in Negotiation


Conflict and Negotiation

• How do we manage conflict?

• When is conflict functional?

• How do we negotiate?

Questions for ConsiderationQuestions for Consideration


Conflict

• A process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares about.– Functional

• Supports the goals of the group and improves its performance

– Dysfunctional• Hinders group performance


How Structure Can Lead to Conflict

• Stimulating conflict– Size, specialization, and composition of the

group– Too much reliance on participation– Diversity of goals among groups– Ambiguity in precisely defining where

responsibility for actions lies– Reward systems where one member’s gain is

at another’s expense


Exhibit 8-1 How Conflict Builds

• Functional:increased

performance• Dysfunctional:

decreased groupperformance

Behaviour

Outcomes

• Competing• Collaborating• Compromising• Avoiding• Accommodating

Conflict-handling Intentions


Conflict-Handling Intentions

• Two Dimensions– Cooperativeness

• The degree to which one party attempts to satisfy the other party’s concerns

– Assertiveness• The degree to which one party attempts to

satisfy his or her own concerns


Specific Intentions

• Competing• A desire to satisfy one’s interests, regardless of the

impact on the other parties.

• Collaborating• A situation where the parties to a conflict each desire

to satisfy fully the concerns of all parties

• Avoiding• The desire to withdraw from or suppress a conflict.

• Accommodating• The willingness of one party in a conflict to place the

opponent’s interests above his or her own

• Compromising• A situation in which each party to a conflict is willing

to give up something


Exhibit 8-2 Dimensions of Conflict-Handling

Intentions

Cooperativeness

Compromising

Uncooperative

Avoiding

Competing

Cooperative

Accommodating

Collaborating

Ass

erti

ven

ess

Un

ass

erti

veA

sser

tiv

e


Exhibit 8-4Conflict Intensity

ContinuumAnnihilatory

conflict

Noconflict

Overt efforts to destroythe other party

Aggressive physical attacks

Threats and ultimatums

Assertive verbal attacks

Overt questioning orchallenging of others

Minor disagreements ormisunderstandings


Types of Conflict

• Cognitive– Conflict related to differences in perspectives and

judgments• Task-oriented• Results in identifying differences• Usually functional conflict

• Affective– Emotional conflict aimed at a person rather than an

issue• Dysfunctional conflict


Reducing Group Conflict

• Team members reduced conflict using the following tactics:– Worked with more, rather than less, information – Debated on the basis of facts– Developed multiple alternatives to enrich the level of

debate– Shared commonly agreed-upon goals– Injected humour into the decision process– Maintained a balanced power structure– Resolved issues without forcing consensus


Negotiation

• A process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree upon the exchange rate for them– Distributive bargaining

• Negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount of resources; a win-lose situation

– Integrative bargaining• Negotiation that seeks one or more

settlements that can create a win-win solution


Bargaining Distributive IntegrativeCharacteristic Bargaining Bargaining

Available resources

Primary motivations

Primary interests

Focus of relationships

Fixed amount of resources to be divided

I win, you lose

Opposed to each other

Short term

Variable amount of resources to be divided

I win, you win

Convergent or congruent with each other

Long term

Exhibit 8-6 Distributive versus

Integrative Bargaining


How to Negotiate

• Assess personal goals, consider other’s goals, develop strategy

• Identify target and resistance points– Target: what one would like to achieve– Resistance: lowest outcome acceptable

• Identify BATNA– Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement


Issues in Negotiation

• Gender Differences

• Cross-Cultural Differences

• Alcohol and Negotiations

• Third-Party Negotiations


Gender Differences

• Women – More inclined to be concerned with feelings and

perceptions, and take a longer-term view– View the bargaining session as part of an overall

relationship– Tend to want all parties in the negotiation to be

empowered– Use dialogue to achieve understanding

• Men – View the bargaining session as a separate event– Use dialogue to persuade


Alcohol Consumption and Negotiations

– Negotiators who had been drinking• Were more aggressive and more likely to

insult, mislead, and threaten their opponent• Were more likely to make mistakes, saying

such things as "I propose a start date of 12 weeks . . . no, 4 weeks. I'm sorry, I was confused"

• Were more likely to focus on irrelevant information or misunderstand the problem

• Were not aware that alcohol had influenced their performance, when in fact it had


Alcohol Consumption and Negotiations

– Sober negotiators •Were were more likely to look for

win-win solutions•Did not do well when bargaining

against someone who had been drinking, as the drinker tended to be far more aggressive


Third Party Roles in Negotiations

• Conciliator

• Mediator

• Arbitrator


Conciliator

• Trusted third party who provides an informal communication link between the negotiator and the opponent – Informal link– Used extensively in international, labour,

family and community disputes– Fact-find, interpret messages, persuade

disputants to develop agreements


Mediator

• A neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using reasoning, persuasion, and suggestions for alternatives – Labour-management negotiations and civil court

disputes– Settlement rate is about 60%; satisfaction rate is

about 75%– Participants must be motivated to bargain and settle– Best under moderate levels of conflict– Mediator must appear neutral and non-coercive


Arbitrator

• Has authority to dictate an agreement– Voluntary (requested) or compulsory

(imposed by law or contract)– Always results in a settlement– May result in further conflict


Summary and Implications• Conflict can be either constructive or destructive

to the functioning of a group.• An optimal level of conflict:

– Prevents stagnation

– Stimulates creativity

– Releases tension

– And initiates the seeds for change

• Inadequate or excessive levels of conflict can hinder group effectiveness.


Summary and Implications

• Don’t assume there's one conflict-handling intention that is always best.– Use competition when quick, decisive action is vital– Use collaboration to find an integrative solution– Use avoidance when an issue is trivial– Use accommodation when you find you’re wrong– Use compromise when goals are important

• Negotiation is an ongoing activity in groups• Intergroup conflicts can also affect an

organization’s performance.


Point-CounterPoint

• Conflict Is Good for the Organization Conflict is a means by which

to bring about radical change Conflict facilitates group

cohesiveness Conflict improves group and

organizational effectiveness Conflict brings about a

slightly higher, more constructive level of tension

• All Conflicts Are Dysfunctional! The negative consequences

from conflict can be devastating

Effective managers build teamwork not conflict

Competition is good for an organization, but not conflict

Managers who accept and stimulate conflict don’t survive in organizations

Conflict and Negotiation

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