CONFLICT WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

BY: DEAN WINTERS

THE ARTICLE I FOUND

• So the article I’m using for this presentation is The Impact of Information Technology on Conflict Resolution by Michael Kaiser.

• Unlike the previous presentations I’ve made, this one doesn’t focus directly on conflict in IT, but rather how the technologies that IT maintains can influence the conflict process.

• In a quick and concise way, they influence it the same way laxatives work on the digestive system. Fast and usually pretty messy.

• The entire process of conflict can now go on a roller coaster of changes since so many people have access to so much information in an organization.

• This primarily influences the bargaining process of conflict.

THE THEORIES THAT WE’RE LOOKING AT

• It really has to do with anything and everything related to conflict in organizations since information technology just makes it much faster and far more interesting.

• Let’s take a gander at the two main types of bargaining: Distributive and Integrative bargaining.

• Distributive is kind of like a game where both parties are looking to come out with the upper hand through deception and compromise.

• Integrative is basically a big pow-wow of parties that all put what they want on the table and everyone makes their best effort to achieve as many of those goals as possible.

• Both types are equally sped up by IT, but Distributive can get a lot more heated with so much information at everyone’s disposal.

HOW DOES THIS APPLY?

• Well when you have a bunch of people who may or may not get along too well, conflict inevitably arises.

• The access to virtually endless information makes the bargaining process a much faster one with leverages being passed around constantly.

• This doesn’t mean that conflict can’t be handled in the same ways such as separating people from the problem and focusing on interests and not positions.

WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO USE THESE NEW TECHNOLOGIES?

• Have I got the thing for you then!

• Even though all the technology we have today can make it so anyone can reach everyone almost instantly, there’s still one thing that trumps them. The instinct and creativity of the human mind.

• In order for the full potential of the human mind to be used, negotiations and interactions have to take place in person, rather than through a screen.

• The devices will still be used, they’ll more of just be an amplifier.

WHAT NOW?

• It would be pretty interesting to wait a few years and see how organizations handle conflict with all the new technologies that have been implemented into organizations.

• I also wonder if some organizations will move to more traditional approaches to conflict like in the past 100 years in the same way that fashion and style has implemented past fashion trends.

• If computers become part of us, then would social media just become social interaction?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Kaiser, M. (2013, February 19). The Impact of Information Technology on Conflict Resolution. Retrieved March 30, 2016, from http://blog.upstartlifesci.com/the-impact-of-information-technology-on-conflict-resolution/

• Also the wonderful resources provided by Carrie Madison at Eastern Michigan University