Conflict and Negotiation

Sub-topics

1. Conflict2. Conflict – traditional, interactional, focused on

solution3. Process of conflict4. Negotiation5. Integrative / distributive negotiation6. Process of negotiation

1. Conflict

• A process in which a person is negatively affecting a situation which is of interest to another person either in organization and / or social life

- Goals, personal and team / group - Differences in the interpretation of facts (is

the glass half full or half empty!)

2. Conflict – traditional view

• Attitudes towards group / team behaviour in the 1930s and 1940s

• Conflict has to be avoided because it is evidence of organizational dysfunction as a result of:

- Deficient communication - Absence of acceptance and trust - Weakness from the management in

responding to the needs of the employees

2. Conflict – interactional view

• A minimum level of conflict is needed to maintain viability, self-judgment and team creativity

• Functional or dysfunctional conflict: - project … content and objectives - inter-personal relations … between team

members - process … how the team executes the project

3. Conflict – focused on solution

• Conflict is unavoidable, therefore our attention should be on the most productive way of solving problems

• During the process however, people are unable to distinguish their feelings and disagreements to the ones which relate to the work as such and to the ones which relate to their interpersonal relations (the three elements that we refer to in the interactional view)

3. Conflict process – 5 stages

• Possible conflict / unconventionality• Insight to the problem and personification• Intentions• Behaviours• Results

3. Possible conflict / unconventionality

• Communication – noise, words, information … functional up to a certain point

• Structure – size, responsibilities, precision, compatibility of personal / team goals, leadership, rewards … why is the possibility of conflict more when younger people are involved in the team?

• Personal variables – personality, feelings, values … anything that we take from our personal life to our life within the team

3. Insight to the problem and personification

• Perceived conflict – disagreement between A and B but without consequences to A’s positive feelings about B

• Felt conflict – emotional conflict• Determination of the issues that lead to conflict,

leading to possible solution scenarios … negative feelings lead to oversimplification and positive feelings lead to the development of possible relations that have created the problem

3. Intentions

• Competition – personal interests irrespective of their effect on other members

• Cooperation – total fulfilment of the issues that affect all the members

• Avoidance – of conflict and the people we are in disagreement with

• Adjustment – support of other’s opinion despite personal reservations

• Compromise – partial fulfilment of each other’s desires

3. Behaviours

• Annihilation of conflict → Open efforts in destroying the other party → Physical attack → Threats → Verbal attack → Openly challenging / disputing others → Minor disagreements• Total absence of conflict

3. Results

• Functional - Low levels of conflict might increase the

team’s effectiveness• Dysfunctional - Communication problems, decrease in the

levels of acceptance (of each other’s views), the team goals act as a source of disagreement between individual members

4. Negotiation

• A process during which the team decides how to distribute important resources

- Affects the relationship between the negotiators

- Social and ethical behaviour - Two strategies of negotiation

5. Distributive / integrative negotiation

• Distributive - Ground zero – any profit for A affects B’s profit

accordingly - Fixed pie – a specific amount of goods / profit

that can be distributed • Integrative - Both sides win, leads to long term relationships - How often do we see it happening in

organisations?

5. Distributive / integrative negotiation

6. Negotiation process

• Preparation and planning - The reasons for conflict - The story - Who is involved and their individual

perceptions - Personal goals → Leads to minimum acceptable levels of

agreement / other alternatives

6. Negotiation process

• Defining basis rules - Who is going to perform the negotiation? - Where? - Time limits - Issues - Possible dead end?

6. Negotiation process

• Clarification and justification - How each side comes down to its demands,

information to substantiate position• Negotiation and problem solving - Require concessions from all sides• Termination and implementation - Agreement becomes official, through a

contract or even a handshake!