crisis and conflict management. conflict frame & orientation lecture 24

Crisis And Conflict Management

Conflict Frame & Orientation

Lecture 24

Conflict Framesand Orientations

• Conflict frames– Perceptual sets that people bring to conflict

episodes– Perceptual filters• Remove some information from an episode• Emphasize other information in an episode

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Conflict Framesand Orientations (Cont.)

Relationship-Task

Emotional-Intellectual

Cooperate-WinConflictframe

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• Conflict frame dimensions– Relationship-Task• Relationship: focuses on interpersonal relationships• Task: focuses on material aspects of an episode

– Emotional-Intellectual• Emotional: focuses on feelings in the conflict episode

(felt conflict)• Intellectual: focuses on observed behavior (manifest

conflict)

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• Conflict frame dimensions (cont.) – Cooperate-Win• Cooperate: emphasizes the role of all parties to the

conflict• Win: wants to maximize personal gain

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• Conflict frames– Limited research results• End an episode with a relationship or intellectual

frame: feel good about relationship with other party• Cooperation-focused people end with more positive

results than those focused on winning

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• Conflict orientations– Dominance: wants to win; conflict is a battle– Collaborative: wants to find a solution that

satisfies everyone– Compromise: splits the differences– Avoidance: backs away– Accommodative: focuses on desires of other

party

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• Can change during conflict episode– How firmly the person holds orientation– Importance of the issues to the person– Perception of opponent's power

• Collaborative orientation: more positive long-term benefits than the others

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AvoidanceAccommodative

DominanceCompromiseCollaborative

Conflict aftermathHigh residueNo residue

Conflict orientation and the conflict aftermath

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• Combinations of conflict orientations in a group– Dominance, avoidance– Dominance, dominance– Avoidance, avoidance– Dominance, collaborative, compromise– Collaborative, compromise, avoidance– Collaborative, compromise, avoidance,

dominance, accommodative

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Latent Conflict: The Sources of Conflict in Organizations

• Antecedents to conflict episodes• Many natural conditions of organizations act

as latent conflicts• Lurk in the background; trigger conflict when

right conditions occur• Does not always lead to manifest conflict• Give us clues about how to reduce

dysfunctionally high conflict

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Latent Conflict: The Sources of Conflict in Organizations (Cont.)

• Some representative latent conflict– Scarce resources: money, equipment, facilities– Organizational differentiation: different

orientations in different parts of organization– Rules, procedures, policies: behavioral guides

that can cause clashes– Cohesive groups: value and orientation

differences among groups

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Latent Conflict: The Sources of Conflict in Organizations (Cont.)

• Some representative latent conflict (cont.)– Interdependence: forces interaction– Communication barriers: shift work and jargon– Ambiguous jurisdictions: areas of authority not

clearly defined– Reward systems: reward different behavior in

different parts of the organization

Sales on commission; manufacturing rewardedfor meeting schedules. Communication differences.

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Conflict Management Model

• Maintain conflict at functional levels– Not complete elimination– Reducing to functional levels– Increasing dysfunctionally low conflict– Choose desired level of conflict based on

perceived conflict requirements– Varies in different parts of an organization– Manager’s tolerance for conflict plays a role

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Conflict Management Model (Cont.)

Perceived conflict requirements

Desired conflict level

Organizationalculture

Fast-changingenvironment

Product orservice

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Normal

Increaseconflict

Decreaseconflict

Dysfunctionallylow conflict

Dysfunctionallyhigh conflict

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• Symptoms of dysfunctionally high conflict– Low trust– Information distortion– Tension/antagonism– Stress– Sabotage of organization’s product or service

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• Symptoms of dysfunctionally low conflict– Deny differences– Repress controversial information– Prohibit disagreements– Avoid interactions– Walk away from conflict episode

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Reducing Conflict

• Overview– Lose-lose methods: parties to the conflict episode

do not get what they want– Win-lose methods: one party a clear winner;

other party a clear loser– Win-win methods: each party to the conflict

episode gets what he or she wants

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Reducing Conflict (cont.)

• Lose-lose methods– Avoidance• Withdraw, stay away• Does not permanently reduce conflict

– Compromise• Bargain, negotiate• Each loses something valued

– Smoothing: find similarities

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Reducing Conflict (Cont.)

• Win-lose methods– Dominance• Overwhelm other party• Overwhelms an avoidance orientation

– Authoritative command: decision by person in authority

– Majority rule: voting

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• Win-win methods– Problem solving: find root causes– Integration: meet interests and desires of all

parties– Superordinate goal: desired by all but not

reachable alone

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• Summary– Lose-lose methods: compromise– Win-lose methods: dominance– Win-win methods: problem solving

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Increasing Conflict• Increase conflict when it is dysfunctionally

low– Heterogeneous groups: members have

different backgrounds– Devil’s advocate: offers alternative views– Organizational culture: values and norms that

embrace conflict and debate

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Conflict Insights

• Possible positive effects of conflict• Latent conflict• Conflict aftermath• Conflict episodes• Links between episodes• Latent conflict and methods of reduction

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International Aspects ofConflict in Organizations

• Cultures that emphasize individualism and competition– Positively value conflict– English-speaking countries, the Netherlands, Italy,

Belgium• Cultures that emphasize collaboration,

cooperation, conformity– Negatively value conflict– Many Asian and Latin American countries;

Portugal, Greece, Turkey

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International Aspects ofConflict in Organizations (Cont.)

• No direct research evidence• Cultural differences imply different functional

conflict levels

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• Cross-cultural research has dealt with intergroup processes

• Collaborative and cooperative cultures expect little conflict during intergroup interactions

• Favor suppression of conflict with little discussion about people's feelings

• Felt conflict likely part of some conflict episodes but hidden from public view

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• Managers from an individualistic country operating in a less individualistic country– Acceptable to express feelings during a conflict

episode– Suppression of feelings could baffle them– Increasing conflict can confuse local people– Almost immediate dysfunctional results

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Ethical Issues inConflict in Organizations

• Tolerance for conflict– Manager with a high tolerance for conflict; keeps

conflict levels too high for subordinates– Should such managers reveal their intentions

about desired conflict levels?– Full disclosure: subordinates could leave the

group if conflict levels became dysfunctionally stressful

– Ethical question applies equally to newly hired employees

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Ethical Issues inConflict in Organizations (Cont.)

• Deliberately increasing conflict is an effort to guide behavior in a desired direction– Subtle methods of increasing conflict (forming

heterogeneous groups) connote manipulation– Full disclosure: manager states his intention to

use conflict to generate ideas and innovation– If people are free to join a group or not, the

ethical issue likely subsides

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• Experiencing intrapersonal conflict– Requests to act against one's moral values– Observing behavior that one considers unethical

• Reduce intrapersonal conflict– Report unethical acts– Transfer to another part of the organization– Quit

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• Different cultures place different values on conflict– Optimal conflict levels vary among countries– Lower levels conflict in collectivistic countries than

individualistic countries

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Summary

• Learning Goals• Functional and Dysfunctional Conflict• Levels and Types of Conflict• Conflict Frames and Orientations• Conflict Episodes• Reducing Conflict• International Aspects of Conflict in

Organizations

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Thank You

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crisis and conflict management. conflict frame & orientation lecture 24

Documents

conflict intellectual

conflict win

sources of conflict

conflict management

residue conflict orientation

dysfunctionally high

background trigger conflict

different orientations