Conflict Management and Negotiation Strategies

MODULE 22 CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION Dealing With Conflict “Working together isn’t always easy” z Conflicts can occur over substantive or emotional issues. z Conflicts can be both functional and dysfunctional. z Organizations have many sources of potential conflict. z People use different interpersonal conflict management styles. z Managers can use structural approaches to deal with conflicts in organizations. • What should we know about dealing with conflict? • How can we negotiate successfully? 1 CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION 2 CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION Dealing With Conflict Dealing With Conflict z Conflict z a disagreement over issues of substance and/or an emotional antagonism. z Substantive Conflict z disagreement over goals, resources, rewards, policies, procedures, and job assignments. z Emotional Conflict z results from feelings of anger, distrust, dislike, fear, and resentment, as well as relationship problems. z Functional Conflict z stimulates us toward greater work efforts, more creativity in problem solving, and even to cooperate more with others. z Dysfunctional Conflict z Is destructive and hurts task performance 3 4 1 CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION Dealing With Conflict Dealing With Conflict Sources of Conflict Five Conflict Management Styles 1. Avoidance or withdrawal -downplaying disagreement, withdrawing, staying neutral at all costs 2. Accommodation or smoothing -giving in and smoothing over differences to maintain harmony 3. Competition or authoritative command -trying to win in active competition, or using authority to win by force 4. Compromise -bargaining for something “acceptable” so each party wins and loses a bit 5. Collaboration or problem solving -working through differences to solve problems so that everyone gains 5 CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION 6 CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION Dealing With Conflict Dealing With Conflict Conflict Management Styles Conflict Management Styles When to use conflict management styles • Collaboration and problem solving is preferred to gain true conflict resolution when time and cost permit. • Avoidance may be used when an issue is trivial, when more important issues are pressing, or when people need to cool down temporarily and regain perspective. • Authoritative command may be used when quick and decisive action is vital or when unpopular actions must be taken. • Accommodation may be used when issues are more important to others than to yourself or when you want to build “credits” for use in later disagreements. • Compromise may be used to arrive at temporary settlements of complex issues or to arrive at expedient solutions when time is limited. 7 8 2 CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION Dealing With Conflict Successful Negotiation z Outcomes of Conflict MODULE GUIDE 22.2 z Lose-lose z no one achieves his or her true desires and the underlying reasons for conflict remain unaffected. z Negotiation is a process of reaching agreement. z Negotiation can be approached in distributive or integrative ways. z Integrative agreements require commitment, trust, and information. z Successful negotiation should meet high ethical standards. z Negotiators should guard against common negotiation pitfalls. z Mediation and arbitration are forms of third-party negotiations. z Competition z uses force, superior skill, or domination to win a conflict. z Compromise z occurs when each party to the conflict gives up something of value to the other. z Win-lose z one party achieves its desires and the other party does not. z Collaboration z involves working through conflict differences and solving problems so everyone wins. z Win-win z the conflict is resolved to everyone’s benefit. 9 CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION 10 CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION Successful Negotiation Successful Negotiation zFour Criteria of Effective Negotiation z Negotiation z the process of making joint decisions when the parties involved have alternative preferences z1. Quality zgetting a “wise” agreement satisfactory to all sides z Substance Goals z2. Cost z focus on outcomes. z Relationship Goals zbeing efficient, using minimum resources and time z focus on people’s relationships and interpersonal processes. z3. Harmony z Distributive Negotiation zacting to strengthen rather than weaken relationships z focuses on win-lose claims made by each party for certain preferred outcomes. z4. Implementation z Integrative Negotiation z uses a win-win orientation to reach solutions acceptable to each party. zgaining real commitments to live up to agreements 11 12 3 CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION Successful Negotiation Successful Negotiation z Bargaining Zone z Negotiation Pitfalls z the distance between one party’s minimum reservation point and the other party’s maximum reservation point. z Myth of the “fixed pie.” z assumes that in order for you to gain, the other person must give something up. z Non-rational escalation of conflict z Becoming committed to previously stated demands and allowing ego to get in the way z Overconfidence z ignoring the other party’s needs. z Too much telling and too little hearing z When committing the “telling” problem, parties to a negotiation don’t really make themselves understood to each other. When committing the “hearing” problem, they fail to listen sufficiently well to understand what each is saying. 13 14 CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION Successful Negotiation zThird Party Negotiation zMediation za neutral party tries to help conflicting parties improve communication to resolve their dispute. zArbitration za neutral third party issues a binding decision to resolve a dispute. 15 4