Conflict and Negotiation

1. Conflict and Negotiation
Dr. G C Mohanta, BE, MSc(Engg), MBA, PhD(Mgt)
Professor

2. What is Conflict?
 Conflict is the 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.
 Conflict is the self-interested struggle that arises when
the goal-directed behavior of one person or group blocks
the goal-directed behavior of another person or group.
 Interpersonal conflict is a process that occurs when one
person, group, or organizational subunit frustrates the
goal attainment of another.

3. Level of Conflict on Organizational Performance

4. Sources of Conflict
 Differentiation
 Differences in functional orientations
 Status inconsistencies
 Task relationships
 Overlapping authority
 Task interdependencies
 Incompatible evaluation systems
 Scarcity of resources

5. Different Views on Conflict
 Traditional View – conflict is harmful and
must be avoided
 Human Relations View – conflict is a natural
and inevitable outcome in any group and need
not be negative
 Interactionist View – conflict is encouraged
to prevent group from becoming stale, some
conflict is absolutely necessary

6. Different Views on Conflict
(Contd.)
 Functional conflict - supports the
goals of the work group and improves
its performance
 Dysfunctional conflict - prevents
group from achieving its goals

7. Types of Conflict
 Task conflict - content and goals of the
work
 low-to-moderate levels are functional
 Relationship conflict -
interpersonal relationships
 almost always dysfunctional
 Process conflict - how work gets
done
 low levels are functional

8. Pondy’s Model of Organizational
Conflict
 Conflict is a process that consists of five
sequential stages
 Stage 1: Latent conflict - no outright
conflict exists, but there is a potential for
conflict because of several latent factors
 Sources of conflict include:
 Interdependence
 Difference in goals and priorities
 Bureaucratic factors
 Incompatible performance criteria
 Competition for scarce resources

9. Pondy’s Model of Organizational
Conflict (contd.)
 Stage 2: Perceived conflict - subunits
become aware of conflict and begin to
analyze it
 Conflict escalates as groups battle over the
cause of conflict
 Stage 3: Felt conflict - subunits
respond emotionally to each other, and
attitudes polarize into “us-versus-them”
 Cooperation between units decreases
 What began as a small problem escalates
into huge conflict

10. Pondy’s Model of Organizational
Conflict (contd.)
 Stage 4: Manifest conflict - subunits try to get back at
each other & organizational effectiveness suffers
 Fighting and open aggression
 Violence
 Sabotage
 Physical intimidation
 Lack of cooperation
 Passive aggression – doing nothing
 Stage 5: Conflict aftermath - conflict is resolved in
some way
 If sources of conflict are not resolved, the dispute will
arise again

11. Individual-Level Conflict
Management
 Manager meets with employees in conflict.
All understand facts of conflict
 Manager summarizes dispute in written form
 Manager discusses facts in report with each
employee separately and works out a
common solution
 Manager gets commitment to resolving
dispute

12. Group-Level Conflict Management
 Avoiding
 Accommodating
 Competing
 Compromise
 Collaborating

13. Avoiding
 A conflict management style characterized by low
assertiveness of one’s own interests and low
cooperation with the other party.
 It might be a sensible response when:
 The issue is trivial.
 Information is lacking.
 People need to cool down.
 The opponent is very powerful and hostile.

14. Accommodating
 A conflict management style in which one cooperates
with the other party, while not asserting one’s own
interests.
 It can be an effective strategy when:
 You are wrong.
 The issue is more important to the other party.
 You want to build good will.

15. Competing
 A conflict management style that maximizes
assertiveness and minimizes cooperation.
 It can be effective when:
 You have a lot of power.
 You are sure of your facts.
 The situation is truly win-lose.
 You will not have to interact with the other party in the
future.

16. Compromise
 A conflict management style that combines
intermediate levels of assertiveness and cooperation.
 It is a sensible reaction to conflict stemming from
scarce resources and it is a good fall-back position if
other strategies fail.

17. Collaborating
 A conflict management style that maximizes both
assertiveness and cooperation.
 It is an attempt to secure an integrative agreement
that fully satisfies the interests of both parties (a win-
win resolution).
 It works best when the conflict is not intense and
when each party has information that is useful to the
other.

18. Negotiation
 Negotiation is the
process in which two or
more parties exchange
goods or services and
attempt to agree on the
exchange rate for them

19. Negotiation
Compromise
Initial Offer
Counteroffers
Concessions

20. Negotiation Process

21. Individual Differences in Negotiation
Personality
Gender
Cultural

22. Personality
 The best distributive bargainer appears to be
a disagreeable introvert
 Those who can check their egos at the door
are able to negotiate better agreements

23. Gender Differences
in Negotiation
 Men have been found to negotiate better
outcomes than women, although the
difference is relatively small
 Women may unduly penalize themselves by
failing to engage in negotiations when such
action would be in their best interest

24. Cultural Differences in Negotiations
 Cultural context significantly influences
 The amount and type of preparation for
bargaining
 The relative emphasis on task versus
interpersonal relationships
 The tactics used
 Where the negotiation should be conducted

25. Improving Negotiation Skills
 Set Ambitious Goals
 Pay Little Attention to Initial Offers
 Research Your Opponent
 Address the Problem, Not the Personalities
 Be Creative and Emphasize Win-Win
Solutions