Chapter Eleven Managing Conflict McGraw-Hill/Irwin Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills & Best Practices, 3/e Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Major Trends that Make Conflict Inevitable Constant change Greater employee diversity More teams (virtual and self-managed) Less face-to-face communication Global economy with increased cross-cultural dealings

A Modern View of Conflict Conflict - one party perceives its interests are being opposed or set back by another party

Perspectives on Conflict Traditional View All conflicts are dysfunctional Focus is on conflict eradication or resolution Recent View Some degree of conflict is necessary Both too little and too much conflict are bad for organizational health Focus is on conflict management Ex) mudfish and catfish

Functional versus Dysfunctional Conflict Serves organization’s interests Having an optimal level of conflict Dysfunctional conflict Threatens organization’s interests

Antecedents of Conflict Incompatible personalities or value systems. Overlapping or unclear job boundaries. Competition for limited resources. Interdepartment/intergroup competition. Inadequate communication. Interdependent tasks. Organizational complexity

Antecedents of Conflict Unreasonable or unclear policies, standards, or rules. Unreasonable deadlines or extreme time pressure. Collective decision making Decision making by consensus. Unmet expectations. Unresolved or suppressed conflict.

Major Forms of Conflict Personality conflict Interpersonal opposition driven by personal dislike or disagreement Intergroup conflict Conflict among work groups, teams, and departments Cross-cultural conflict Conflict among individuals or larger social units resulting from cultural misunderstanding

Conflict Management When conflict is too high Reduce conflict When conflict is too low Stimulate conflict

Conflict Management : Conflict resolution Approaches of conflict resolution Alternative styles for handling conflict

Conflict Management : Conflict resolution Integrating Interested parties confront the issue and cooperatively identify the problem, generate and weigh alternative solutions, and select a solution Appropriate for complex issues plagued by misunderstanding; Not appropriate for resolving conflicts rooted in opposing value systems Strength : Longer lasting impact ( cures underlying problem not symptoms) Weakness : Very time-consuming

Conflict Management : Conflict resolution Obliging (Smoothing) Involves playing down differences while emphasizing commonalities Appropriate when it is possible to eventually get something in return ; Inappropriate for complex or worsening problems Strength : Encouraging cooperation Weakness : Temporary fix not curing underlying problems; Other party may exploit you

Conflict Management : Conflict resolution Dominating (Forcing) Relies on formal authority to force compliance Appropriate when an unpopular solution must be implemented and when one has power ; inappropriate in an open and participative climate Strength : Speed Weakness : Can breeds resentment

Conflict Management : Conflict resolution Avoiding Involves either passive withdrawal from the problem or active suppression of the issue Appropriate for trivial issues or when the costs of confrontation outweigh the benefits of resolving the conflict ; Inappropriate for difficult and worsening problems Strength : It buys time in unfolding or ambiguous situations Weakness : Underlying problems not addressed

Conflict Management : Conflict resolution Compromising Give-and-take approach ; Split the difference Appropriate when parties have opposite goals or possess equal power ; Inappropriate when the situation calls for something other than middle ground Strength : Both parties get something Weakness : Temporary fix that can stifle creative problem solving

Conflict Management : Conflict resolution Third party interventions Alternative Dispute Resolution - avoiding costly lawsuits by resolving conflicts informally or through mediation or arbitration Types of ADR Facilitation (Conciliation) Peer review Ombudsman Mediation Arbitration

Conflict Management : Conflict resolution Others Set superordinate (or common) goals Increase available resources Introduce rules for resolving conflicts Introduce external threats

Conflict Management : Conflict stimulation Devil’s advocacy - assigning someone the role of critic. Dialectic method - fostering a debate of opposing viewpoints to better understand an issue

Figure 11-2

Conflict Management : Conflict stimulation Others Bring in external talents with different values and backgrounds Introduce competition among individuals or groups Performance-based pay or bonus Divide the group into smaller units and have them compete among themselves