Managing Interpersonal Conflicts

Interpersonal Conflicts An indispensable aspect of organizational life Too little – a cause of organizational failure Too much – a cause of organizational failure

Concept Perceived incompatible differences Opinion, interest, values, and goals Resulting in behaviors involving interference or opposition Perception or feeling of one party that the other party is hindering to achieve a goal

Conditions for Conflict Antecedent condition (e.g. scarcity of resources) Affective state (e.g. stress, tension) Cognitive state (e.g. awareness of conflict situation) Conflictual behaviour (e.g. passive resistance or overt aggression)

Positive Effects Increases interactions Facilitates change Increases interpersonal ability Improves problem solving ability Stimulate creativity, productivity Releases emotion Generates new learning

Negative Effects Increases mistrust, competition and ill feeling Increases stress and tension Deepen differences and creates barriers to cooperation Divert people from dealing with really important issues Promote insularism

Conflict and Performance Low High Level of Conflict High Level of Organization Performance Low B C Situation A Level of conflict Low or none Optimal High Type of conflict Dysfunctional Functional Dysfunctional Organization's Apathetic Viable Disruptive Internal Stagnant Self critical Chaotic Characteristics Unresponsive to Innovative Uncooperative change Lack of new ideas

Conflict Management Need for maintaining an optimal level of conflict While keeping conflicts focused on productive purposes

Rules of Engagement Work with more, rather than less, information Focus on the facts Develop multiple alternatives to enrich the level of debate Share commonly agreed-upon goals

Rules of Engagement Inject humor into the decision process Maintain a balanced power structure Resolve issues without forcing consensus

Diagnosing Conflicts Focus People focused Issue focused

Diagnosing Conflicts Sources Personal differences (perceptions and expectations) Informational deficiencies (misinformation and misrepresentation) Incompatible roles (goals and responsibilities) Environmental stress (resource scarcity and uncertainty)

Diagnosing Conflicts Focus of Conflicts Source of Conflicts Personal differences Informational deficiencies Source of Conflicts Incompatible roles Environmental stress

Approaches to Conflict Conflict prevention Conflict resolution Conflict stimulation

Conflict Prevention Remove the key sources of conflicts Recognise and accept personal differences Be honest with self and others Avoid assuming yourself always right and others wrong

Conflict Prevention Develop positive orientations (in behaviour, attitude and thought) Develop and use interpersonal competencies

Resolving Conflict Identify conflict Recognize the behavior that tends to emerge in a conflict Develop the skills to behave more rationally Use appropriate conflict response Use appropriate conflict resolution style and strategy

Identify Conflict Identify conflict parties and get to know about them Assess the effects of the conflict Identify the focus of the conflict Identify the sources of the conflict Speculate the conflict response patterns of the involved parties Decide the most appropriate response pattern

Conflict Behavior Usually negative emotions and behaviors (anger, frustration, aggression or withdrawal) Acceptance of conflict as normal, natural and inevitable Confronting conflict positively

Conflict Behavior Assertiveness and responsiveness/ cooperative behaviors Self analysis, interpersonal, negotiation skills

Conflict Resolution Skills Be judicious in selecting the conflicts you want to handle Evaluate the conflict players: their interest, personality and resources Look the conflict situation through the eyes of the conflicting parties Assess the sources of the conflict Know your options

Conflict Response Importance of the relationship (I win You lose) (I win You win) Assertive Forcing Collaborating Integrative Distributive Importance of the Issue Concern for one’s goal Compromising (Both win some and lose some) Assertiveness (I lose You lose) (I lose You win) Avoiding Accommodating Uncooperative Cooperative Unassertive Cooperativeness Concern for other’s goal

Conflict Response Forcing (assertive, uncooperative) Accommodating (unassertive, cooperative) Avoiding (unassertive, uncooperative) Compromising (between assertive and cooperative) Collaborating (assertive, cooperative)

Selection Factors Personal preferences The advantage of flexibility Ethnic culture Gender Personality (altruistic-nurturing, assertive-directing, analytical- autonomizing) The advantage of flexibility

Selection Factors Situational considerations Ethnic culture Gender Personality (altruistic-nurturing, assertive-directing, analytical- autonomizing)

Response and Situation Forcing Accommo-dating Compro-mising Collabo-rative Avoiding Issue importance High Low Medium Relationship importance Relative power Equal-High Low-high Time constraint Medium high Medium-high

Resolving Strategies Lose - lose strategy Avoidance Compromise Smoothing Separation Buffering Reference to rule

Resolving Strategies Win - lose strategy Dominance Authoritative command Majority rule

Resolving Strategies Win -win strategy Super-ordinate goals Resource expansion Objective criteria Mutual gains Mediation Integration/ collaboration Problem solving

Collaborative Problem Solving Establish super-ordinate goals Separate people from the problem Focus on interests not on position Invent options for mutual gains Use objective criteria for evaluating alternatives Define success in terms of real gains, not imaginary issues

Stimulating Conflict Change the organization’s culture- reward for challenges, divergent opinions Regulate flow of information: such as floating ambiguous or threatening messages Bring in outsiders or transfer to mix different backgrounds, attitudes, values and style

Stimulating Conflict Restructure the organization such as centralizing decisions, realigning work groups, increasing formalization and increasing interdependency Appoint a “Devil’s Advocate” Create greater independence Use too much or too little leadership