1. Conflict Resolution in our Digital Age +
meet the NC State Faculty & Staff Ombuds
Roy Baroff
NC State
Faculty & Staff
Ombuds
April 2017

2. Program Agenda Intro Defining Conflict 😎 👽 🌻
Introduction to NC State Faculty & Staff Ombuds Office 🎱
Causes of conflict generally and in the digital age 🚜 👺 🐂
Conflict Styles 🍎 🍿 ⚓️
Resolving digital dilemmas 💻 📱

3. “Real” Program Agenda
I’ve prepared a simple case presentation.

4. NC State Faculty & Staff Ombuds = Conflict Resolution Specialist - Roy Baroff

5. Program Goal
Take home one idea!

6. How does it feel? What does it mean? Can we reframe it?
Defining Conflict
How does it feel?
What does it mean?
Can we reframe it?

8. NC State Faculty Ombuds Office
Independent
Confidential
Informal
Impartial

9. Identify the cause of conflict to determine how to approach its resolution

10. What Causes Conflict Generally and how do we deal with it ?
No Single Answer !!
Roger Fisher & William Ury – Getting to Yes
Baruch Bush and Joseph Folger – Transformative Mediation
John Winslade and Gerald Monk – Narrative mediation
Chris Moore – Conflict Sources (Circle)

11. Conflict is about individual needs and interests not being met.
Getting to Yes
Conflict is about individual
needs and interests not being met.

12. Getting to Yes (Principled Negotiation) Roger Fisher and Bill Ury
Separate people from the problem/conflict - be hard on the problem and soft on the people
Focus on interests not positions
Generate a range of options for mutual gain
Base choices on some objective or mutually agreeable criteria or standard

13. Negotiation Model - Interest Based Win – Win (All Win)
Interests
Positions

14. Transformative theory of conflict
From “Promise of Mediation”
Conflict is NOT about individual rights, interests, or power
It is about relationship to self and others
In conflict you feel alienated from your own strengths.
Being in conflict creates a negative conflict spiral.

15. The Conflict Spiral

16. Transformative interventions
Focus on the quality of the conflict interaction.
People can address conflict when feeling empowered and recognized.
Empowerment = individual support to shift from weakness to strength
Recognition = from self absorption to better understanding of self and other

17. Narrative Conflict concepts
Conflict is understood from the outside, from considering the social, cultural and not individual needs, wants, interests.
Conflict is often the result of differing perspectives and cultural positions.
Conflict is itself a story with a plot, actors, dramatic features, timelines, etc.

18. Narrative Interventions
Explore the conflict story – how did it begin, who are the actors, what’s the plot so far?
Externalize the conflict as something “other” than the people involved.
Map the effect of the conflict and determine if people want to continue the effects or change.
Re-story the future without the conflict present.

19. Causes of Conflict in our Digital Age

20. Bill Eddy (High Conflict Institute) - BIFF responses to hostile email
Do you need to respond at all?
If yes, BIFF -
Brief
Informative
Friendly
Firm

21. Christopher Moore - Causes of Conflict
Data
Structure
Relationship
Value
Interest

22. Data Conflicts & Solutions
Lack of information or misinformation
Disagree over what data is relevant
Different interpretation
Different assessment procedures
explain, challenge, correct data
Surface assessment assumptions
Agree on what data is important
Agree on joint process to collect data

23. Relationship Conflicts & Solutions
Presence of strong negative emotions
Misperceptions or stereotypes
Poor or miscommunication
Repetitive negative behaviors
Use process, guidelines to mange emotions, legitimize feelings
Clarify perceptions
Improve quality of communication
Block negative behavior by changing structure
Encourage positive problem-solving attitudes

24. Value Conflicts & Solutions
Different criteria for evaluating ideas or behaviors
Different ways of life, ideology, religion
Goals are mutually exclusive
Share information about values
Do not define problem in terms of values
Agree to disagree
Seek super-ordinate goals shared by all

25. Structural Conflicts & Solutions
Destructive patterns of behavior or interaction
Unequal control, ownership, resources
Unequal power or authority
Geographic, physical, or environmental factors
Time constraints
Define &clarify roles
Modify external pressures
Reallocate resources
Change time constraints
Negotiate ratification process
Negotiate who needs to be present to resolve

26. Interest Conflicts & Solutions
Focus on interests not positions
Seek objective criteria
Develop integrative solutions
Search for ways to expand
Develop trade-offs between interests
Competition over perceived or actual incompatible needs or wants
Substantive issues
Procedural issues
Psychological issues

27. Collaborate/Cooperative
Conflict Styles
Compete/Dominate
Accommodate
Avoid
Collaborate/Cooperative
Compromise

28. COMPETE/DOMINATE Fight to win

29. Compete/Dominate Issue is trivial Time is of the essence
Don’t care about relationships
Others don’t care about outcome
Use power of position
High/low initial proposals
Make small concessions
Threat, accuse, exaggerate
Seek to dominate and control, hard on the people and the problem

30. ACCOMMODATE Whatever you want is okay . ..

31. Accommodation Issue is not important to you You are in a weak position
You believe you may be wrong
Quick agreement
Soft on the people (except yourself !)
Appease, flatter

32. AVOID

33. Avoid Flee, ignore, withdraw Issue is trivial Put it off to the last
You have time
Need cooling off
Flee, ignore, withdraw
Put it off to the last
Give it to someone else
Hope it goes away

34. Collaboration/Cooperation working together for mutual gain

35. Collaboration/Cooperative
Issues & relationships important
Issues complex
Seek to address all aspects
Need help from others to solve
Use rational logical persuasion
Develop relationships
Make unilateral steps
Focus on fairness

36. Compromise / Distributive

37. Compromise / Distributive
Finding solution better than nothing
Cooperation important, but time limited
Active bargaining over fixed resource
Give some to get some
Reactive
Split the difference

38. Resolving Digital Dilemmas ! T H I N K Model
let’s Talk
what’s Happening
search for Interests
what’s Next
Keep talking

39. Contact the NC State Faculty & Staff Ombuds
Roy Baroff
facultyombuds.ncsu.edu
staffombuds.ncsu.edu