Chapter 13 Nelson

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Chapter 13Nelson Quick

• Conflict at Work

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Nature of Organizational Conflict

• Conflict - any situation in which incompatible
  goals, attitudes, emotions, or behaviors lead to
  disagreement or opposition between two or more
  parties
• Functional Conflict - a healthy, constructive
  disagreement between two or more people. Issue
  focus.
• Dysfunctional Conflict - an unhealthy,
  destructive disagreement between two or more
  people. Use of threats, deception, and verbal
  abuse to communicate. Personal focus.

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Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

• Emotional intelligence - the ability to manage
  conflict. It is the power to
• control ones emotions
• perceive emotions in others
• adapt to change
• manage adversity

Dysfunctional conflict arises from problems with
EQ, not IQ.
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Consequences of Conflict
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Questions to Use When Diagnosing Conflict
YES dysfunctional
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Causes of Conflict in Organizations
Long lasting and difficult conflicts between
individuals usually stems from differences in
values and ethics.
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Forms of Conflict in Organizations

• Interorganizational conflict - conflict that
  occurs between two or more organizations
• Intergroup conflict - conflict that occurs
  between groups or teams in an organization
• Increases communication, cohesiveness, task
  focus, and loyalty within the group
• Can lead to we versus them between groups.
  Territoriality, aggression, and prejudice may
  result between groups
• Intragroup helps to avoid groupthink
• Interpersonal conflict - conflict that occurs
  between two or more individuals

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Intrapersonal conflict

• Interrole Conflict - a persons experience of
  conflict among the multiple roles in his/her life
• Intrarole Conflict - conflict that occurs within
  a single role, such as when a person receives
  conflicting messages from role senders about how
  to perform a certain role
• Person-role Conflict - conflict that occurs when
  an individual is expected to perform behaviors in
  a certain role that conflict with his/her
  personal values

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An Organizational Members Role Set
Inside the organization
Superior role senders
Client
Superior
Supervisor
Peer role senders
Outside the organization
Focal Role
Colleague
Supplier
Employee role senders
Employees colleagues
Potential employee
Employee 1
Employee 2
Employee 3
Boundary of the organization
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Power Relationships in Organizations
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Defense Mechanisms

• Aggressive Mechanisms
• Fixation an individual keeps up a dysfunctional
  behavior that obviously will not solve the
  conflict
• Displacement an individual directs his or her
  anger toward someone who is not the source of the
  conflict
• Negativism a person responds with pessimism to
  any attempt at solving a problem

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Defense Mechanisms

• Compromise Mechanisms
• Compensation - an individual attempts to make up
  for a negative situation by devoting
  himself/herself to another pursuit with increased
  vigor
• Identification - an individual patterns his or
  her behavior after anothers
• Rationalization - a compromise mechanism
  characterized by trying to justify ones behavior
  by constructing bogus reasons for it

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Defense Mechanisms

• Withdrawal Mechanisms
• Flight/Withdrawal - entails physically escaping a
  conflict (flight) or psychologically escaping
  (withdrawal)
• Conversion - emotional conflicts are expressed in
  physical symptoms
• Fantasy - provides an escape from a conflict
  through daydreaming

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Win-Lose versus Win-Win Strategies
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Ineffective Techniques forDealing with Conflict
Nonaction - doing nothing in hopes that a
conflict will disappear Secrecy - attempting to
hide a conflict or an issue that has the
potential to create conflict Administrative
orbiting - delaying action on a conflict by
buying time Due process nonaction - a procedure
set up to address conflicts that is so costly,
time-consuming, or personally risky that no one
will use it Character assassination - an attempt
to label or discredit an opponent
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Effective Techniques forDealing with Conflict
Conflict
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Negotiation

• Negotiation - a joint process of finding a
  mutually acceptable solution to a complex
  conflict
• Useful under these conditions
• Two or more parties
• Conflict of interest between the parties
• Parties are willing to negotiate
• Parties prefer to work together rather than to
  fight openly, give in, break off contact, or take
  the dispute to a higher authority

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Approaches to Negotiation
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Approaches to Negotiation
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Conflict Management Styles

• Avoiding - deliberate decision to take no action
  on a conflict or to stay out of a conflict
• Accommodating - concern that the other partys
  goals be met but relatively unconcerned with
  getting own way
• Competing - satisfying own interests willing to
  do so at other partys expense

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Conflict Management Styles

• Compromising - each party gives up something to
  reach a solution
• Collaborating - arriving at a solution agreeable
  to all through open thorough discussion

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Conflict Management Styles
Competing
Collaborating
Assertive
Assertiveness (Desire to satisfy ones own
concerns)
Compromising
Avoiding
Accommodating
Unassertive
Uncooperative
Cooperative
Cooperativeness (Desire to satisfy anothers
concerns)
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Creating a Conflict-Positive Organization
Value diversity and confront differences
Seek mutual benefits, and unite behind
cooperative goals
Take stock to reward success and learn from
mistakes
Empower employees to feel confident and skillful
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3 Organization Views of Conflict
Competitive conflict
Belittle differences
Seek win-lose situation
Suspect
Blame
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3 Organization Views of Conflict
Avoidance of conflict
Evade differences
Reduce risks
Despair
Withdraw
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3 Organization Views of Conflict
Positive conflict
Value diversity
Seek mutual benefit
Take Stock
Empower