Managing Conflict

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Managing Conflict

• Chapter 7

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Conflict is Normal

• Lack of conflict may be a problem
• Unhealthy agreement
• Domineering leader
• Routine
• Defensive avoidance
• Conflict management, not conflict resolution

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Sources of Conflict
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Impact of Conflict

• Benefits of and Problems With Conflict

• Benefits
• New approaches and ideas
• Motivates understanding
• Better decisions
• More creativity
• Enhanced organizational commitment

• Problems
• Negative emotion and stress
• Interference with communication
• Diverting attention from task
• Damage cohesion
• Winners/losers
• Authoritarian leadership
• Negative stereotyping
• Increase in conformity

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Impact of Conflict

• Conflict in Work Teams
• Relationship conflict
• Detrimental regardless of task
• Task conflict
• Hurts functioning on routine task
• Improves functioning on non routine task
• Task conflict can lead to relationship conflict
  unless
• Trust
• Cooperative relationships

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Conflict Resolution Approaches

• Two Dimensions
• of Conflict
• Distribution
• Integration

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Conflict Resolution Approaches

• Comparing Different Approaches to Conflict
  Resolution
• Avoidance, confrontation, accommodation
• Winners and losers
• Trouble implementing decisions
• Collaboration
• Everyone wins
• Greater commitment to decisions
• Best when equal status and time to work through
  problem
• Time consuming, difficult

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Managing Team Conflicts

• Preparing for Conflicts
• Develop approaches to identify conflicts early on
• Support constructive controversy
• Psychologically safe environment for
  disagreements and conflict
• Develop cooperation and trust-building
• Develop team contracts
• Develop norms

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Managing Team Conflicts

• Facilitating Conflicts
• Requires developing trust
• Outside mediators helpful when issues become too
  emotional
• Ensure courtesy and respect
• Acknowledge all perspectives

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Negotiating Conflicts

• Win-lose
• Incompatible interests
• Win-win
• Satisfying both sides is possible
• Improves ongoing relationships
• Develop integrative agreements

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Managing Team Conflicts

• Integrative Agreements
• Separate people from the problem
• Focus on the shared interests of all parties
• Develop many options to solve the problem
• Evaluate the options using objective criteria
• Try again

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