S.M.

Israr

Conflict Management

Dr S.M. Israr
Aga Khan University
Karachi, Pakistan
S.M.Israr
Learning Objectives

1. To define conflict
2. To understand the importance of utilizing
appropriate personnel management skill to
deal with conflicts
3. To review typical conflicts one is involved,
and possible methods generally used
4. To become familiar with necessary skills in
resolving conflicts


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Fatima, the Typist
Samina, Razia and Fatima are typists/secretaries
in your organization. Samina is from Karachi,
Razia from Rawalpindi and Fatima from a rural
village in Khairpur. Their average typing speed
during last three months has been:
Samina (60), Razia (50) and Fatima (30)
What do you think of Fatimas performance?
(Write your ranking using the scale from 1-5)
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Fatima, the Typist (Contd)
Samina and Razia had other jobs before
joining your organization. This is fatimas
first job. She joined three months ago

What do you think of Fatimas
performance?


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Fatima, the Typist (Contd)
While Samina and Razia have new imported
typewriters, Fatima has an old one which
jumps frequently.

What do you think of Fatimas performance?

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Fatima, the Typist (Contd)
Most of Saminas and Razias work is straight
typing of reports yet they have a considerable
number of errors. Fatima on the other hand is
usually given heavy statistical data and her
work is practically errorless.

What do you think of Fatimas performance?

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What is conflict?
A battle, contest or opposing forces existing
between primitive desires and moral, religious
or ethical ideas ( Websters Dictionary)
A state of incompatibility of ideas between two
or more parties or individuals

Conflict management is the practice of
identifying and handling conflict in a sensible,
fair and efficient manner
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Types of conflict
Inter-personal and intra-
personal
Inter-group and intra-group
Competitive and Disruptive
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Conflict Process
Antecedent conditions
Perceived conflict
Felt Conflict
Manifest behavior
Conflict Resolution
Or Suppression
Resolution aftermath
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Antecedent Conditions
Scarce Resources
Conflicting attitude
Ambiguous jurisdiction
Communication barriers
Need for consensus
Unresolved prior conflicts
Knowledge of self and others

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How to create conflict?
Not being a role model
Take credit, no recognition
Be judgmental
Send written messages
Subordinate should come to see me
Make yourself inaccessible to your team
Individual Vs team approach
Telling them? Consulting them? Or deciding with them?
Come tomorrow
Introduce change without consultation or discussion
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General causes of conflicts
Poorly defined goals
Divergent personal values
Lack of cooperation/trust
Competition of scarce resources
Unclear roles/lack of job description
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Effects of conflict in organizations
Stress
Absenteeism
Staff turnover
De-motivation
Non-productivity


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Now.

Individual Exercise
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Conflict Table

Win-Win

Lose-Win

Win-Lose

Lose-Lose
I win I lose
You win
You lose
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Methods to deal with conflicts
Competition (win-lose situation)
Accommodation (win-win situation)
Avoidance (lose-lose situation)
Compromise (lose-lose situation)
Collaboration (win-win situation)
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Steps to resolve conflicts
Assure privacy
Empathize than sympathize
Listen actively
Maintain equity
Focus on issue, not on personality
Avoid blame
Identify key theme
Re-state key theme frequently
Encourage feedback
Identify alternate solutions
Give your positive feedback
Agree on an action plan


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How to prevent conflicts
Frequent meeting of your team
Allow your team to express openly
Sharing objectives
Having a clear and detailed job description
Distributing task fairly
Never criticize team members publicly
Always be fair and just with your team
Being a role model
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Case Study

Now
work in a group
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Conclusion
Conflict is unavoidable

Complexity of organizational relationship
Interaction among workers
Dependence of workers on one another

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Conclusion (Contd)
Conflict is a healthy sign not a
negative process

It reflects dynamics
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Conclusion (Contd)
Poorly managed conflicts
Unfavorable with counter productive results
Problems and negative attitude

Well managed conflicts
Stimulate competition
Identify legitimate differences
Powerful source of motivation