Conflict

CONFLICT MUST BE PERCEIVED TO EXIST!

Objective Condition

Conflict No Conflict

Conflict Open Conflict False Conflict

Perceived
Conflict
No Conflict Latent Conflict No Conflict
 The Nature of Conflict in Organizations

• In classical bureaucratic organizations, conflict is something to

be suppressed and avoided.
– Organizations should be smooth running, harmonious and
ordered.
– Use of control and structure to manage conflict.

• Human relations views see conflict as a failure to develop

appropriate norms for groups.
– Seeks to achieve harmony through happy, congenial work
groups.

3
 Contemporary Views of Conflict

• Conflict is inevitable, endemic and often legitimate

• Chester Barnard described negotiating, stress, and conflict as

normal social patterns in organizations

• Finite resources lead to competition

• Leaders need to manage conflict.

 Functional and Dysfunctional Conflict

• Functional conflict: Works toward the goals of an organization

or group

• Dysfunctional conflict: blocks an organization or group from

reaching its goals
 Functional Conflict

• Functional conflict
– “Constructive Conflict”--Mary Parker Follett (1925)
– Increases information and ideas
– Encourages innovative thinking
– Unshackles different points of view
– Reduces stagnation
 Dysfunctional Conflict

– Tension, anxiety, stress

– Reduced trust
– Poor decisions because of withheld or distorted
information
– Excessive management focus on the conflict
 Levels and Types of Conflict

Level of conflict Type of conflict

Organization Within and between organizations

Group Within and between groups

Individual Within and between individuals

 Forms of interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict in
organization

Interrole Conflict - a person’s 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
 Conflict Episodes

Latent conflict

Manifest conflict

Conflict reduction

Conflict aftermath
 Conflict Episodes

• Latent conflict: antecedents of conflict behavior that can start

conflict episode
• Manifest conflict: observable conflict behavior
• Perceived conflict
– Become aware that one is in conflict with another party
– Can perceive conflict when no latent conditions exist

• Felt conflict
– Emotional part of conflict
– Personalizing the conflict
– Hard to manage episodes with high felt conflict
– What people likely recall about conflict
 Conflict Episodes
• Conflict aftermath
– End of a conflict episode
– Often the starting point of a related episode
– Becomes the latent conflict for another episode

• Conflict reduction: lower the conflict level

 Increasing Conflict

Heterogeneous groups: members have different

backgrounds

Devil’s advocate: offers alternative views

Organizational culture: values and norms that embrace

conflict and debate
 Conflict Frames and Orientation
Conflict frames
– Perceptual sets that people bring to conflict episodes

– Perceptual filters
• Remove some information from an episode
• Emphasize other information in an episode

Conflict Management
– Not complete elimination but reducing to functional levels
– Manager’s tolerance for conflict plays a role
 Consequences of Conflict
Positive
Consequences
Leads to new ideas
Stimulates creativity
Motivates change
Promotes organizational
vitality
Helps individuals & groups
establish identities
Serves as a safety valve to
indicate problems
Negative
Consequences
Diverts energy from work
Threatens psychological
well-being
Wastes resources
Creates a negative climate
Breaks down group
cohesion
Can increase hostility &
aggressive behaviors
Effective Techniques for Dealing with Conflict

Superordinate Goals

Confronting Expanding
& Resources
Negotiating Conflict

Changing Changing
Structure Personnel
 Reducing Conflict

• Lose-lose methods
– Avoidance
• Withdraw, stay away
• Does not permanently reduce conflict
– Compromise
• Bargain, negotiate
• Each loses something valued
– Smoothing: Find similarities
 Reducing Conflict

• Win-lose methods
– Dominance
– Authoritative command: decision by person in authority
– Majority rule: voting

• Win-win methods
– Problem solving: find root causes
– Integration: meet interests and desires of all parties
– Superordinate goal: desired by all but not reachable alone
 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 party’s goals be met

but relatively unconcerned with getting own way

Competing - satisfying own interests; willing to do so at other

party’s expense
 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
 Creating a Conflict-Positive Organization

Value diversity
and confront differences

Take stock to reward success Seek mutual benefits, and

and learn from mistakes unite behind cooperative
Conflict
goals
Positive

Empower employees to feel

confident
and skillful
 Right fight principles

• Fight over issues with game changing potential- values,

challenges with no easy answers

• Fight for a noble purpose- improving the lives of customers,

employees

• Good future facing fight- rather than bickering on the past

Johari Window