Communication, Conflict, and Negotiation

Chapter 6
Communication, Conflict,
and Negotiation
Chapter 6, Nancy Langton and Stephen P. Robbins, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition 6-1
Copyright © 2007 Pearson Education Canada
Chapter Outline
• The Communication Process

• Barriers to Effective Communication
• Current Issues in Communication
• How Communication Breakdown Leads to Conflict
• Conflict Resolution
• Negotiation
Communication
1. How does communication work?

2. What are the barriers to communication?
3. What are other issues in communication?
4. What is conflict?
5. How can conflict be resolved?
6. How does one negotiate effectively?
Communication Problems
• People spend nearly 70 percent of their waking hours
communicating—writing, reading, speaking, listening.
• WorkCanada’s survey of 2039 Canadians in six industrial and
service categories found
– 61 percent of senior executives believed that they did a good job of
communicating with employees.
– only 33 percent of the managers and department heads believed
that senior executives were effective communicators.
– Only 22 percent of hourly workers, 27 percent of clerical
employees, and 22 percent of professional staff reported that senior
executives did a good job of communicating with them.
• Canadians reported less favourable perceptions about their
company’s communications than did Americans.
Communication Terms
• Communication
– The transfer of meaning among people.
• Sender
– Establishes a message, encodes the message, and
chooses the channel to send it.
• Receiver
– Decodes the message and provides feedback to
the sender.
Exhibit 6-1 The Communication
Process Model
Chooses Encodes the Chooses the
a message message channel
Considers the receiver

Sender Receiver
Considers the sender
Provides Decodes the

feedback message
Communication Terms
• Message
– What is communicated.
• Encoding
– Converting a message to symbolic form.
• Channel
– The medium through which a message travels.
• Decoding
– Retranslating a sender’s message.
Choosing Channels
• Channels differ in their capacity to convey

information.
• Rich channels have the ability to
– Handle multiple cues simultaneously
– Facilitate rapid feedback
– Be very personal
Exhibit 6-2 – Information Richness
of Communication Channels
Source: Based on R. H. Lengel and R. L. Daft, “The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive Skill,” Academy of Management Executive, August 1988, pp. 225-232; and R. L.
Daft and R. H. Lengel, “Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness, and Structural Design,” Managerial Science, May 1996, pp. 554-572. Reproduced from R. L. Daft
and R. A. Noe, Organizational Behavior (Forth Worth, TX: Harcourt, 2001), p. 311.
Barriers to Effective Communication
• Filtering
– Refers to a sender manipulating information so
that it will be seen more favourably by the
receiver.
• Selective Perception
– Receivers in the communication process
selectively see and hear based on their needs,
motivations, experience, background, and other
personal characteristics.
Barriers to Effective Communication
• Defensiveness
– When individuals interpret another’s message as
threatening, they often respond in ways that retard
effective communication.
• Information Overload
– When the information we have to work with exceeds our
processing capacity.
• Language
– Words mean different things to different people.
Communicating Under Stress
• Speak clearly.
• Be aware of the nonverbal part of
communicating.
• Think carefully about how you state things.
Exhibit 6-4 Emoticons: Showing
Emoticons in Email
:) Smile :-e Disappointed

<g> Grin :-@ Scream
:( Frown :-0 Yell
;) Wink :-D Shock or surprise
:-[ Really sad face :’ ( Crying
Electronic Communications:Tips for
Writing and Sending E-mail
• Use a subject line.
• Use emoticons and acronyms sparingly for
business communications.
• Write clearly and briefly.
• Copy emails to others only if they really need
the information.
• Sleep on angry emails.
Nonverbal Communication
• Messages conveyed through body movements, facial

expressions, and the physical distance between the
sender and the receiver
– Kinesics
• The study of body motions, such as gestures, facial
configurations, and other movements of the body
– Proxemics
• The study of physical space in interpersonal relationships
Silence as Communication
• Defined as an absence of speech or noise

• Not necessarily inaction—can convey:
– Thinking or contemplating a response to a question
– Anxiety about speaking
– Agreement, dissent, frustration, or anger
• Individuals should be aware of what silence might
mean in any communication.
Communication Barriers Between
Men and Women
• Men use talk to emphasize status, women use
it to create connection.
• Women and men tend to approach points of
conflict differently.
Communication Barriers Between
Men and Women
• Men and women view directness and
indirectness differently.
– Women interpret male directness as an assertion
of status and one-upmanship.
– Men interpret female indirectness as covert,
sneaky, and weak.
• Men criticize women for apologizing, but
women say “I’m sorry” to express empathy.
Cross-Cultural Communication
Difficulties
• Sources of barriers
– Semantics
– Word connotations
– Tonal differences
– Differences in perceptions
Cross-Cultural Communications:
Helpful Rules
• Assume differences until similarity is proven.
• Emphasize description rather than
interpretation or evaluation.
• Practise empathy.
• Treat your interpretations as a working
hypothesis.
Conflict Defined
• A process that begins when one party perceives

that another party has negatively affected, or is
about to negatively affect, something that the
first party cares about.
– Functional
• Supports the goals of the group and improves its
performance
– Dysfunctional
• Hinders group performance
Exhibit 6-5
Conflict Intensity Continuum
Annihilatory Overt efforts to destroy
conflict the other party
Aggressive physical attacks
Threats and ultimatums
Assertive verbal attacks
Overt questioning or
challenging of others
Minor disagreements or
No misunderstandings
conflict
Sources: Based on S. P. Robbins, Managing Organizational Conflict: A Nontraditional Approach (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974),
pp. 93-97; and F. Glasl, “The Process of Conflict Escalation and the Roles of Third Parties,” in Conflict Management and Industrial Relations,
ed. G. B. J. Bomers and R. Peterson (Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff, 1982), pp. 119-140).
Research Findings
• Cognitive
– Conflict related to differences in perspectives and
judgments
• Task-oriented
• Results in identifying differences
• Usually functional conflict
• Affective
– Emotional conflict aimed at a person rather than an issue
• Dysfunctional conflict
Conflict Resolution
• Two Dimensions:
– Cooperativeness
• The degree to which one party attempts to satisfy the other
party’s concerns.
– Assertiveness
• The degree to which one party attempts to satisfy his or her
own concerns.
Five Conflict-Handling Strategies
• Forcing
• Imposing one’s will on the other party.
• Problem solving
• Trying to reach an agreement that satisfies both one’s own and the
other party’s aspirations as much as possible.
• Avoiding
• The desire to withdraw from or suppress a conflict.
• Yielding
• Accepting and incorporating the will of the other party.
• Compromising
• A situation in which each party to a conflict is willing to give up
something.
Exhibit 6-6 Conflict-Handling Strategies
and Accompanying Behaviours
Assertive Forcing Problem solving
Satisfying one’s own interests Clarifying differences to find
without concern for the other’s mutually beneficial outcomes
interests • Exchange information about
Trying to satisfy one’s own concerns
• Make threats and bluffs priorities and preferences

• Make persuasive arguments • Show insights
• Make positional commitments • Make trade-offs between
’
important and unimportant issues

ASSERTIVENESS
Compromising
r
Giving up something to reach an Sources: Based on K. W. Thomas,
outcome (done by both parties) “Conflict and Negotiation Processes in
• Match other’s concessions Organizations,” in Handbook of
• Make conditional promises Industrial and Organizational
and threats Psychology, vol. 3, 2nd ed., ed. M. D.
• Search for a middle ground Dunnette and L. M. Hough (Palo Alto,
CA: Consulting Psychologists Press,
Avoiding Yielding 1992), p. 668; C. K. W. De Dreu, A.
Evers, B. Beersma, E. S. Kluwer, and
Withdrawing from or ignoring Placing the other’s interests above
A. Nauta, “A Theory-Based Measure of
Unassertive
conflict one’s own

Conflict Management Strategies in the
• Don’t think about the issues • Make unilateral concessions
Workplace,” Journal of Organizational
• Make unconditional promises
Behavior 22, no. 6 (September 2001),
• Offer help
pp. 645-668; and D. G. Pruitt and J.
Rubin, Social Conflict: Escalation,
Uncooperative Cooperative Stalemate and Settlement (New York:
Random House, 1986).
COOPERATIVENESS
Trying to satisfy the other person’s concerns
What Can Individuals Do to Manage
Conflict?
• Problem solving
• Developing superordinate goals
• Smoothing
• Compromising
• Avoidance
Techniques for Managing Work-
Related Conflicts
• Expansion of resources
• Authoritative command
• Altering the human variable
• Altering the structural variables
Factors That Lead to
Personality Conflicts
• Misunderstandings based on age, race, or cultural
differences
• Intolerance, prejudice, discrimination, and bigotry
• Perceived inequalities
• Misunderstandings, rumours, or falsehoods about an
individual or group
• Blaming for mistakes or mishaps (finger-pointing)
Tips for Employees Having a Personality
Conflict
• Communicate directly with the other person
to resolve the perceived conflict.
• Avoid dragging co-workers into the conflict.
• If necessary, seek help from direct
supervisors or human resource specialists.
Source: R. Kreitner and A. Kinicki, Organizational Behavior, 6th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), p. 492, Table 14-1. Reprinted by permission of McGraw-Hill Education.
Tips for Third-Party Observers of a
Personality Conflict
• Do not take sides.
• Suggest the parties work things out
themselves.
• If necessary, refer the problem to parties’ direct
supervisors.
Tips When Manager’s Employees Are
Having a Personality Conflict
• Investigate and document conflict.
• If appropriate, take corrective action (e.g.,
feedback or behaviour shaping).
• If necessary, attempt informal dispute
resolution.
• Refer difficult conflicts to human resource
specialists or hired counsellors.
Negotiation
• A process in which two or more parties
exchange goods or services and attempt to
agree upon the exchange rate for them.
– Distributive bargaining
• Negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount
of resources; a win-lose situation.
– Integrative bargaining
• Negotiation that seeks one or more settlements that
can create a win-win solution.
Exhibit 6-7 Distributive vs.
Integrative Bargaining
Bargaining Distributive Integrative
Characteristic Bargaining Bargaining
Available resources Fixed amount of Variable amount of resources to

resources to be divided be divided
I win, you lose I win, you win
Primary motivations
Opposed to each other Convergent or congruent with
Primary interests
each other
Short term
Focus of relationships
Long term
Source: Based on R. J. Lewicki and J. A. Litterer, Negotiation (Homewood, IL:Irwin 1985), p.280
Exhibit 6-8 The Negotiation Process
Developing a strategy
Defining ground rules
Clarification and
justification
Bargaining and
problem solving
Source: This model is based on R. J. Lewicki, “Bargaining

Closure and
and Negotiation,” Exchange: The Organizational
implementation BehaviorTeaching Journal 6, no. 2 (1981), pp. 39-40.
How to Negotiate
• Five steps to negotiation:

– Developing a strategy.
– Definition of ground rules.
– Clarification and justification.
– Bargaining and problem solving.
– Closure and implementation.
• Identify BATNA:
– Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement.
Exhibit 6-9 Staking Out the
Bargaining Zone
$400 $475 $525 $600
Buyer’s aspiration range

Seller’s aspiration range
Bargaining
Zone
Buyer’s Seller’s Buyer’s Seller’s

target resistance resistance target
point point point point
Getting to Yes
• Separate the people from the problem. Work on the issues at
hand, rather than getting involved in personality issues between the
parties.
• Focus on interests, not positions. Try to identify what each person
needs or wants, rather than coming up with an unmovable position.
• Look for ways to achieve mutual gains. Rather than focusing on
one “right” solution for your position, brainstorm for solutions that
will satisfy the needs of both parties.
• Use objective criteria to achieve a fair solution. Try to focus on
fair standards, such as market value, expert opinion, norms, or laws
to help guide decision making.
Summary and Implications
1. How does communication work?

• Communication works through choosing the correct
channel, being an effective listener, and using feedback.
2. What are the barriers to communication?
• Errors arise from filtering, selective perception,
defensiveness, information overload, and language.
3. What are the other issues in communication?
- The big topics in communication are the
importance of nonverbal communication and
silence, gender, and cross-cultural differences in
communication.
4. What is conflict?
- Conflict occurs when one party perceives that
another party’s actions will have a negative effect
on something the first party cares about.
5. How can conflict be resolved?

– Depending on how a conflict is defined, it can
be settled in a win-lose solution or a win-win
solution.
6. How does one negotiate effectively?
– Integrative bargaining tends to provide
outcomes that satisfy all parties and build
lasting relationships.
OB at Work
For Review
1. Describe the communication process and identify its key
components. Give an example of how this process
operates with both oral and written messages.
2. Contrast encoding and decoding.
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of email? Of
instant messaging?
4. What is nonverbal communication? Does it aid or hinder
verbal communication?
5. What does the phrase “sometimes the real message in a
communication is buried in the silence” mean?
For Review
6. What are the managerial implications from the research
contrasting male and female communication styles?
7. List four specific problems related to language
difficulties in cross-cultural communication.
8. What is the difference between functional and
dysfunctional conflict? What determines functionality?
9. What defines the bargaining zone in distributive
bargaining?
10. How can you improve your negotiating effectiveness?
For Critical Thinking
1. “Ineffective communication is the fault of the sender.” Do you agree or
disagree? Discuss.
2. Using the concept of channel richness, give examples of messages best
conveyed by email, in face-to-face communication, and on the
company bulletin board.
3. Why do you think so many people are poor listeners?
4. Assume one of your co-workers had to negotiate a contract with
someone from China. What problems might he or she face? If the co-
worker asked for advice, what suggestions would you make to help
facilitate a settlement?
5. From your own experience, describe a situation you were involved in
where the conflict was dysfunctional. Describe another example, from
your experience, where the conflict was functional. Would the other
parties in the conflicts agree with your assessment of what is functional
or dysfunctional?
Point-CounterPoint
• Conflict Is Good for the • All Conflicts Are
Organization Dysfunctional!
 Conflict is a means by which  The negative consequences
to bring about radical change. from conflict can be
devastating.
 Conflict facilitates group
cohesiveness.  Effective managers build
teamwork, not conflict.
 Conflict improves group and  Competition is good for an
organizational effectiveness. organization, but not conflict.
 Conflict brings about a  Managers who accept and
slightly higher, more stimulate conflict don’t
constructive level of tension. survive in organizations.
Breakout Group Exercises
• Form small groups to discuss the following topics:
1. Describe a situation in which you ignored someone. What
impact did it have on that person’s subsequent
communication behaviours?
2. What difference have you observed in the ways that men
and women communicate?
3. You and two other students carpool to school every day. The
driver has recently taken to playing a new radio station
quite loudly. You do not like the music, or the loudness.
Using one of the conflict-handling intentions, indicate how
you might go about resolving this conflict.
Giving More Effective Feedback
• Relate feedback to existing performance goals and
clear expectations.
• Give specific feedback tied to observable behaviour or
measurable results.
• Channel feedback toward key result areas.
• Give feedback as soon as possible.
• Give positive feedback for improvement, not just final
results.
• Focus feedback on performance, not personalities.
• Base feedback on accurate and credible information.
Supplemental Material
Slides for activities I do in my own

classroom
Effective Listening
If you want to improve your listening skills, look to these
behaviours as guides:
1. Make eye contact.
2. Exhibit affirmative head nods and appropriate facial
expressions.
3. Avoid distracting actions or gestures.
4. Ask questions.
5. Paraphrase.
6. Avoid interrupting the speaker.
7. Don’t overtalk.
8. Make smooth transitions between the roles of speaker and
listener.
Nonverbal Exercise
• Rank order in terms of importance for leadership:
– Extroverted personality
– Sensitivity to others
– Technical expertise
– Strong ethical values
– Concern for getting the task done
– Charisma
– Internal locus of control
– Power
• Directions: Sit on your hands. Use NO nonverbal
communication (gestures, facial movements, body
movements, etc.).
Nonverbal Exercise Questions
• How effective was communication?

• What barriers to communication existed?
• What happens when nonverbal communication
is absent?
• What purpose does nonverbal communication
serve?
Communication Questions
• What types of difficulties have you

experienced when communicating with
someone from a different culture than yours?
• How do you let the other person know you
have heard what they are saying? How often
do you do this?
• Describe an example of communication
breakdown. What led to the breakdown?

Communication, Conflict, and Negotiation

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Chapter 6

• The Communication Process

1. How does communication work?

Considers the receiver

Considers the sender

Provides Decodes the

• Channels differ in their capacity to convey

:) Smile :-e Disappointed

• Messages conveyed through body movements, facial

• Defined as an absence of speech or noise

• A process that begins when one party perceives

Aggressive physical attacks

Threats and ultimatums

Assertive verbal attacks

• Make threats and bluffs priorities and preferences

important and unimportant issues

conflict one’s own

Available resources Fixed amount of Variable amount of resources to

Defining ground rules

Source: This model is based on R. J. Lewicki, “Bargaining

• Five steps to negotiation:

Buyer’s aspiration range

Buyer’s Seller’s Buyer’s Seller’s

1. How does communication work?

5. How can conflict be resolved?

Slides for activities I do in my own

• How effective was communication?

• What types of difficulties have you

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