Conflict and Negotiation

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 14-0

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
– That point in an ongoing activity when an interaction
“crosses over” to become an interparty conflict
 Encompasses a wide range of conflicts that people
experience in organizations
– Incompatibility of goals
– Differences over interpretations of facts
– Disagreements based on behavioral expectations

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Transitions in Conflict Thought
 Traditional View of Conflict
– The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be avoided
– Prevalent view in the 1930s-1940s

 Conflict resulted from:

– Poor communication
– Lack of openness
– Failure to respond to employee needs

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Continued Transitions in Conflict Thought
 Resolution Focused View of Conflict
– The belief that conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in
any group
– Focuses on productive conflict resolution
 Interactionist View of Conflict
– The belief that conflict is not only a positive force in a group
but that it is absolutely necessary for a group to perform
effectively
– Current view

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Forms of Interactionist Conflict

Functional  Task Conflict

Conflict – Conflicts over content and goals of the work
• Conflict that – Low-to-moderate levels of this type are
supports the FUNCTIONAL
goals of the group
and improves its  Relationship Conflict
performance
– Conflict based on interpersonal relationships
– Almost always DYSFUNCTIONAL

Dysfunctional  Process Conflict

Conflict – Conflict over how work gets done
– Low levels of this type are FUNCTIONAL
• Conflict that
hinders group
performance

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The Conflict Process

E X H I B I T 14-1

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Stage I: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility
 Communication
– Semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, over communication and
“noise”
 Structure
– Size and specialization of jobs
– Jurisdictional clarity/ambiguity
– Member/goal incompatibility
– Leadership styles (close or participative)
– Reward systems (win-lose)
– Dependence/interdependence of groups
 Personal Variables
– Differing individual value systems
– Personality types

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Stage II: Cognition and Personalization
 Important stage for two reasons:
1. Conflict is defined
• Perceived Conflict
– Awareness by one or more parties of the existence of
conditions that create opportunities for conflict to arise

2. Emotions are expressed that have a strong impact on the

eventual outcome
• Felt Conflict
– Emotional involvement in a conflict creating anxiety,
tension, frustration, or hostility

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 Stage III: Intentions
 Intentions
– Decisions to act in a given way
– Note: behavior does not always accurately reflect intent
 Dimensions of conflict-handling intentions:
– Cooperativeness
• Attempting to satisfy
the other party’s
concerns
– Assertiveness
• Attempting to satisfy
one’s own concerns

Source: K. Thomas, “Conflict and Negotiation Processes in Organizations,” in M.D. Dunnette and L.M. Hough (eds.), Handbook of Industrial and
Organizational Psychology, 2nd ed., vol. 3 (Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1992), p. 668. Arrows added. Used with permission.

E X H I B I T 14-2

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 Stage IV: Behavior

 Conflict Management
– The use of resolution and stimulation techniques to achieve
the desired level of conflict

Source: Based on S.P. Robbins, Managing Organizational Conflict: A Nontraditional Approach (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974), pp. 93–
97; and F. Glasi, “The Process of Conflict Escalation and the Roles of Third Parties,” in G.B.J. Bomers and R. Peterson (eds.), Conflict Management
and Industrial Relations (Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff, 1982), pp. 119–40.

E X H I B I T 14-3

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Conflict Management Techniques
 Conflict Resolution  Conflict Stimulation
Techniques Techniques
– Problem solving – Bringing in outsiders
– Superordinate goals – Communication
– Expansion of resources – Restructuring the
– Avoidance organization
– Smoothing – Appointing a devil’s
– Compromise advocate
– Authoritative command
– Altering the human
variable
– Altering the structural
variables
Source: Based on S. P. Robbins, Managing Organizational Conflict: A Nontraditional Approach (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974), pp.
59–89
SEE E X H I B I T 14-4

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Stage V: Outcomes
 Functional  Dysfunctional
– Increased group – Development of discontent
performance
– Reduced group
– Improved quality of effectiveness
decisions
– Retarded communication
– Stimulation of creativity
and innovation – Reduced group
cohesiveness
– Encouragement of interest
and curiosity – Infighting among group
members overcomes group
– Provision of a medium for goals
problem solving
– Creation of an environment
for self-evaluation and
change

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Negotiation
Negotiation (Bargaining)
– A process in which two or more parties exchange goods or
services and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for them
 Two General Approaches:
– 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

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The Negotiation Process
 BATNA
– The Best Alternative
To a Negotiated
Agreement
– The lowest acceptable
value (outcome) to an
individual for a
negotiated agreement

E X H I B I T 14-7

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Individual Differences in Negotiation Effectiveness
 Personality Traits
– Extroverts and agreeable people are weaker at distributive
negotiation; disagreeable introverts are best
– Intelligence is a weak indicator of effectiveness
 Mood and Emotion
– Ability to show anger helps in distributive bargaining
– Positive moods and emotions help in integrative bargaining
 Gender
– Men and women negotiate the same way, but may
experience different outcomes

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Third-Party Negotiations
 Four Basic Third-Party Roles
– Mediator
• A neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using
reasoning, persuasion, and suggestions for alternatives
– Conciliator
• A trusted third party who provides an informal communication
link between the negotiator and the opponent
– Consultant
– An impartial third party, skilled in conflict management, who attempts
to facilitate creative problem solving through communication and
analysis
– Arbitrator
• A third party to a negotiation who has the authority to dictate an
agreement.

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