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MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION

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Running head: MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
1

Managing Conflict and Negotiating

Anthony Emeka Nwobodo

MGT87500

California Southern University

Dr Daniel Zimmerman

January 19th, 2020

MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
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Abstract

Conflict is a natural and inevitable occurrence in any organizational setting which makes it

unavoidable; hence the introduction of concepts like conflict management., conflict resolution

and negotiation. These concepts are supremely important on harnessing the benefits of healthy

conflicts; while also decimating conflicts that debilitate organizations. The review focuses on

types and dimensions of conflicts with various acceptable ways to handle them in an

organization, which in the end will enhance achievement of organizational goals, employee

effectiveness and strategy alignment across all cadre of employees. Unresolved Conflict with the

multidimensional cost is the bane of progress in any organization, whether it is sovereign, public

or private, and as such demands a thorough blend of study for complete grasp of the underlying

factors and conflict dynamics. The organization that will excel in productivity, profitability,

agility and sustainability must incorporate effective management of conflict, as a critical success

factor in its quest to achieve and surpass corporate objectives. This makes the development of

conflict competence, which is the ability to manage conflicts effectively; a key strategic

advantage among managers and leaders.

Key Words (Conflict management, conflict resolution, negotiation, employee effectiveness,

strategy alignment, conflict competence)

MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
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Impact of Conflict

According to Wall and Callister (1995) conflict can be defined as a process in which

one party or an individual perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by

another party or individual. In other words, Conflict, occurs, when a discrepancy of perspectives

is marked by tension, emotion and polarization, which could be real, imaginary or anticipated.

Survey shows that 20% of Fortune 500 senior executives’ time are spent in litigation-related

activities while in 1995 over 18 million cases were filled in the US with associated cost of 300

billion dollars (Levine, 1998). The number of cases in US as at 2018 has equally increased to

40million with cost estimated at 589 billion dollars which portrays an increase of 100% over

the last two decades; while associated cost increased by 96.3% within the same time interval. In

the same measure the population of lawyers in America indicates a total of 1,338,678 licensed,

active which is a 15.2% rise over the past decade (“Top court Filing Statistics”,2019).

Toffler (1995) proposed that no society changes without conflict; but with conflict, one should

have a clear understanding of what the solutions might be or, at least, some sort of resolution

where there is a lesson to be learned. Conflict in an organization is not entirely debilitating

because there are functional conflicts that can be beneficial to an organization if properly

stimulated as against dysfunctional conflicts that threaten organization. Runde and Flanagan

(2012) assert that when conflict is mismanaged, costs mount and some out-of-pocket costs like

absenteeism and lawsuits are relatively easy to see and compute. Others, like poor decision-

making, lost opportunities and diminished quality of working relationships, can prove more

costly, but they are more difficult to quantify. The term conflict can be viewed differently as war,

opportunity or as a journey based on circumstances, ideology and involvement.

MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
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Functional versus Dysfunctional Conflict

The contrast between functional conflict and dysfunctional conflict hinges on whether the

organization is served better or threatened by way of the conflict. Some conflicts support the

objectives of the organization and enhance performance hence the term functional, cooperative

or constructive forms of conflict. There are also the types of conflicts that impede organizational

performance sometimes with gross detrimental effect and these are termed dysfunctional or

destructive conflicts. They are undesirable and the manager should make calculated efforts to

obliterate them from the organization (Robbins,1978). The good understanding on antecedents of

conflict will enable managers become proactive through awareness and anticipation which

should be followed with actions to resolve it, if it becomes dysfunctional. Tjosvold (2010)

proposed three desired conflict outcomes for cooperative conflict model which are equitable and

fair agreement, stronger relationship and learning.

Types of Conflict

There are three types of conflicts namely personality conflicts, intergroup conflicts and are

briefly analyzed below. Each of these types of conflicts show a different pattern of conflict

antecedent which is of utmost importance for good understanding, if leaders are to be proactive

in managing the conflicts.

Personality Conflict

Personality conflict can be defined as interpersonal dissent based on personal dislike,

disagreement, ideological differences or different styles (Kreitner & Kinicki,2013). Personality

conflict is inevitable in any organization because of different personality traits among employee.

One of the cardinal actuators of personality conflicts in organization is incivility.

MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
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Incivility that erodes healthy organizational values and ethics which leads to depletion of

resources. This Ultimately leads employees to decrease work effort, time on the job,

productivity, and performance. When vicious incivility is not decimated, job satisfaction and

organizational loyalty will fall, which will have negative ramifications on the organization like

individual or class action lawsuits against the organization.

Intergroup Conflict

This type of conflict that exist among work groups, teams, and departments is a profound

threat to organizational competitiveness. In-group thinking is the main precursor to intergroup

conflicts through excessive cohesiveness among the in-group members. This leads them to view

others outside their group with disdainful perception while ascribing moral, ideological and apt

superiority to themselves over others. It is worth mentioning that ethnocentrism is a variant of in-

group thinking. Contact hypothesis is a recommended antithesis to intergroup conflict.

According to the contact hypothesis, the more the members of different groups interact, the less

intergroup conflict they will experience. (Pettigrew & Tropp,2006)

Cross-Cultural Conflict

Cross cultural conflicts emanate from cross cultural differences and differing assumptions

on management styles, values, and attitudes. The propensity for success when conducting

business across cultures, often hinges on avoiding and minimizing actual or perceived conflicts.

One of the acceptable means of reducing cross cultural organization is by hiring an international

consultant while a manger with good cultural intelligence will also reduce cases of cross-cultural

conflicts
MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
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Managing Conflicts

There are diversities of conflicts in organization and requisite skills with techniques are needed

to manage conflicts which are very paramount for mastery by managers against the challenges

triggered by conflicts. These requisite skills and techniques form the fulcrum of Conflict

management and Conflict resolution. Conflict management deals with reducing the negative

facets of conflict and enhancing the positive aspects of it while conflict resolution deals with

removal of all manner of conflicts (Alper & Tjosvold,2000).

Stimulating Functional Conflict

Functional conflict is also termed constructive conflict since its can be stimulated for the

benefits of the organization. There are two proven method for stimulating functional conflicts

which are devil’s advocacy and dialectic methods. Devil’s advocacy in today’s organizations

involves assigning someone the role of a critic while dialectic method calls for managers to

foster a structured debate of opposing view- points prior to making a decision. (Schwenk, 1984)

Conflict Triangles

According to Ruzich(1999) a conflict triangle “occurs when two people are having a

problem and, instead of addressing the problem directly with each other, one of them gets a third

person involved.”(p129). Employees tend to form political coalitions because there is power in

numbers in today’s organizations. The remedial option against conflict triangle is de-triangling

which involves the third-party channeling the disputants’ energy in a direct and positive manner

toward each other.

MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
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Alternative Styles for Handling Dysfunctional Conflict

There are five different conflict-handling styles which are integrating, obliging,

dominating, avoiding, and compromising (Rahim ,2001). The aforementioned styles have both

strengths and limitations and is subject to circumstantial restraint

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). This is a process in which a neutral third party

as mediator or arbitrator helps parties who are enmeshed in a dispute come to an agreement. The

techniques for ADR enumerated below in descending order of easiness in terms of complexity

and cost are facilitation, conciliation, peer review, ombudsman, mediation and arbitration. ADR

policies are nowadays formed by organization on various combination of these techniques

(Kreitner et al,2013)

Negotiation

Negotiation can be defined as a give-and-take decision-making process involving

interdependent parties with different preferences (Neale & Bazerman, 1992). Negotiation in

conflict management is a method of settling differences as well as a process by which

compromise is reached or agreement made so as to avoid disputes. Common examples include

labor–management negotiations over wages, hours, and working conditions and negotiations

between supply chain specialists and vendors involving price, delivery schedules, and credit

terms. Self-managed work teams with overlapping task boundaries also need to rely on

negotiated agreements.

Types of Negotiation

There are two types of negotiation and they are distributive and integrative Negotiation.

A distributive negotiation usually occurs when one person gains at the expense of the other.

Integrative negotiation happens when both parties have something favorable or beneficial from
MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
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the agreement. Distributive negotiation involves traditional win–lose thinking while Integrative

negotiation calls for a progressive win–win strategy.

Ethical Pitfalls in Negotiation

The success of integrative negotiation, such as added-value negotiation, hinges to a large

extent on the quality of information exchanged. Dishonesty, secrecy, misrepresentation of facts

and other unethical ploys will reduce trust and goodwill, both vital in win–win negotiation

Conclusion

Managing Conflict and negotiation can be deduced from this review as sine qua non for

employee effectiveness and organizational productivity. The inevitability of conflicts in

organization makes the good grasp of the requisite skills/techniques analyzed in the review a key

indicator for successful managerial role in any organization. This in turn will boost employee

morale and enhance performance which will ultimately translate to improved organizational

efficiency. It behooves on all managers, leaders and executives to create structures and policies

that will take cognizance of the primacy of conflict competence in successful leadership.
MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
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References

Alper, S.; Tjosvold, D.; Law, K. S. (2000). Conflict management, efficacy, and performance in

organizational teams. Personnel Psychology. 53 (3): 625–642. doi:10.1111/j.1744-

6570.2000.tb00216.x.

Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2013). Organizational behavior, (10th ed). New York, NY:

McGraw Hill Publishing Company

Neale M. A.& Bazerman, M. H. (August,1992) Negotiating rationally: The power and impact of

the Negotiator’s Frame. Academy of Management Executive, pp 42–51.

Pettigrew, T.F.& Tropp, L. R. (May,2006) A Meta-analytic test of inter- group contact theory,

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, pp 751–83.

Rahim, M.A. (2001) Managing Conflict in Organizations (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing

Group.

Robbins, S.P(Winter 1978) Conflict management and ‘Conflict resolution’ are not synonymous

terms,” California Management Review, p 70.

Runde, C. E. & Flanagan T. A. (2012). Becoming a conflict competent leader: How You and

your organization can manage conflict effectively (2nd edition): San Francisco,

CA: Jossey-Bass

Ruzich, P(July,1999) Triangles: Tools for Untangling Interpersonal Messes, HR Magazine,

p 129.
MANAGING CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
10

Schwenk, C. R. (April 1984) Devil’s Advocacy in Managerial Decision Making, Journal of

Management Studies, pp 153–68.

Tjosvold, D(June,2010). Learning to manage Conflict, Academy of Management Journal, pp

596–616

Toffler A. (1995). Creating a new civilization: The politics of the third wave. Atlanta, GA:

Turner Publishing.

Wall, J.A. & Callister R. R. (1995), Conflict and Its management, Journal of Management, no

3, p 517.
BENEFITS OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND RESOLUTION
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Organizational Benefits of Conflict Management and Resolution

Effective conflict management and conflict resolution are of prime importance in boosting

employee morale and enhancement of effectiveness while also deepening employee loyalty.

Employees must give their hundred percent at work to ensure optimal productivity which will

not be feasible if the employees are constantly entangled in fighting and vicious criticism.

Conflict management and resolution play paramount role at workplaces to prevent conflicts and

for the employees to focus on their work for superb effectiveness. Some surveys have shown that

managers spend 20% to 40% of their time resolving conflicts which inhibits action and impedes

innovation. The proposes strategies and techniques when structured into the organization policies

and corporate ethics ultimately decimated the percentage time the managers in the organization

spend in managing conflicts. This in turn increased the conflict competences of the managers

which means developing and using their cognitive, emotional and behavioral skills to enhance

the productive outcomes of conflict while deescalating destructive conflicts. executives for

effective management. The highlighted strategies and techniques were all pivoted on the

generally accepted ways of managing conflicts.

Strategic Initiatives

These initiatives were meant to enhance conflict competencies among managers and

leaders in the organization when implemented which in turn boosted employee effectiveness and

productivity. This required strategic investment, cultural agility, strategic alignment and

dedication on the side the executive management and any ad hoc department in order to see the

positive impact. They are enumerated below for recommendation and subsequent implementation.

1 The organization should ensure vicious cycles of incivility are avoided, or broken early,

with an organizational culture that places a high value on respect for co-workers. This
BENEFITS OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND RESOLUTION
12

requires managers and leaders to act as caring and courteous role models. A positive

spirit of cooperation, as opposed to one based on negativism and aggression

2 Programs and training should be devised for workplace etiquette training.

3 Managers should discourage in group thinking and excessive cohesiveness which are

the seeds of intergroup conflicts.

4 Human resources management should encourage the contact hypothesis which states

that the more the members of different groups interact, the less intergroup conflict they

will experience.

5 Leaders should Conduct team building to reduce intragroup conflict and prepare

employees for cross-functional teamwork.

6 Stimulation of functional conflict through devil advocacy and dialectics should be

encouraged among line managers and supervisors.

7 Human recourses management to institutionalize the five different conflict-handling

styles which are: integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding, and compromising.

8 Managers to Foster positive attitudes toward members of other groups (empathy,

compassion, sympathy)

9 The organization should create a favorable policy toward entrenchment of Alternative

Dispute Resolution (ADR), while discouraging conflict triangles which has to do with

inordinate invitation of third party into a conflict

10 Stereotypes also need to be identified and neutralized so as to reduce cross cultural

conflict.
BENEFITS OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND RESOLUTION
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11 The organization should constantly train business facing staff on negotiation and

fundamental principles guiding negotiations as a way of deescalating conflicts in the

work place.

Critical Success Factors

These factors enabled the organization to achieve the objectives of employee effectiveness

and increased organizational productivity through building and development of conflict

competencies among the managers and line supervisors.

Human Resources Alignment. Strategies cannot be effective unless the people who have

to carry it out are motivated and trained to do so. Motivation and training are, of course, the natural

domain of HR, which typically carries out annual performance reviews and personal goal setting

and manages employee incentive and competency development programs.

Management and Monitoring of the Strategic Initiatives. This implementation of this

strategy should lie with executive management, managers and Human Resources department. It is

also imperative that an Ad hoc team be created to effectively manage and monitor the

implementation of this conflict management and resolution initiatives.

Business Communication of Strategy. Effective business communication to employees

about strategy and expectations is vital if employees are to contribute to the strategy. This

communication should be a top to bottom approach at all cadres so that all employees will be on

board this strategic initiative.

Knowledge Sharing and Management. This entails sharing of knowledge arising from

the implementation of this strategy for positive feedback and amendment where needed.
BENEFITS OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND RESOLUTION
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Planning and Budgeting. The budgets prepared by the finance department, should reflect

those established in the strategic planning process and should incorporate funding and personnel

resources for cross-functional activities which will reduce intra group conflicts

Organizational Alignment. The company can execute strategy well only if it aligns the

strategies of its business units, support functions, and external partners with its broad enterprise

strategy. A key component of alignment is translating an organization's core values into behaviors

and decisions on the part of every member of the organization and this translation takes effort and

continuous reinforcement. Alignment creates focus and coordination across even the most

complex organizations, making it easier to identify and realize synergies.

Outcome and Benefits

The benefits of the strategies and techniques when implemented improved employee

effectiveness and employee loyalty while enhancing organizational productivity.

1 Cost reduction through employee effectiveness, higher return on investment and

employee retention

2 This increased productivity through reduction in absenteeism and spike in innovation

which spurred the company to greater heights

3 It betters the risk management framework of the organization through reduction in

aggression, workplace violence, sexual harassment and the risk of individual and

class action law suits

4 The loyalty and commitment among employees increased, which in turn reduces

employee turnover and correlates positively with brand equity of the organization.
BENEFITS OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND RESOLUTION
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5 Work pressure, Stress and tensions was greatly reduced in the workplace and in turn

lowered the occurrence of health issues related to work pressure, stress and emotional

tensions with the cost associated with the health treatment by the organization

6 The strategies fostered stronger relationships between employees and management by

increasing awareness and understanding of different perspectives over issues and

7 The implementation invigorated a problem-solving mindset among employees which

is synonymous with critical thinking and a precursor to pioneer innovation

BENEFITS OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND RESOLUTION
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References

Alper, S.; Tjosvold, D.; Law, K. S. (2000). Conflict management, efficacy, and performance in

organizational teams. Personnel Psychology. 53 (3): 625–642. doi:10.1111/j.1744-

6570.2000.tb00216.x.

Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2013). Organizational behavior, (10th ed). New York, NY:

McGraw Hill Publishing Company

Neale M. A.& Bazerman, M. H. (August,1992) Negotiating rationally: The power and impact of

the Negotiator’s Frame. Academy of Management Executive, pp 42–51.

Pettigrew, T.F.& Tropp, L. R. (May,2006) A Meta-analytic test of inter- group contact theory,

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, pp 751–83.

Rahim, M.A. (2001) Managing Conflict in Organizations (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing

Group.

Robbins, S.P(Winter 1978) Conflict management and ‘Conflict resolution’ are not synonymous

terms,” California Management Review, p 70.

Runde, C. E. & Flanagan T. A. (2012). Becoming a conflict competent leader: How You and

your organization can manage conflict effectively (2nd edition): San Francisco,

CA: Jossey-Bass.

Ruzich, P(July,1999) Triangles: Tools for Untangling Interpersonal Messes, HR Magazine,

p 129.
 BENEFITS OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND RESOLUTION
17

Schwenk, C. R. (April 1984) Devil’s Advocacy in Managerial Decision Making, Journal of

Management Studies, pp 153–68.

Tjosvold, D(June,2010). Learning to manage Conflict, Academy of Management Journal, pp

596–616

Toffler A. (1995). Creating a new civilization: The politics of the third wave. Atlanta, GA:

Turner Publishing.

Wall, J.A. & Callister R. R. (1995), Conflict and Its management, Journal of Management, no

3, p 517.

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