CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
You are very
bossy & you
always boss me
around.
“Bossy” ! Me..
You must be
kidding. Dude
you are my
colleague.
WHAT IS CONFLICT?
• “A disagreement between people that may be
the result of different:-
– Ideas
– Perspectives
– Priorities
– Preferences
– Beliefs
– Values
– Goals
– Organisational structures.
UNDERSTANDING ONFLICT
• The S-LTC Strategy of conflict Management
• Conflict is natural, inevitable, necessary, and normal.
• it may result in better decision making, a reduction in
complacency, more self-criticism, greater creativity, and
more solutions to problems.
• Functional/constructive conflict drives the change
processes that all organizations need
to survive and prosper.
• The problem is not the existence of conflict but
how we handle it.
WHY DOES IT ARISE?
People differ, so they:
• see things differently
• want different things
• have different thinking styles, which prompts them to disagree
• are predisposed to disagree
• have different personalities
• have different status
• have ideological and philosophical differences
• have different goals
• have different approaches
• are influenced by fear, force, fairness or funds
TYPES OF CONFLICTS
• INTRAPERSONAL
– tension or stress within…
– often over competing roles
• INTERPERSONAL
– between 2 or more people, e.g. nurses
– disagreement, values or styles don’t match
– Miscommunication
• INTERGROUP
– arises between groups over issues/goals/solutions
INTENTIONS OF CONFLICTING PARTIES
•Competition
• Collaboration
• Avoidance
• Compromise
• Accommodation
INTENTIONS OF CONFLICTING PARTIES
Competition
• Win – Lose
• Maximum of assertiveness
• Minimum of cooperativeness
• Behavior intended to meet the concerns of others
INTENTIONS OF CONFLICTING PARTIES
Collaboration
• Searching for common ground and a creative
solution
• Is an attempt by all parties to the conflict to
attain everyone’s objectives
INTENTIONS OF CONFLICTING PARTIES
Avoidance
• Smoothing over; ignoring
• Is withdrawal from the conflict
• the minimum of both cooperation and
assertiveness
INTENTIONS OF CONFLICTING PARTIES
Compromise
• Each giving up a part
• Is a position in which each party to the
conflict both gains and loses.
• It is characterized by moderate cooperation
and moderate assertiveness.
INTENTIONS OF CONFLICTING PARTIES
Accommodation
• Going along
• Is an intention that reflects a high degree of
cooperation and a low degree
of assertiveness.
EFFECTS OF CONFLICTS
POSITIVE EFFECTS
• Diffuses more serious conflicts
• Stimulates a search for new facts or
resolutions.
• Increases group cohesion and performance
• Demonstrates measure of power or ability
EFFECTS OF CONFLICTS
NEGATIVE EFFECTS
• Hinders smooth working
• Hampers the decision making process
• Causes the formation of competing
coalitions.
• Reduces productivity
TOOLS FOR RESOLVING CONFLICTS
• Win-Win principles
– Separate the people from the problem
– Focus on interests, not positions
– Invent options for mutual gains
– Insist on using objective criteria
• Interpersonal communications
• Active listening skills
• Ask for constructive criticism
• Build trust
• Deal with anger
Separate the people from the
problem
• Deal with a problem AND maintain a good working relationship
• Put yourself in their shoes
• Don’t deduce their intentions from your fears
• Don’t blame them for your problem
• Discuss each other’s perceptions
• Give them a stake in the outcome by making sure they participate
in the process
• Face-saving: make your proposals consistent with their values
• Allow the other side to let off steam
• Don’t react to emotional outbursts
• Speak about yourself, not about them
• Build a working relationship
• Face the problem, not the people
Situation : Positions and Interests
Place: Two Brothers Sharing a Room
Issue: What to do about the Stereo
POSITIONS
Brother #1: “I can play it Brother #2: “Stop the
anytime.” music.”
MUTUAL INTERESTS: shared bedroom; they have
to live together; they don’t want to fight all the
time; want to keep parents off their backs.
Brother #1: “I need the SEPARATE Brother #2: “I need to study,
music to be creative.” I want to win a scholarship.”
INTERESTS
Interpersonal Communication
• Stop talking
• Put people at ease
• Show you want to listen
• Remove distractions
• Empathize
• Have patience
• Hold your temper
• Don’t argue or criticize
• Ask questions
• Stop talking – this is the first and last, because
you can’t listen while you are talking
Deal with anger
• When you find yourself being very upset and wanting to
scream at others, slow your pace, sit back, and relax.
• “Be quick to hear; slow to speak; and slow to act”
– Get the person to repeat his/her concern
– Take notes (shows you are interested)
– Really listen: sometimes people just need to feel like
they’ve been heard
• You can’t control others’ behavior; but you can control your
own.
• You choose to be a thermometer (react to temperature) or
thermostat (control temperature)
• “An eye for an eye and pretty soon we’re all blind” (Gandhi)
• “The best general is one who never fights” (Sun Tzu)
STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING CONFLICTS
Tosi, Rizzo, and Carroll (1986) suggested four
ways of managing conflicts, namely through:
- Styles: Conflict handling behaviors styles
(such as competition, collaboration,
compromise, avoidance or accommodation)
may be suitably encouraged, depending
upon the situation.
STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING CONFLICTS
- Improving organizational practices. After
identifying the reason for the conflict situation,
suitable organizational practices can be used to
resolve conflicts,including:-
- reducing vagueness,
- minimizing authority- and domain-related disputes,
- improving policies, procedures and rules,
- re-apportioning existing resources or adding new,
- altering communications,
- movement of personnel, and
- changing reward systems.
STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING CONFLICTS
Special roles and structure :A manager has to:
- initiate structural changes needed, including re-location or
merging of specialized units.
- shoulder liaison functions, and
act as an integrator to resolve conflicts.
A person with problem-solving skills and respected by the
conflicting parties can be designated to de-fuse conflicts
STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING CONFLICTS
Confrontation techniques
- finding a mutually acceptable and enduring solution
through collaboration and compromise.
- involves a process of defining the problem, searching
for alternatives and their evaluation, and
deciding by consensus.
ORGANISATION &
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
• For any organisation to be effective and efficient in
achieving its goals, the people in the organisation need to
have a shared vision of what they are striving for .
• You also need ways of recognising and
resolving conflict amongst people, so that conflict
does not become so serious that co-operation is impossible.
• All members of any organisation need to have ways of
keeping conflict to a minimum - and of solving problems
caused by conflict, before conflict becomes a major
obstacle to your work.
