Handling

Conflicts

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 Defining conflict
• 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

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Conflicts
• Which of the following you believe in? Write down your response.
• All types of conflict are bad, and they must be avoided.
• Conflicts are inevitable; in fact some conflict may be useful as well!
• As a leader, I should ensure that some conflict must be there in my group.

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Types of Conflict Can occur over…

• Task • Incompatibility of goals

• Process
• Differences over
• Relationship
interpretations of facts
• Disagreements based on
behavioral expectations

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Conflict process

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Sources of Conflict
• Structural features
• Careless communication
• Perception and Attribution
• Emotion
• Values

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 Reasons for Potential Opposition or Incompatibility

• Communication
• Semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, 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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Difference in depth of conflict

Perceived Conflict Felt Conflict

Awareness by one or more parties of Emotional involvement in a conflict
the existence of conditions that creating anxiety, tenseness, frustration,
create opportunities for conflict to or hostility
arise

Reflect on the exercises to find out how you reacted to various conflicts?

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Levels of conflict
• Within an individual
• Between individuals
• Between groups/departments
• Between organizations
• Between nations

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 Five Intentions of Managing Conflict

A manager is more successful if s/he feels comfortable using a variety of styles

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Situational Factors
• How important is the issue?
• How important is the relationship with the other person?
• How much power do I have?
• Time available

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Use Competition/Forcing/Dominating
• When quick, decisive action is vital (in emergencies); on
important issues
• Where unpopular actions need implementing (in cost cutting,
enforcing unpopular rules, discipline)
• On issues vital to the organization’s welfare
• When you know you’re right
• Against people who take advantage of noncompetitive behavior

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Use Collaboration/Integrating
• To find an integrative solution when both sets of concerns are too
important to be compromised
• When your objective is to learn
• To merge insights from people with different perspectives
• To gain commitment by incorporating concerns into a consensus
• To work through feelings that have interfered with a relationship

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Use Avoiding style
• When an issue is trivial, or more important issues are pressing
• When you perceive no chance of satisfying your concerns
• When potential disruption outweighs the benefits of resolution
• To let people cool down and regain perspective
• When gathering information supersedes immediate decision
• When others can resolve the conflict effectively
• When issues seem tangential or symptomatic of other issues

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Use Accommodation/Obliging
• When you find you’re wrong and to allow a better position to be
heard
• To learn, and to show your reasonableness
• When issues are more important to others than to yourself and to
satisfy others and maintain cooperation
• To build social credits for later issues
• To minimize loss when outmatched and losing
• When harmony and stability are especially important
• To allow employees to develop by learning from mistakes
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Use Compromise
• When goals are important but not worth the effort of potential
disruption of more assertive approaches
• When opponents with equal power are committed to mutually
exclusive goals
• To achieve temporary settlements to complex issues
• To arrive at expedient solutions under time pressure
• As a backup when collaboration or competition is unsuccessful

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Handling Conflict
Resolution Techniques Stimulation Techniques
• Problem solving • Bringing in outsiders
• Superordinate goals
• Communication
• Expansion of resources
• Avoidance • Restructuring the
• Smoothing organization
• Compromise • Appointing a devil’s
• Authoritative command advocate
• Altering the human
variable
• Altering the structural
variables
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