Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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DEFINITION
Conflict is an expressed struggle between at least two
interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scare
resources, and interference from others in achieving their
goals (Wilmot and Hocker, 1998)
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TYPES OF CONFLICT
Substantive conflict
A fundamental disagreement over ends or goals to be pursued and the
means for their accomplishment
Emotional conflict
Interpersonal difficulties that arise over feelings of anger, mistrust,
dislike, fear, resentment, and the like
Intrapersonal conflicts
Actual or perceived pressures from incompatible goals or expectations
Approach-approach conflict
Avoidance-avoidance conflict
Approach-avoidance conflict
Interpersonal conflict
Occurs between two or more individuals who are in opposition to one
another
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TYPES OF CONFLICT
Intergroup conflict
Occurs among members of different teams or groups
Interorganizational conflict
Commonly refers to the competition and rivalry that characterize firms
operating in the same markets
Vertical conflict
Occurs between hierarchical levels
Horizontal conflict
Occurs between persons or groups at the same hierarchical level
Line-staff conflict
Involves disagreements over who has authority and control over
specific matters
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LINE & STAFF CONFLICT
Line Viewpoint
Unauthorized encroachment Staff oversteps Auth
Academic advice Staff specialists cut-off from realities, do
not give sound advice
Staff steals credit, but passes on blame to Line
Staff has limited perspective
Empire-Building
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STAFF VIEWPOINT
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TRANSITIONS IN CONFLICT
THOUGHT
Traditional View ( 1930s 1940s)
The view that all conflict is bad is a simple approach and most of us
still evaluate conflict situations on the basis of this outmoded standard.
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TRANSITIONS IN CONFLICT THOUGHT
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TRANSITIONS IN CONFLICT
THOUGHT
lnteractionist View (current perspective )
Competition for limited resources: Scarce Resources: managers can conflict over
allocation of resources
Goal diversity: Different goals and time horizons - different groups have differing
goals.
Overlapping authority: two or more managers claim authority for the same
activities
Task interdependence pooled, sequential, reciprocal
Perceptual and value differences
Organizational ambiguities
Introduction of Change
Poor Communication
Inherent aggressiveness of people
Expectations
Methods
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SOURCES OF CONFLICT
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CONFLICT PROCESS
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CONFLICT PROCESS
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USUAL WAYS OF HANDLING
CONFLICT
Pend
Handle diplomatically
Bury the hatchet
Cushion the shock
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BLAKE AND MOUTONs CONFLICT
MANAGEMENT GRID
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APPROACHES TO CONFLICT MANAGEMENT:
BLAKE AND MOUTON (1970)
The 1,1 style is the hands-off approach, also called
avoidance
The 1,9 position, also called accommodation, is excessively
person-oriented
The 5,5 position represents a willingness to compromise
The 9,1 is the bullheaded approach, also called competing
The optimum style for reducing conflict is the 9,9
approach, also called collaboration
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FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES
Companies like General Motors and Yahoo suffered due insufficient functional
conflict
A comparison of six major decisions during the administrations of four U.S.
presidents found that conflict reduced the chance that groupthink would
overpower policy decisions
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DYSFUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES
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CONFLICT AND ORGANIZATIONAL
PERFORMANCE
19 Figure 16.1
IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS
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IMPLICATIONS FOR
MANAGERS
Accommodation: when you are 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; when harmony
and stability are especially important
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
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CONFLICT STIMULATION
TECHNIQUES
Realign work groups, alter the rules, etcshake the place up!
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