conflict negotiation

CONFLICT NEGOTIATION & INTER-GROUP BEHAVIOR

UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT

• CONFLICT IS THE DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN TWO OR MORE INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS OVER AN ISSUE OF MUTUAL INTEREST

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SOURCES OF CONFLICT

• ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

• PERSONALITY CLASHES

• DIFFERENCES IN VALUE SETS

• THREATS TO STATUS

• PERCEPTUAL DIFFERENCES

CLASSIFICATION OF CONFLICTS

INTRAPERSONAL CONFLICT

• Incompatibility between needs of the individual and the goals of the organization,and the absence of role clarity.

• Individual may face stress, frustration while achieving the goals.

CLASSIFICATION OF CONFLICTS

INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT• Is the result of differences in perception and gaps in

communication.• Individual feels that his image is under threat because

of the actions of another individuals. INTERGROUP CONFLICTS• The conflicts between groups are referred to as

intergroup conflicts• May arise due to differences in viewpoints or

competition

THE CONFLICT PROCESS

1) Potential opposition or incompatibility

(First stage) - Stimulating factors

Communication

• Disturbances in communication channels

• Differences in interpreting things

• Non -availability of information


Structure• Role clarity of individuals & departments• Leadership style,diversity of goals and reward

systems Personal Variables• Differences in personalities & value systems • People who are highly aggressive and authoritative

& pusses low self esteem are more likely to be involved in conflict


2) Cognition and Personalization (second stage)• If the conditions have a negative impact on the

interests of an individual , he will develop hostility towards the individual or group & the conflict reaches the second stage.

• The individuals may become emotionally involved • The parties may experience tension, anxiety,

frustration.


3) Intentions (third stage)

• The individual attempts to discover the intentions of the other person so as to choose an appropriate action.

Conflict handling intentions

• Dominating- High internal focus & low external focus

• Avoiding- Tries to avoid the other party


Accommodating-• Takes place when one party tries to satisfy the

interest of other by sacrificing its own interests.

Problem-solving- • All parties fully cooperate with each other. (win-

win solution) which benefits all the parties. Compromising-

• Parties need to give up some of their demands to resolve the problem


4) Behavior (Fourth stage)

• The conflict becomes obvious because of the behavior of the conflicting individuals.

• This may be considered as attempt by one party to implement its intentions.

• Ex: Disagreements,negative remarks,& challenging fall along the lower side of the continuum

• Some amount of conflict is necessary to induce healthy competition.


• Verbal attacks,threats,ultimatums,physical attacks come on the upper side of the continuum

• If the conflict level is too low & insufficient to be resolved the level of conflict needs to be increased.

• Managers use conflict management techniques like Stimulus and Resolution


• Outcomes (last stage)• Outcomes are the consequences that result

from interaction among conflicting parties• Outcome may have positive or negative impact

on the organization.• Outcomes are classified as • Functional outcomes & Dysfunctional

outcomes.

FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES

• Functional outcomes are the constructive consequences of a conflict.

• Improves the performance of the group or organization.• Constructive conflict prevents the group from accepting

decisions based on inaccurate assumptions & helps in improving performance

• Improves quality of decisions & adds creativity & innovation

• Ex- Cultural diversity

Dysfunctional Outcomes

• Are the destructive consequences of a conflict

• The situation goes out of control & conflict intensifies.

• Reduced communication, lower group cohesion & precedence to personal interests are important outcomes.

• Research suggests that in routine tasks the probability of the destructive conflict is more

Negotiations

NEGOTIATION• The best way to resolve conflict is through

negotiations.

• Negotiation is a process in which one party agrees to exchange a product or service with another party in return for something.

• Ex: Collective bargaining between labor unions & management.

• Approaches to negotiation are

• Distributive bargaining & integrative bargaining

Distributive Bargaining• Assumes that there can not be any solution that could

result in win-win situation

• Operates under Zero- sum condition

• Whenever a one party gains a certain amount another party suffers an equivalent loss.

• Form of a win-lose situation.

• Each party has a target point

• Resistance point represents lowest acceptable outcomes.

• If the outcome is below its resistance point the party prefers to break off negotiations.

• The area between the target & the resistance point represents the aspiration range of each of the parties

INTEGRATIVE BARGAINING

• Existence of one or more solutions to a problem that results in win-win situation.

• Helps to develop long term relationships between the negotiating parties,eliminate differences & ensures cooperation of other party in future.

Negotiation process

• Preparation & planning:• Understands the nature & background of the

conflict. • Identifies the self goals as well as other parties

goals.• The negotiator prepares the strategy to be adopted

by collecting possible information.• Understanding priority objectives of the other

party.

Negotiation process

2) Defining Rules :

• Both parties arrive at the negotiation table & establish the basic rules & procedures that will guide the negotiation process.

3) Clarification & justification:

• Both parties exchange their demands & justify them.

• Present documents in support of their position

Negotiation process 4) Bargaining & problem solving:• The parties start bargaining with each other.• Each party gives concession to another party.• The critical issues may be settled later on.• Negotiating parties should take a break to avoid

heated arguments. 5) Closure & implementation:• The bargaining process is complete & the final

agreement is written & signed.• Monitoring & implementation of agreement.

ISSUES IN THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS

Biases in decision making:• Ex: Making commitments without considering their

feasibility.• Believes like women negotiators are soft • Decision based on only available information.

Personality trait:• While preparing for the negotiation process the focus

should be on bargaining issues and the situational factors rather than personality traits.


• Cultural differences:• French people tend to be indifferent to what their

opponents think of them which results in prolonged negotiations.

• The Chinese & Japanese believe in building long -term relationships & work out minute details of the agreement & obtain commitment from the another party to work together.

• Americans are impatient and tries to end negotiations as early as possible.


• North Americans depends on objectives facts & logic to support their arguments & give importance to time & deadline.

• Arabs follows subjective feelings & emotions to achieve the end.

• Russians follow examples to support their arguments.


• Third-Party Negotiation

• When negotiations between the parties fail to result satisfactorily,the parties turn to a third party to arrive at an agreement.

• The role of third party may be in the form of

Mediator :

• Third party uses logical reasoning & persuasion technique to convince the parties to arrive at an agreement.

• The mediator suggests the alternative solutions

• Mediators are used in union-management negotiations & civil court disputes


• Arbitrator• Has the authority to enforce his decision on parties.

• May be chosen voluntarily or may imposed by the laws

• It always results in the settlements.

• But may leave one or both the parties dissatisfied & the conflict may arise again.

• Conciliator• Serves as a informal communication link between the

conflicting parties.

• He is trusted by both the parties

• Tries to find a solution which is accepted by both the parties


• Consultant:• IS a skilled person who uses conflict management

techniques to resolve the differences.• Encourages the parties & develops positive

attitude & builds long term relationship.• Use his communication & analytical skills to

motivate the parties• Does not provide a solution but acts as a facilitator

FACTORS AFFECTING INTERGROUP RELATIONS

• Interactions and relationships between people in groups. Interdependence• The extent to which the group is dependent on another group

in the organization determines the degree of interaction & the type of relations.

• Classification of Interdependence• Pooled interdependence• Here two or more groups function independently but their

output needs to be combined to achieve the overall objectives of the organization

• The degree of interaction & coordination among groups is less.


Sequential interdependence:• Exists when one of the groups is dependent on the

other for some input,but the reverse is not true.• The degree of interaction is greater Reciprocal interdependence • Exists when there is an exchange of inputs &

outputs among groups.• The mutual dependence brings high degree of

interaction & coordination


Task uncertainty• Groups task may range from highly routine to highly

non routine.• Groups performing non routine jobs tends to interact

more frequently then compared to groups performing routine tasks.

Orientation of time & goal• Specialization & differentiation of tasks• Differing goals & objectives of the groups creates

problems in coordination

MANAGING INTERGROUP RELATIONS

• Rules & Procedures• Follows formal rules & procedures.• Simplest & least expensive method.• Minimizes the need for interaction & verbal

communication.• Works when all the interactions among the groups

are anticipated.• Frequent interactions are essential to implement the

rules


Hierarchy• Effective in resolving inter group differences .• Consumes valuable time of the top management• Conflicting parties remain no choice then to abide by

the decision given.

Planning• In this method goals of each groups are clearly

specified• As each group has its own responsibility inter group

conflict decreases & coordination increases


• Liaison roles• A capable person is assigned a liaison role & has to

ensure effective communication & coordination.• The success of this method depends on the ability of

the person• The method is likely to fail when the information

flow between the departments is too high & the interaction between the group is too frequent to be handled by the person


• Task forces• A temporary group that exists only till the problem is

solved.• Formed by selecting representatives from different

departments.• Useful when a project requires coordination among

many groups for a short duration.• Commonly used to solve political dispute.• After giving a effective solution task force is disbanded


Teams• Permanent teams are set to deal with day today

problems.• Teams are cross functional & consists of members

from various departments• Duel responsibility,towards their departments &

towards team but the priority is given towards the problems first then their regular responsibilities.

• After resolving the problem successfully team members return to their own departments


• Integrating departments• Used when relationship between the groups are too

complex

• Permanent departments which seeks to integrate various groups

• Useful when groups have conflicting goals,face non-routine problems & when the decision of group has impact in the organizational performance.

• Used when organizations are downsizing

• Are set up to ensure coordination among the groups.

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