Integrated Conflict Management

Evolving theory & practice

Stages in social reforms

Pro-activeHelping things go right

Preventative Stopping things from going wrong

Reactive Responding when things go wrong

(Participatory) action research

Modes of deciding & acting

Rationales for reform

We need:

rules to protect workplace rights, &

an adjudicator to determine whether rules have been broken

Original focus of “conflict handling”

Original focus of “conflict handling”

Integrated conflict management

Focuses on causes of conflict within the organisation

Encourages employees & managers to voice concerns & constructive dissent early

Integrates collaborative problem-solving into organisational culture

[ICMS Report]

Change of metaphor

Human communities / organisations are complex systems

Neither the component parts nor relations between component parts are simple.

Change of metaphor

Effective managers in modern organisations are steering guiding aligning adjusting influencingmore than they are constructing, controlling...

Key communication processes

Coaching Description to / reflection for an individual

Conversation & negotiation Reaching shared understanding & optimal action

Mediation 3rd party assisting understanding & action

Facilitation 3rd party assisting a group achieve a collective goal

Diagnosing the situation

Dispute?

Two or more parties disagree on the facts

Disputants may find areas of agreement

&/or

agree to disagree

Conflict? A situation that

generates strongly negative feelings arising from a clash of opposites:within a personbetween peoplebetween groups

Symptoms of conflict

Judging …who you are

Characterising …what you do

Attributing …motives to explain why you do it

Dictating …solutions to

perceived problems

Fundamental attribution error

In explaining why people behave the way they do, we tend to place: too much emphasis on a person’s disposition; too little emphasis on their

situation.

Sources of difficulty at work

  WANT TO(Motivation)

ABLE TO(Capacity)

Self

Positive& negative

emotionI do/don’t want to do

the job

Skills, strengths & weaknessesI do/don’t have the

skill(s) to do the job

Sources of difficulty at work

  WANT TO(Motivation)

ABLE TO(Capacity)

Other

Praise & pressure

Others say things that

support/undermine

me

Help &hurdles

Others do things that

help/hinder me

Sources of difficulty at work

  WANT TO(Motivation)

ABLE TO(Capacity)

Things

Carrots & sticks

Systems of reward

encourage/discourage

me

Bridges &Barriers

Procedures &

equipment make my

job easier/hard

er

Choosing processes

Clearly disputed accusation Formal fact-finding + adjudication

DisputeBetween two parties

Mediation(i.e. Assisted Negotiation)

DisputesBetween several parties

Facilitation(e.g. strategic planning)

Specific conflict with no dispute or many disputes

Facilitation:Workplace Conference

General challenges of managing workplace disputes and conflict

Conflict Coaching

General conflictin a large organisation

Managed change:Facilitation + training

Original focus of “conflict handling”

Revised focus of “conflict handling”

Revised focus of “conflict handling”

Revised focus of “conflict handling”

Relationships Resolution

Conferencing

Problem Process

Conflict in a group:no dispute

many

disputes?

Conferencingtransform conflict into cooperation! what happened? how have people

been affected? how to improve the

situation?

Conference structure

Convenor

As we begin…

contempt, anger and fear

directed at individuals

because of what they’ve done in the past

Contempt, anger, fear

As we progress…

disgust, distress and surprise

over present revelations

about past actions

Disgust, distress, surprise

As we progress further…shameexperienced as individual deflation & expressed as collective vulnerability

while the community reflects on what has happened to them

Moore 2003

Shame

Transformation…

interest and enjoyment

experienced by the community

about a possible brighter future

Interest, enjoyment

contempt stay away anger attack fear get away

surprise stop, look, listendisgust get rid of it

distress comfort

shame seek to restore

interest engage enjoyment affiliate