Before We Begin

Please be respectful to others.o Switch your mobile to vibration mode. If you need to take

that call, please go outside silently.

Ask as many questions as you want, but please be on the topic. Unless time permits at the end, we can’t go back to a topic once we move on.

One question at a time please.Not all question has an answer

Don’t be shy. This is an activity based workshop, so your active participation is essential for our success. Please feel free to share your experiences, thoughts and ideas.

Intra-Organizational Conflicts and Negotiation

Taufiqur RahmanManagement Consultant

bd_consultant@live.com

UNDERSTANDING CONFLICTS

DEFINITION

“A situation in which two or more people disagree over issues of organizational substance and/or experience some emotional antagonism with one another”

The Big Picture

Time: 10 min.

Instructions:• Ask three circles one inside

another. The inner most represents your self, the middle represents your team and the outer one represents your company.

• List down the conflicts faced at each level

Why Conflicts Occur

• Work-Flow interdependence• Power and/or value asymmetry• Role and/or domain ambiguity• Resources scarcity (actual or

perceived)• Personality difference

The Mime Game

Time: 15 min.Instruction: • Form groups of 2. One person act as the observer

and another person be the actor. • The observer will act the actor 5 questions. Rather

than giving a verbal answer, the actor will answer using sign and body language. The asker may ask as many clarification question as he or she would like to gain an understanding of the other person’s answer.

The Mime Game …… Cont’d

Sample Questions:• When you were a child, how did you like to spend your time?• What accomplishment are you most proud of?• If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?

Discussion Questions:1. How do questioning skills help us understand?2. In addition to questioning skills, what other skills are necessary to

overcome assumptions?3. What is the value of questioning skills to resolve conflict?4. What gets in the way of our willingness to ask questions when we are

involved in conflict situations?

Types of Conflict

• Substantive Conflict – conflict that occurs in the form of a fundamental disagreement over ends or goals to be pursued and the means for their accomplishment.

• Emotional Conflict – is conflict that involves interpersonal difficulties that arise over feelings of anger, mistrust, dislike, fear, resentment, and the like.

Levels of Work Place Conflict

• Intrapersonal, or conflict within the individual – Conflict that occurs within the individual due to actual or perceived pressures from incompatible goals or expectations. Example: choice between transfer or termination.

• Interpersonal, or individual-to-individual conflict – Conflict that occurs between two or more individuals. Example: smokers vs. non-smokers.

The Hot Button

Time: 20 minInstruction:• List down all the things that pushes your “Hot Buttons” . Like:

Rude ToneShut Up!WhiningKnow it allsWhat you should do is……..People who never gets to the pointYou never/always……

The Hot Button ----- Continued

►Form a group of four and discuss:• 1. Now that you are aware of some of your emotional hot

buttons, what can you do about it?• 2. What are some ways we can learn to recognize and to

control our hot buttons when interacting with others?• 3. What if we push someone else’s buttons?• 4. How does this activity help us deal with conflict more

effectively?

►Let’s all share the outcomes.

Levels of Work Place Conflict

• Intergroup Conflict – Conflict that occurs among groups in an organization. Example: Sales Vs. Accounts.

• Interorganizational Conflict – Conflict that occurs between organizations. Example: different suppliers Vs. the manufacturing company.

Constructive and Destructive Conflicts

• Constructive Conflict – results in positive benefits to the group or organization, improves performance and creativity.

• Destructive Conflict – works to the group’s or organization’s disadvantage. It decreases productivity and job satisfaction and contributes to absenteeism and job turnover.

Conflict Situation Faced by Managers

• Vertical Conflict – conflict that occurs between hierarchical levels. Ex: supervisor-subordinate disagreements over resources, goals, deadlines or performance results.

• Horizontal Conflict – Conflict that occurs between persons or groups at the same hierarchical level. Ex: goal incompatibilities, resources scarcities or purely interpersonal factors.

Conflict Situation Faced by Managers

• Line-staff Conflict – conflict that occurs between the line and staff representatives. Ex: disagreements over who has authority and control over personnel selection.

• Role Conflict – conflict that occurs when the communication of task expectations proves inadequate or upsetting. Ex: unreasonable performance or achievement expectation.

The Big Picture - 2

Time: 20 min.Instructions:• On a separate piece of

paper, list down the ways you think will best resolve your previously listed conflicts at each level.

• Form a group of four and discuss each other’s proposals.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Indirect Conflict Management Approaches

Appeals to common goals (involves focusing the attention of potentially conflicting parties on one mutually desirable conclusion).

Hierarchical referral (uses chain of command for conflict resolution; problems are referred up the hierarchy for more senior managers to reconcile).

Indirect Conflict Management Approaches

Organizational redesign Decoupling (separating

or reducing the contacts) Buffering (sets up

inventories when the inputs of one group is the outputs of another)

Linking Pins (assigning people to serve as formal “link point” between groups prone to conflict)

Liaison Groups (a broader version of Linking Pins)

Indirect Conflict Management Approaches

Use of mythology and scripts Scripts (behavioral routines that

become part of organization’s culture)

Myths (beliefs or proclamations or beliefs about a situation that deny the necessity to make trade-offs )

Direct Conflict Management Approaches

• Lose-Lose Conflicts - no one really gets what he or she wants. – Avoidance (where

everyone pretends the conflict doesn’t really exist and hopes that it will simply go away)

– Smoothing or Accommodation (involves playing down differences and highlighting similarities and areas of agreement)

– Compromise (when each party involved gives up something of value to the other)

Direct Conflict Management Approaches

Win-Lose Conflict – when one party achieves its desires at the expense and to the exclusion of the other party’s desire.

Competition (victory is achieved through force, superior skill, or domination)

Authoritative Command (a formal authority dictates a solution and specify what is gained and lost by whom)

Direct Conflict Management Approaches

• Win-Win Conflict – achieved by collaboration to address the real issues in a conflict situation and the use of problem solving to reconcile differences.– Collaboration (involves a

recognition by all the conflicting parties that something is wrong and needs attention through problem solving)

– Problem Solving (involves gathering and evaluating information in solving problems and making decisions)

Conflicts at work place

Time: 45 min. Group size: 3-4 Instruction: Each individual List down the

possible solutions for the underlying conflict situation. Do we all agree on all points? If not, role play a conflict resolution meeting within the group. One member of the group will act as Observer.

First write down what you wish to accomplish during the conflict resolution.

Scenario:

XYZ Corporation is a large manufacturer of PVC profile doors. All of its control lies in the hands of its GM Accounts Mr. Mezbah. He is the first cousin of the MD and a very trusted person of the Board. He has the habit of delaying suppliers payments. As a result, suppliers are reluctant to supply raw materials on time. Production gets delayed and distributors suffers. Consequently sales is dropping at an alarming rate. Management is holding the Sales Manager Mr. Hafiz responsible for these loss of sales and feels he lacks the skills to expand the market. They are considering to replace him.

You being the HR Manager of XYZ Corporation looking at the big picture, is eager to resolve the conflict. How you suggest to resolve conflict using various conflict management techniques.

NEGOTIATION

DEFINITION OF NEGOTIATION

“The process of making joint decision when the parties involved have different preferences”.

(Is a way of getting what you want from others in the process of making decisions)

The MemoThe Memo

Time: 15 min.Instruction:Write a short memo to another

member of the group. To: Write the name of another person in your

group From: Write your name clearly Task: Write a task that you would like the

person in the “To” line to perform in front of the team (for example, do three jumping jacks, say the alphabet backward).

Once you are done, please fold the paper in half and pass it down to me.

Discussion QuestionsDiscussion Questions

1. What was your first reaction when you realized you would have to perform your own tasks?

2. Do we ever expect others to do things that we ourselves are unwilling to do?

3. If this is the case, how does having a diverse team work to our benefit?

4. For this activity, we literally had to put ourselves in someone else’s intended shoes. How did that feel?

5. Do we always take the time to consider other perspectives? Why not?

6. How might this affect the conflict-resolution process?

Negotiation Goals and OutcomesSubstance goals – concerned with outcomes

tied to the “content” issues at hand in a negotiation.

Relationship goals – concerned with how well people involved in a negotiation, and their constituencies, are able to with one another once the process is concluded.

Two party negotiation – The manager negotiates directly with one other person. Ex: Negotiating an interpersonal conflict.

Group negotiation – The manager is part of a group whose members are negotiating to arrive at a common decision. Ex: Sales Manager negotiating with the Management regarding sales target.

Intergroup negotiation – The manager is part of a group that is negotiating with another group to arrive at a decision regarding a problem or situation affecting both. Ex: Production Manager negotiating with the Accounts Manager for more fund.

Constituency negotiation – The manager is involved in negotiation with other persons, and each individual party represents a broad constituency. Ex: Management negotiating with Labor Representatives regarding a pay issue.

Different approaches to negotiationDistributive negotiation – is negotiation in which

the focus is on “positions” staked out or declared by the parties involved who are each trying to claim certain portions of the available “pie”.

Integrative negotiation – is negotiation in which the focus is on the merits of the issues, and the parties involved try to enlarge the available “pie” rather than stake claims to certain portions of it.

Each party must approach the negotiation with a willingness to trust the other party.

Each party must be willing to share information with the other party.

Each party must be willing to ask concrete questions of the other party.

Things to remember BATNA – Best alternative to a negotiated

agreement.

Bargaining Zone – The space between one party’s minimum reservation point and the other party’s maximum reservation point.

Ethical aspects of negotiation.