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.
Functional
Supports the goals of the group and improves its
performance

Dysfunctional
Hinders group performance

Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

How Structure Can Lead to

Conflict
Stimulating conflict
Size, specialization, and composition of the
group
Too much reliance on participation
Diversity of goals among groups
Ambiguity in precisely defining where
responsibility for actions lies
Reward systems where one members gain is
at anothers expense
Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Types of conflict

Intra
Inter personnnel
Inte group
Institutionalized- Ind vs individual, Ind vs orgn,
Hierarchical, functional, line vs staff
Emergent due to social and personal reasonsInd vs informal group formal vs informal Status
conflict, Political conflict
Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Conflict-Handling
Intentions
Two Dimensions
Cooperativeness
The degree to which one party attempts to
satisfy the other partys concerns

Assertiveness
The degree to which one party attempts to
satisfy his or her own concerns

Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Specific Intentions
Competing

A desire to satisfy ones interests, regardless of the impact on

the other parties.

Collaborating

A situation where the parties to a conflict each desire to

satisfy fully the concerns of all parties

Avoiding

The desire to withdraw from or suppress a conflict.

Accommodating

The willingness of one party in a conflict to place the

opponents interests above his or her own

Compromising

A situation in which each party to a conflict is willing to give

up something

Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Assertive

Competing

Collaborating

Compromising
Unassertive

Assertiveness

Exhibit 8-2 Dimensions of

Conflict-Handling
Intentions

Avoiding

Accommodating

Uncooperative

Cooperative

Cooperativeness
Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Types of Conflict
Cognitive
Conflict related to differences in perspectives and
judgments
Task-oriented
Results in identifying differences
Usually functional conflict

Affective
Emotional conflict aimed at a person rather than an
issue
Dysfunctional conflict
Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Reducing Group Conflict

Team members reduced conflict using the
following tactics:
Worked with more, rather than less, information
Debated on the basis of facts
Developed multiple alternatives to enrich the level of
debate
Shared commonly agreed-upon goals
Injected humour into the decision process
Maintained a balanced power structure
Resolved issues without forcing consensus
Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Negotiation
A process in which two or more parties
exchange goods or services and attempt to agree
upon the exchange rate for them
Distributive bargaining
Negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed
amount of resources; a win-lose situation

Integrative bargaining
Negotiation that seeks one or more settlements
that can create a win-win solution

Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Exhibit 8-6 Distributive

versus
Integrative Bargaining
Bargaining
Characteristic
Available resources

Distributive
Bargaining
Fixed amount of
resources to be divided

Integrative
Bargaining
Variable amount of resources to
be divided

I win, you lose

Primary motivations
Primary interests

Opposed to each other

Short term

Focus of relationships

Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

I win, you win

Convergent or congruent with
each other
Long term

How to Negotiate
Assess personal goals, consider others
goals, develop strategy
Identify target and resistance points
Target: what one would like to achieve
Resistance: lowest outcome acceptable

Identify BATNA
Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement
Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Exhibit 8-7 Staking Out the

Bargaining Zone
Party As aspiration range
Settlement
range

Party As
target
point

Party Bs
resistance
point

Party Bs aspiration range

Party As
resistance
point

Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Party Bs
target
point

Third Party Roles in

Negotiations
Conciliator
Mediator
Arbitrator

Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Conciliator
Trusted third party who provides an
informal communication link between the
negotiator and the opponent
Informal link
Used extensively in international, labour,
family and community disputes
Fact-find, interpret messages, persuade
disputants to develop agreements
Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Mediator
A neutral third party who facilitates a
negotiated solution by using reasoning,
persuasion, and suggestions for alternatives
Labour-management negotiations and civil court
disputes
Settlement rate is about 60%; satisfaction rate is
about 75%
Participants must be motivated to bargain and settle
Best under moderate levels of conflict
Mediator must appear neutral and non-coercive
Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Arbitrator
Has authority to dictate an agreement
Voluntary (requested) or compulsory
(imposed by law or contract)
Always results in a settlement
May result in further conflict

Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

For Critical Thinking

1. Do you think competition and conflict are
different? Explain.
2. Participation is an excellent method for
identifying differences and resolving conflicts.
Do you agree or disagree? Discuss.
3. Assume one of your co-workers had to negotiate
a contract with someone from China. What
problems might he or she face? If the co-worker
asked for advice, what suggestions would you
give to help facilitate a settlement?
Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

For Critical Thinking

4. From your own experience, describe a
situation you were involved in where the
conflict was dysfunctional. Describe
another example, from your experience,
where the conflict was functional. Now
analyze how other parties in both
conflicts might have interpreted the
situation in terms of whether the conflicts
were functional or dysfunctional.
Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Point-CounterPoint
Conflict Is Good for
the Organization

All Conflicts Are

Dysfunctional!

Conflict is a means by which

to bring about radical change
Conflict facilitates group
cohesiveness
Conflict improves group and
organizational effectiveness
Conflict brings about a
slightly higher, more
constructive level of tension

Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

The negative consequences

from conflict can be
devastating
Effective managers build
teamwork not conflict
Competition is good for an
organization, but not conflict
Managers who accept and
stimulate conflict dont
survive in organizations

Breakout Group Exercises

Form small groups to discuss the following:
1. You and two other friends carpool to office every day. The

driver has recently taken to playing a new radio station quite

loudly. You do not like the music or the loudness. Using one of
the conflict-handling intentions, indicate how you might go
about resolving this conflict.
2. Using the example above, identify a number of BATNAs (best
alternatives to a negotiated agreement) available to you and
then decide whether you would continue carpooling under
those circumstances.
3. Which conflict-handling style is most consistent with how you
deal with conflict? Is your style effective? Why or why not?

Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Organizational Behaviour, Third Canadian Edition.
Copyright 2003 Pearson Education Canada Inc.