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Syed Saleem
Learning Objectives 3 Conflict Management 17
• Conflict is a clash of interests, values, actions, views or directions (De Bono, 1985)
• Conflict refers to the existence of that clash
What is Workplace Conflict?
• Conflict at workplace is an outcome of organizational intricacies, interactions and
disagreements. It can be settled by identifying and neutralizing the etiological factors.
• Workplace conflict is disagreement or opposition between/among individuals, teams or
departments in an organization.
• Conflict is a natural phenomenon, neither inherently good or bad, but there may be
positive or negative outcomes.
• Conflict is inevitable and often good.
• Conflict is not the same as discomfort. The conflict isn't the problem - it is when
conflict is poorly managed that is the problem
Why Conflict arise?
• Poor communications
• The alignment or the amount of resources is insufficient.
• "Personal chemistry", including conflicting values or actions among
managers and employees.
• Leadership problems
• Passing the buck
Other Causes of Conflict:
• Misunderstandings
• Personality clashes
• Competition for resources
• Authority issues
• Lack of co-operation
• Differences of opinion
• Low performance
• Values or goal differences
Conditions creating conflict situations
1. According to Kirchoff and Adams (1982), there are four distinct conflict conditions;
Forcing Get your way. “I know what’s right. It is better to risk You feel vindicated,
Don’t question my causing a few hard but other party feels
judgment or feelings than to defeated and possibly
authority.” abandon a position humiliated.
you are committed to.
Avoiding Avoid having to deal “I’m neutral on that Disagreements are Interpersonal
with conflict. issue. Let me think inherently bad because problems don’t get
about it.” they create tension. resolved, causing long-
term frustration
manifested in a variety
of ways.
Accommodating Don’t upset the other “How can I help you Maintaining Other person is likely
person. feel good about this harmonious to take advantage of
encounter? My relationships should be you.
position isn’t so our top priority.
important that it is
worth risking bad
feelings between us.”
Conflict Management Styles
Approach Objective Your Posture Supporting Rationale Likely
Outcome
Compromising Reach an agreement “Let’s search for a Prolonged conflicts distract Participants
quickly. mutually agreeable people from their work and become
solution.” engender bitter feelings. conditioned to
seek an
expedient, rather
than effective
solution.
Collaborating Solve the problem “This is my position. The positions of both parties Participants find
together. What is yours? I’m are equally important (though an effective
committed to finding the not necessarily equally valid). solution.
best possible solution.” Equality emphasis should be
placed on the quality of the
outcome and the fairness of
the decision-making.
Strategies for managing conflicts
• Tosi, Rizzo and Carroll (1982) suggested four ways of managing
conflicts;
1. Styles – Conflict handling behaviour styles may be suitable
encouraged, depending upon the situation
2. Improving organizational practices – after identifying reason for
conflict, suitable organizational practices can be used to resolve
conflict including;
• establishing superordinate goals
• reducing vagueness
• minimizing authority and domain related disputes
• improving policies, procedures and rules
Strategies for managing conflicts
3. Special roles and structure – A manager has to
• Initiate structural changes needed, including re-location or
merging of specialized units
• Shoulder liaison functions and
• Act as an integrator to resolve conflicts
4. Confrontation techniques – Aims at finding a mutually acceptable and
enduring solution through collaboration and compromise. It involves a
process of defining the problem, searching for alternatives and their
evaluation and deciding by consensus.
Ways to resolve conflict
• When two groups or individuals face a conflict situation, they
can react in four ways (De Bono, 1985). They can;
• Fight (it can only be useful in courtroom situations, where winning and
losing becomes a by-product of judicial process)
• Negotiate (third party roles are important in bringing the conflicting
parties on some common ground for negotiations)
• Problem solve (which involves identifying and removing the cause of the
conflict so as to make the situation normal again)
• Design (an attempt towards creativity in making the conflict situation
normal. It considers conflict as situations rather than problems)
Tools for
Conflict Management
What doesn’t work
blame….
What does work
Contribution
The “third story”
Mapping
What doesn’t work
You get the picture…
Engr. SYEDSALEEM.,
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