CONFLICT NEGOTIATION &

INTER-GROUP BEHAVIOR
UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT

• CONFLICT IS THE
DISAGREEMENT
BETWEEN TWO OR
MORE INDIVIDUALS
OR GROUPS OVER AN
ISSUE OF MUTUAL
INTEREST
• (24)
 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
 THE CONFLICT PROCESS
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
 THE CONFLICT PROCESS

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.
 THE CONFLICT PROCESS

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
 THE CONFLICT PROCESS
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
 THE CONFLICT PROCESS

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
 THE CONFLICT PROCESS

• 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
 THE CONFLICT PROCESS

• 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
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
 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.
 ISSUES IN THE NEGOTIATION
PROCESS
• 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.
 ISSUES IN THE NEGOTIATION
PROCESS

• 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.
 ISSUES IN THE NEGOTIATION
PROCESS
• 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
 ISSUES IN THE NEGOTIATION
PROCESS
• 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
 ISSUES IN THE NEGOTIATION
PROCESS

• 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
FACTORS AFFECTING INTERGROUP
RELATIONS

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
FACTORS AFFECTING INTERGROUP
RELATIONS
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
 MANAGING INTERGROUP
RELATIONS
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
 MANAGING INTERGROUP
RELATIONS

• 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
 MANAGING INTERGROUP
RELATIONS

• 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
 MANAGING INTERGROUP
RELATIONS
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
 MANAGING INTERGROUP
RELATIONS

• 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.