HOW TO RESOLVE CONFLICT
Capt. Ramrao Ranadive
CONFLICT RESOLUTION TECHNIQUES
CONFLICT RESOLUTION TECHNIQUES CONT’D
EFFECTS OF FUNCTIONAL/DYSFUNCTIONAL CONFLICTS
Functional Conflict :
Dysfunctional Conflict
• Increased group performance Intensity Impacts Org Performance
( Stimulation lacking or Inadequacy in
• Improved quality of decisions Cooperation)
• Stimulation of creativity and
innovation • Development of discontent
• Encouragement of interest and • Reduced group effectiveness
curiosity
• Retarded communication
• Provision of a medium for
problem-solving • Reduced group cohesiveness
• Creation of an environment for • Infighting among group members overcomes
self-evaluation and change group goals
Prescription for Functional Conflict
“Reward dissent and punish conflict avoiders”
NEGOTIATION
Negotiation (Bargaining)
A process in which two or more parties exchange
goods or services and attempt to agree on the
exchange rate for them
Two General Approaches:
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
DISTRIBUTIVE VERSUS INTEGRATIVE BARGAINING
DISTRIBUTIVE VERSUS INTEGRATIVE BARGAINING
integrative bargaining Negotiation
fixed pie The belief that there is only that seeks one or more settlements
a set amount of goods or services to that can create a win–win solution.
be divided up between the parties.
Integrative
Yours
Mine
Y
M
Distributive o
i
u
n
distributive bargaining Negotiation r
e
that seeks to divide up a fixed amount
of resources; a win–lose situation. s
Source: Based on R. J. Lewicki and J. A. Litterer,
Negotiation (Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1985), p. 280.
BARGAINING TACTICS AND THE BARGAINING ZONE
Distributive Tactics Integrative Tactics
Make an aggressive Bargain in teams
first offer Put more issues on the table
Reveal a deadline Don’t compromise
THE NEGOTIATION PROCESS
BATNA
TheBest Alternative
To a Negotiated
Agreement
The lowest acceptable
value (outcome) to an
individual for a
negotiated agreement
The “Bottom Line”
for negotiations
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN NEGOTIATION
EFFECTIVENESS
Personality Traits
Extroverts and agreeable people weaker at distributive negotiation –
disagreeable introvert is best
Intelligence is a weak indicator of effectiveness
Mood and Emotion
Abilityto show anger helps in distributive bargaining
Positive moods and emotions help integrative bargaining
Gender
Men and women negotiate the same way, but may experience
different outcomes
Women and men take on gender stereotypes in negotiations: tender
and tough
Women are less likely to negotiate
© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 15-10
THIRD-PARTY NEGOTIATIONS
Four Basic Third-Party Roles
Mediator
A neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using reasoning,
persuasion, and suggestions for alternatives
Arbitrator
A third party to a negotiation who has the authority to dictate an agreement.
Conciliator
A trusted third party who provides an informal communication link between the
negotiator and the opponent
Consultant
An impartial third party, skilled in conflict management, who attempts to
facilitate creative problem solving through communication and analysis
© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 15-11
GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS
Conflict and Culture
Japanese and U.S. managers view conflict differently
U.S. managers more likely to use competing tactics while Japanese
managers are likely to use compromise and avoidance
Cultural Differences in Negotiations
Multiple cross-cultural studies on negotiation styles, for instance:
American negotiators are more likely than Japanese bargainers to make a first
offer
North Americans use facts to persuade, Arabs use emotion, and Russians used
asserted ideals
Brazilians say “no” more often than Americans or Japanese
© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 15-12
SUMMARY AND MANAGERIAL
IMPLICATIONS
Conflict can be constructive or
destructive
Reduce excessive conflict by
using:
Competition
Collaboration
Avoidance
Accommodation
Compromise
Integrative negotiation is a
better long-term method
EEXXHHI IBBI ITT15-8
15-8
© 2009 Prentice-Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 15-13
1. The Heart of the Matter
First, get to the heart of the matter, and objectively define what the conflict is. In many
arguments, the co-workers are actually fighting about different issues. There is no way to
resolve a conflict without knowing what it truly is.
2. The Losing Side
See the conflict as the combatants fighting against the problem collaboratively, not
between each other. If the resolution involves one employee emerging victorious over
the other, the losing side will not consider the conflict over and will wait for an
opportune time in the future to start the rematch.
3. Shared Goals
Itemize the concerns and needs shared by the combatants and try to focus on those,
rather than on what is dividing them. In a workplace environment, employees have many
shared goals and concerns. Highlighting those will strengthen their relationship.
6. Asking Questions
Ask each combatant what he or she did instead of asking what happened. The latter will
merely open the floodgates of self-serving justification, but the former will be answered
with facts. This offers clarification instead of a prolonged argument.
5. Listening
Try hard to listen actively, rather than just hear passively. This is the only
way to discover each stance in the conflict. If the combatants are too busy
talking to listen, resting only to breathe and re-arm, the conflict will
escalate.
6. Neutral Territory
Resolve the conflict in a neutral place, not where the battle raged. For
instance, if the conflict occurred in a person’s office, take the resolution
to the break room.
7. Achievable Goals
Start the resolution process with what is achievable. In other words, don’t
overshoot your mark by trying to resolve a smorgasbord of issues. In many
cases, it was a small affront that set the adversarial stage.
8. Forgiveness
Learn how to forgive. Vengeance concentrates on the past, but forgiveness
focuses on the future.
9. Looking at Yourself
Put your own house in order before you start instructing other people how to
act or live their lives. Nothing creates conflict like hypocrisy or a holier-
than-thou attitude
Nine steps to resolve conflict the HBR way
