CONFLICT

AND
COLLABORATION
 INTRODUCTION
All of us experienced various types of
conflicts, but we fail to recognize various
conflicts in an organization. Conflicts can be a
serious problem in an organization. A better
understanding of the important areas of
conflict will help managers to use the people
in effective manner to achieve organizational
goals.
 CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
 Meaning of conflict
 Definition of conflict
 Sources of organizational conflict
 Types of conflict
 Negotiation
 Conflict management strategies
 Approaches of conflict management
 Collaboration
MEANING OF CONFLICT

Conflict is a perceived
difference of values
between to or more
parties that results in
mutual opposition
 Definitions of conflict
According to gray and starke “conflict is a
behavior by a person or group that is
purposely designed to inhibit the attainment
of goals by another person or group”
According to R W Woodman “conflict is any
situation in which incompatible goals,
attitudes, emotions, lead to disagreement or
opposition between two or more parties”
SOURCES OF CONFLICT
 SOURCES OF ORGANIZATIONAL
CONFLICT
Line and staff competition
organization-individual disagreements
Overlapping responsibilities
Functional interdependence
Personality clashes
Disagreement over goals
Bottlenecks in the flow of work
 Line and staff competition

Conflict in most organizations

persists between line and staff
because it is virtually impossible
to define precisely the
responsibility and authority
relationships between two.
 Organization-individual
disagreements

The conflict between the

organization and individual
centres around the individuals
failure to fulfill the
organization’s expectations
regarding the productivity or
compliance with rules.
 Overlapping responsibilities
Organizations constantly make changes in
external environment, adoption of new
policies, expansion or contraction. As a result
it is impossible to establish job
responsibilities once and for all. Thus the
stage is set for conflict.
 Functional interdependence
Conflicts between an organization’s functional
units, such as sales, accounting and
manufacturing . Departments are separated
on the basis of function, they cannot work as
completely autonomous units.
 Personality clashes
Individual differences in
personal qualities like
values, attitudes, abilities,
traits are often the
reasons of conflict
 Disagreement over goals
• Conflict among manager is
often caused by the fact
that there is poor
agreement over goals.
 Bottlenecks in the flow of work
Line supervisors in manufacturing must
meet production deadlines, but they are
dependent upon production schedules,
warehousing shipping for effective
performance. A bottleneck at any point
may prevent them from being effective
and also a chance for interpersonal
conflict.
Types of conflict
 Types of Conflict
• Interpersonal Conflict
– Conflict between individuals due to differences in
their goals or values.
• Intra group Conflict
– Conflict within a
group or team.
 Types of Conflict
• Intergroup Conflict
– Conflict between two or more teams, groups or
departments.
– Managers play a key role in resolution of this
conflict
• Inter organizational Conflict
– Conflict that arises across organizations.
 Organizational Conflict
• Organizational Conflict
– The discord that arises when goals, interests or
values of different individuals or groups are
incompatible
and those people
block or thwart
each other’s efforts
to achieve their
objectives.
 Organizational Conflict
• Organizational Conflict
– Conflict is inevitable given the wide range of goals
for the different stakeholder in the organization.
 Intra Individual conflict
 This conflict is internal to the person and is
most probably difficult type of conflict to
analyze.
 The goals of organizational life are in direct
conflict with the individual goals of workers
causing them to be frustrated and
threatened.
 Intra organizational conflict

Horizontal conflict
Vertical hierarchical
conflict
Line and staff conflict
 Horizontal conflict

 It refers to the conflicts between employees or

departments at the same hierarchical level in an
organization.
 The sources of conflict between departments
consists of pressures towards sub-
optimization.
 Departments are functionally interdependent,
breakdowns in the performance of one department
may cause conflicts.
 Vertical hierarchical conflict
Conflict between any levels of
organization
Occurs usually in superior
subordinate relations
 3 reasons for vertical conflicts
Inadequate communication between levels
Differences of interests between position
holders occupying different status in the
organizational hierarchy
A distinct lack of shared perceptions and
attitudes among members.
 Line and staff conflict
The splitting of various functions into
hierarchical and non-hierarchical levels
Creation of low status and high status
positions creates a discrepancy between
expected and actual authority leading to
frustration to all the parties involved
The Effect of Conflict on Organization
Performance
 Negotiation
• Negotiation
– Parties to a conflict try to come up with a
solution acceptable to themselves by considering
various alternative ways to allocate resources to
each other
 Steps in negotiation
• Preparation
• Discussion
 Preparation

Set realistic goals and the

bargaining zone
Access the adversary
tactics
 Discussion

 Give the mike to the other party

 Your sales pitch
 Clarification and justification
 Frequency and size of proposals
 Third-party Negotiators
• Mediators
– facilitates negotiations but no authority to
impose a solution
• Arbitrator
– can impose what he thinks is a fair solution to a
conflict that both parties are obligated to abide
by
CONFLICT
MANAGEMENT
 Conflict Management

• Conflict handled properly through

collaboration allows us to confront conflict
positively and constructively, and provides
for a resolution that is not only successful,
but also effective. This method ensures the
conflict will end with a true win-win
resolution!
 What This Means

• Managing conflict means

you need to develop
several styles and decide
which is valuable at any
given point of conflict
 Conflict Management Strategies
• Functional Conflict Resolution
– Handling conflict by compromise or collaboration
between parties.
 Conflict Management Strategies
• Compromise
– each party is concerned about their goal
accomplishment and is willing to engage in give-
and-take exchange to reach a reasonable solution.
• Collaboration
– parties try to handle the conflict without making
concessions by coming up with a new way to
resolve their differences that leaves them both
better off.
 Conflict Management Strategies
• Accommodation
– one party simply gives in to the other party
• Avoidance
– two parties try to ignore the problem and do
nothing to resolve the disagreement
 Conflict Management Strategies
• Competition
– each party tries to maximize its own gain and has
little interest in understanding the other’s position
 Strategies Focused on Individuals
• Increasing awareness of the sources of
conflict
• Increasing diversity awareness and skills
• Practicing job rotation
• Using permanent transfers or dismissals
when necessary
 Strategies Focused on the Whole
Organization
• Changing an organization’s structure or
culture
• Altering the source of conflict
 Conflict Continuum
I win, you lose (competition—A)
I lose or give in (accommodate—B)
We both get something
(compromise—C)
We both “win”(collaborate—D)
A B C D
Tips for Managing Workplace Conflict
• Build good relationships before conflict occurs
• Do not let small problems escalate; deal with them
as they arise
• Respect differences
• Listen to others’ perspectives on the conflict
situation
• Acknowledge feelings before focussing on facts
• Focus on solving problems, not changing people
• If you can’t resolve the problem, turn to someone
who can help
• Remember to adapt your style to the situation and
persons involved
Approaches to conflict management

Collaboration
Power play
bargaining
 collaboration
 It is the result of a constructive rethinking on
the part of people involved in a conflict
 They began to share information openly,
attempt to listen, develop empathy,
depersonalize the issue, gather relevant
information, consider available alternatives
and put an end to theproblem.
 Power play
 Higher level managers establish rules and
procedures to contain the conflict to an
acceptable level
 Some form of power intervention comes in
 Bargaining

The opposing parties exchange offers and

concessions directly or through
representatives
The two parties are aware that each is trying
to influence the other, and the agreement is a
function of the power they bring to the
situation and their bargaining skill
 collaboration
It helps individuals to respect each other in
the work place
It allows people to see the brighter side of
people closely
Through collaboration they can generate
alternative solutions
They get feedback from colleagues
immediately
 collaboration

Members can work more productively ,

generating as many ideas as possible
All people, additionally, get a chance to
participate in organizational activities
and test their capabilities
 collaboration
Facilitate the process by using a mediator to:
• Understand each participant’s perspective
through a pre-counseling session.
• Set ground rules for improved
communication.
• Coach participants through the counseling.
• Equalize power.
• Help participants plan for future interaction.
THANKYOU