BU288 Final

What is Conflict

occurs when one person, group, or org. subunit frustrates the goal attainment of another

3 types of Conflict

Relationship Conflict

Task Conflict

Process Conflict

Relationship Conflict

interpersonal tensions among individuals due to their relationship - not task at hand

Task Conflict

disagreements about the nature of work to be done (ex. goals, tech matters)

Process Conflict

disagreements about how work should be organized and accomplished ex. resource allocation, authority, responsibility

5 Styles to deal with conflict

Avoiding

Accommodating

Competing

Compromise

Collaborating

What is Avoiding

low assertiveness & cooperativeness

limited effectiveness

Implications of Avoiding

- provides short term stress reduction

- issue is trivial, information is lacking, powerful opponent

Accommodating

High cooperation low assertiveness

Implications of Accommodating

Sign of weakness - does not bode well for future interactions

- effective when you are wrong, want to build good will

Competing

high assertiveness low cooperation

Implication of Competing

frame the conflict with win-lose terms (short term relationships)

- effective with you have a lot of power and sure of your facts

Compromise

medium levels of cooperation and assertiveness

Implications of Compromise

- not the most creative response to conflict - not useful for resolving conflicts from power asymmetry

- sensible with conflict form scare resources good fall back position

Collaboration

High assertiveness High cooperation

Implications of Collaboration

integrative agreement that fully satisfies the interests of both parties (win-win)

- works best in not intense situations

- takes time to develop + productivity and achievement

Styles that lead to conflict suppression

avoiding and accommodating

Destructive conflict

(assertive style)

damages group functioning and performance

Constructive Conflict

emerge from collaboration and compromise

2 Conflict Management Styles

Dispositional

Situational

Dispositional

"preferred style"

Situational

assess the situation in order to determine the effectiveness of the style

What is Stress

psychological reaction to the demands inherent in a stressor that have the potential to make a person feel tense or anxious

2 Types of Stressors

(events or conditions that have the potential to induce stress)

Challenge

Hindrance

Challenge Stressor

workload, pressure to complete tasks, time urgency

+ job satisfaction, + OC, - turnover

Hindrance Stressor

keep you from reaching your goals (lack of resources)

- job satisfaction, - OC, + turnover

Which is the most harmful Stressor

Hindrance

Strain

a negative response to stress(anxiety, gastro problems, poor performance)

Burnout

a syndrome defined by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and low self-efficacy

(stressor -> strain -> burnout)

What plays a large role in how stress is experienced

resources

(homeostatic models - folkman * laz)

3 elements of Conservation of Resources Theory

Perceived threat of net loss

actual net loss

lack of resource gain following investment

Leadership

the influence that particular individuals exert on the goal achievement of others in an org. context

+ productivity, innovation, satisfaction, commitment of workforce

Leaders vs. Managers

L: Seek and Implement change, vision

M: maintain status quo

4 Types of Leadership

Transformational

Transactional

Laissez-faire

Leader Member Exchange (LMX)

Transactional Leadership

straightforward exchange relationship between a leader and followers

2 Transactional Leadership behaviour's

Contingent reward behaviour

Management by exception

Contingent Reward Behaviour

exchange of rewards for effort

Management by exception

taking corrective action on the basis of the results of leader-follower transactions (before act)

Two forms of Management by exception

active - correcting mistakes (deviations form norm) as they happen (routine monitoring of followers)

passive -correcting mistakes after they have occurred

Laissez faire Leadership - 4 main points

limited instructions

limited contact with subordinates

do not provide feedback/goals

- not very effective and often frustrating

Transformational Leadership

provides followers with a new vision that instills true commitment

- change belief and attitudes of followers

4 key dimensions of Transformational Leadership

Intellectual stimulation

Individualized consideration

Inspirational motivation

Charisma

Intellectual Stimulation

- people think about problems, issues, and in new ways

-leader challenges assumptions, take risks, and solicits followers'

- involves creativity and novelty

Individualized considerations

distinct individuals - concern for ones needs and personal development like a coach

Inspirational motivation

visions that are appealing and inspiring to followers

leaders have strong vision for future

Charisma/Idealized Influence

command strong loyalty and devotion from followers - potential for strong influence among them

Transactional vs. Transformational

not mutually exclusive

- Transformational & Contingent + performance

- Management by exception - performance

4 elements of Dark Side of Charisma

reduces suggestions by followers

increase risk (large projects are more likely to fail)

inhibits development of competent successors

creates delusions of leader infallibility

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX)

quality of relationship between a leader and a follower

3 Aspects of LMX

- interdependent transactions generate high-quality relationships

- norm of reciprocity

- repeated exchanges leads to trust, loyalty, and mutual commitments

Needed things for LMX

follower - competent, agreeable, extraverted

leader - extraverted agreeable, contingent reward behaviour, and TL

(can lead to inequality perceptions)

Trait Theory

Leadership depends on the personal qualities or traits of the leader

(better predictor at predicting who becomes a leader rather than effectiveness)

Traits

physical attributes, intellectual ability, and personality

Emergent Leadership

extent to which one is perceived by others as a leader (informal)

Task Leader

Social Emotional Leader

(+ talkative + leader)

Two Situational Leadership Theories

Fiedler's Contingency Theory

House's Path Goal Theory

Path Goal Theory

situations under which various leader behaviours are most effective

What makes effective leaders - House

engage in behaviors that complement subordinates environments and abilities

PGT: how to achieve job satisfaction and leader acceptance

leader must be immediately satisfying - leading to future satisfaction

PGT: how to promote employee effort

make rewards dependent on performance - clear picture on how achieve results

Two sets of contingencies in PGT

Environmental variables

Characteristics of employees

What should the leader do in PGT

Compensate for what is lacking in the work setting or employee

+ motivation

+ abilities of followers

provide guidance

reduce obstacles

+ performance (providing resources)

4 specific kinds of leader behavior PGT

Directive path-goal clarifying behavior

Supportive Leader Behaviour

Participative Leader Behaviour

Achievement Oriented Leader Behaviour

Directive Path-goal clarifying behaviour

clarify goals and means to carry out tasks, use of rewards/punishment contingent on performance

Supportive Leader Behaviour

satisfies subordinate needs and preferences

Participative Leader Behaviour

encourages participation in decision making

Achievement Oriented Behaviour

Encouraging performance excellence, setting challenging goals - seeking improvement

When are styles more effective

Directive - difficulty doing tasks/ambiguous tasks

Supportive- under stress, show they need to be supported

Participative - need to *buy into decisions

Achievement Oriented - they like challenges and are highly motivated

2 Strengths of Path Goal

Supported by research

considers employees, situation and leader

Main Weakness of Path Goal Theory

better at predicting job satisfaction and leader acceptance > job performance

Servant Leadership

goes beyond one's own self interests, genuine concern to serve others and a motivation to lead

Servant Leaders are more likely to have what perception on employees

treated more fairly and more likely to exhibit helping behaviours

What perception affects a leader

Unfairness

- (delivering bad news, part of the job. etc)

GL: whom is more participative or democratic

Women

GL: who is more Transformational Leadership

Women

What management style do men in engage in the most

Laissez faire - negatively affects leader performance

What affects perception of leadership effectiveness

Masculine and male dominated - men are more effective (same for feminine)

- taken into account, men and women do not differ in perceived leadership effectiveness

Communication

process by which information is exchanged between a sender and receiver

3 types of Organizational Communication

Downward

Upward

Horizontal

How should communication flow in a strict chain of command?

up to and then down form a common manager

Formal vs. informal communication

Formal - company memo

Informal - gossip

6 process of communication from sender to receiver

Thinking

Encoding

Transmitting

Perceiving

Decoding

Understanding

4 Barriers to effective communication

Filtering

Selective Perception

Defensiveness

Language

Filtering

sender manipulating information to be seen as more favorable by receiver

Selective Perception

Receivers: selectively see and hear based on their needs, motivations, experience, background, etc.

Defensiveness

if interpret another's message as threating - respond with ineffective communication

Language

Words mean different things to different people (good boy)

Challenges for upward communication

Employees must feel like they are being heard and that their ideas will be acted upon

Giving Feedback - 4 points

Intended to be helpful

Provide specific examples

Don't evaluate them

Be sincere

Receiving Feedback - 4 tips

- understand the feedback

- avoid being defensive

- assume person is trying to be helpful

- summarize by rephrasing feedback

Apologies

Women: part of a ritual to establish support

Men avoid - sign of weakness

Organizational Culture (OC)

shared beliefs, values, and assumptions that exist in an org.

Culture is....

the soul of the org. - Mintzberg

4 levels of culture

Artifacts - see, hear, and feel

Beliefs - how objects and ideas relate

Values - stable, long-lasting beliefs for what is important

Assumptions - taken for granted notions

Culture - iceberg

top - behaviours (artifacts)

underneath - beliefs, values, and asusmptions

4 ways to interpret culture artifacts

symbols - representations of values and/or beliefs

rituals - repeated behaviours

stories - narratives shared among co-workers

language - shared terminology

2 Primary functions of culture

guides the interpretation of experience and choice of action

Integration

External adaptation

Integration

culture ....

helps members solve problems

taught to newcomers

strongly influences behaviour

External adaptation

guide employees to meet goals

What does OC come from

influential leaders - source for beliefs and values

3 Influential leaders

Founder/CEO (personality of org. comes form)

Management (role models)

Emergent leaders (informal leadership can shape culture)