Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace

Understanding Interpersonal Conflict

• Definition: A process initiated when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected something they care about.
• Situations: Involves incompatible goals, attitudes, emotions, or behaviors leading to disagreement.

Types of Conflict

• Functional Conflict: Supports group goals and improves performance.
• Dysfunctional Conflict: Hinders group performance.
• Benefits: Some conflict fosters discussion and innovation.

Focus of Conflict

• Task Conflict:
  • Centers on quality of ideas.
  • Respect for participants
  • Avoids personal attacks.
• Relationship Conflict:
  • Centers on personal attributes.
  • Types include attacking competence, asserting superiority, and power displays.
  • Often leads to dysfunction.

Outcomes of Interpersonal Conflict

• Negative:
  • Lower performance, higher stress, dissatisfaction, disunity.
• Positive:
  • Better decision-making, creative thinking, stronger cohesion against outside opponents.

Conflict Process

• Sources of Conflict: Incompatible goals, poor communication, scarce resources.
• Escalation: Conflict perceptions and emotions escalate manifest conflict.
• Outcomes: Can be positive (better decisions) or negative (low morale).

Conflict Handling Styles

• Assertiveness vs. Cooperativeness: Determines motivation to satisfy personal interests vs. others.
• Styles include:
  • Forcing: Assertive, win-lose.
  • Avoiding: Low engagement, not resolving conflicts.
  • Yielding: Letting others win, may not resolve issues.
  • Compromising: Mutual concessions, sub-optimal solutions.
  • Problem Solving: Collaborative, seeking win-win.

Managing Conflict

• Assess the Conflict Nature: Focus on reasons, not just outcomes.
• Superordinate Goals: Create joint goals requiring collaboration.
• Communication: Use clear, effective channels.
• Training: Skills development in emotional intelligence.

Negotiation Approaches

• Definition: Divergent parties work towards mutual agreement.
• Distributive Negotiation: Win-lose, focuses on resource division.
• Integrative Negotiation: Win-win, seeks mutual satisfaction through shared interests.

Successful Negotiation Tips

• Understand opponent's psychology and motivations.
• Use a mix of reason and emotion; establish trust.
• Awareness of BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) enhances power.

Individual Differences in Negotiation Effectiveness

• Personality Impact: Agreeable or extraverted negotiators may struggle with distributive bargaining.
• Emotional Stability: Key in integrative negotiations; emotional intelligence benefits outcomes.