Conflict and Negotiation Management Notes

Conflict

• Definition: A process initiated when one party perceives that another party negatively affects, or will negatively affect, something important to them.

Perspectives of Conflict

• Functional Conflict: Supports group goals and enhances performance.
• Dysfunctional Conflict: Impairs group performance.

Three Types of Conflict

1. Task Conflict: Involves work content and goals.
2. Relationship Conflict: Pertains to interpersonal relationships.
3. Process Conflict: Concerns how work is executed.

The Conflict Process

• Stage I: Potential Opposition

  • Antecedent Conditions: Factors that may lead to conflict; e.g., communication barriers, group size, and diversity.

• Stage II: Cognition and Personalization

  • Perceived Conflict: Awareness of potential conflict.
  • Felt Conflict: Emotional reactions like anxiety and frustration.

• Stage III: Intentions

  • Conflict Handling Intentions: Can vary in assertiveness and cooperativeness:
  • Competing
  • Collaborating
  • Avoiding
  • Accommodating
  • Compromising

• Stage IV: Behavior

  • Overt Conflict: Manifestations include verbal disputes and negative emotions.

• Stage V: Outcomes

  • Functional Outcomes: Enhances decision quality, stimulates innovation, and encourages open communication.
  • Dysfunctional Outcomes: Reduces group effectiveness and cohesiveness.

Managing Conflict

• Recognize genuine disagreements.
• Encourage open dialogue focused on interests.
• Choose significant issues for resolution.
• Emphasize common interests.

Cultural Influences on Conflict Resolution

• Collectivist Cultures: Favor indirect methods to maintain relationships.
• Individualist Cultures: Prefer direct confrontation of disagreements.

Negotiation

• Definition: The process through which two or more parties allocate scarce resources.

Negotiation Strategies

Distributive Bargaining

• Aim: Maximize gain (win-lose).
• Focus on positional bargaining. Low information-sharing.

Integrative Bargaining

• Aim: Create mutually satisfying results (win-win).
• Focus on interests and high information-sharing. Encourages flexibility and trust.

Individual Differences in Negotiation Effectiveness

• Personality Traits: No single best personality type; effectiveness varies.
• Moods & Emotions: Anger may help in distributive negotiations; positivity aids integrative negotiations.
• Culture: Negotiation styles vary across cultures.

Third-Party Negotiations

• Mediator: Facilitates with reasoning and suggestions.
• Arbitrator: Holds authority to enforce agreements.
• Conciliator: Provides informal links between conflicting parties.