CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION CONFLICT A process that begins

CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION

CONFLICT A process that begins when one party perceives that another has negatively affected or is about to negatively affect something that the first party cares about

Perspectives on conflicts 3 categories of perspectives 1) The traditional perspective 2) The interactionist perspective 3) The resolutionfocused perspective

1. Traditional perspective Considers 1) 2) 3) 4) • 1) 2) 3) conflict as Harmful Negative Associated with violence and destruction Sign of malfunctioning of the group Conflict arises from Poor communication Lack of trust and openness Failure of manager to fulfill needs of employees

2. Interactionist perspective Considers conflict as 1) Acceptable and to be encouraged to some extent 2) Positive 3) Essential for performance Absence of conflict makes ----- Groups stagnant, lethargic and nonresponsive to change

Interactionist perspective divided conflicts into two Considered only functional conflicts as positive the type and level of conflict decides whether it is functional or dysfunctional Functional conflictsconstructive Dysfunctiona l conflictsdestructive functional conflict dysfunction al

3 types of conflicts 1) TASK CONFLICT 2) RELATIONSHIP CONFLICT 3) PROCESS CONFLICT Task conflict is about the content and goals of work Relationship conflict is about interpersonal relationships between people Process conflict is about how the work should be done

conflict Task (low, moderatefunctional) (highdysfunctional) Relationship (dysfunctional) Process (lowfunctional) (highdysfunctional)

3. Resolution focused perspective Agrees that conflicts are inevitable and focuses on productively resolving them Though accepted in the beginning, interactionist perspective was criticized on the following points 1) Work place conflicts are not always productive 2) They cause hurt feelings 3) Task conflicts soon turn to relationship conflicts 4) Conflicts cause stress 5) Conflicts reduce trust and cooperation

Conflicts 1) 2) 3) 4) can be reduced by Preparing people for conflicts Developing resolution strategies Encouraging open discussions Developing greater sensitivity to people from different cultures.

THE CONFLICT PROCESS Robbins and Judge (2013) proposed a model of the conflict process. 5 stages 1) Potential opposition 2) Cognition and personalization 3) Intentions 4) Behaviour 5) Outcomes

Model

Stage 1: Potential opposition or incompatibility 3 major causes of conflict a) Communication b) Structural c) Personal characteristics

a) Communication Causes Semantic barrierssame words having different meaning for different people Misunderstanding Jargons Inadequate information Obstruction or noise in the communication channels

Structure refers to the degree to which What is structure in the organisation? What structural issues lead to problems? a) tasks are specialised 1) Larger size of the group b) size of the organisation/group 2) More specialization of tasks 3) Members are young and less experienced 4) High employee turnover 5) Ambiguity over the duties and responsibilities of members 6) Lack of goal compatibility c) Degree of jurisdiction d) Leadership reward systems e) Group is dependent on another b) Structural Reward systems are in the 7) Groups are interdependent 8) form of all or none

c) Personal characteristics Differences in personality Values and beliefs Individuals high on disagreeableness, neuroticism and self monitoring Authoritarian and dogmatic personalities Emotions (angry individuals cause

Stage II: cognition and personalization Stage 1 paves way to conflict But for conflict to occur perception of conflict is essential Perceived conflict is the awareness by one or more parties of the existence of conditions that create opportunities for conflict to rise. Perception of conflict need not always lead to personalization of conflict (felt conflict)

2 important features of felt conflict level The conflict is defined 2) Emotions strongly influence perceptions a) When emotions are negative, it leads to more problems b) When emotions are positive, people may overlook the problems 1)

Stage III: Intentions Perception of conflict need not lead to conflict Intentions (parties involved) determine the direction of conflict Conflict handling intentions are the outcome of two dimensions 1) Cooperativeness – degree to which a person attempts to satisfy the concerns of the other person 2) Assertiveness- degree to which a

5 conflict handling intentions on the basis of cooperativeness and assertiveness 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Compromising- moderate levels of both. Giving up something and agrees to share the object of conflict Competing-assertive and uncooperative. No concern for others’ interests Avoiding-both unassertive and uncooperative. Suppresses the conflict by running away from it Accommodating- cooperative but unassertive. Ready to give up for others Collaborating- both assertive and cooperative. Focus on win-win solutions.

Stage IV: Behaviour Dynamic process of interaction Conflict is visible- statements, counter statements etc Based on the intensity of conflict, it can be represented on a continuum of no conflict to annihilatory conflict Conflicts of high level intensity are dangerous Functional conflicts are on the lower end of the continuum

Conflict management techniques 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) Problem solving Superordinate goals Expansion of resources Avoidance Smoothing Compromise Authoritative command Altering the human variable Altering the structural variable

Conflicts are not always bad, how to enhance conflicts? Conflict stimulation techniques 1) Communication (threatening messages) 2) Introducing outsiders 3) Restructuring the organisation 4) Appointment of devil’s advocate ( person who criticises the decisions of the majority)

Stage V: Outcomes Consequences be functional or dysfunctional can

Consequences of functional conflicts 1) Improve the quality of decisions 2) Make creative and develop innovative solutions 3) Ways to express and release the tension 4) Encourages a rethinking of group goals 5) Curiosity is aroused 6) Platform to share the problems 7) Creates an environment for self evaluation

Consequences of dysfunctional conflicts 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) Creates discontent Interferes with communication Adverse effect on cohesiveness Reduces trust and satisfaction Group goals are ignored Cause demoralization Managers become authoritative Diverts attention and energies

Studies found that heterogenous groups are better than homogeneous They 1) Produce higher quality solution 2) Greater sharing of information 3) Increase in creativity 4) Improvement in the quality of decisions 5) Produce more effective and practical ideas 6) Members are more flexible

Managing functional conflict Recognizing disagreements Discussing differences Recognizing cultural differences

NEGOTIATION

Definition Negotiation is a process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for them.

BARGAINING STRATEGIES Opposing sides to a dispute exchange offers, counter offers and concessions, either directly or indirectly through representatives. Two approaches to negotiationdistributive bargaining and integrative bargaining

Distributive bargaining Negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount of resources. It results in a win/lose situation

Key terms in distributive bargaining 1) Target point- point the bargaining party wants to achieve 2) Resistance point- lowest point which is acceptable to the party 3) Settlement range- area between the two parties resistance points 4) Aspiration range- area between one party’s target point and opposing parties’ resistance point

Tactics in distributive bargaining 1) Better to make the first offer Two reasons for this -Sign of power -Sets the anchoring point and leads to anchoring bias 2) Setting time deadlines

Integrative bargaining Based on the assumption that there is more than one alternative or solution to the dispute/problem and it is possible to create a win-win solution

Conditions necessary for successful integrative bargaining Parties must be open and willing to share information Parties must be honest and straight forward Parties should be sensitive Parties must trust each other Parties must be flexible

Measures to promote integrative bargaining Bargaining by teams Including more issues Focusing on interests than issues Not settling for compromises

Characteristics of distributive bargaining 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) Goal is to get as big a part of the pie as possible Motive is win/lose Conflicting parties take positions about how far they are prepared to go in the bargaining Parties have opposing interest Relationship between parties is short term Very little information sharing between parties Characteristics of integrative bargaining 1) Goal is to increase the size of the pie 2) Motive is to create a win/win outcome 3) Focus on each others’ interests 4) Make their interests congruent with each other 5) Relationship of parties involved is long term 6) High information sharing Difference between distributive bargaining and integrative bargaining

NEGOTIATION PROCESS Robbins and Judge developed a 5 step model Step 1 - preparation and planning for the negotiation Step 2 - definition of ground rules for the negotiation Step 3 - clarification and justification Step 4 - bargaining and problem solving Step 5 - closure and implementation

Step 1 - preparation and planning for the negotiation Good preparation for the negotiation Negotiator should know his goal A good negotiator thinks about the expectations or goals of the negotiating party He should determine the BATNA – Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (lowest value that is acceptable to a negotiator in a negotiated agreement)

Step 2 - definition of ground rules for the negotiation A frame work must be made to carry out negotiation. It includes 1) Person doing the actual negotiations 2) Place of negotiation 3) Time restrictions that is applicable 4) Specific procedures to be followed • Negotiating parties make their initial offers and demands

Step 3 - clarification and justification Here negotiating parties try to explain, clarify and justify each other their initial demands Both the parties provide documents to justify the demand

Step 4 - bargaining and problem solving Here actual negotiation takes place Both parties engage in bargaining and reach an agreement

Step 5 - closure and implementation Negotiating parties come to a formal agreement This is the last step Procedure for the implementation and monitoring of the formal agreement Negotiation ends with a formal contract and handshakes.

THANK YOU