Conflict and negotiations
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Basic discussion on conflict resolution and negotiations. Discusses the dynamics of negotiations and the steps that they typically follow. Also discussed are barriers to a satisfactory outcome.
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Conflict and negotiations
- 1. Conflict and Negotiations Randy Ashby Snhu adjunct ol125
- 2. Agenda• What is conflict • Types of Conflict • Causes Of Conflict • Conflict Management Styles – Collaboration and Compromise – Accommodation, Avoiding, and Competition • What is Negotiation • Negotiation Phases – Planning • BATNA – Discuss and Propose – Bargain • ZOPA – Close • Negotiation Mistakes • Final thoughts
- 3. What is conflict • Definition: – a struggle for power, property, etc.; strong disagreement between people, groups, etc., that results in often angry argument; a difference that prevents agreement : disagreement between ideas, feelings, etc. (Merriam-Webster) • According to the text: – “Conflict is a process the involves people disagreeing…[and] can range from minor disagreements to workplace violence.” (Bauer & Erdogan, 2014, p. 5.2).
- 4. Types of Conflict • Multiple perspectives on what types of conflicts there are: – Text (Bauer & Erdogan, 2014) • Intrapersonal – Conflict within yourself • Interpersonal – Conflict with other individuals • Intergroup = Conflict between Groups – You need to add one other type to really cover everything and that is: • Intragroup – Conflict within a group
- 5. Causes of Conflict • Intrapersonal – Values – Having to choose between two things that are important (valuable) to you. – Principles/Ethical – Ethical dilemmas; need to do something that might violate one of your personal ideals. – Emotions – Anger/sadness/love impacting your thought process • Intragroup causes Jehn, et al (2008): – Task – Disagreement of what needs to be done – Relationship – Interpersonal issues between members – Process – Disagreement of how the task should be accomplished
- 6. Causes of Conflict • Interpersonal and Intergroup – Power Struggle – Organizational Structure – Limited Resources – Ethics – Cultural Issues – Opposing Ideology – Bad Communication – Competition http://newresolutionmediation.blogspot.com/200 8/02/getting-creative-in-mediation-2how- one.html
- 7. Conflict Management • The Thomas – Kilmann Mode Instrument (TKI) Identified five typical predispositions when comes to handling conflict:Value of YourGoal Value of the Relationship YourOutcome TheirOutcome Collaborating High High Win Win Compromising Medium Medium Middle Middle Accomodating Low High Lose Win Avoiding Low Low Lose Lose Competing High Low Win Lose
- 8. Conflict Management • Collaborating – Work with someone to come to a solution where everyone is happy – Those predisposed to collaboration like solving problems and taking time to address all of the underlying issues. – They think they can maintain the relationship and get everyone what they want • Compromising – Give and take – willing to give up something in order to get something in return – Takes less time than collaborating but still helps to maintain relationships
- 9. Conflict management• Accommodation – Gives up goals to keep the peace – Accommodators often complain about what they gave up • Avoidance – Ignores or runs from issues – Avoiders are hoping the problem just goes away • Competition – Looking to gain an advantage at another person’s expense – Competitors typically try to intimidate others and are aggressive. – Only see things in terms of winning or losing
- 10. What is negotiation • “to discuss something formally in order to make an agreement; to agree on (something) by formally discussing it; to get over, through, or around (something) successfully (Merriam Webster). • In short – working with another party on an agreement that is going to work out better than if you do not negotiate
- 11. Negotiation Phases • Every negotiation has multiple phases that it will progress through for each party. – Plan – Discuss – Propose – Bargain – Close • The text uses five phases, as well, but they are a little different – Investigate – Determine your BATNA – Presentation – Bargaining – Closure
- 12. Negotiation Phases • Planning – Identify your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) – Try to find your opponent’s BATNA – Build your knowledge base – Identify any problem areas, emotional issues, or pitfalls to avoid • “If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War
- 13. Negotiation Phases • Discuss – Discussion is not just opening up the negotiation; you are trying to build a rapport with the other party. People are more likely to deal fairly others that they know, understand, and can relate to. • Propose – This is where you present the information to the other party in a way that favors you and your goal of getting to the BATNA
- 14. Negotiation Phases • Bargain – Finding the point where all parties can agree • Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA) – Give and take needs to take place; if you are firm on a position then why are you even negotiatingBATNA Walk Away ZOPA
- 15. Negotiation Phases • Close – Closing a negotiation does not necessarily mean “closing the deal.” – If an agreement is reached, make sure all interested parties understand what was decided – If an agreement was not reached then find out from the other parties why. You may find that there was something you had not anticipated or thought about that can help in future negotiations.
- 16. Negotiation mistakes • Jumping at the first offer • Lack of communication • Allowing ego and emotion to take precedent • Lack of cultural understanding • Over or under valuing certain points • Heavily unbalanced outcome • Failure to negotiate items individually • Making the deal…and then not following through • Time – going to fast or too slow
- 17. Final Thoughts • Conflict can be mitigated with good communication, understanding, and cooperation. • Think about what is important to you, what you are willing to give on, what is important to your negotiation partner, and what you think they may be willing to give on. • If you only go for the “win” you may not
- 18. Works CitedConflict. (n.d.). In Merriam Webster Dictionary online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conflict. Bauer, T.N. & Erdogan, B. (2014). Human Relations in the Organization. Asheville, N.C.: Soomo Publishing. Baron, R.A. (1991). Positive Effects of Conflict: A Cognitive Perspective. Employee Responsibility and Rights Journal, 4(1), pp. 25-36. Jehn, K.A., Greer, L., Levine, S., & Szulanski, G. (2008). The Effects of Conflict Types, Dimensions, and Emergent States on Group Outcomes. Group Decision and Negotiation, 17(6), pp. 465-495. Altmae, S., Turk, K., & Ott-Siim, T. (2013). Thomas-Kilmann’s Conflict Management Modes and their Relationships to Fiedler’s Leadership Styles. Baltic Journal of Management, 8(1), pp. 45-65. Negotiate. (n.d.). In Merriam Webster Dictionary online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/negotiating. Brett, J.F., Pinkley, R.L., & Jackofsky, E.F. (1996). Alternatives to Having a BATNA in Dyadic Negotiation: The Influence of Goals, Self-Efficacy, and Alternatives on Negotiated Outcomes. International Journal of Conflict Management, 7(2), pp. 121-138.
Editor's Notes
- Conflict is something that happens a lot. From the descriptions above you can see that there is a wide view of what conflict is and can be. You can have disagreements with friends, family, coworkers, etc and that is conflict but so are fights and even war. You should understand, though, that not all conflict is bad. While most people have negative visions in their heads when they hear the word, positive outcomes can happen when conflict occurs but is dealt with properly. Baron (1991) notes that “growing evidence supports the contention that under appropriate conditions, conflict can yield important benefits” (p. 26) and provides three main contributions: brings out problems that have been ignored, helps to stimulate new ideas and processes, and can bring groups faced with issues closer together (p. 25-26). How have different conflicts in your life impacted you? Were there any positive effects like what Baron listed?
- These four types of conflict really encompass everything. You can be conflicted within yourself on a decision to make, especially when it comes to ethical dilemmas. People also have disagreements with others over many things. Groups, teams, nations, etc all may have opponents to what they are doing and within those groups there may be disagreements about the decisions being made. Depending on what level you are looking at things you can categorize many conflicts in multiple ways. Think about the political races that are ramping up; most media and people categorize the elections as Republicans versus Democrats which is intergroup conflict. On the other hand you have intragroup conflict between people that are extremely conservative or liberal and people that are more moderate. Taken even further, you have the candidates that individually disagree with each other on points. Finally, I’m sure that at least some of the candidates grapple with the promises they make on the campaign trail to appease the masses and what they are actually able to accomplish once in office, this is intrapersonal.
- Many of these causes of conflict between people and groups are the same things that we looked at during Week 2 that impacts motivation an in Week 3 that impacts communication. I believe I have mentioned it before but I believe conflict, motivation, communication, and team work are all interrelated and this just reinforces that ideas. These elements are true for if you have an argument with your significant other or for an outbreak of war between two nations. Think about it, some of the top reasons for divorce are due to lack of communication, money problems (limited resources), and disagreements on how to raise children (ethics, ideology). International issues occur because of lack of communication, disputes over oil/minerals/water/etc (limited resources), or disagreements of how one government handles their concerns (ethics, cultural issues, ideology). Look at the picture on the slide and correlate them to everything that was discussed in the last two slides.
- Thomas and Kilmann studied conflict resolution and noted that people address issues in one of five styles, or modes. Altmae, et al (2013) note that the choice of which mode to use “depends very much on the situation. Each one of these modes could be useful under different circumstances” (p. 49). The majority of people, though, will have a dominant mode that they use. Competitors typically love to argue and, more importantly, win but they will accommodate or avoid when they know they are in a losing position. Accommodators will give in fairly easily in most cases but they may compete when dealing with something they feel strongly about. The chart above gives a breakdown of each of the styles based off the value of the goal, value of the relationship, and the outcome for both parties involved.
- Looking at the definition above I personally like the final part “to get over, through, or around (something) successfully” because that is the nature of why people enter into negotiations in the first place. Yes, you are looking to make an agreement but only because you are trying to overcome some sort of obstacle that you cannot otherwise do on your own. When you are negotiating a home sale you are doing so because they have something that you want and you, in general, cannot build a house on your own right? You are trying to get around building a house on your own.
- I like the first description of the phases because I believe that part of planning is determining your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA). Additionally, you need to understand your opponent’s BATNA if you hope to make any ground in the negotiation. Along with the BATNA each side also has the point where they will walk away from the table. The discussion phase is where you build a relationship as you are not going to just jump into negotiations with someone you don’t know. The proposal is where you give your side and they give their side. Bargaining is trying to find that common ground that everyone can agree with. Finally, closing is important regardless of if the deal is done or not.
- Determining your own BATNA and understanding the BATNA of your negotiating partner is important, especially in the bargaining phase. In the planning phase you are determining your BATNA to see if negotiations are even a worthwhile endeavor. Brett, Pinkley, & Jackofsky (1996) noted in their research that “Negotiators with a BATNA have reported higher individual outcomes and percentage of dyadic outcomes than individuals without a BATNA” (p.121). This is probably the case because they have a goal in mind when coming to the table. You also are going to try and find as many facts as you can about the issue at hand to make your position stronger while also identifying any triggers that may cause negative conflict during the negotiation. Emotions can run high so you want to know ahead of time topics of discussion to avoid.
- When you begin a negotiation do not think that it will go quickly or smoothly. Unfortunately, the fast paced digital world we live in has conditioned us to have immediate gratification; however, most people want to be heard, to be understood, and to know who they are dealing with. I was in the position during my time in the Army of working with members of the Iraq and Afghanistan Governments. They would not do any business with people that they did not know or feel they had a connection to. A general rule of thumb was that you would not get any work done with them on things until you had at least four or five meetings with them and built a relationship. This used to be how business was done everywhere and part of your planning is knowing if the other party expects this as well. When presenting your side you always want things painted in the best light for you, you might be surprised and they say yes immediately and you do not want to short-change yourself.
- Remember in the plan phase when I said you need to understand both your own and your negotiation partner’s BATNA and walk away points? That is so you know where your room to negotiate is located. Parties that do not understand that both sides have these points will more than likely not be able to come to an agreement because they become too aggressive about getting everything they want. Think of buying a car, your BATNA is getting it for free and your walk away point is the price that you deem too high to pay for the vehicle. On the other hand, the car dealer’s BATNA is getting full sticker price along with a ton of add-ons and in house financing while their walk away point is where they cannot make any money off of the sale. Where the two ranges overlap is the ZOPA for the negotiation. Take a look at the slide above and you can see a basic representation of what we just discussed.
- The points above are just a few of the common mistakes that people make when negotiating. Obviously, there are some times when a proposed deal meets all of your desired outcomes and the other party is happy with them as well; however, would your really be negotiating if that were the case? People understand that there is room to give and take and should be willing to discuss the price to where the parties involved have acceptable outcomes. Lack of communication is a point that we have discussed throughout the course because it has an effect on so many things. If you do not understand what your negotiation partner’s points are, or they don’t understand your position, then you can not hope to close a deal. Part of the lack of communication ties together with letting ego and emotion take priority. Some people just want to win and do not care about how they get there. Additionally, emotions can get in the way of thinking about the outcome. I have a friend that is a realtor and he stated that houses on the market for long periods of time are too often the result of owners that feel their homes are worth more than the market is dictating at the time. You can’t expect $250,000 in an area where comparable homes are selling for $175,000; be realistic. In a global community cultural understanding is more important now than ever. People from different cultures have different expectations, failing to appreciate these differences can be the difference in making the deal or making an adversary. The final point I’m going to highlight is a heavily unbalanced outcome. This may end the immediate discussion at hand but can create more problems in the future than anything it solves in the present. Think back in history about the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I; this treaty forced disarmament, high reparations, took land, and admission of guilt onto Germany. Not only did the treaty put a heavy burden on Germany economically, it also flat out embarrassed them as a nation. This only stopped the immediate problem but, as we all know, did not deal with any root issues. If you don’t think this was a contributing factor to WWII then take this into consideration; when France surrendered to Nazi Germany in 1940, Hitler had the signing of that treaty done at the same location in the same railcar as the Treaty of Versailles was completed.