This document summarizes information about managing conflict and negotiating. It discusses the inevitability of organizational conflict due to trends like constant change and increased diversity. It describes different metaphors used in conflict, such as viewing conflict as war or as an opportunity. It also distinguishes between functional/constructive conflict and dysfunctional conflict. It provides tips for resolving personality conflicts and discusses third-party interventions in conflict like mediation and arbitration. Finally, it addresses negotiation strategies and ethical considerations.

1. CHAPTER 13:
Managing Conflict and
Negotiating
Presented by:
Mirasol S. Madrid
Mikee Solano
II-9 BS Psychology

2. Lo.1 conflict:
a modern perspective
Solano, Mikee C.
II-9 BS Psychology

4. These major trends conspire to make
organizational conflict inevitable:
Constant change
Greater employee diversity
More teams (virtual and self-managed)
Less face to face communication (more
electronic interaction)
A global economy with increased cross-
cultural dealings.

5. The Language of Conflict: Metaphors
and Meaning
 Conflict as war: “We shot down that idea.”
 Conflict as opportunity: “What will it take
to resolve this disagreement?”
 Conflict as journey: “Let’s search for
common ground and all learn something
useful.”

7. Is commonly referred to in
management circles as
constructive or cooperative
conflict.

8. Dysfunctional Conflict
It is a conflict that hinder organizational
performance.
Other term for dysfunctional conflict is
destructive forms.
They are undesirable and the manager
should seek their eradication.

10. Situations tending to produce either
functional or dysfunctional conflict are
 Incompatible personalities or value systems
 Overlapping or unclear job boundaries
 Interdepartment/intergroup competition
 Competition for limited resources
 Inadequate communication
 Interdependent tasks
 Organizational complexity

11.  Unreasonable or unclear policies, standards,
or rules.
 Unreasonable deadlines or extreme time
pressure.
 Collective decision making
 Decision making by consensus
 Unmet expectations
 Unresolved or suppressed conflicts.

12. Desired Conflict Outcomes
Agreement
Stronger relationship
Learning

14. Is an interpersonal opposition
driven by personal dislike or
disagreement.

15. Day of Contemplation
A one-time-only day off with pay
to allow a problem employee to
recommit to the organization’s
values and mission.

16. Tips for employees having a
personality conflict
 Communicate directly with the other person
to resolve the perceived conflict.
 Avoid dragging co-workers into the conflict
 If dysfunctional conflict persists, seek help
from direct supervisors or human resource
specialists.

17. Tips for third-party observers of a
personality conflict
 Do not take sides in someone else’s
personality conflict.
 Suggest the parties work things out
themselves in a constructive and positive
way.
 If dysfunctional conflict persists, refer the
problem to parties direct supervisors.

19.  Investigate and document conflict
 If appropriate, take corrective action
 If necessary, attempt informal dispute
resolution.
 Refer difficult conflicts to human resource
specialists or hired counselors for formal
resolution attempts and other interventions.

21. An Updated Contact Model for
Minimizing Intergroup Conflict
 Level of perceived intergroup conflict
tends to increase when:
Recommended actions
• Conflict within the
group is high
• There are negative
interactions between
groups
• Influential third-party
gossip about other
group is negative
• Work to eliminate specific negative
interactions between groups
• Conduct team building to reduce
intergroup conflict and prepare
employees for cross-functional
teamwork.
• Encourage personal friendships and
good working relationships across
groups and departments.
• Foster positive attitudes toward
members of other groups.
• Avoid or neutralize negative gossip
across groups or departments.

23. Ways to Build Cross-Cultural
Relationships
 Be a listener
 Be sensitive to needs of others
 Be cooperative, rather than overly competitive
 Advocate inclusive leadership
 Compromise rather than dominate
 Build rapport through communication
 Be compassionate and understanding
 Avoid conflict by emphasizing harmony
 Nurture others

24. STIMULATING A FUNCTIONAL
CONFLICT
L.0 7
PRESENTED BY:
Mirasol S. Madrid

25. Carefully monitored functional unit can help get the
creative juices flowing once again.
 Programmed conflict – “conflict that raises different
opinions regardless of the personal feelings of the
managers.
 Devil’s Advocacy – Occurs by assigning someone
the role of the critic, that is the devil’s advocate.
Example: the devil’s advocate before a cardinal’s
sainthood
L.O 7.
Stimulating Functional Conflict

26.  Dialectic Method – Fostering a structured debate
of opposing points of views prior to making a
decision. However, in this method, the “winning
team” may overshadow the issue at hand. It also
requires more skill training than the Devil’s
Advocacy.
In a more recent laboratory study, groups using devil’s
advocacy produced more potential solution.
L.O 7.
Stimulating Functional Conflict

27. People tend to handle negative conflict in patterned
ways referred to as styles:
1. Integrating (Problem Solving) – Interested parties
confront the issue and cooperatively identify the
problem, generate and weigh alternative solutions and
select a solution. The weakness of this style is that it is
very time consuming.
Alternative Styles for Handling
Dysfunctional Conflict

28. 2. Obliging (Smoothing) – “An obliging person neglects
his or her own concern to satisfy the other party.” This
emphasizes commonalities. The weakness of this style is
that it is a temporary fix and it fails to confront the
underlying problem.
3. Dominating (Forcing) – The other party’s needs are
largely ignored. It relies on formal authority to force
compliance. In addition, this often breeds resentment.
Alternative Styles for Handling
Dysfunctional Conflict

29. 4. Avoiding – This tactic involve either passive
withdrawal from the problem or active suppression of
the issue. However, it may buy time in unfolding or
ambiguous situations.
5. Compromising – This is a give-and-take approach
involving moderate concern for both self and others.
The primary strength of this tactic is that it has no
disgruntled losers.
Alternative Styles for Handling
Dysfunctional Conflict

30. THIRD-PARTY
INTERVENTIONS
L.0 8

31.  Conflict triangles – “occurs when two people are
having a problem and, instead of addressing the
problem directly with each other, one of them gets a
third person involved.”
 Alternative Dispute Resolution – Avoiding costly
lawsuits by resolving conflicts informally or through
mediation or arbitration.
L.O 8.
Third-Party Interventions

32. ADR Techniques:
 Facilitation – A third party, informally urges disputing
parties to deal directly with each other in a positive
and constructive manner.
 Conciliation – A neutral third party informally acts as
a communication conduit between disputing parties.
This is appropriate when conflicting parties refuse to
meet face to face
L.O 8.
Third-Party Interventions

33. ADR Techniques:
 Peer Review – A panel of trustworthy co-workers, hears
both sides of a dispute in an informal and confidential
meeting. Any decision by the review panel may not may
not be binding.
 Ombudsman – Someone who works for the organization,
and is widely respected and trusted by his or her co-
workers, hears grievances on a confidential basis, and
attempts to arrange a solution.
L.O 8.
Third-Party Interventions

34. ADR Techniques:
 Mediation – “The mediator – trained, third-party
neutral – actively guides the disputing parties in
exploring innovative solutions to the conflict. The
decision is up to the disputants to reach a mutually
acceptable decisions.
L.O 8.
Third-Party Interventions

35. ADR Techniques:
 Arbitration – Disputing parties agree ahead of time
to accept the decision of a neutral arbitrator in a
formal court-like setting, often with complete
witnesses and evidence. The decisions are based on
legal merits.
L.O 8.
Third-Party Interventions

36. NEGOTIATION
L.0 9

37.  Negotiation – a give-and-take decision-making
process involving interdependent parties with
different preferences. This has two types:
 Distributive Negotiation – usually involves a single
issue – a fixed-pie – in which one person gains at
the expense of the other.
 Integrative Negotiation – better for both parties.
Involves a win-win strategy.
L.O 9.
Negotiation

38.  Ethical Pitfalls in Negotiation - focuses on the
quality of information exchanged. Awareness of
these dirty tricks can keep a good faith bargainers
from being unfairly exploited. These are some of the
unethical negotiating tactics:
L.O 9.
Negotiation

39.  Lies
 Puffery
 Deception
 Weakening the opponent
 Strengthening one’s own position
 Nondisclosure
 Information exploitation
 Change of mind
 Distraction
 Maximization
L.O 9.
Negotiation

40. Core emotional elements of negotiation need to be
addressed:
 Appreciation – acknowledge that each other’s thoughts,
feelings, and actions have merit.
 Affiliation – treat each other as colleagues rather than as
adversaries to be kept at a distance
 Autonomy – respect each other’s freedom to make
important decision
 Status – recognize each other’s standing instead of
viewing the other person as inferior
 Role – define your roles and activities in a fulfilling way
L.O 9.
Conflict Management and Negotiation: A
Contingency Approach