Conflict and negotiation

• Everybody negotiates. Some people like it, others hate it but all agree that the ability to negotiate well is a valuable business skill and therefore it’s something worth doing well.

• As the Al Capone character in The Untouchables said “You get more with a kind word…and a gun, than you do with just a kind word.

Conflict and negotiation

• Conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares about. Eg – incompatibility of goals, differences over interpretations of facts, disagreements based on behavioral expectations.

Transitions in conflict thought

• Traditional view – the belief that all conflict is harmful and must be avoided.

• Human relations view of conflict – The belief that conflict is a natural and inevitable outcome in any group.

• Interactionist view – The belief that conflict is not only a positive force in a group but that it is also an absolute necessity for a group to perform effectively.

Task Interdependence

• Pooled interdependence• Sequential interdependence• Reciprocal interdependence

Types of conflict

• Functional conflict – conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves its performance.

• Dysfunctional conflict – conflict that hinders group performance.

• Task conflict – conflicts over content and goals of the work (3 types – pooled interdependence, sequential interdependence, reciprocal interdependence)

• Relationship conflict – conflict based on interpersonal relationships.

• Process conflict – conflict over how work gets done.

Conflicts happen because of -

• Personality clash• Gender clash• Customer needs• Biased treatment• Changed / new hierarchy• Superiors• Cross cultural difference

Conflict process

• Stage 1 – potential opposition or incompatibility

• Conditions – communication, structure and personal variables

• Stage 2 – cognition and personalization • Experience perceived conflict (awareness of

conditions that create conflicts) and felt conflict (emotional involvement which creates anxiety, tenseness, frustration and hostility)

• Stage 3 – intentions – decisions to act in a given way.

• Primary conflict handling intentions are – CompetingCollaboratingAvoidingAccommodatingcompromising

• Stage 4 – Behavior • Party’s behavior / others reaction• Stage 5 – outcomes• Increased group performance / decreased

group performance.

Conflict mgmt techniques

• Problem solving• Super ordinate goals• Expansion of resources• Avoidance• Smoothing• Compromise• Authoritative command• Altering the human variable• Altering the structural variables

• Conflict Manager must –• Create a win – win situation• Find opportunity in adversity• Defuse the situation immediately

Conflicts happen because of -

• Personality clash• Gender clash• Customer needs• Biased treatment• Changed hierarchy• Superiors• Cross cultural differences

Avoidance styles

• Resignation• Withdrawal• Defusion – buy time for dealing with a conflict• Appeasement – the main objective is to buy

temporary peace.

• A conflict manager has to –• Create win-win situation• Find opportunity in adversity• Defuse situation immediately

To solve conflicts

• Game theory – use mathematical models to predict the outcome of negotiation situations.

• Win – win approach – PRAM model of negotiations ie Plans – Relationships - Agreement - Maintenance

Negotiation

• A process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree on the exchange rate for them.

• Distributive bargaining – negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount of resources; a win – lose situation.

• The essence of distributive bargaining is negotiating over who gets what share of a fixed pie. Fixed pie is the belief that there is only a set amount of goods or services to be divided up between the parties.

• Less obvious eg of distributive bargaining is good cop – bad cop routine.

• Integrative bargaining – negotiation that seeks one or more settlements that can create a win – win solution.

• Compromising may be your worst enemy in negotiating a win – win agreement. This is because compromising reduces the pressure to bargain integratively.

Negotiation process

• Preparation & Planning – BATNA – the best alternative to a negotiated agreement, the lowest acceptable value to an individual for a negotiated agreement.

• Definition of ground rules• Clarification and justification• Bargaining and problem solving• Closure and implementation

Issues in negotiation

• Role of mood• Role of personality• Gender differences• Cultural differences

III party negotiations

• Mediator – a neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated solution by using reasoning, persuasion, and suggestions for alternatives.

• Arbitrator – a third party who has the authority to dictate an agreement

• ( mediation & arbitration are two popular forms of alternative dispute resolution)

• Conciliator – a trusted III party who provides an informal communication link between the two parties.

• Consultant – an impartial III party skilled in conflict mgmt who attempts to facilitate creative problem solving through communication and analysis.