Chapter 12
Nelson & Quick
Conflict and Negotiation
Copyright ©2005 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved.
Nature of Organizational
Conflict
Conflict - any situation in which incompatible goals,
attitudes, emotions, or behaviors lead to
disagreement or opposition between two or more
parties
Functional Conflict - a healthy, constructive
disagreement between two or more people
Dysfunctional Conflict - an unhealthy, destructive
disagreement between two or more people
Consequences of Conflict
Positive
Consequences
Leads to new ideas
Stimulates creativity
Motivates change
Promotes organizational
vitality
Helps individuals & groups
establish identities
Serves as a safety valve to
indicate problems
Negative
Consequences
Diverts energy from work
Threatens psychological
well-being
Wastes resources
Creates a negative climate
Breaks down group
cohesion
Can increase hostility &
aggressive behaviors
Causes of Conflict
in Organizations
Structural Factors
• Specialization
• Interdependence
• Common resources
• Goal differences
• Authority relationships
• Status inconsistencies
• Jurisdictional ambiguities
Personal Factors
• Skills & abilities
• Personalities
• Perceptions
• Values & ethics
• Emotions
• Communication barriers
• Cultural differences
Globalization & Conflict
Cultural differences & individual differences
increase the potential for conflict
Forms of Conflict
in Organizations
Interorganizational Conflict - conflict that occurs
between two or more organizations
Intergroup Conflict - conflict that occurs between
groups or teams in an organization
Interpersonal Conflict - conflict that occurs between
two or more individuals
Intrapersonal Conflict - conflict that occurs within
an individual
Forms of Conflict
in Organizations
Interrole Conflict - a person’s experience of conflict
among the multiple roles in his/her life
Intrarole Conflict - conflict that occurs within a
single role, such as when a person receives
conflicting messages from role senders about how
to perform a certain role
Person–role Conflict - conflict that occurs when an
individual is expected to perform behaviors in a
certain role that conflict with his/her personal
values
An Organizational Member’s
Role Set
Outside the organization
Inside the organization
Client
Supervisor
Focal
Role
Supplier
Potential
employee
Employee
1
Employee Employee
2
3
Superior
Superior
role
senders
Colleague
Peer
role
senders
Employee’s
colleagues
Employee
role
senders
Boundary of the organization
SOURCE: J. C. Quick, J. D. Quick, D. L. Nelson, & J. J. Hurrell, Jr. Preventative Stress Management in Organizations, 1997. Copyright © 1997 by the American
Psychological Association. Reprinted by permission.
Power Relationships in Organizations
Types of
Power
Relationships
Equal vs. equal
Behavioral
Tendencies &
Problems
Suboptimization

Competition

Covert fighting

Constant friction
High vs. low
Control vs. autonomy

Resistance to change

Motivation problems
High vs. middle
vs. low
Role conflict, role
ambiguity, stress

Concessions

Doubletalk

Use of sanctions and
rewards
Examples of
Interventions

Define demarcation lines

Integrate units

Teach negotiating skills

Bureaucratize power
through rules

Use a different leadership
style

Improve communication

Clarify tasks

Teach power strategies
SOURCE: W. F. G. Mastenbroek, Conflict Management and
Organizational Development, 1987. Copyright John Wiley & Sons
Limited. Reproduced with permission.
Defense Mechanisms
Aggressive Mechanisms
Fixation - an individual keeps up a dysfunctional
behavior that obviously will not solve the conflict
Displacement - an individual directs his or her anger
toward someone who is not the source of the
conflict
Negativism - a person responds with pessimism to
any attempt at solving a problem
Defense Mechanisms
Compromise Mechanisms
Compensation - an individual attempts to make up
for a negative situation by devoting himself/herself
to another pursuit with increased vigor
Identification - an individual patterns his or her
behavior after another’s
Rationalization - a compromise mechanism
characterized by trying to justify one’s behavior by
constructing bogus reasons for it
Defense Mechanisms
Withdrawal Mechanisms
Flight/Withdrawal - entails physically escaping a
conflict (flight) or psychologically escaping
(withdrawal)
Conversion - emotional conflicts are expressed in
physical symptoms
Fantasy - provides an escape from a conflict through
daydreaming
Win–Lose versus Win–Win
Strategies
Strategy
Competitive
Cooperative
Dept. A Dept. B Organization
Lose
Lose
Win
Win–
Lose
Win
Lose
Win–
Lose
Lose
Lose
Win
Ineffective Techniques for
Dealing with Conflict
Nonaction
Character
Assassination
Due process
Nonaction
Secrecy
Conflict
Administrative
Orbiting
Effective Techniques for
Dealing with Conflict
Superordinate Goals
Confronting
&
Negotiating
Changing
Structure
Conflict
Expanding
Resources
Changing
Personnel
Approaches to Negotiation
Distributive Bargaining the goals of the parties are
in conflict, and each party
seeks to maximize its
resources
Approaches to Negotiation
Integrative Negotiation focuses on the merits of the
issues and seeks a win–win
solution
Conflict Management Styles
Avoiding - deliberate decision to take no action
on a conflict or to stay out of a conflict
Accommodating - concern that the other party’s
goals be met but relatively unconcerned with
getting own way
Competing - satisfying own interests; willing to
do so at other party’s expense
Conflict Management Styles
Compromising - each party gives up something
to reach a solution
Collaborating - arriving at a solution agreeable
to all through open & thorough discussion
Conflict Management Styles
Assertive
Competing
Collaborating
Assertiveness
(Desire to satisfy
one’s own concerns)
Unassertive
SOURCE: K. W. Thomas, “Conflict and Conflict
Management,” in M. D. Dunnette, Handbook of
Industrial and Organizational Psychology,
(Chicago: Rand McNally, 1976), 900. Used with
permission of M. D. Dunnette.
Compromising
Avoiding
Uncooperative
Accommodating
Cooperative
Cooperativeness
(Desire to satisfy another’s concerns)
Creating a
Conflict-Positive Organization
Value diversity
and confront
differences
Take stock to
reward success
and learn from
mistakes
Conflict
Positive
Seek mutual
benefits, and unite
behind
cooperative goals
Empower employees
to feel confident
and skillful
3 Organization Views of Conflict
Competitive
conflict
Belittle
differences
Suspect
Seek
win–lose
situation
Blame
SOURCE: The Conflict-Positive Organization by Tjsovold, © 1991. Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, N.J.
3 Organization Views of Conflict
Avoidance of
conflict
Evade
differences
Despair
Reduce
risks
Withdraw
SOURCE: The Conflict-Positive Organization by Tjsovold, © 1991. Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, N.J.
3 Organization Views of Conflict
Positive
conflict
Value
diversity
Take
stock
Seek
mutual
benefit
Empower
SOURCE: The Conflict-Positive Organization by Tjsovold, © 1991. Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, N.J.