University of West Florida
Department of Professional and Community Leadership
PAD 6425: Conflict Management and Resolution In Public and Nonprofit Organizations
Wm. M. Haraway, III Ph.D.
wharaway@uwf.edu
Office: 850.995.8419 (or by appointment)
Cell: 850.324.0845 (emergencies)
Course Overview
Conflict is inevitable. It affects families and friendships, neighborhoods, towns and
governments, nations, organizations, and businesses. Resolving conflict often feels like a
constant balancing act among the opposing needs and interests of spouses, children and siblings,
town boards, citizens, governmental leaders, business partners, and other parties. Conflicts are
also unpleasant and stressful. They distract people from pursuing more productive endeavors
and are expensive—in terms of time and money. However, not all conflicts are destructive.
Some lead to a sharpening of critical issues and the creation of new systems and institutions
beneficial to society. In some instances conflict leads to much needed change. Thus, the
challenge to public managers is not to try to eliminate conflict but to manage disagreements as
productively as possible.
To that end, the course focuses on managing public disputes and emphasizes the
significance of praxis—relating theory to practice. It is designed as a graduate seminar requiring
participants to demonstrate initiative and perform independent study. Discussions of readings
will be based on the experiences, knowledge, skills, and abilities of participants, in addition to
those of the professor. This will require that all assignments (readings, case studies,
presentations, and papers) be completed in a timely manner.
Student Learning Outcomes

To identify traditional and contemporary theories of conflict
resolution 

To demonstrate fluency in the use of conflict resolution
terms, frames, and concepts 

To describe methods used to analyze conflict situations and
design a resolution plan 

To understand the underlying principles to consider when
conducting a conflict management program 

To identify and demonstrate knowledge, skill, and ability in
using emerging models of conflict management and resolution 
Required Texts
1. Carpenter, Susan L. and W.J.D. Kennedy. Managing Public Disputes, A Practical Guide to
Handling Conflict and Reaching Agreements (CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006). CK on assignment page
2. Costantino, Cathy A. and Christina S. Merchant. Designing Conflict Management Systems, A
Guide to Creating Productive and Healthy Organizations (CA: Jossey-Bass, 1996). CM on
assignment page
3. Deutsch, Morton, Coleman, Peter T. and Eric C. Marcus. eds. The Handbook of Conflict
Resolution, Theory and Practice (CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006). DCM on assignment page
4. Fifth Edition, Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Washington,
DC: 2001.
Course Requirements and Grading (Timely Submission of Assignments is Required)
Midterm Examination - 30 % Applied Research Paper - 30 % Case Study and Other Assignments -20%Class
Participation/Threaded Discsussions -20%
Expectations for Academic Conduct
As members of the University of West Florida academic community, we commit ourselves to
honesty. As we strive for excellence in performance and integrity (both personal and
institutional), honesty is our most precious asset. Honesty in our academic work is vital, and we
will not knowingly act in ways that erode that integrity. Accordingly, we pledge not to cheat,
nor to tolerate cheating, nor to plagiarize the work of others. We pledge to share community
resources in ways that are responsible and that comply with established policies of fairness.
Cooperation and competition are means to high achievement and are encouraged. Indeed,
cooperation is expected unless our directive is to individual performance. We will compete
constructively and professionally for the purpose of stimulating high performance standards.
Finally, we accept adherence to this set of expectations for academic conduct as a condition of
membership in the University academic community.
Academic Standards for Written Assignments
Students are expected to read, understand, and comply with the requirements of the Fifth Edition
of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for all assignments and
manuscripts. This includes the “Ethical Standards for the Reporting and Publishing of Scientific
Information” included therein. To that end, all work submitted orally or in writing for this
course must be the student’s own and may not have been used, whole or in part, for any other
purpose without the professor’s prior written permission (if in doubt you must ask the professor).
Assistance
Students with special needs who require specific examination related or other course related
accommodations should contact the Director of Disabled Student Services (DSS), dss@uwf.edu,
at (850) 474-2387. DSS will provide the student with a letter for the instructor that will specify
any recommended accommodations. Students must ensure that the appropriate letter is provided
to the instructor prior to completing course requirements.
Class Schedule and Assignments
Week 1: Building an Online Community
Week 2: Conflict Management and Resolution: An Overview
The study of conflict is interdisciplinary and complex. The
suggested optional readings listed below provide a deeper
understanding of the material presented in the course, as well
as a beginning guide of topics for the applied research paper.
They represent a starting point, not a comprehensive list of conflict
readings—that is your goal.
Required Reading:
DCM, Introduction
DCM, Chapter 1 (Begin reading for this and next week)
Week 3: Theoretical Underpinnings in the Field of Conflict Studies
DCM, Chapter 1 (continued from week 2)
C & M, Chapter 1
Suggested Readings
Cohen, Jonathan R. “Adversaries? Partners? How
About Counterparts? On Metaphors in the Practice
and Teaching of Negotiation and Dispute
Resolution,” Conflict Resolution Quarterly vol. 20
no. 4 (2003) 433-440.
Jones, Wendell and Scott H. Hughes. “Complexity,
Conflict Resolution, and How the Mind Works,”
Conflict Resolution Quarterly vol. 20 no. 4 (2003)
485-494.
Selznick, Philip. Law, Society, and Industrial
Justice (CA: Sage, 1969).
Pondy, Louis R. “Overview of Organizational
Conflict: Concepts and Models.” Journal of
Organizational Behavior, vol. 13 (1992) 255.
Pondy, Louis R. “Reflections on Organizational
Conflict.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol.
13 (1992) 257-261.
Thomas, Kenneth W. “Conflict and Conflict
Management: Reflections and Update.” Journal of
Organizational Behavior, vol. 13 (1992) 265-274.
Week 4: Procedural, Distributive and Substantive Justice
DCM, Chapter 2
C & M, Chapter 2
Suggested Readings
Folger, Robert & Russell Ropanzano.
Organizational Justice and Human Resource
Management (CA: Sage, 1998).
Brokner, Joel and Phyllis Siegel. “Understanding
the Interaction Between Procedural and Distributive
Justice: The Role of Trust.” In Trust In
Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research,
eds. Roderick M. Kramer and Tom R. Tyler,
(1996), 390-413.
Sheppard, Blair H., Roy J. Lewicki and John W.
Minton. Organizational Justice (NY: Lexington,
1992).
Youngblood, Stuart A., Linda Klebe Trevino and
Monica Favia. “Reactions to Unjust Dismissal and
Third-Party Dispute Resolution: A Justice
Framework.” Employee Responsibilities and Rights
Journal, vol. 5 (1992), 283-307.
Deutsch, M. Distributive Justice: A Social
Psychological Analysis (CT: Yale University Press,
1985).
Ewing, David W. Justice on the Job (MA: Harvard
Business School Press), 1989.
Week 5: The Role of Trust In Conflict Management and Resolution
DCM, Chapter 4
Suggested Readings
Blackstock, Michael, D. “Where Is the Trust?
Using Trust-Based Mediation for First Nations
Dispute Resolution,” Conflict Resolution Quarterly
vol. 19 no. 1 (2001) 9-30.
Jameson, Jessica Katz. “Employee Perceptions of
the Availability and Use of Interest-Based, RightsBased, and Power
-Based Conflict Management Strategies,” Conflict
Resolution Quarterly vol. 19 no. 2 (2001) 163-196.
Misztal, Barbara A. Trust in Modern Societies
(MA: Polity, 1996).
Taylor, Raymond G. “Trust and Influence in the
Workplace,” Organization Development Journal
vol. 8 (1990): 33-36.
Taylor, Raylmond G. “The Role of Trust in LaborManagement Relations,” Organization
Development Journal vol. 7 (1989): 85-89.
Creed, W.E Douglas and Raymond E. Miles. “Trust
in Organizations, A Conceptual Framework Linking
Organizational Forms, Managerial Philosophies,
and the Opportunity Costs of Controls.” In Trust in
Organizations, Frontiers of Theory and Research,
eds. Roderick M. Kramer and Tom R. Tyler, (CA:
Sage, 1996), 16-38.
Lewicki, Roy J. and Barbara Benedict Bunker.
“Developing and Maintaining Trust in Work
Relationships.” In Trust in Organizations, eds.
Roderick M. Kramer and Tom R. Tyler, (CA: Sage,
1996), 114-139.
Week 6: Power and Conflict
DCM, Chapter 5
DCM, Chapter 8
Suggested Readings
Gewurz, Llan G. “(Re) Designing Mediation to
Address the Nuances of Power Imbalance,” Conflict
Resolution Quarterly vol. 19 no. 2 (2001) 135-162.
Klaas, Brian S. and Angelo S. DeNisi. “Managerial
Reactions to Employee Dissent: The Impact of
Grievance Activity on Performance Ratings.”
Academy of Management Journal vol. 32 (1989):
705-717.
Week 7: Problem Solving and Decision Making
DCM, Chapter 9
DCM, Chapter 13
Suggested Readings
Feldman, Martha S. and Alan J. Levy. “Effects of
Legal Context on Decision Making Under
Ambiguity.” In The Legalistic Organization, eds.
Sim B. Sitkin and Robert J. Bies, (CA: Sage,
1994), 109-136.
Randall, Donna M. and Douglas D. Baker. “The
Threat of Legal Liability and Managerial Decision
Making: Regulation of Reproductive Health in the
Workplace.” In The Legalistic Organization, eds.
Sim B. Sitkin and Robert J. Bies, (CA: Sage, 1994),
169-189.
Week 8: Midterm Examination
Week 9: Communication and Conflict Resolution
DCM, Chapter 6
Suggested Readings
Barge, Kevin J. “Creating Healthy Communities
Through Affirmative Conflict Communication,”
Conflict Resolution Quarterly vol. 19 no. 1 (2001)
89-101.
Rifkin, Janet. “Online Dispute Resolution: Theory
and Practice of the Fourth Party,” Conflict
Resolution Quarterly vol. 19 no. 1 (2001) 117-124.
Browning, Larry D. and Robert Folger.
“Communication Under Conditions of Litigation
Risk: A Grounded Theory of Plausible Deniability
in the Iran-Contra Affair.” In The Legalistic
Organization, eds. Sim B. Sitkin and Robert J. Bies
(CA: Sage, 1994), 251-280.
Shapiro, Debra L. and Deborah M. Kolb.
“Reducing the Litigious Mentality by Increasing
Employees’ Desire to Communicate Grievances.”
In The Legalistic Organization, eds. Sim B. Sitkin
and Robert J. Bies (CA: Sage, 1994), 303-329.
Carroll, James D. “The Rhetoric of Reform and
Political Reality in the National Performance
Review.” Public Administration Review vol. 55
(May-June 1995): 302-312.
McClelland, Valorie. “Communication, Mixed
Signals Breed Mistrust.” Personnel Journal vol. 66
(1987): 24-27.
Mauer, G.W. and J. Flores. “Peer Review and
Employee Advocacy in the Conflict Resolution
Process.” Personnel Administrator vol. 31 (1986):
53-58.
Week 10: Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR)
DCM, Chapter 21
Haraway, III, William M. "Legal Criteria in Decision Making: The Hearing Officers' Role in
Resolving Employee Grievances in Complex Public Organizations," Unpublishd manuscript,
2008.
Haraway, III, William M. and Julie C. Kunselman. "Ethical Leadership and Administrative
Discretion: The Fire Chief's Hiring Dilemma." Public Personnel Management, International
Association for Public Management - Human Resources, Spring 2006.
Haraway, Dana L. and William M. Haraway, III. "Analysis of the Effect of ConflictManagement and resolution on Employee Stress at a Healthcare Organization." Hospital Topics
83.4 (fall 2005): p11 (7).
Haraway, III, William M. “Employee Grievance Programs: Understanding the Nexus between
Workplace Justice, Organization Legitimacy and Successful Organizations.” Public Personnel
Management, International Association for Public Management—Human Resources, Fall 2005.
Haraway, III, William M. “Rediscovering Process Values in Employee Grievance Procedures,”
Administration & Society vol. 34, no. 5 (2002): 499-521.
Suggested Readings
Denton, D. Keith and Charles Boyd. Employee
Complaint Handling (NY: Quorum, 1990).
Ewing, David W. Do It My Way Or You’re Fired!:
Employee Rights And The Changing Role Of
Management Prerogatives (NY: Wiley & Sons,
1983).
Klaas, Brian S. “Determinants of Grievance
Activity and the Grievance System’s Impact on
Employee Behavior: An Integrative Perspective.”
Academy of Management Review vol. 14 (1989):
445-457.
Lewin, David and Richard B. Peterson. The
Modern Grievance Procedure in the United States
(NY: Quorum, 1988).
Mauer, G.W. and J. Flores. “Peer review and
Employee Advocacy in the Conflict Resolution
Process.” Personnel Administrator vol. 31 (1986):
53-58.
O’Neil, Robert M. The Rights of Public Employees
2 ed. (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University
Press, 1993).
Osigweh, E.A.B., ed. Managing Employee
Rights and Responsibilities (NY: Quorum, 1989).
Peterson, Richard B. and David Lewin. “The
Nonunion Grievance Procedure: A Viable System
of Due Process?” Employee Responsibilities and
Rights Journal vol. 7 (1994): 9-21.
Pulhamus, Aaron R. “Conflict Handling–A
Common Sense Approach to Appraising
Supervisory Performance.” Public Personnel
Management, vol. 20 (1991): 485-492.
Week 11: Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
DCM, Chapters 17 & 18
C & M Chapters 3 & 4
Suggested Readings
Crawford, Susan H. et al. “From Determining
Capacity to Facilitating Competencies: A New
Mediation Framework,”
Conflict Resolution Quarterly vol. 20 no. 4 (2003)
385-402.
LeBaron, Michelle and Zena D. Zumeta. “Windows
on Diversity: Lawyers, Culture, and Mediation
Practice,” Conflict Resolution Quarterly vol. 20 no.
4 (2003) 463-472. Honeyman, Christopher.
“Note Quite Protocols: Toward Collaborative
Research in Dispute Resolution,” Conflict
Resolution Quarterly vol. 19 no. 1 (2001) 75-88.
Pearson, Frederic S. and Marie Olson. “Civil War
Characteristics, Mediators, and Resolution,”
Conflict Resolution Quarterly vol. 19 no. 4 (2002)
421-446.
Poitras, Jean and Vivian Wiseman. “Mediation
Within a Hierarchical Structure: How Can It Be
Done Successfully?” vol. 20 no. 1 (2002) 51-65.
Schreir, Lori S. “Emotional Intelligence and
Mediation Training,” Conflict Resolution Quarterly
vol. 20 no. 1 (2002) 99-119.
Weinstein, Martha. “Community Mediation:
Providing Justice and Promoting Transformation,”
Public Integrity vol. 19 no. 2 (2001) 251-259.
Pfeffer, Jeffrey. “The Costs of Legalization: The
Hidden Dangers of Increasingly Formalized
Control.” In The Legalistic Organization, eds. Sim
B. Sitkin and Robert J. Bies (CA: Sage, 1994), 329346.
Carnevale, David G. “Root Dynamics of Alternative
Dispute Resolution: An Illustrative Case in the U.S.
Postal Service.” Public Administrative Review vol.
53 (1993): 455-461.
Cogan, Evelyn B. “Alternative Dispute Resolution
and Judicial Immunity: A Potential Pitfall?” Labor
Law Journal November (1994): 722-725.
Lan, Zhiyong. “A Conflict Resolution Approach to
Public Administration.” Public Administration
Review vol. 57 (1997): 27-35.
Piskorski, Thomas J. and David B. Ross. “Private
Arbitration as the Exclusive Means of Resolving
Employment-Related Disputes.” Employee
Relations vol. 19 (1993): 205-218.
Flores, G. Michael. “Handling Employee Issues
Through Alternate Dispute Resolution.” The
Bankers’ Magazine. July-August (1993): npn.
Week 12: Applying Theory to Practice: Managing Public Disputes
C & K, Part I, Public Controversies and Conflict Management,
Chapters 1-3
C & K, Part II, A Step-By-Step Process for Managing Public Disputes,
Chapters 4-7
Week 13: Managing Public Disputes - Continued
C & K, Part III, Ensuring the Success of Conflict Management,
Chapters 8-11
Week 14: Designing Viable Conflict Management Systems
C & M, Part II, Designing and Improving Conflict Management Systems,
Chapters 5-10
Suggested Readings
Conbere, John P. “Theory Building for Conflict Management System
Design,” Conflict Resolution Quarterly vol. 19 no. 2 (2001) 215-236.
Week 15: Course Summary and Conclusions
Making Conflict Management Systems Work
C & M, Part III, Making the System Work, Chapters 11-13
Dropbox Assignment: (Course Feedback to Instructor)
Applied research paper due (in drop box by end of week)
************************************************************************
RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINES
The major intellectual project of the directed study is the research paper. The paper must
be written in APA format and style. To that end, students are expected to read, understand, and
comply with the requirements of the Fifth Edition of the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (APA) for all assignments and manuscripts. This includes the
“Ethical Standards for the Reporting and Publishing of Scientific Information” included therein.
All work submitted orally and/or in writing for this directed study must be the student’s own and
may not have been used whole and/or in part for any other purpose without the professor’s prior
written permission (if in doubt you must ask the instructor).
Students should select a research paper topic consistent with their personal interests and
intellectual curiosity that can be well managed within semester time parameters, based upon
academic and other workloads. Thus, it is important to keep the focus of the research paper
narrow by defining an “angle on” or “dimension of” conflict management and resolution. The
instructor is available to assist you in this effort. Please note that the instructor must approve
your paper topic in advance (this should be accomplished via email discussions with the
instructor and occur prior to the midterm examination if possible).
It is expected that the formal paper will be carefully researched and well written.
Toward that goal, the paper must use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The completed
paper shall be a minimum of 15 pages in length and not exceed 20 pages (excluding cover,
endnotes, appendices, and references/bibliography). The paper must be submitted in a timely
manner. Late papers will be substantially discounted in grade, unless the delay is caused be a
documented illness and/or personal emergency.
A. Research papers will be graded based upon the following criteria:
1. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation (proofread and spell check).
2. Knowledge and understanding of the assigned readings and classroom discussion.
3. The ability to integrate knowledge from different sources (texts, library research, class
discussions, and real life situations).
4. Analysis of materials to reach conclusions and support them in an organized, coherent
manner.
5. Compliance with minimum/maximum length and submission requirements.