Managing Conflict in
Negotiations
Bargaining, Conflict and
Negotiations in Organizational
Settings
Conflict Defined
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it’s pervasive, it’s inevitable, and it’s a
process, not a product
Lulofs: “conflict occurs in situations in which
(1) the people are interdependent, (2) they
seek different outcomes or they favor different
means to the same ends; and/or (3) the
people perceive the other is interfering with
their pursuit of scarce rewards or resources.”
Overview of Conflict in
Organizations

The cultural “naturalness” of conflict
 Legal
system
 Labor negotiations
 Political system
The pervasiveness of conflict--20% of a
managers time
 Connection to management theories
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Benefits of Organizational
Conflict
 Defuse
potentially larger conflicts
 Forces us to acquire new information
 Inter-group conflict promotes intragroup cohesiveness
 Provides a opportunity to measure
power, strength, or ability
Disadvantages of
Organizational Conflict
 Leads
to avoidance behavior
 Leads to withholding of information
 Threatens individuals
 Causes cynicism and reduced
communication
Tannen’s View of Organizational
Conflict
 Ritual
Fighting
 Ritual Fighting as a function of
organizational culture
 Gender differences
Kilmann Thomas Conflict Model
X=cooperativenss, Y=assertiveness
 Avoidance (low coop, low assertiveness)
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 Advantage--takes
out the heat of the moment
 Disadvantage--conflict remains unresolved,
may lead to larger outbreak
Kilmann-Thomas Model, cont.
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Competition (low coop, high
assertiveness)
 Advantages--increased
creativity and
enthusiasm
 Disadvantages--violence, driving opponent
underground
Kilmann Thomas, cont.

Compromise (moderate X and Y)
 Advantages--often
actually resolves the
conflict
 Disadvantage--may actually be bad policy or
decision by not staying true to either set of
goals
Kilmann Thomas cont.
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Accommodation (High coop, Low assert.)
 Advantage--often
quickly leads to solution
 Disadvantage-- may, in the long run, be
detrimental, denies the legitimacy of the
claims of one of the participants
Kilmann Thomas, cont.
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Collaboration (High coop, High assert.)
 High
levels of commitment and empathy are
necessary
 Advantage--truly worthy of humans
 Disadvantage--difficult and many are not
trained to do it very well
A Four Phase Model of Conflict
Resolution
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Introduction--brief statement reviewing
procedures for conflict resolution
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Explanation--each party discusses the
source of the difficulty
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Clarifying--develop a better understanding of
all relevant issues (positions versus interests)
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Problem Solving--brainstorms solutions,
eliminate solutions, settle on a final solution
A Glossary of Negotiation Terms
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Negotiation--Back and forth communication
designed to reach an agreement when you and
the other side have some interests that are
shared and others that are opposed
Bargaining---trading of assets among parties to
solve problems
Mediation-- a neutral 3rd party is introduced to
work with two parties
Arbitration--like mediation, except that the third
party has the authority to impose a binding
decision
Bargaining at a glance
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Distributive bargaining
(Win-lose)
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Integrative bargaining
(Win-win)
Bargaining Strategies
Force the opposition to open the bidding
 Frequent concessions
 Reciprocity for good faith
 Look for win-win solutions
expand the pie
joint brainstorming
try “bridging”
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