Conflict Management &
Negotiation
Rex Mitchell
Fall 2011
Course Overview
Conflict Management
– Understanding & diagnosing conflicts
Goals & interests
Power
– Evaluating & managing conflicts
– Effective communication skills
– Forgiveness & reconciliation
Course Overview (cont.)
Negotiation
– Basic concepts
– “Principled negotiation”
– Preparation
– Ethics
– Negotiation simulation in teams
Engage with the readings
What seems important here, what do I like,
agree with, find useful? Why?
– Highlight, make margin notes
How might I apply one or more concepts in my
life – now and in the future?
Are there things I disagree with and/or would
modify or expand on? Why? How?
Is important to create your own reading notes or
concept map
Creativity
Understanding & Diagnosing
Conflicts
Quick, First Responses, Please
When there’s a conflict, I feel....
In a conflict situation, I usually....
In a conflict situation, I would like to…
You can tell that people are in conflict by...
When I see two people in conflict, I think...
After a conflict, people usually…
What is conflict?
What is negotiation?
Conflict is an expressed struggle
between at least two interdependent
parties who perceive incompatible
goals, scarce resources, and/or
interference from others in achieving
their goals
Conflict can have both
negative & positive effects
Some negatives?
Some positives?
Course Overview
Conflict Management
– Understanding & diagnosing conflicts
Goals & interests
Power
– Evaluating & managing conflicts
– Effective communication skills
– Forgiveness & reconciliation
We May Differ Over…
Data and information
Assumptions
Goals
Expectations
Methods and preferred solutions
Values
Organizations and groups differ
in how conflict is viewed and
managed
Make a few notes re this:
– In your work group (or family)
– In your company (or other organization)
Share in group
Note similarities & differences
Conflict Episode Model
States of
Individuals
Frustrations
Conceptualizations
+ Stimulus
Outcomes
Behaviors
Conflicts can escalate & deescalate
Indications of Conflict
Escalation
Competition
Claiming righteousness, moral superiority
Not listening
Spreading to new issues and situations
Dealing in personalities
Violating social norms
Intentional hurt
Insults and threats
Some Ways to De-escalate
Listening, trying to understand
Showing concern for others’ feelings
Appealing/suggesting de-escalation
Goodwill gestures, concessions
Expressing feelings
Finding integrative alternatives
“Recognizing” the other human being
Conflict Episode Model
States of
Individuals
Frustrations
Conceptualizations
+ Stimulus
Outcomes
Behaviors
Exercise on Attitudes About Conflict
Individually, score 1-6 (6 = strongly agree) your
degree of agreement with each of the statements,
applied to you
In pairs:
– Identify statements with largest score spreads
– Discuss some of these
Would you help me understand why you answered
as you did?
Was it like this in your family of origin?
How well has this worked for you?
Goals and Interests
Course Overview
Conflict Management
– Understanding & diagnosing conflicts
Goals & interests
Power
– Evaluating & managing conflicts
– Effective communication skills
– Moderating conflicts
– Forgiveness & reconciliation
Objectives (aka Goals)
“If you don't know where you're going, you
might wind up somewhere else.” (Yogi Berra)
Distinguish among objectives (= goals),
interests, positions, strategies, & actions
Define goals in terms of results and
outcomes, not actions
Frame as positive results to be achieved
rather than problems to be avoided
Several Types of Goals
Content
Relational
Identity (self-esteem)
Process
….CRIP (aka TRIP)
Goals and Interests
Interest: underlying need, desire, or
concern
Goal (objective): desired outcome or result
Position: stated action, result, or proposal
Strategy: method for achieving a goal
Action: specific steps to take
Is this an Interest, Goal, Strategy,
Position, or Action?
Make $60,000 this year
I need more money with the arrival of a
second child
I think I deserve a 7% salary increase
I will first try to negotiate an increase in my
salary, then, if necessary, I will search for a
second part-time job
Contact the placement office in my
professional society re part-time jobs
Increase profits to $1.58/share for this
year
We need to hire more workers
Impress the division head
Start work on the paper at least a week
before it is due
Application
(Individually) Pick a current or recent conflict
situation involving you:
– Should be fairly complex
– Because we will return to it several times to
apply different concepts
Application – Part 1
Individually:
– Pick a current or recent conflict situation
– Identify what are/were your CRIP goals
– What are/were the CRIP goals of one or more
others involved
In groups of two or three:
– Take turns describing your conflict situation
(briefly) & your draft of CRIP goals
– Group helps you probe for additional or clearer
interests/goals
POWER
Power: potential ability to influence
behavior, events …get people to do things
they would not do otherwise
Influence, politics: processes & actions
through which potential power is used
Leadership: art of mobilizing others to
want to struggle for shared aspirations
Sources of Power
Formal authority & reputation
Resources
System connections & positioning
Expertise
Personal
1. Formal authority & reputation
Should distinguish between these
Formal authority particularly important
where?
– Military
– Police
– Some government organizations
Formal relatively less important where?
– New organizations
– High-tech, R&D organizations
– Universities
2. Resources
Control
Acquisition
Creation
…giving ability to reward and punish
3. System connections &
positioning
Centrality
Political access
Visibility
Relevance (alignment)
Criticality
Discretion
Non-substitutability
4. Expertise
KSAs (knowledge, skills, abilities)
Performance
Professional credibility
Fit with organizational needs & priorities
5. Personal
Charisma
Attractiveness
Energy, stamina
Focus
Determination
Interpersonal skills
Personal reputation
Flexibility
Able to engage effectively, even confront
Able to let others get credit
Three Propositions I Believe
Power is necessary and is neither good
nor bad inherently
Influence is a form of power that tends to
reduce the potential for negative effects
Power and love are not a dichotomy
Good to Great Companies
Jim Collins
“Good is the enemy of great”
Identified a group of elite companies that
made the leap to great results & sustained
for 15 years
Cumulative stock returns >7 times market
One factor was “Level 5 leaders”
Level 5 Leaders…
Build enduring greatness through a paradoxical
blend of personal humility and unwavering
professional resolve
Are ambitious first and foremost for the
company, not themselves
Set up their successors for even greater success
in the next generation
Are more work horse than show horse
Look elsewhere to give credit for successes
Look in the mirror when things go poorly
Discuss in groups
Discuss assigned one of:
1. Application 4.1 p.104-105, discuss what you were
taught or have “learned” about power from your life
2. Interests, rights, power (p.107)
3. Denying power use (p.112ff), including passiveaggressive behaviors (p.125-126)
4. Power imbalances (p.126-131 & ff)
Report major points to class
Let’s Process Class So Far
What was useful – and should be done in
the future?
What could be improved in the future?