Chapter 9 (Week 6) Flashcards
Conflict
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
Functional Conflict vs Dysfunctional Conflict
Functional Conflict supports the goals of the group and improves its performance
Dysfunctional Conflict hinders group performance
Task Conflict
Conflict over content and goals of the work
(generally positive among top management teams but less positive lower in organizational hierarchy, likely because people in top positions feel less threatened in their roles by conflict)
Relationship Conflict
Conflict based on interpersonal relationships
(nearly always dysfunctional and appears to be the most psychologically exhausting to individuals because you cannot change your personality like you can your behaviour)
Process Conflict
Conflict over how work gets done
(usually about delegation and roles and often revolve around perception that some members are shirking; often becomes highly personalized and devolves into relationship conflict)
Loci of Conflict
Dyadic - conflict that occurs between two people
Intragroup Conflict - occurs within a group
Intergroup Conflict - occurs between different groups or teams
Sources of Conflict
- Communication Variables (e.g semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, or “noise” in communication channels)
- Structural Variables (consequence of requirements of job or workplace more than personality - e.g. sales department vs production department)
- Personal Variables
Structural Variables that lead to Conflict
- Size, specialization and composition of group
- Ambiguity around who is responsible for what
- Reward systems when one member’s gain is at another’s expense
- Leadership style if managers tightly control and oversee work of employees so that employees don’t have enough discretion around how they carry out tasks
- Diversity of goals among groups when groups seek ends that are inherently at odds (e.g. sales team promises product that production team hasn’t finalized)
- If one group is dependent on another or if interdependence allows one group to gain at another’s expense
Conflict Management - Dual Concern Theory
Considers how one’s degree of cooperativeness and assertiveness determine how a conflict is handled; there are five strategies for handling conflict identified by this theory:
1. Forcing (imposing one’s will on another party; win-lose)
2. Problem Solving (trying to reach an agreement that results in a win-win as much as possible
3. Avoiding (ignoring or minimizing the importance of the issues creating the conflict; lose-lose)
4. Yielding (accepting and incorporating the will of the other party; win-lose)
5. Compromising (balancing concern for oneself with concern for the other party to reach a solution; lose-lose)
Negotiation
A process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and try to agree on the exchange rate for them.
Elements of Negotiation
- Issues (items placed on the bargaining table for discussion)
- Positions (where individuals stand on the issues)
- Interests (underlying concerns affected by the negotiation resolution)
E.g. Issue is salaries, your position is how much you want to receive, an interest might be budget available for salaries.
Bargaining Strategies
Distributive - seeks to divide up a fixed amount of resources; a win-lose solution
Fixed Pie - belief that there is only a set amount of goods or services to be divided up between parties
Integrative - seeks one or more settlements that can create a win-win solution (more likely to build long-term relationship)
How to Negotiate
- Develop a strategy
- Define ground rules
- Clarify and justify
- Bargain and problem-solve
- Achieve closure and implementation
BATNA
best alternative to a negotiated agreement; the outcome an individual faces if negotiations fail
Bargaining Zone
zone between each party’s resistance point (lowest or highest acceptable outcome), assuming that there is overlap in this range
