Week 9 - Chapter 13 Flashcards
What is conflict
Interpersonal conflict is a process
that occurs when one person, group,
or organizational subunit frustrates
the goal attainment of another.
Conflict often involves antagonistic
attitudes and behaviours.
Types of Conflict
Relationship conflict
Task Conflict
Process Conflict
Relationship conflict
• Concerns interpersonal tensions among individuals that have to do with their relationship. • Eg. Personality clashes
Task Conflict
• Concerns disagreements about the nature of work to be done. • Eg. Differences of opinion about goals or technical matters
Process Conflict
• Involves disagreements about how work should be organized and accomplished. • Eg. Disagreements about responsibility, authority, resource allocation
Causes of Organizational Conflict
Group Identification
and Intergroup Bias
Interdependence
Ambiguity
Differences in Power,
Status, and Culture
Scarce resources
Group Identification
and Intergroup Bias
People develop a more positive view of their own “in-group.”
Self-esteem is a critical factor.
Ex. Bias towards a tutorial
Interdependence
When individuals or subunits are mutually dependent on each
other to accomplish their own goals.
It necessitates interaction and implies that each party has some
power over the other.
Interdependence does not always lead to conflict.
Ex. You are on a team that needs to work together to accomplish a task
Ambiguity
Ambiguous goals, jurisdictions, or performance
criteria can lead to conflict.
Differences in Power,
Status, and Culture
Power: If dependence is not mutual, but one way.
Status: Status differences provide little impetus for conflict when people of
lower status are dependent on those of higher status.
Culture: When two or more very different cultures develop in an
organization, the clash in beliefs and values can result in overt conflict.
Scarce resources
Conflict often surfaces in the process of power jockeying.
Limited budget money, secretarial support, or lab space can contribute to conflict.
Consequences of Conflict in Teams
Detrimental to member satisfaction
and team performance.
Such conflict prevents the development
of cohesiveness.
Occasionally, some degree of task
conflict might be beneficial for team
performance.
Not all conflict is detrimental.
Modes of Managing Conflict
Approaches to managing conflict are a function of: •Assertive you are to satisfy your own or your group s concerns, and • Cooperative: yo u are in trying to satisfy other party or group.
Thomas
Kilmann Conflict
Mode Instrument TKI
Assertiveness (y axis)
Cooperative (x axis)
Avoiding
Bottom left of TKI
Characterized by low assertiveness of one s own interests and low
cooperation with the other party.
Short term stress reduction but it does not really change the
situation.
It might be a sensible response when:
- The issue is trivial.
- Information is lacking.
- People need to cool down.
- The opponent is very powerful and hostile.
Accomodating
Bottom Right of TKI
A CM style in which one cooperates with the other party, while
not asserting one s own interests.
It can be an effective strategy when:
- You are wrong.
- The issue is more important to the other party.
- You want to build good will.
Competing
Top Left of TKI
A CM style that maximizes assertiveness and minimizes
cooperation.
It can be effective when:
- You have a lot of power.
- You are sure of your facts.
- The situation is truly win lose.
- You will not have to interact with the other party in the future.
Compromise
Centre of TKI
A CM style that combines intermediate levels of assertiveness and cooperation.
It does not result in the most creative response to
conflict.
It is not useful for resolving conflicts that stem from
power asymmetry.
It is a sensible reaction to conflict stemming from
scarce resources and it is a good fall back position if
other strategies fail.
Collaborating
Top-right of TKI
A CM style that maximizes both assertiveness
and cooperation.
It is an attempt to secure an integrative
agreement that fully satisfies the interests of both
parties (a win win resolution).
It works best when the conflict is not intense and
when each party has information that is useful to
the other.
Although it takes time and practice to develop, it
frequently enhances productivity and achievement.
Why Third Party Intervention?
Emotions overwhelm negotiations
Poor communication
Mistrust/negative perceptions
Unable to implement actions that defuse conflict
Types of third party intervention strategies
Mediation/Mediator
(Low level of control of the outcome)
Arbitration/Adjudication
(High level control of outcome)
Both have high level control over the process
Why 3rd Party Mediation Can Help
Provide a controlled setting for parties to vent emotions and be heard • Perceive outcome as fair even if it is not what they wanted because people have control over the process
Control procedure of
negotiation so parties can
describe dispute in own terms
Involve the parties in
searching for acceptable
settlements
Motivate parties to resolve
dispute (rather than
walking away)
Facilitate information
sharing
Parties are more likely to
commit to the decision
Is conflict bad?
Conflict can be functional when it promotes change.
conflict->change->adaptation->survival
How does conflict promote change?
How does conflict promote change?
- Consideration of new ideas.
- Each party monitors the other s performance more carefully.
- Signals that a redistribution of power is necessary.
There are times when managers might use a strategy of conflict stimulation
to cause change.
Sources of Stress
Eg
. social pressure, interview , public speaking,
Stress
The unconscious preparation to fight or flee that a person experiences when faced with any demand.
Stressor
The person or event that triggers the stress response.
ex. JRE420
Distress
The adverse psychological, physical, behavioural , and organizational consequences that may arise as a result of stressful events.
ex. sweat, nail biting, fear, nervousness/anxiety
Stress Reactions
Stress reactions are the consequences of stress: Physiological Emotional Behavioural Psychological
Some of these reactions are passive responses over which the
individual has little direct control (e.g., elevated blood pressure).
Three parts to stress
Stress:
• preparation for action
Motivation:
• the thing that moves you to action
Effort-reward imbalance model
• When high effort leads to low rewards, strain follows
Personality and Stress
Personality can affect both the extent to which potential stressors
are perceived as stressful and the types of stress reactions that
occur.
Three key personality traits
Locus of Control
Type A behaviour pattern
Negative affectivity
Locus of Control
Concerns people’s
beliefs about the
factors that control
their behaviour
Type A
behaviour
pattern
•Personality: includes aggressiveness, ambitiousness, competitiveness, hostility, impatience, and a sense of urgency.
Negative affectivity
•Perceive stressors, Hypersensitive; gravitate to stressful jobs; provoke stress through their negativity.
•Use passive, indirect
coping styles that
avoid the real sources
of stress
Executive and
managerial stressors
Role overload
Heavy responsibility
Operative-level
stressors
Poor physical working conditions
Poor job design
Boundary role stressors
straddle the imaginary boundary
between the organization and its
environment are especially likely
to experience stress.
What can an organization do to help with stress?
Reduce physical demands
Reduce task demands
Give greater worker control
Job employee match in hiring & training
Clear communication of expectations
Fair treatment
Socio-emotional support
Instrumental support
Value work-life balance
Healthy change process
Help interpret events as opportunities
Recognize and deal with stress symptoms
What can an organization do to help with stress?(cont)
Positive thinking
Self talk
Time management
Leisure time activities
Physical exercise
Relaxation training
Eating differently (actual food)
Opening up
Professional help
Job demands and resources model saws that the environment can be described in terms of …
…demands and resources
Job Demands
Physical, psychological, social, or organizational features of a job that require sustained physical or psychological effort that in turn can result in physiological or psychological costs.
Common demands include:
- Work overload
- Time pressure
- Role ambiguity
- Role conflict
Job Resources
Features of a job that are functional in that they help achieve work goals, reduce job demands, and stimulate personal growth, learning, and development.
Job resources can come from:
- The organization (e.g., pay)
- Interpersonal and social relations (e.g.,
supervisor support)
- Organization of work (e.g., role clarity)
- The task itself (e.g., performance feedback)
Job Demands -Resource Model
High job resources foster work engagement,
High job demands exhaust employees physically and mentally and lead to
burnout.
Research has found that job demands are related to burnout, disengagement,
and health problems.
Job resources lead to work engagement, OCB, and organizational commitment,
and they buffer the negative impact of job demands on well-being.
Burnout
Burnout is a syndrome made up of emotional
exhaustion, cynicism, and low self efficacy.
Burnout was originally studied among those
working in some capacity with people.
It has now been established that burnout can
occur even among non boundary spanners
