Chapter 6 - Conflict and Negotiation

organizational behavior
CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION
Dr. Asliza Yusoff

After studying this chapter,
OBJECTIVES
you should be able to:
1. Define conflict in organization.

2. Differentiate between the traditional, human
LEARNING
relations, and interactionist views of conflict.

3. Outline the conflict process.
4. Define the concept of negotiation.
5. Contrast distributive and integrative
bargaining.
6. Illustrate the five steps in negotiation process.
Conflict
 Conflict Defined
– Is 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.
• Is that point in an ongoing
activity when an interaction
“crosses over” to become an
interparty conflict.
Conflict
– Encompasses a wide range of conflicts that people

experience in organizations
• Incompatibility of goals
• Differences over interpretations of facts
• Disagreements based on behavioral expectations
Transitions in Conflict Thought
Traditional View of Conflict

The belief that all conflict is harmful and must be
avoided.
Causes:
• Poor communication
• Lack of openness
• Failure to respond to
employee needs
Transitions in Conflict Thought (cont’d)
Human Relations View of Conflict

The belief that conflict is a natural and inevitable
outcome in any group.
Argues that conflict

should be accepted and
that conflict can lead to
better work performance.
Transitions in Conflict Thought (cont’d)
Interactionist View of Conflict

The belief that conflict is not only
a positive force in a group but that
it is absolutely necessary for a
group to perform effectively.
Conflict tend to have positive

effect on creativity and innovation
by employees.
It ensures the effectiveness of a
task that is carried out.
Types of Conflict
Task Conflict
Conflicts over content and
goals of the work.
Relationship Conflict
Conflict based on
interpersonal relationships.
Process Conflict
Conflict over how work gets done.
© 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 14–8

The Conflict Process
E X H I B I T 6–1
Stage I: Potential Opposition or Incompatibility
 Communication
– Semantic difficulties, misunderstandings, and “noise”
 Structure
– Size and specialization of jobs
– Jurisdictional clarity/ambiguity
– Member/goal incompatibility
– Leadership styles (close or participative)
– Reward systems (win-lose)
– Dependence/interdependence of groups
 Personal Variables
– Differing individual value systems
– Personality types
Stage II: Cognition and Personalization
 Potential for conflict is actualized
 Parties “make sense” of conflict by defining it and its potential
solutions
 Emotions play a major role in shaping perceptions
Perceived Conflict Felt Conflict
Awareness by one or more Emotional involvement in a
parties of the existence of conflict creating anxiety,
conditions that create tenseness, frustration, or
opportunities for conflict to hostility.
arise.
Conflict Definition
Negative Emotions Positive Feelings

Stage II: Cognition and Personalization (cont’d)
Perceived Conflict
A waiter have input an order
correctly and food being
prepared is wrong.
Perceived conflict arises
when the customer becomes
aware of the wrong order
and makes a complaint to
the restaurant manager. The
manager will speak to the
waiter about it.
Stage II: Cognition and Personalization (cont’d)
Felt Conflict
The manager is
unhappy because of the
complaint and the
employee becomes
unhappy for being put
under supervision.

Stage III: Intentions
Intentions
Decisions to act in a given way.
Cooperativeness:
• Attempting to satisfy the other party’s
concerns.
Assertiveness:
• Attempting to satisfy one’s own concerns.
Dimensions of Conflict-Handling Intentions
Source: K. Thomas, “Conflict and Negotiation Processes in Organizations,” in M.D. Dunnette

and L.M. Hough (eds.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2nd ed., vol. 3 E X H I B I T 6–2
(Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1992), p. 668. With permission.
Stage III: Intentions (cont’d)
Competing
A desire to satisfy one’s interests, regardless of the
impact on the other party to the conflict.
Collaborating
A situation in which the parties to a conflict each
desire to satisfy fully the concerns of all parties.
Avoiding
The desire to withdraw from or suppress a conflict.

Stage III: Intentions (cont’d)
Accommodating
The willingness of one party in a conflict to place the
opponent’s interests above his or her own.
Compromising
A situation in which each party to a conflict is
willing to give up something.

Stage IV: Behavior
Conflict Management
The use of resolution and stimulation techniques to
achieve the desired level of conflict.
It involves expression,
action and reaction by
the conflicting parties.
It is an overt attempt to
implement each party’s
intention.
Conflict-Intensity Continuum
Source: Based on S.P. Robbins, Managing Organizational Conflict: A Nontraditional Approach

(Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974), pp. 93–97; and F. Glasi, “The Process of Conflict
Escalation and the Roles of Third Parties,” in G.B.J. Bomers and R. Peterson (eds.), Conflict E X H I B I T 6–3
Management and Industrial Relations (Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff, 1982), pp. 119–40.
Conflict Management Techniques
Conflict Resolution Techniques

• Problem solving
• Superordinate goals
• Expansion of resources
• Avoidance
• Smoothing
• Compromise
• Authoritative command
• Altering the human variable
Source: Based on S. P. Robbins,
Managing Organizational Conflict:
A Nontraditional Approach (Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall,
• Altering the structural variables 1974), pp. 59–89
E X H I B I T 6–4
Conflict Management Techniques
Conflict Resolution Techniques

• Communication
• Bringing in outsiders
• Restructuring the organization
• Appointing a devil’s advocate
Source: Based on S. P. Robbins, Managing Organizational Conflict: A Nontraditional E X H I B I T 6–4 (cont’d)

Approach (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974), pp. 59–89
Stage V: Outcomes
 Functional Outcomes from Conflict
– Increased group performance
– Improved quality of decisions
– Stimulation of creativity and innovation
– Encouragement of interest and curiosity
– Provision of a medium for problem-solving
– Creation of an environment for self-evaluation and
change
 Creating Functional Conflict
– Reward dissent and punish conflict avoiders.
Stage V: Outcomes
 Dysfunctional Outcomes from Conflict
– Development of discontent
– Reduced group effectiveness
– Retarded communication
– Reduced group cohesiveness
– Infighting among group members overcomes group
goals
Functional versus Dysfunctional Conflict
Functional Conflict
Conflict that supports the goals
of the group and improves its
performance.
Dysfunctional Conflict
Conflict that hinders
group performance.
Negotiation
Negotiation
A process in which two or more parties exchange
goods or services and attempt to agree on the
exchange rate for them.
BATNA
The Best Alternative To a
Negotiated Agreement; the
lowest acceptable value
(outcome) to an individual
for a negotiated agreement.
Bargaining Strategies
Distributive Bargaining
Negotiation that seeks to divide up a fixed amount
of resources; a win-lose situation.
Parties compete over a distribution of a fixed sum of

value.
Gain by one party at the expense of the other.
A party focuses on trying to get the opponent to
agree to a specific target point.
Distributive Bargaining (Cont’d)

Integrative Bargaining
Negotiation that seeks one or more settlements that
can create a win-win solution.
Parties cooperate to achieve

maximum benefits by integrating
their interest into an agreement.
To goal of each side is to create as
much value for each other.
Both parties’ interests and
preferences may be satisfied.
Distributive Versus Integrative Bargaining
Bargaining Distributive Integrative

Characteristic Characteristic Characteristic
Available resources Fixed amount of Variable amount of

resources to be divided resources to be divided
Primary motivations I win, you lose I win, you win
Primary interests Opposed to each other Convergent or congruent
with each other
Focus of relationships Short term Long term
E X H I B I T 6–5
Source: Based on R. J. Lewicki and J. A. Litterer, Negotiation (Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1985), p. 280.
Distributive Bargaining Integrative Bargaining
Staking Out the Bargaining Zone
E X H I B I T 14–6

The
Negotiation
Process
E X H I B I T 6–6
The Negotiation Process – Step 1
Preparation and Planning
• Define the nature of the

conflict
• Identify the person
involved and their
perceptions of the conflict.
• Identify the opponent’s
goals.
• Parties are advised to
consider the opponent’s
resistance point.
Defining the Ground Rules
• Identify the parties that will

do the negotiating.
• Identify the issues that will
limit the negotiation and
procedures.
• In this phase, the parties
involved will exchange their
initial proposal.
Clarification and Justification
• Both parties will explain

and clarify the original
demand.
• Provide the other party
with any documentation
that helps support your
position.
Bargaining and Problem-
Solving
• The real negotiation takes
place.
• The success of this phase
depends on how well the
first three phases have
proceeded.
• Both parties are likely to
make concessions and give
up something to get
something in return.
Closure and Implementation
• Parties are formalizing the

agreement that has been
worked out and are
developing procedures
necessary for
implementation and
monitoring.
• For large and complex
negotiation, this stage
could be a very long stage.
Issues in Negotiation
 The Role of Personality Traits in Negotiation
– Traits do not appear to have a significantly direct effect
on the outcomes of either bargaining or negotiating
processes.
 Gender Differences in Negotiations
– Women negotiate no differently from men, although
men apparently negotiate slightly better outcomes.
– Men and women with similar power bases use the
same negotiating styles.
– Women’s attitudes toward negotiation and their
success as negotiators are less favorable than men’s.
Third-Party Negotiations
Mediator
A neutral third party who facilitates a negotiated
solution by using reasoning, persuasion, and
suggestions for alternatives.
Arbitrator
A third party to a negotiation
who has the authority to
dictate an agreement.
Third-Party Negotiations (cont’d)
Conciliator
A trusted third party who provides an informal
communication link between the negotiator and the
opponent.
Consultant
An impartial third party, skilled
in conflict management, who
attempts to facilitate creative
problem solving through
communication and analysis.

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organizational behavior

CONFLICT AND NEGOTIATION

Dr. Asliza Yusoff

you should be able to:

1. Define conflict in organization.

relations, and interactionist views of conflict.

– Encompasses a wide range of conflicts that people

Traditional View of Conflict

Human Relations View of Conflict

Argues that conflict

Interactionist View of Conflict

Conflict tend to have positive

© 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 14–8

Negative Emotions Positive Feelings

© 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 14–13

Source: K. Thomas, “Conflict and Negotiation Processes in Organizations,” in M.D. Dunnette

© 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 14–16

© 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 14–17

Source: Based on S.P. Robbins, Managing Organizational Conflict: A Nontraditional Approach

Conflict Resolution Techniques

• Altering the structural variables 1974), pp. 59–89

Conflict Resolution Techniques

Source: Based on S. P. Robbins, Managing Organizational Conflict: A Nontraditional E X H I B I T 6–4 (cont’d)

Parties compete over a distribution of a fixed sum of

Distributive Bargaining (Cont’d)

Parties cooperate to achieve

Bargaining Distributive Integrative

Available resources Fixed amount of Variable amount of

© 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved. 14–32

Preparation and Planning

• Define the nature of the

Defining the Ground Rules

• Identify the parties that will

Clarification and Justification

• Both parties will explain

Closure and Implementation

• Parties are formalizing the

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