Conflict and Conflict
Management
Learning Objectives
After completing this training, participants will
be able to:
Understand the contemporary concepts of
conflict in the work place.
Describe the causes and consequences
of conflict
Be equipped with effective conflict resolution
approaches and techniques.
Reflection
What is conflict?
Conflict
“Conflictsituations” are situations
in which the concern of two
people appear to be incompatible.
When one party perceives its
interests are being opposed or set back
by another party.
CONT’
Conflict is inevitable in any
setting with any relationship.
It’s normal.
Conflict is necessary, it’s the oxygen of
creativity.
Conflict Perceptions and Emotions
At some point the sources of conflict lead
parties to perceive that conflict exists.
They become aware that one party’s
statements and actions are incompatible with
their own goals.
These perceptions usually interact with
emotions experienced about the
conflict.
Manifest Conflict
Conflict perceptions and emotions usually
manifest themselves in the decisions and
overt behaviors of one party toward the other.
Body language
Colleagues not speaking to each other
or ignoring each other
Deliberately undermining or not co-
operating with each other, to the downfall of
the team
Contradicting and bad-mouthing one another
Manifest Conflict
Disagreements, regardless of issue
Withholding bad news
Surprises
Strong public statements
Airing disagreements through media
Increasing lack of respect
Open disagreement
Sections meeting to discuss issues separately,
when they affect the whole organization
Manifest Conflict
One group being left out of organizing an
event which should include everybody
Using threatening slogans or symbols to
show that their group is right and the others
are wrong.
Team Work
Common Common Common How the episodes
Perceptions Emotions in Manifestations are Managed
Leading to your
Conflict relationship
Conflict Escalation…
Conflict remains focused on distorted
perceptions, beliefs and emotions
that reduce the parties’ motivation for
communication.
This in turn constricted possibility to
discover common ground and
ultimately resolve the conflict.
The parties then rely more on stereotypes
and emotions to reinforce their
perceptions of the other party.
Conflict Escalation…
Employees who are more confrontational and
less diplomatic also tend to escalate conflict.
Types (Outcomes) of conflict
Functional conflict
is a confrontation between individuals or groups
that enhances and benefits the organization’s
performance.
Two heads are better than one only if they
contain different opinions”
CONT’
Dysfunctional conflict
Is any confrontation or interaction between
Individuals or groups that harms the
organization or hinders the achievement of
organizational goals.
Minimizing Socio-emotional
Conflict
A. Developing Emotional Intelligence
B. Building a Cohesive Team
C. Establishing Supportive Team Norms
Develop Your Emotional Intelligence
Self-awareness Social-Awareness
Emotional self- Empathy
awareness Organizational
Accurate self-assessment Awareness
Self Management Social Skill
Emotional self-control Conflict management Skill
Team Work & Collaboration
Adaptability
Conflict is a problem when
it:
Hampers productivity
Lowers motivation
Causes more and continued conflicts
exercise
What causes conflict in your
organization?
What approach do you use to
handle conflict ?
Common Sources of Conflict
Conflicts are caused by two
general category of factors.
a. Structural Factors
b. Personal Factors
- Leaders are responsible to identify the
factors and manage it accordingly.
a. Structural Sources of Conflict
i. Specialization
ii. Interdependence
iii. Common and Scarce Resources
iv. Goal Differences
v. Authority Relationship
vi. Status Inconsistencies
vii. Jurisdictional Ambiguity
b. Personal Causes of Conflict
i. Skills and Abilities
ii. Personalities
iii. Needs of People
iv. Perceptual Differences
v. Incompatible Values
vi. Feelings and Emotions
vii. Communication Barriers
viii. Cultural Differences
Workplace conflict is natural:
Therefore:
Realize that conflicts are inevitable at work
Understand that conflict is not always bad
Don't personalize disagreements
Take the initiative for conflict resolution
Handle conflict sooner rather than later
Have a strict good faith and optimist thinking when
conflicts arise
Make open communication your habit in solving
conflicts
Solve conflicts at the smallest team level
Conflict Management
Approaches
Principles and Ethiopian
Experiences
Conflict Management Styles
1. Avoiding
2. Competing (I win, you lose)
3. Accommodating(I lose, you win)
4. Compromising (I bend, you bend)
5. Collaborating (I win, you win)
1. Avoiding
Key Characteristic: DENIAL
Key Response: AVOID
Key Aim: TO ENDURE THE STORM
Favorite Statement: What conflict?
Avoiding
Refuses to even consider the fact
that a conflict exists and would
prefer that others do the same.
Because of this, they refuses to
dialogue and gather information to
fix it.
Key Strategies: Flee, avoid, deny,
ignore, withdraw,
Leadership Qualities: Passive &
fearful,
Negative Consequences of
Avoidance
Worsening of conflicts,
Some people may use the
opportunity to make decision
which may not be in favor of the
conflicting parties, and
It may also send a message for
others inability to to resolve the
conflict
When to Use Avoiding
1. When we need more time to resolve the
conflict;
2. When the potential damage of
continuing a conflict is not outweigh
the benefit of its resolution;
3. To let people cool down;
4. To regain perspective and composure;
5. When gathering more information
outweighs the advantage of an
immediate decision;
6. When others can resolve the
conflict more effectively;
Team Work
Identify a practical case in your organization
where avoiding strategy was used.
Discuss what you benefited by applying this
approach?
Indicate if it has affected you negatively.
Competing (I win, you
lose)
Key Characteristic: COMPETITION
Key Response: FORCE
Key Aim: TO WIN AT ALL COST
Favorite Statement: It’s my way or no
way.
CONT’
Is impatient with dialogue and
information gathering and would
rather everyone just submits.
Key Strategies: Compete, force,
control, fight, outdo
Leadership Qualities:
Authoritarian, seeks to maintain
the status quo, feels threatened
by any act of defiance and so will
quash it all the time
Negative Consequences of
Competing
Ignoring the interests of other parties
May plant seed for another
conflicts because of the fact that
the result the other party caring
for was not satisfied.
When to Use Competing
1. With emergency issues that one
of the parties should take
action;
2. When it is certain that the benefit of
the resolution outweighs the
drawbacks of possible negative
feelings by the dominating party;
3. When getting the right result is so
important than long-term
relationship;
4. To protect yourself against
people who take advantage of
noncompetitive behavior.
Accommodating (I lose,
you win)
Key Characteristic: GIVE IN
Key Response: ACCOMODATE
Key Aim: TO KEEP THE PEACE
Favorite Statement: Whatever you
say.
Accommodating
Interested in other’s approval and
would rather let others insist on
their way.
Key Strategies: Agree, give in
Leadership Qualities: Some are
Ineffective in group discussion
because they don’t have a solid
opinion, could be easily swayed
either way
Negative Consequences of
Accommodating
Giving up important concerns of
oneself or an organization for the
sake of illusive relationship in the
future which may not be realized.
When to Use
Accommodating
1. When the outcome of the
resolution is far more important
to the other group;
2. When you realize that you are wrong –
to allow a better position to be heard
,to learn from others, and to show that
you are reasonable;
3. To build up social credit for later
issues which are important to you;
4. When continued competition would
only damage your cause;
5. To aid in the managerial development
of subordinates by allowing them to
experiment and learn from their won
mistakes;
Compromising (I bend, you
bend)
Key Characteristic: TOLERATE
Key Response: COMPROMISE
Key Aim: GIVE EACH ONE A
MEASURE OF VICTORY
Favorite Statement: Meet me half
way.
Compromising
Tolerates the exchange of ideas
but finds this uncomfortable so
he would rather bargain
quickly.
Key Strategies: Reduce the
expectations and Split the
difference
Leadership Qualities: Good
negotiator, cautious but open,
urges everyone to speak out
but not too much
Negative Consequences of
Compromising
Is not good if people are
walking away from conflict with
a lot of dissatisfaction about
the outcome,
May give a cynical appearance to
conflict resolution if parties are
playing some unfair games to
maximize the outcome from the
settlement of the case.
When to Use
Compromising
1. It is good as a back up approach
when competing and collaborating
fails;
2. When people are not in a
position to get what they want;
3. When goals are moderately
important, but not worth the
effort or potential disruption of
more assertive modes;
4. When two opponents with equal
power are strongly committed to
continually exclusive goals;
5. To achieve temporary settlement to
complex issue;
6. To arrive at practical solution under
time pressure
Collaborating(I win,
you win)
Key Characteristic: COOPERATION
Key Response: DIALOGUE
Key Aim: COLLABORATION
BETWEEN ALL PARTIES
Favorite Statement: My preference is…
But what is
yours?
Collaborating
Focuses heavily on
information gathering and
always prefers collaboration over
compromise.
Key Strategies: Gather
information, dialogue openly,
explore alternatives
Leadership Qualities: Focuses on
the process, open to change &
growth
Negative Consequences of
Collaboration
It may take a longer time than
other styles to resolve a
conflict.
When to Use Collaborating:
1. To find an integrative solution
when both sets of concerns are
too important to be compromised;
2. When your objective is to learn,
3. To understand the view of others;
4. To merge insights from people
with different perspective on a
problem;
5. To gain commitment by incorporating
other’s
concerns into consensual decision;
6. To work thorough hard feelings
which have been interfering with
an interpersonal relationship.
Effective conflict management
techniques
a. Ask questions
b. Analyze expectations
c. Recognize differing perspectives
d. Watch out for emotional triggers
e. Focus on preventing escalation/rise
f. Commit to working it out
g. Stay calm
Negotiation Skills
Effective Conflict Resolution
Needs Effective Negotiation
Negotiation Skills for Managing
Conflict
The first and least formal way to resolve a
dispute is to negotiate.
Negotiation occurs whenever two or more
conflicting parties attempt to resolve their
divergent goals by redefining the terms of their
interdependence.
People negotiate when they think that discussion
can produce a more satisfactory arrangement
Preparing for Negotiation
What are your own interests (needs, desires,
concerns)
Which of these are most important to you?
What do you think the interest of the other
party or parties might be?
What is the best solution you could achieve
with/without negotiating.
Using Best Situations for
Negotiation
The effectiveness of negotiating depends on
both the situation and the behaviors of the
negotiators.
Four of the most important situational factors
are:
A. Location,
B. Physical setting,
C. Time, and
D. Audience.
On Negotiation Tables
1. Analyze the other party well (explore overt and
covert interests and agenda)
2. Be effective in communication (7 Cs)
3. Understand before being understood
4. Be assertive enough
5. Take care of “hot buttons”
6. Separate opinions from facts
7. Manage stress effectively
8. Substitute escalating words by acknowledging
words
Alternative Conflict
Resolution Techniques
1. Mediation
2. Arbitration
1. Mediation
Mediation is a dispute resolution process
in which the parties agree to meet with a
mediator who can help them settle the
matter.
A mediator helps the parties to reach a
settlement, but does not have any
decision- making power.
The dispute is settled only if all of
the parties agree to the settlement.
Mediation
The mediator listens carefully to both sides,
help identify the underlying issues, and lead
the disputants into exploring possible options
for resolution.
The significance of mediation is that it usually
leads to a “win-win” situation.
The outcome is entirely in the hands of the
people who are in conflict.
Effective Mediation Requires
Agreement to use mediators
Getting a mutually agreed mediator
Collecting relevant information
Agreeing on and signing the mediation terms
and conditions
Briefing the mediator
Effective Mediator skills (Interest articulation
and reconciliation skills)
Agreement signing and commitment
2. Arbitration
Arbitration is a process in which a neutral and
independent third party hears evidence and
arguments from the parties.
The conflict here is solved by making binding
decisions
Arbitration is a more formal dispute resolution
process than mediation.
Arbitrators are judges who make decisions
based on the legal right of the parties.
Arbitration Procedure
1. Agreeing on the appropriate arbitrator
2. Designing the arbitration process collectively
3. Signing the arbitration modalities
4. Arbitrator’s evidence gathering and
analysis form both parties
5. Arbitrators decision
6. Acceptance or appeal
.
Thank You All
