Chapter 7 Managing Conflict and Being Assertive

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Chapter 7Managing Conflictand Being Assertive
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Conflict
Conflict A process in which one party perceives
that its interests are being opposed or
negatively affected by another party.

• Functional conflict serves the organizations
  interests while dysfunctional conflict
  threatens the organizations interests.

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Benefits of functional conflict

• Talents and abilities may emerge
• Conflict may satisfy psychological needs.
• Parties may unite after conflict.
• Reduces chance of Group-think if members agree
  with each other too much.

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Harmful consequences of dysfunctional conflict

• Prolonged conflict can be detrimental to
  emotional and physical well-being.
• When in conflict, valuable time is being wasted.
• Extreme conflict can be costly.
• Extreme conflict can lead to violence in the
  workplace.

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Antecedents of Conflict

• Incompatible personalities or value systems.
• Overlapping or unclear job boundaries.
• Competition for limited resources.
• Inadequate communication.

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Antecedents of Conflict (continued)

• Unreasonable or unclear policies.
• Unreasonable deadlines.
• Unresolved conflict.
• Organizational complexity.
• Generation gap and personality clashes.

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Incompatible Value Systems

• More job interviews have questions which try to
  find out the values of prospects.
• Similar ValuesMore agreement

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Unclear Job Assignments

• Job responsibilities should be clear.
• More ambiguityhigher chance of conflict.

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Competition for limited resources

• Limited resources sometimes make adults act like
  children.
• Too much competitionhigher chance of conflict.

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Inadequate Communication

• Open lines to communication reduces the chance of
  conflict.
• Less communicationmore ambiguityhigher chance
  for conflict.

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Unreasonable or unclear policies

• Unreasonable policies add unnecessary stress,
  making conflict inevitable.

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Unreasonable deadlines

• When expectations are too high, the result is
  conflict.

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Organizational Complexity

• KISS- to reduce complexity and the chance for
  conflict, keep systems and procedures as simple
  and clear as possible.

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Generation Gap and Personality Clashes

• The Stereotype of Generation X and Y is that they
  are disrespectful of rules and disloyal
• The Stereotype of Baby Boomers is a desire to
  preserve the status quo.
• Personality clashes occur because of differences
  in interests, values, and styles.

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Diverse Teams

• Differences in ethnicity, religion, gender,
  educational backgrounds, and work specialties can
  contribute to clashes in viewpoints.
• Conflict resolution is key in a diverse
  workforce.
• When conflicts are resolved properly, diversity
  strengthens an organization.

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Desired Conflict Outcomes

• Agreement
• Stronger relationships
• Learning

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Tips for Managers Whose Employees Are Having a
Personality Conflict

• Follow company policies for diversity,
  anti-discrimination, and sexual harassment.
• Investigate and document conflict.
• If appropriate, take corrective action (e.g.,
  feedback or B Mod).
• If necessary, attempt informal dispute
  resolution.
• Refer difficult conflicts to human resource
  specialists or hired counselors.

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Five Conflict-Handling Styles
Integrating
Obliging
High
Compromising
Concern for Others
Dominating
Avoiding
Low
High
Low
Concern for Self
Source MA Rahim, A Strategy for Managing
Conflict in Complex Organizations, Human
Relations, January 1985, p 84. Used with authors
permission.
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Being Assertive

• -clearly stating what you want or how you feel in
  a given situation without being abusive,
  abrasive, or passive.
• It doesnt matter Passive
• Your opinion is wrong Aggressive
• My opinion is Assertive
• Its not really important, but Passive
• You need to know Aggressive
• I thought that you would like to know
  Assertive

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Steps to Being Assertive

• 1. Set an objective
• 2. Determine how to create a win-win situation
• 3. Develop assertive phrases
• 4. Implement your plan persistently