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Conflict and Conflict Management. . Conflict: A Definition. Any situation in which one person or group perceives that another person or group is interfering with his or her goal attainmentIncreases naturally as professionals begin working togetherMeeting some persons' needs will often result in others' needs going unmetInherently neither good nor bad!Knowing one's own style of managing conflict is important .
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1. Conflict, Barriers and Resistance in Consultation
2. Conflict and Conflict Management
3. Conflict: A Definition Any situation in which one person or group perceives that another person or group is interfering with his or her goal attainment
Increases naturally as professionals begin working together
Meeting some persons’ needs will often result in others’ needs going unmet
Inherently neither good nor bad!
Knowing one’s own style of managing conflict is important
4. Conflict Management Styles Competitive Style
Avoidant Style
Accommodating Style
Compromising Style
Collaborative Style
Vary along dimensions of cooperativeness and assertiveness
6. Conflict Management Styles Competitive: try to overpower others with whom you have contact and “win” the disagreement
Relationships are low in importance
Avoidant: try to ignore discrepancy between your own goals and those of others
Own goals are unimportant
7. Accommodating: set aside your own goals (“give in”) to ensure that others’ needs are met
Relationships are more important than goals
Compromising: give up some ideas and demand that others do the same
Look for “common ground”
Collaborative: requires commitment to relationships and goals
Conflicts are seen as opportunities
8. Barriers and Resistance in Consultation
9. Time Limitations
Scheduling Issues
Novelty of Consultation Practical Barriers
10. Congruence Among Expectations Goals for Consultation (examples?)
Goals for Client (examples?)
Expectations for Consultation Roles
directive vs. “collaborative” consultant;
active vs. passive consultee;
confusion regarding data collection and plan implementation roles
Others??
11. Acceptability of Consultation & Interventions "Judgments by lay persons, clients... of whether treatment procedures are appropriate, fair, and reasonable..." (Kazdin)
Factors Affecting Acceptability:
Problem Severity
Time
Type of Treatment Approach
Effectiveness
Understanding
12. Standardization Reduces verbal flexibility
Reduces attention to nonverbal and affective messages
Related to effective consultation outcome
Important for assuring consultation integrity
Permits efficient and effective training; Provides formal record of consultation
Best Practices:
Preserve integrity of consultation services
Preserve important relationship factors
13. Resistance Definition:
“An emotional response based on a rational or irrational fear or concern related to whatever change is proposed or occurring”
Resistance can be related to:
the proposed change itself (values, orientation)
the personal impact of the change (skill issues, effects on personal life)
homeostasis (preference for sameness, fear of the unknown)
other attitudes, affective issues
14. Overcoming Barriers and Resistance
15. Understanding Resistance Resistance to change is a natural human phenomenon! -- Try to see the other’s point of view.
Resistance may be determined in part by the expectation of what will be gained and lost with a successful intervention (e.g., for consultee or client, change in behavior may result in a nonreinforcing outcome)
May reflect attributions or beliefs that are incompatible with the behavioral intervention process (e.g., “Kids should behave without rewards”)
16. Dealing with Resistance Know that it will occur, and be able to identify it!
Maintain positive relations.
Use consultee’s frame of reference.
Maintain a systems orientation
Identify and support informal leaders of the organization.
Observe norms for communication and work within standard parameters.
17. Identify Resistance Indicators of Resistance:
Refusing to participate (not performing expected behaviors)
Supporting without substance
Displacing responsibility
Deferring until a future time
Relying on past practice
Negative verbalizations
18. Maintaining Positive Relations Helpful at organizational level; establishes consultant’s reputation as facilitative toward system goals.
Use “strategic interpersonal communication” skills to structure the process; assertions and questions should offer support, extend discussion, initiate topics, etc.
It is up to the consultant to develop facilitative, respectful partnerships with consultees, who must feel it is safe to discuss problems arising in their professional roles.
19. Use Consultee’s Frame of Reference Individuals’ unique frames of reference affect their receptivity to change and sets parameters on their willingness to tolerate change
If change message falls within an individual’s tolerance level, change is possible -- if change is beyond the person’s tolerance level, it is unlikely to be considered
Determine the other’s tolerance range and propose only ideas that fall within it
Examples: Relate the change to other’s knowledge and experience; propose changes that are within the other’s value system; use consultee’s language
20. Social and Interpersonal Influence Strategies Chin and Benne’s (1969) perspective on change in human systems
French and Raven’s (1959) bases of social influence and social power
Sequential-request strategies (Martens et al., 1996)
21. Chin and Benne’s Empirical-Rational Approach Asserts that people are basically rational and will change their behavior when the change is justifiable to them on an intellectual level
If a person thinks it is logical and important to change, he/she will do so if given the proper information
Consultation technique using this approach is to disseminate information to the consultee (“Knowledge is power”)
22. Chin and Benne’s Normative-Reeducative Approach Assumes that people are active and depend on new knowledge as well as non-cognitive, sociocultural factors to decide whether or not to change
Consultation strategies using this approach try to change consultee’s attitudes, values and feelings at a personal level, and norms and significant relationships at a social level
e.g., make consultee aware of values and norms of the organization to change behavior
“Knowledge and people are power”
23. Chin and Benne’s Power-Coercive Approach Assumes the consultee will change when presented with sanctions that are political or economic in nature, or when made to feel guilty or shameful for not changing
Used when it is apparent that consultee believes it is not in his/her best interest to change
Consultation strategy may involve informing the consultee that consultant is authorized to be present, with implication that consultee should follow consultant’s guidance
24. Definitions:
Social Influence: A change in the belief, attitude, or behavior of a target of influence, which results from the action or presence of an influencing agent
Social Power: The potential for this influence to occur French & Raven’s Bases of Social Influence and Social Power
25. Six Bases of Social Power Coercive Power: Based on the consultee’s perception that the consultant can punish the consultee if he/she does not comply
Reward Power: Based on the consultee’s perception that the consultant can reward the consultee if he/she complies
Legitimate Power: Based on the consultee’s obligation to accept the consultant’s influence attempt because the consultee believes that the consultant has a legitimate right to influence the consultee, perhaps because of their professional roles or positions
26. Expert Power: Based on the consultee’s perception that the consultant possesses knowledge or expertise in a specific area of interest to the consultee
Referent Power: The consultant’s potential to influence the consultee based on the consultee’s identification with the consultant and/or desire for such identification
Informational Power: The consultant’s potential to influence the consultee because of the judged relevance of the information contained in the consultant’s message
27. French & Raven’s Theory as Applied to Consultation Changed behaviors stemming from informational power can be maintained without continuing social dependence on the consultant
the consultee has essentially internalized the new behavior and will continue in that manner even if the consultee “forgets” that the impetus for change came from the consultant
For the other bases of power, changed behavior is socially dependent on the consultant (i.e., I am doing it this way because the consultant told me to do it this way...)
28. I am doing it this way because the consultant told me to do it this way, and...
... I feel obligated to do as the consultant requests (legitimate power)
... the consultant knows what is best (expert power)
... the consultant has experience similar to mine, so we should see eye-to-eye (referent power)
... the consultant will punish me if I don’t do it this way (coercive power)
... the consultant will do something nice for me if I do as he/she asks (reward power)
29. Expert power tends to be highly restricted in range -- only a small number of areas of expertise are usually attributed to any one person
Referent power has a wide range -- one who has accrued referent power can potentially influence the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of another across many aspects of daily life
The effectiveness of an influence attempt stems from the power base employed and how the consultant delivers it (i.e., choice of words, body language, facial expression)
Use of humor, nonthreatening forms of request, and a polite manner, have been shown to enhance successful influence
30. Sequential-Request Strategies Compliance gaining strategies wherein making an initial request is expected to increase the chances that a person will comply with a second request
Foot in the Door (FITD) strategy: The initial request is small or trivial, and individual agrees to its performance
When asked to comply with a second , larger request, individual is more likely to agree, presumably to maintain consistency in self-perceptions
Door in the Face (DITF) strategy: The initial request is large, and individual does not agree to its performance
When asked to comply to a second, smaller request, person agrees, presumably because a concession has been made and they feel compelled to make a concession also
31. Martens et al. (1996) study:
Consultees exposed to one of three experimental conditions in which they complied to a small initial request (FITD), failed to comply to a large initial request (DITF), or received no initial request
Acceptability of an intervention was assessed (i.e., consultees were asked to implement a treatment for one hour on each of two consecutive days)
Mean acceptability for consultees in DITF condition was significantly lower than controls; fewer consultees in DITF condition implemented the strategy
Concluded that consultants should be cautious when using DITF strategy because any favorable perceptions that are produced by conceding one’s position must overshadow the negative perceptions created from making what may have been an unreasonable request in the first place
32. Other Ideas for Overcoming Barriers
33. Consultee/Staff Training Topics:
Consultation as a service delivery model
Goals and expectations of consultation
Potential interventions and outcomes
Formal:
Workshops
Inservices
Informal:
“Setting the stage”
Verbalizations within interviews
Observations throughout plan implementation
34. Improving Problem Identification Define problems to increase solutions: observable and concrete!
Identify specific rather than global problems.
Consider the use of reframing:
Emphasizes the positive, adaptive functions of a behavior
Define problem in environmental terms, rather than internal client characteristics
35. Incentives and Reinforcement Administrative support
Release time
“Career ladder” in schools
Individual recognition
Moral support and praise throughout process
Frequent, sincere reinforcement
Inform supervisor if appropriate
