Conflict Management

1. Conflict Management Dr. Ho Kit Wan Hong Kong Polytechnic University 31 March, 2006

2. Conflict: natural and inevitable facts of organizational life • Conflict may be beneficial, making groups effective, energetic, creative, release tensions, leading to change; but it can also be disruptive. • Conflict management is the long-term management, an on-going process, of intractable conflicts. It may not lead to a resolution. • Conflict resolution refers to resolving the dispute to the approval of one or both parties

3. It is estimated that 30% of a manager’s time is spent dealing with conflict • Fortune 500 company executives are involved in litigation related activity 20% of their time.

4. Sources of conflict Interpersonal sources • Faulty attributions • assumptions and beliefs • Poor communication • Personality clashes • Gender, age and cultural differences • Distrust • grudges

5. Sources of conflict Group dynamic sources • Formation of cliques • Power tactics and manipulation • Relationship rules (social and task-related rules)

6. Sources of conflict Organizational sources • Struggle for resources • Ambiguity over responsibility and jurisdiction • Inequity of reward • Differentiation leading to self-interest • Differentiation leading to divergent values and vision • Power differentials • Blockage of communication

7. Sydney/Hong Kong • Poor, blockage of communication (4,4) • Differences in values (4,4) • Power differentials, tactics (4,4) • False assumptions (4,4) • Personality clash (4,4) • Broken interpersonal, task norms (4,4) • Struggle for resources (4,3) • Unfulfilled expectations (3,4) • Ambiguity over responsibilities (3,4) • Stereotypes (3,4) • Lasting grudges (2,4) • Formation of cliques (2,4) • Distrust (1, 4)

8. Styles of conflict management • Rahim (1983): five styles, along two dimensions, concern for self and concern for others • Integrating: high concern for self and for other, collaboration to reach a solution acceptable for both parties • Obliging: low concern for self and high concern for other, play down differences and emphasize commonalities to satisfy the concern of the other

9. Dominating: high concern for self and low concern for other, a forcing behavior to win one’s position • Avoiding: low concern for self and for other, withdrawal, passing the buck, sidestepping. • Compromising: moderate concern for self and other, both parties give up something to make a mutually acceptable solution

10. Comparisons with significant differences • Sydney more integrating than Hong Kong • Male more dominating than female • Managerial more integrating and less avoiding than front-line

11. HKCSS (2004): training needs of NGOs • Among 61 competencies, 16 Items were regarded as important by respondents with 100% response rate (49 managerial and supervisory staff) • Dealing with conflicts • Decision making • Self-motivation • Sense of responsibility • Interpersonal skills • Negotiation skills • Building staff morale

12. Conflict management skills • Coaching and counseling skills • Supervision skills • Strategic planning • Change management • Problem solving • Decision-making • Managing priorities • Communication with staff

13. Employee relation • It broadly deals with the relationships encountered by workplaces in their working lives, levels ranging from individual to international • Concerned with how to gain people’s commitment to the achievement of the organization’s business goals and objectives, and to ensure organizational change is accepted.

14. Management’s attitude towards unions: • Exclusion: discourage workers to join unions by coercion • Containment: direct the loyalty of the workers away from the union and back to the company, relations with union is on a legal basis, scope of collective bargaining is kept as narrow as possible • acceptance and accommodation: use union to improve relations • Cooperation: use union to solve production problems

15. Why people join unions? • Poor morale rather than wages • Lack of participation and complaint handling systems

16. Responsibilities of CEO and/or the employee relation officer • The primary liaison between the board and employee groups, and between the board and management on matters of employee relations • Development of viable employee relation policy • Lead the implementation and administration of related policies

17. Strategies of employee relations • Strategic planning in reform • Prevent, manage and resolve disputes • Good relationship and communication with relevant parties, such as union, association. • Develop, negotiate, and process enterprise agreements (both union and non-union collective agreements) • Manage the effective implementation and utilization of individual employment arrangements • Advising on all legal and commercial aspects of outsourcing arrangements • Advocacy before industrial tribunals and courts • Advising on performance appraisal systems (collaborative)

18. Orientation, staff handbook • Coaching, training • Communication: supervisor, a critical link between organization and front-line employees; top employees listen to employees directly, internal customer satisfaction survey, publications, retention and exit interview • Recognition and reward program • Fair compensation and disciplinary action • Ombudsman/appeal system • Industry health and safety measures • Employee assistance program • Harassment prevention program

19. Tactics of conflict resolution • Prompt response/action • Select the right person • Finding neutral turf • Define clearly the issue • Acknowledge the grievances • Grasp your own standpoint (what can be changed and what cannot be changed), and what is the baseline. Has a tentative solution to offer when necessary. • Handle the most critical issue first, and let them know your baseline, your difficulties, the consequence of not doing so, and what cannot be changed. • Divide the participants • Narrow the scope of issue • Emphasize super-goal, show problem solving attitude

20. Praise what they have contributed, appreciate their openness, participation • Recall successful cooperative experiences • Offering feedback/observation • Stick to the fact, focus on interest, not position nor opinion • Show sincere, considerate, empathic and committed attitude • Two-way communications • Maintain trust, keep promise • Sharing, clarification, expression, not teaching, blaming, or even scolding

21. Giving feedback to staff • Focus on the positive first • Focus on behaviors, not person, nor personalities • Be hard on the problem but gentle on the person • Be descriptive and constructive, not judgmental nor evaluative • Use positive or neutral language

22. If have to be critical, explain where improvements can be made • Check that feedback is understood • Agree joint courses of action • Make allowance for the abilities of high, medium, and low ability of staff • Give people a fair go, but apply the three warnings and out principle • If your employees go away thinking about their behavior, you are successful, if they think about you and your behavior, you are failed.

23. key • Leaders must move from a command and control style of management to one that encourages coaching, mentoring, employee empowerment, and self-learning. • Communication, search for super-goal, common ground. • Anthony Cheung, “no reform, no matter how well it intended, can succeed if it fails to gain the backing of those involved, including management and staff” (SCMP, 27/3/2006)