Conflict Resolution Strategies in Group Dynamics

1. Sessions 21/22/23 UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT

2. What is Conflict? Conflict may happen due to; - Incompatibility of goals - Differences over explanations of facts - Disagreements based on behavioral expectations - Individual vs. Individual(s) or vs. Organization • When one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or • is about to negatively affect, CONFLICT starts!

3. Forms of Conflict • Functional Conflict • Conflict that supports the goals of the group and improves its performance. • When Level of Conflict is neither too low nor too high, but maintained at optimum. • Dysfunctional Conflict • Conflict that hampers Grp. performance • When Level of Conflict is too low or high • When it originates from bad relationship

4. Types of Conflict • Task Conflict [~Arjuna in Mahabharata] • Conflicts over content and goals of the work • Low-to-moderate - FUNCTIONAL • Process Conflict [~Satyam---] • Conflict over how work gets done • Low levels - FUNCTIONAL • Relationship Conflict [~Mamata--] • Conflict based on interpersonal relationships • Almost always - DYSFUNCTIONAL

5. The Conflict Process – its 5 Stages Stage I Stage II Stage III Stage IV Stage V Conflict Handling Styles and Intentions: ============ - Avoiding - Accommodating - Competing - Cooperating - Collaborating Outcomes: ========= - Enhanced Team Performance  - Deteriorated Team Performance  Cognition & Person- alization: ======== - Perceived Conflict - Felt Conflict Potential Causes: ======== - Commn. -Structure - Personal variables Expressed Or Overt Behavior : ======== - Conflicting Parties’ Behavior - Others’ Reactions

6. Dimensions of Conflict-handling Intentions • COMPETING (emergencies) - “Win-Lose” Strategy - Assertive & Uncooperative • COLLABORATING (integrative) - “Win-Win” Strategy - Assertive & Cooperative • COMPROMISING (mod. priorities) - “Win-some Lose-some” Strategy - No clear winner or loser & give-up • ACCOMMODATING - “Lose-Win” Strategy (if U’re wrong) - Unassertive & Cooperative • AVOIDING (trivial issues) - Withdrawal from the situation - Unassertive & Uncooperative

7. Orientations for Handling Conflicts 1. What is Your Underlying Conflict Handling Style - Self-awareness, Your basic/preferred style. 2. Be judicious in Selecting the Conflicts that you want to handle - Select that important conflict which you can handle 3. Evaluate the Conflict Players - Identifying Functional Players and their personalities & interests 4. Assess the Source of the Conflict - Cause Analysis: Communication, Structural or Personal Differences - Communication Diff.: Semantic Issues, Noise, Channel or No comm. - Structural: Promotions, Pay-hikes, Additional Staff, Office Space - Personal: Background, Education, Experience & Personal Issues 5. Know Your Options & Intentions - Competition, Collaboration, Compromise, Accommodation, Avoidance

8. Understand Your Conflict Management Style EXERCISE

9. Understand Your Conflict Management Style

10. Competing Collaborating Avoiding Compromising Accommodating CMS

11. What is Negotiation? Negotiation may happen through: Distributive Bargaining (~zero sum, win-Lose, fixed pie, competitive) e.g. most labor union settlements, and buying/selling instances) Integrative Bargaining (~synergistic, win-win, >>pie, collaborative) e.g. when an orgn. promotes self-employment while down-sizing • A process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree on the exchange rates and terms among them. • Third Party Negotiation: • - e.g. Mediator (~Krishna@Kauravas), Arbitrator (~ID Act), Conciliator (~Deepak Paikh for Ambanis), Consultants (~US Lobbyists). Should the bidding be ‘anchored’ High in an Auction? • No, it’s a myth not true in auctions (ref. e-bay) • On the contrary, starting low generated higher final prices!

12. The Negotiation Process – its 5 Steps Define Ground Rules / Exchange Initial Positions: Players, Procedure, Location, Date/Time, Boundaries, ‘Impasse?’ • Preparation and Planning: • - Gather Data, Define your Resistance Point, estimate your BATNA, Develop your Strategy, Plan for the ‘Meeting’ • Clarification and Justification: • Explain, amplify, clarify, bolster and justify your original demands • Should be educational and evidential, not confrontational. • Bargaining and Problem-Solving (i.e. Objection Handling): • Give-and-take to reach an agreement; • Crux of negotiation process, each party making concessions • Closure and Implementation: • Seal the deal, i.e. formalize the agreement; • Draw the Implementation Process, Hammer out Specifics. • Shake Hands and Close with a Smile 

13. More Negotiation Nuggets • Personality Traits: • Agreeable & Extroverted People are poor in Distributive bargaining • They may be Ok for Integrative bargaining • IQ helps positively; and finally, bargaining can be learnt. • Moods and Emotions vis-à-vis Culture: • Higher Status & Exhibited anger helps in Distributive Bargaining • But Lower status and show of anger is likely to hurt badly. • Against anger, the Chinese ‘up’ their negotiation tactics but the Americans ‘down’ their tactics in Distributive Bargaining. • East Asians tend to react negatively to any show of anger • Brazilians are more informal, says ‘No’ and touches physically many times; Americans and Japanese are formal, less reactive. • Gender Differences in Negotiations: • Men found to negotiate somewhat better outcome that women • Women found less effective in opening a negotiation process