Chapter Thirteen Resolving Conflict and Dealing with Difficult People

Chapter Thirteen

Resolving Conflict and Dealing with Difficult People

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13 | 2

Chapter Preview: Resolving Conflict and Dealing with Difficult People

• Major causes of conflict in the work setting

• Assertiveness skills in conflict situations

• Effective negotiation skills

• The conflict resolution process

• Contemporary challenges facing labor unions


Views of Conflict

• Traditional view: a clash between incompatible people, ideas, or interests

• New view: an opportunity for personal growth

• Discovering resolutions to conflict may– Clarify a relationship– Broaden thinking about the source – Open people to new points of view

• Too much agreement is not always healthy in an organization


Finding the Root of Conflict

• Unless the root cause is identified, it is likely to recur

• If the root cause… – Stimulates constructive conflict, it can be

allowed to continue– Stimulates destructive conflict, steps need

to be taken to correct the problem


Organizational Change

• Most organizations have tension between stability and change

• Too much stability and the organization may lose its competitive position in the market place

• Too much change and the mission blurs and employee anxiety develops


Ineffective Communication

• When different people work closely together, communication breakdowns are inevitable

• For a misunderstanding– explain your position or provide more

details

• For true disagreements– persuading one or both parties to change

positions may be necessary– root problem will persist until someone

changes


Value and Culture Clashes

• Conflict may be due to value differences between individuals

• Work force reflects cultural diversity

• Different cultural traditions can easily come into conflict in the workplace

• Issues range from simple to complex


Work Policies and Practices

• Conflict may happen when– Organizations maintain confusing or

arbitrary rules, regulations and performance standards

– Managers fail to recognize that employees perceive policies as unfair

– Workers refuse to comply with rules or work their fair share


Adversarial Management

• Conflict can occur when managers view employees and other managers with distrust and suspicion

• View others as “the enemy”

• Leads to a lack of respect by employees

• Makes teamwork and cooperation difficult


Competition for Scarce Resources

• Downsizing and cost cutting can lead to destructive competition for scarce resources

• When decisions are not clearly explained, workers suspect coworkers of devious tactics


Personality Clashes

• People have differing– Communication styles– Temperaments– Attitudes

• People may not be able to identify cause of dislike

• Even people who get along well in the beginning of their work relationship may begin to clash after many years


Resolving Conflict Assertively

• Conflict is often uncomfortable

• People who exhibit assertive behavior skills are able to – handle conflicts with greater assurance– maintain good interpersonal relations

• Nonassertive behavior ignores the problem

• Aggressive behavior violates the rights of others


Figure 13.1 - Dealing with People You Can't Stand


How to Become More Assertive

• You can learn to express wants, dislikes and feelings in a clear and direct manner without threatening or attacking others

• In the beginning, take small steps

• Use communication skills that enhance assertiveness

• Be soft on people and hard on problems


Learn to Negotiate Effectively

• Traditionally supervisors resolved conflict, today empowered workers resolve it themselves

• Think win/win

• Beware of defensive behaviors

• Know that negotiating styles vary


The Win/Lose Strategy

• Attempts to achieve goals at the expense of others

• Short-term solution only

• Doesn’t address the underlying problem

• Loser feels frustrated which seeds another conflict

• Use when two factions simply cannot agree or cannot talk to each other


The Lose/Lose Strategy

• Both parties give up something and may feel frustrated

• Can be applied when – There is little time to find a solution– Negotiations are at a standstill– The goal is to remove a conflict completely

• Union-management disputes often fall into this trap


The Win/Win Strategy

• Fix the problem, not the blame

• Work toward a mutually satisfying solution

• Focus on discovering creative solutions

• Listening is the most vital skill


Figure 13.2 - Top Negotiating Tips


Beware of Defensive Behaviors

• When one person becomes defensive, others may mirror the behavior

• Progress is stopped because people stop listening and think about defending

• Prevent defensive behavior by consciously maintaining a positive image of the other people involved


Total Person Insight

Any method of negotiation may be fairly judged by three criteria: It should produce a wise agreement if agreement is possible. It should be efficient. And it should improve or at least not damage the relationship between the parties.

Roger Fisher and William Ury

Authors, Getting to Yes


Know that Negotiating Styles Vary

• Style develops based on– Personality– Assertiveness skills– Past experiences dealing with conflict

• Five styles combine assertiveness and cooperation


Figure 13.3 - Behavioral Styles for Conflict Situations


Negotiating Styles Vary

• Avoidance style – Uncooperative/Nonassertive

• Accommodating style– Cooperative/Nonassertive

• Win/lose style – Uncooperative/Aggressive


Negotiating Styles Vary

• Problem-solving style– Assertive/Cooperative

• Compromising style– Moderately assertive/Moderately

cooperative


Conflict Resolution Process

• The conflict resolution foundation requires – Application of assertiveness skills– Understanding how to deal with difficult

people– Supporting the win/win approach– Learning how to negotiate

• The conflict resolution process consists of five steps


Follow These Steps

Step 1: Decide whether you have a misunderstanding or a true disagreement

• A misunderstanding is the failure to accurately understand another’s point

• A disagreement is a failure to agree in spite of accurate understanding


Follow These Steps

Step 2: Define the problem and collect facts

• Everyone needs to focus on the problem, not what happened as a result

• Establishing the problem can expose real cause of conflict

• Separate facts from opinions or perceptions


Follow These Steps

Step 3: Clarify perceptions

• Interpretation of the facts surrounding the situation you encounter

• Attempt to see the problem as others see it


Follow These Steps

Step 4: Generate options for mutual gain

• Generate options that will fix the problem

• People often want to negotiate for a single solution

• Use brainstorming– Process that encourages generation of a

wide variety of ideas and possibilities


Follow These Steps

Step 5: Implement options with integrity

• Finalize a solution or agreement that offers a win/win strategy

• Establish timetables for implementation

• Avoid the temptation to implement quick-fix solutions


Alternative Dispute Resolution

• Some conflicts between workers and employers cannot be resolved

• Alternative dispute resolution programs, or ADRs can involve– An open door policy– Toll-free hot line– A peer panel review– A third-party mediator– An arbitrator


Labor Unions in Conflict Resolution

• Disputes escalate when employment contracts expire and need to be negotiated

• Procedure that defines the rights and privileges of both sides involved and establishes the terms of employment and length of contract


Collective Bargaining

• If labor and management cannot come to an agreement, they may submit their disputes to:– Mediation– Voluntary arbitration– Compulsory arbitration


Collective Bargaining

• As a last resort, unions may recommend that their members vote to strike

• Generally lose/lose situation• Virtual strikes: wages and salaries go

into an escrow account– Neither side gets money unless they settle– Customers and suppliers experience no

change– Especially viable for public services


Contemporary Issues FacingLabor Unions

• The percent of Americans who are members of a labor union has declined

• The future of unions depends on union organizers’ ability to attract new members

• Many employers actively strive to keep workers happy and productive so they don’t want to unionize

• The “card-check neutrality” process allows eligible unions to negotiate the employees’ next labor contract


Contemporary Issues FacingLabor Unions

• As labor unions strive for survival, they must address the needs of the current and future work force– Adopt global mentality– Address executives to employees pay gap– Provide affordable health care– Re-train to create higher paying jobs– Provide membership to temporary and

contract workers


Chapter Review

• Major causes of conflict– Poor communication– Values and culture clashes– Confusing work policies– Competition for scarce resources– Adversarial management– Coworkers who refuse to do their share of

work or have a difficult personality

• A difference of opinion may force people toward a creative solution


Chapter Review

• Assertiveness skills in conflict situations– Assertiveness skills are necessary but

avoid being overly aggressive– Build assertiveness skills by tackling

relatively minor issues first– Use “I” statements rather than “you”

statements– Focus on fixing the problem rather than

attacking the person


Chapter Review

• Effective negotiation skills– You can improve your human relations

skills by learning five negotiation styles:• Avoidance style• Accommodating style• Win/lose style• Problem-solving style• Compromising style


Chapter Review

• The conflict resolution process – When people cannot solve their conflicts

informally many organizations create solutions through a conflict resolution process

– The five-step process is dependent on a clear outline of the steps to resolve the conflict

– Often an ADR program can resolve conflicts that might otherwise lead to legal action


Chapter Review

• Contemporary challenges facing labor unions– Finding new ways to cooperate– Flexible, innovative styles are effective – Each side may submit their disputes to mediation,

voluntary arbitration or compulsory arbitration– Labor unions today must respond to

• Executive to employee wage gap• Health care cost• Retraining to high-paying jobs• Containing jobs competition• Temporary and part-time workers

Documents

Chapter Thirteen Resolving Conflict and Dealing with Difficult People