Conflict management

RESMI G S

DEFINITION OF CONFLICT

Conflict can be defined as an expressed

struggle between at least two

interdependent parties, who perceive that

incompatible goals, scarce resources, or

interference from others are preventing

them from achieving their goals

GENERAL CAUSES OF CONFLICTS•Scarcity of resources (finance, equipment,

facilities, etc)

•Different attitudes, values or perceptions.

•Disagreements about needs, goals, priorities

and interests

• Poor communication

•Poor or inadequate organizational structure

•Lack of teamwork

•Lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities

TYPES OF CONFLICTSIntrapersonal conflict: an intrapersonal

conflict occurs within an individual in situations

in which he or she must choose between two

alternatives

.

Interpersonal conflict: is conflict between two

or more individuals.. The person experiencing

this conflict may experience opposition in

upward, downward, horizontal, or diagonal

communication

TYPES OF CONFLICTS (cont..,)

Intergroup conflict

Intergroup conflict refers to disagreements or

differences between the members of two or more

groups or their representatives over authority, territory,

and resources

Organizational conflicts: conflict also occurs

in organization because of differing perceptions or

goals..

Role ambiguity occurs when employees do not

know what to do, how to do it, or what the outcomes

must be

Role conflict occurs when two or more

individuals in different positions within the

organization believe that certain actions or

responsibilities belong exclusively to them

THE CONFLICT PROCESS

•Latent conflict (also called antecedent

conditions).

•Perceived conflict

•Felt conflict

•Manifest conflict

•Conflict resolution or conflict management

•Conflict aftermath.

Latent conflict

Felt conflict Perceived

conflict

Manifest

conflict

Conflict resolution

Conflict aftermath

EFFECTS OF CONFLICT IN ORGANIZATION

Stress

Absenteeism

Staff turnover

De-motivation

Non-productivity

Improves decision

quality

Stimulates

creativity

Encourages interest

Destructive Effect Constructive Effect

SIGNS OF CONFLICT BETWEEN

INDIVIDUALS

•Colleagues not speaking to each other or ignoring

each other

•Deliberately undermining or not co-operating with

each other, to the downfall of the team

OUTCOMES OF CONFLICT

Filley (1975) identified these 3 different

positions or outcomes of conflict.

•Win-lose outcome: occurs when one person

obtains his or her desired ends in the situation

and the other individual fails to obtain what is

desired.

•Lose-lose outcome: in lose-lose situation, there

is no winner.

•Win- win outcome: are of course the most

desirable.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

• Identify the boundaries of the conflict, the areas of

agreement and disagreement, and the extent of each

person's aims.

• Understand the factors that limit the possibilities of

managing the conflict constructively.

• Be aware of whether more than one issue is

involved.

•Be open to the ideas, feelings, and attitudes expressed

by the people involved.

•Be willing to accept outside help to mediate the

conflict.

HANDLING CONFLICT SITUATIONS

Determine the person or group with whom there is a

conflictAnalyze the causes of the conflict

Consider alternative strategies for conflict management

Choose the strategy/strategies that will produce the best results.

Implement the decision.

.

Evaluate the decision

CONFLICT-MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

It is important to take action as soon as a conflict

surfaces so that bad feelings will not linger and grow.

Three over-all frameworks for conflict management

are

oDefensive

oCompromise

oCreative problem-solving modes.

DEFENSIVE MODE

The defensive mode produces feelings of winning in

some and loss in others.

The following ways to defensively solve a problem.

•Separate the contending parties.

•Suppress the conflict.

•Restrict or isolate the conflict

•Smooth it over or finesse it through an organizational

change.

•Avoid the conflict to diminish the destructive effects.



COMPROMISE.

With a compromise each party wins something and

loses something.."

CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING.

Use of a creative problem-solving mode produces

feelings of gain and no feelings of loss for all conflict

participants.


(cont..)

As part of the creative problem-solving process, the

following five steps for conflict management can be

identified:

•Initiate a discussion, timed sensitively and held in an

environment conducive to private discussion.

•Respect individual differences.

•Be empathic with all involved parties.

•Agree on a solution that balances the power and

satisfies all parties, so that a consensus on a win-win

solution is reached

•Have an assertive dialogue that consists of separating

facts from feelings, clearly defining the central issue,

differentiating viewpoints, making sure that each

person clearly states their intentions, framing the

main issue based on common principles, and being an

attentive listener consciously focused on what the

other person is saying.


(cont..)

CONFLICT HANDLING INTENTIONS

Blake and moutons five styles of handling

interpersonal conflict are forcing', withdrawing,

smoothing, sharing, and problem

solving..Building on Blake and moutons’ model,

Thomas reported that conflict has two

dimensions, The two dimensions are

1. Assertiveness (satisfying one’s own concerns)

2. Cooperativeness (attempting to satisfy

another’s concerns )

CONFLICT-RESOLUTION STRATEGIES

Conflicts can be a source of chronic frustration, or

they can lead to increased effectiveness in

organizations and groups. A fair proportion of a

leader's or manager's time is spent on handling

conflict.

The following is an overall list for methods or

strategies for conflict resolution

•Avoiding: This is the strategy of avoiding conflict at

all costs. Some people never acknowledge that a

conflict exists.

•Withholding or withdrawing: In this avoidance

strategy, one party opts out of participation. They

remove themselves from the situation. This does not

resolve the conflict. However, this strategy does give

individuals a chance to calm

CONFLICT-RESOLUTION STRATEGIES (cont…)

•Accommodating: This strategy is used when there is

a large power differential. The more powerful party is

accommodated to preserve harmony or build up social

credits. What this means is that the party of lesser

power gives up his or her position in deference to the

more powerful party..


•Smoothing over or reassuring: This is the strategy

of saying "Everything will be OK." By maintaining

surface harmony, parties do not withdraw but simply

attempt to make everyone feel good.

•Forcing: This technique is a dominance move and an

arbitrary way to manage conflict. An issue may be

forced on the table by issuing orders or by putting it to

a majority-rules vote. The hallmark phrase is "Let's

vote on it." Forcing is an all-out power strategy to win

while the other party loses.


•Competing: This is an assertive strategy where one

party's needs are satisfied at the other's expense.

Competing is an all-out effort to win at any cost.

Applying for a job is a form of competition.

•Compromising: This strategy is called "splitting the

difference." In compromising each party gives up

something it wants. It is useful when goals or values

are markedly different. It is a staple of conflict

management.


Confronting: This technique is called assertive

problem solving and is focused on the issues.

Individuals speak for themselves, but in a way that

decreases defensiveness and allows another person to

hear the message. It is a staple of conflict management

but requires courage


Collaborating: This is an assertive and

cooperative means of conflict resolution that

results in a win-win solution. It is a strategy in

which the parties work together to find a

mutually satisfying solution. It is invoked with

the phrase "Two heads are better than one." True

collaboration requires mutual respect; open and

honest communication; and equitable, shared

decision-making powers.


•Bargaining and negotiating: These strategies are

attempts to divide the rewards, power, or benefits so

that everyone gets something. They involve both

parties in a back-and-forth effort at some level of

agreement. The process may be formal or informal.

•Problem solving: This strategy's goal is to try to find

an acceptable, workable solution for all parties. It is

designed to generate feelings of gain by all parties.

The problem-solving process is employed to reach a

mutually agreeable solution to the conflict.


HOW TO PREVENT CONFLICTS IN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS•Frequent meeting of your team

•Allow your team to express openly

•Sharing objectives

•Having a clear and detailed job description

•Distributing task fairly

•Never criticize team members publicly

•Always be fair and just with your team

•Being a role model

NEGOTIATIONNegotiation in its most creative form is similar to

collaboration and in its most poorly managed form

may resemble a competing approach. Negotiation

frequently resembles compromise when it is used as a

conflict resolution strategy. During negotiation, each

party gives up something, and the emphasis is on

accommodating differences between the parties.

Because we live in a world with others, we have

conflicting needs, wants, and desires that must be

constantly compromised.

PRE-PREPARATION FOR NEGOTIATION

(1) Be adequately prepared.

(2) Be able to use appropriate negotiation strategies.

(3) Apply appropriate closure and follow-up

STEPS IN NEGOTIATION PROCESS

•Before the Negotiation

For managers to be successful, they must

systematically prepare for the negotiation.

As the negotiator, the manager begins by gathering as

much information as possible regarding the issue to be

negotiated.

Adequate preparation

Tate (2005) suggests that managers should initially

focus on seeking a bigger pie instead of dividing the

pie up.

•During the Negotiation

Negotiation is psychological and verbal.

The effective negotiator always looks calm and self-

assured.

There are many types of personalities, and it is

necessary to negotiate with most of them.

Preparation, however, is not enough. In the end, the

negotiator must have clarity in his or her

communication, assertiveness, good listening skills,

the ability to regroup quickly, and flexibility.

Strategies commonly used by leaders during

negotiation to increase their persuasiveness and

foster open communication include the following:

Use only factual statements that have been

gathered in research.

Listen carefully, and watching nonverbal

communication.

Keep an open mind, It is important not to

prejudge. Instead, a cooperative climate should be

established.

Try to understand where the other party is

coming from. It is probable that one person's

perception is different from another's.

Always discuss the conflict. It is important to not

personalize the conflict by discussing the parties

involved in the negotiation.

Try not to be labour how the conflict occurred or to

fix blame for the conflict. Instead, the focus must be

on preventing its recurrence.

Be honest.

Never tell the other party what you are willing to

negotiate totally. You may be giving up the ship too

early

Tactics Not To Use During Negotiation

•Ridicule or Belittling- The goal in using ridicule is

to intimidate others involved in the negotiation. If you

are negotiating with someone who uses ridicule,

maintain a relaxed body posture, steady gaze, and

patient smile. Body language must also remain relaxed

and non-threatening

•Inappropriate Questioning or ambiguous

•Flattery. The person who has been flattered may be

more reluctant to disagree with the other party in the

negotiation, and thus his or her attention and focus are

diverted.

Closure and Follow-Up to Negotiation

• State what has been agreed to

• Close on a friendly note

• Send a memo regarding what has been agreed to

CONSENSUS

Consensus is always an appropriate goal in

resolving conflicts and in negotiation. Consensus

means that negotiating parties are able to reach an

agreement that all parties can support, even though it

does not represent everyone's first priorities (Rowland

& Rowland, 1997). Consensus decision making does

not provide complete satisfaction for everyone

involved in the negotiation, as an initially unanimous

decision would, but it does indicate willingness by all

parties to accept the agreed-upon conditions.

Conflict management

Healthcare

Transcript of Conflict management