CONFLICT MANAGEMENT &

NEGOTIATION
Sutapa Bhattacharjee, GPHR
Associate Professor
IBA,DU

Conflict
• A process that begins when one party
perceives that another party has negatively
affected, or is about to negatively affect,
something that is the first party cares about.

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 Traditional view of conflict
• The belief that all conflicts are harmful and
must be avoided.

Interactionist view of conflict

• The belief that conflict is not only a positive
force in a group but also an absolute necessity
for a group to perform effectively.

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 Functional/Dysfunctional conflict
• Conflict that supports the goals of the group
and improve its performance is called
functional conflict.
• Dysfunctional conflict hinders group
performance.
• What differentiates functional from
dysfunctional conflict?
– Task conflict
– Relationship conflict

Top Four Causes of Conflict in the

Workplace
• 1. Personality Differences
• 2. Non-Compliance with Rules and Policies
• 3. Misunderstandings
• 4. Competition

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Dealing with Workplace Conflict

• Define Acceptable Behavior
• Hit Conflict Head-on
• Understanding the WIIFM (What’s In It For
Me) Factor
• The Importance Factor
• View Conflict as Opportunity

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 Five Responses to Conflict
• There is no one way to resolve conflict - the
best response is well matched to the situation
and may involve multiple modes over time.
This brief overview of conflict responses
demonstrates how conflict modes can be
deliberately matched to conflict situations.
Individual predilections toward just a few of
these modes can interfere with this conscious
assessment, as can an individual’s lack of skills
in one or more of these arenas.
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• Accommodation
Emphasis on relationship, good will, group cohesion, and
the expertise and authority of others. Resolves conflict by
accommodating the needs or perspective of others through
generosity, respect, support and/or sensitivity.
• Avoidance
Emphasis on the potential fallout of more interactive
conflict modes and on only entering conflict when the
conditions are appropriate for positive outcomes. Resolves
conflict by providing time and distance for conflicting needs
and perspectives to change on their own or for the
conditions needed for successful resolution to occur or be
developed.

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• Collaboration
Emphasis on identifying the best, most robust, long-term solution with the
greatest buy-in. Resolves conflict by investing the time, attention, and
resources to promote discussion and full consideration and integration of
multiple viewing points, needs, and implications.

• Competition
Emphasis on facts, the strength and courage of convictions, and speed and
action. Resolves conflict through testing ideas and commitment, candor, and
strong advocacy for a subset of needs and perspectives that are seen as
highly compelling.

• Compromise
Emphasis on pragmatism, reciprocity, and workable solutions (even if
temporary). Resolves conflict through flexibility, negotiation, and an
emphasis on short-term progress.
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Negotiation: way to resolve conflict

• A process in which two or more parties
exchange goods or services and attempt to
agree on the exchange rate for them.

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 Think of some recent negotiations in
which you have
been involved. What are they?
• buying a car, a house or an appliance
• negotiating a new salary package
• negotiating different roles and responsibilities
at work
• arranging a fair division of household chores

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Why do we negotiate in these

settings?
• variety of reasons depending on the situation
• there seems to be no alternative (people may
not otherwise be willing to shift)
• to reach agreement
• to maintain or strengthen the relationship
• to be fair; to take account of both parties'
perspectives, needs and concerns
• to get the best deal possible.
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 The phases of negotiation
• For a negotiation to be successful resulting in
agreements to which people feel committed,
we need to take account of the range of
people's needs. These needs will be both
tangible and intangible

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Phase 3:
CLOSE

Phase 2:
INTERACTION

Phase 1: Preparation

Substantive 16

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 The Satisfaction Triangle
• Substantive needs refer to tangible needs for money,
time, goods, resources, territory, products etc.
• Procedural needs are those that relate to specific types
of procedures and behaviors, ''the way something is
done".
• Psychological/Relationship needs are those that refer to
how people feel, how they want to be treated and the
conditions for the on-going relationship.
• Concern for all these needs provides us with a win/win
framework for the negotiation.
• It can be useful to think of a negotiation proceeding
through three phases.

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PHASE 1: Preparation
• There are four key activities in the preparation
phase:
– Map
– Research
– Become clear on outcome
– Prepare environment

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Why would we map the negotiation?
– to identify our needs and concerns, and to
speculate on those of the other parties
– to assess the needs which are most important, so
that these are given priority in the negotiation.

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What might be included in research?

– gathering information on facts, costs, precedents,
protocol etc. identifying currencies.
– What can we trade? (What is it easy for one person to
give and valuable for the other person to receive?)
– finding out what it is possible for the other parties to
do, making it easy for them to say ''yes'‘
– identifying the behavioral or personality style of the
parties, so that we can prepare and present a case in
ways that are appropriate to the other parties needs.

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What do you think is meant by
becoming clear on the outcome?
• identifying what it is we want to achieve
• defining it in such a way that there is room to
negotiate.
• We often call this: being clear on the outcome
and flexible on the route.

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• As an adjunct to becoming clear on our outcome, it is wise

to develop both a
• BATNA and a WATNA.
• BATNA is the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement
and
• WATNA is the Worst Alternative to a Negotiated
Agreement.
– BATNA is the best we can hope for if negotiations don't
succeed; and
– WATNA is the worst we can realistically fear. For example, when
purchasing a car, the BATNA might be to accept the best deal I
can get at a different dealer. The WATNA might be to accept a
car with fewer of the features I would like.

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 What could we include in preparing
the environment
• choosing a place where all parties feel
comfortable
• arranging tables, chairs, flipcharts and
refreshments appropriately.

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PHASE 2: INTERACTION
• There are four key activities in the interaction
phase:
– Build rapport
– Educate on needs & perspectives
– Generate Options
– Select Options

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Why would we want to build rapport?
• to encourage trust
• to understand each other's point of view
• to establish the negotiation as an exercise in
partnership and joint problem solving
• to help maintain an approach which is soft on
the person and hard on the issue.

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What skills would be particularly

useful to build rapport?
• active listening
• asking questions
• being aware of behavioral styles using
inclusive language: AND not BUT
• identifying areas of agreement.

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Why is educating each other on needs
and perspectives important?
• to confirm a win/win approach of needs first,
solutions later
• to establish common ground
• to clarify differing perceptions of the issue,
facts etc.
• to expose where needs can interlock

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What skills would be particularly

useful in generating options?
• Brainstorming
• chunking the problem into smaller parts
• identifying ways of ''expanding the pie'' such
as longer timeframe, more resources etc.
• using inclusive language: AND not BUT
• re-framing the problem to clarify and explore
details and direct attention to the positive

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 What skills would be particularly
useful in selecting options?
• assessing how well the options meet the needs of
the parties
• trading by using currencies. What is it easy for
one person to give and valuable for the other
person to receive?
• using objective standards and criteria to establish
what is fair, reasonable, or fits within the
guidelines or rules
• assessing the options in comparison with a
BATNA and a WATNA.
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PHASE 3: CLOSE
• In the closing phase, there are four key
activities:
– Form Agreements
– Develop action plan
– Set timeframe
– Plan review

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 Making a clear agreement
• We need to make clear agreements. Depending on the
situation, this may involve a spoken agreement, a show
of hands a handshake or a written contract.
• Then we need to develop an action plan and timeframe
for implementing the options. Without these, the
difficulty which brought us to the negotiating table
may persist, and people may lose faith in the
negotiation process.
• Similarly, establishing a review process ensures that the
implementation of the options and the satisfaction of
the parties can be monitored.

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How might parties in a negotiation

show their resistance to shift from
their positions?
• A few negative responses that you mat hear:
– “We've tried that already''.
– ''It's too expensive".
– "You're being naive – that's not how the system
works”.

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• When we're opening a negotiation, what sort
of things would we need to focus on to
capture the interest of the other person?
– the main thrust of the idea
– the benefits to the other person and/or to the
organization
– a way to involve that person.

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Important Points to Remember

• Using a win/win approach to negotiation leads to
a particular set of responses to unfair tactics. The
aim is not to out-trick the other party.Rather, the
aim is to neutralize the effect of the tactics in a
way which maintains the relationship with the
other person while resolving the issue.
• In broad terms, the response to an unfair tactic is
always to re-direct attention back to the issue.

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 EXERCISE
• Step 1: You will have 6 groups each consisting
around eight/nine members.
• Step 2: Negotiate with your counterpart.
• Step 3: Please consider the important issues
while negotiating.
• Step 4: Briefly present your findings.

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