Foundations Of Senior Management

Managing People - A Broad View
Groups & Teams

Conflict

Understanding

  • Varieties and behaviour
     
    • Overt
       
    • covert
       
      • Fear of consequences
         
      • Ideas of legitamacy
         
      • Exclusion of some parties
         
        • Unaware
           
      • Taken for granted assumptions
         
        • neither side aware
           
    • Constructive
       
      • win-win
         
        • co-operative controversy
           
    • Destructive
       
      • win-lose
         
        • avoid controversy
           
        • competitive controversy
           
    • Forcing
       
      • High assertion
         
      • Low co-operation
         
      • Formal authority
         
      • Physical threat
         
      • majority rule
         
      • Disregard
         
      • Hostility
         
      • Resentment
         
    • Accommodating
       
      • Low assertion
         
      • High cooperation
         
      • Friendly relationships
         
      • Manager
         
        • Win-lose
           
    • Avoiding
       
      • Low assertion
         
      • Low co-operation
         
      • lose-lose
         
    • Compromising
       
      • Medium assertion
         
      • Medium co-operation
         
      • complex & critical negaotiation
         
        • needs time
           
    • Collaborating
       
      • High assertion
         
      • High co-operation
         
      • win-win
         
  • Layers of conflict
     
    • Misunderstandings
       
    • Values and beliefs
       
      • Differences in values
         
        • Principles
           
        • Disagreements
           
          • How
             
          • Objectives
             
      • Differences in beliefs
         
        • appropriate means
           
      • Individuals
         
    • Differences in interest
       
      • alliances
         
        • persue
           
        • defend
           
      • Goods
         
        • Position
           
        • status
           
        • resources
           
    • Interpersonal differences
       
      • Personality
         
      • Temperament
         
      • Style
         
    • Feelings and emotions
       
      • projection
         
        • Own weaknesses onto others
           
  • Seize and emphasize others values and beliefs, to favour their own interests
     
  • Allow our interests to shape our beliefs
     
    • victims of own propaganda
       
      • dissonance reduction
         
  • Assertion & Co-operation


     

Managing conflict

  • Non-intervention
     
    • ignore
       
      • Constructive
         
      • Destructive
         
  • Prevention
     
    • most effective
       
      • destructive conflict
         
    • Establish common goals
       
    • Restructuring
       
    • Improve communications
       
      • levels
         
      • processes
         
    • develop culture
       
      • clarification
         
      • exploration of meanings
         
  • Resolution
     
    • facilitated
       
      • support
         
      • allowing explaination of feelings
         
      • conflict in perspective
         
    • imposed
       
      • forced
         
      • threatened
         
        • disciplinary procedures
           
    • negotiated
       
      • gradual series of concessions
         
      • brainstorming
         

Power

  • Etzioni
     
    • Power
       
      • normative / identitive
         
        • manipulation and allocation of symbols
           
          • pure
             
            • love
               
            • affection
               
            • prestige
               
        • persuasive / suggestive
           
          • religious
             
          • universities
             
          • voluntary
             
      • remuniterive / utilitarian
         
        • manipulation of material resources
           
          • wages
             
      • coercive
         
        • physical force
           
    • Involvement
       
      • alienative
         
        • intensely negative
           
        • dissociation
           
        • convicts
           
      • calculative
         
        • little intensity
           
          • mild
             
            • positive
               
            • negative
               
      • moral
         
        • positive
           
        • favourable
           
  • Influence
     
    • Person or group affects what another does and/or thinks
       
  • Power
     
    • potential capacity to influence
       
  • Authority
     
    • formal power
       
  • Position power
     
    • formal position
       
    • right
       
    • authority
       
  • Expert power
     
    • Particular knowledge
       
    • Particular skills
       
  • Dependence power
     
    • all levels
       
      • strike
         
      • threat of strike
         
      • goodwill
         
  • Personal power
     
    • persuasion
       
    • personal charm
       
    • tact
       
    • guile
       
    • etc
       
  • Invisible power
     
    • Contacts and connections
       
    • Dominant norms or cultures
       
      • forms of behaviour
         
        • racism
           
      • working routines
         
      • physical layout
         
    • Informal networks
       
      • in-crowd
         
    • Control of information
       
      • gate-keepers
         

Negotiating & Bargaining

  • Positional Bargaining
     
    • hard
       
      • contest of wills
         
      • adversarial threats
         
      • mistrust
         
      • deceptions
         
      • non-negotiable bottom lines
         
      • all parties try to win
         
    • soft
       
      • seek agreement
         
      • conciliatory
         
      • friendly
         
      • give and take
         
      • real?
         
    • win-lose assumptions
       
    • joint problem solving
       
      • respect each others concerns
         
      • mutually acceptable way forward
         
      • collaboration
         
  • Negotiating
     
    • Approaches
       
      • Seperate the people from the problem
         
        • two elements
           
          • issue
             
          • relationship
             
      • Focus on interests not positions
         
        • address general interests and concerns
           
        • focus on problems instead of solutions
           
        • convergence
           
        • divergence
           
      • Invent options for mutual gain
         
        • No single solution
           
      • Insist on objective criteria
         
        • interests do conflict
           
          • deals have to be struck
             
        • agree & recognize
           
          • principles
             
          • formulas
             
  • Behaviours
     
    • avoid
       
      • Irritators
         
        • add nothing to persuasiveness of case
           
          • "We are being very fair and reasonable
             
      • Defend/attack spirals
         
      • Too many arguments
         
        • concentrate on one strong argument
           
          • Others in reserve
             
          • weka arguments detract from force of stronger ones
             
      • Counter-proposals
         
        • dont counter every suggestion or proposal
           
    • use
       
      • Flagging
         
        • Tell people what sort of behaviour you are going to use next
           
          • "I would like to suggest that"
             
          • "Could I ask you...?
             
      • Testing
         
        • Understanding
           
          • Summarizing
             
            • Checks everyone understands
               
      • Ask lots of questions
         
        • opens up
           
      • Motives commentary
         
        • Why
           
          • suggesting
             
          • doing
             
        • avoids misunderstandings
           
      • Assess your own performance
         
        • discuss what has happened
           

Conflict

  • Overt
     
  • Covert
     
    • Fear of consequences
       
    • Ideas of legitimcy
       
    • Exclusion of some parties
       
    • Taken for granted assumptions
       
  • Managing
     
    • Non-intervention
       
    • Preventing
       
      • Establishong common goals
         
      • Restructuring
         
      • Improving communications
         
      • Culture
         
    • Resolution
       
      • Facilitating
         
      • Imposing
         
      • Negotiating
         
  • Power


     
    • Types
       
      • Coercive
         
      • Remunerative
         
      • Normative / identitive
         
    • Involvement
       
      • Alienative
         
      • Claculative
         
      • Moral
         

Please send your comments to webmaster@churcher.com. This document was updated 17/11/98.