BU288 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Job Performance, Time Management, Cardiovascular Disease
BU2833 Lesson 16: Conflict & Stress
Conflict: A Definition
-A process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is
about to negatively affect something that the first party cares about
• Functional: Supports the goals of the group and improves its performance by increasing
the quality of the discussion and information available to the group
• Dysfunctional: Hinders group performance because it’s destructive and decreases the
effectiveness of the group
-Conflict is inevitable and sometimes desirable
• Motivational qualities which can lead to better decision making
• Lack of conflict or excessive cohesiveness produces groupthink
Causes of Conflict
-Breakdowns in Communication
• Occur when people are working in close contact with one another
• Greatest source of personal conflict b/c of miscommunication
-Value Clashes
• Differences in values can cause conflicts between generations, genders, people who have
different standards for what constitutes right behaviour
• Organizations do a lot to try to reduce likelihood of value clashes: 2 processes
o Through selection system: Try to match people not only on the basis of their skills
to the requirements of the job, but also the values they hold compared to the
organization’s values → want people who share the values of the organization
o Socialization: Process of moving outsiders to inside
-Personality Clashes
• Arise between people who have different communication styles or different personalities
• E.g. those who are detail oriented working with those looking at the bigger picture
• Can be so disruptive that people can’t work together anymore
• Very difficult to resolve
-Culture Clashes
• Fastest growing groups in the workforce are minorities
• Lots of people from lots of different cultures that are thrown together in organizations to
work together
• Possibility of culture clashes are enhanced by globalization
• Understanding of cultural diversity can be a real asset when working in multinational
corporations
• Can even have culture clashes within Canada
-Work Policies and Practices
• Can be a source of conflict
• Most did not see correlation between job performance and rewards → suggests that
standards are arbitrary so people don’t understand → when that happens, people are
competing for resources in the organization but they don’t understand what they have to
do to get it
• Organizational policies that are unfair sets the stage
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-Adversarial Management
• Us versus them feeling
• Management vs. Employees
• Perceiving the others as enemies
Strategies for Dealing With Conflict
-Win/Lose: One’s goals are achieved at the expense of the other party’s
• Depends on what you want to achieve from the solution
• May resolve in short term resolution
• Generally speaking, underlying conflicts aren’t addressed
• Loser will come gunning next time because they don’t want to lose again → adversarial
approach going forward
-Lose/Lose: All parties lose something
• Strategy can be applied 1 of 3 ways
o Both parties can be asked to compromise → both parties give up something; Each
person has to give in to the other and what’s the acceptable level to give up to still
be satisfied with the outcome
o Third party can impose a solution (e.g. arbitrators) → involves solution being
imposed on disputing parties → can get ugly
o Establish rules or policies to resolve a conflict without taking into consideration
any particulars of the case (e.g. 9-5 work hours, no exceptions)
-Win/Win: Listen to all points to find the issues, and create an atmosphere of trust
• Problem will be solved on the merits of the case rather than political or personal
influence
Dimension of Conflict-Handling Intentions
-Avoiding: When you can’t win, When you’re more concerned about maintaining the
relationship than winning, or when it’s just a waste of time and energy
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Conflict is inevitable and sometimes desirable: motivational qualities which can lead to better decision making, lack of conflict or excessive cohesiveness produces groupthink. Breakdowns in communication: occur when people are working in close contact with one another, greatest source of personal conflict b/c of miscommunication. Adversarial management: us versus them feeling, management vs. employees, perceiving the others as enemies. Win/win: listen to all points to find the issues, and create an atmosphere of trust: problem will be solved on the merits of the case rather than political or personal influence. Avoiding: when you can"t win, when you"re more concerned about maintaining the relationship than winning, or when it"s just a waste of time and energy. Accommodating: when you simply give in to the other side: maintaining relationship so resolving the conflict isn"t worth the risk. Competing: if the issue is one of great importance to you or if your solution is ethically correct, it makes sense to compete.
