There are five approaches to conflict. The five approaches are based on two dimensions of personality: assertiveness and cooperation or people orientation.
This negotiation approach is adopted when one negotiating partner feels that his own interests are threatened and he does all he can to ensure that the outcome of the negotiation is not suitable to the interests of the other party as well. In the bargain, both the parties end up being the loser.
The following three negotiation strategies for conflict resolution from the realm of business negotiation can help parties mend their partnership, avoid the expense of a lawsuit, and even create value. 1. Avoid being provoked into an emotional response.
Uncomfortable room temperatures, too-bright lighting, rudeness, interruptions, and other irritations are examples of rough tactics used during negotiations. During the stage of concessions and agreement, Russians and Chinese generally take extreme positions. Negotiators in the Far East address issues one at a time, in a linear fashion.
When a dispute flares up and conflict resolution is required, the outcome can be sadly predictable: the conflict escalates, with each side blaming the other in increasingly strident terms. The dispute may end up in litigation, and the relationship may be forever damaged.
Discover how to improve your dispute resolution skills in this free report, Dispute Resolution: Working Together Toward Conflict Resolution on the Job and at Home, from Harvard Law School.
A French businessman has a meeting scheduled with a Brazilian to negotiate terms of a joint venture. The Frenchman prepares for the meeting in the way he always does when negotiating with French firms. The Frenchman assumes that the Brazilian will perceive and reason the way he does.
Fizzy is an American firm that manufactures carbonated soft drinks. Fizzy executives want to enter the global market, and they are considering the idea of a joint venture with a beverage company located overseas.
To avoid a lose-lose situation, both parties give up a part of what they had originally sought and settle for something less than that. A compromise is the best way out when it is impossible for both parties to convince each other or when the disputed resources are limited.
This negotiation approach is also called as collaborative or creating value approach. It is superior to all negotiation approaches. It results in both the parties feeling that they are achieving what they wanted. It results in satisfaction to both the parties. It has the following characteristics.
Since the integrative approach is most desirable, some of the guidelines to integrative bargaining are listed below: 1 Orient yourself towards a win-win approach. Your attitude while going into negotiation plays a huge role in the outcome. 2 Plan and have a concrete strategy. Be clear on what is important to you and why it is important. 3 Know your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Alternative (BATNA). 4 Separate people from the problem. 5 Focus on interests, not positions; consider the other party’s situation. 6 Create options for mutual gain. 7 Generate a variety of possibilities before deciding what to do. 8 Aim for an outcome based on some objective standard. 9 Pay a lot of attention to the flow of negotiation. 10 Take the intangibles into account, communicate carefully. 11 Use active listening skills, rephrase and ask questions and then ask some more
This is also called competitive, zero sum, or claiming value approach. This approach is based on the premise that one person can win only at the expense of the other. It has the following characteristics:
There are five approaches to conflict. The five approaches are based on two dimensions of personality: assertiveness and cooperation or people orientation. Your approach, based on your personality style and the other party’s style , will have a great impact on how and whether a conflict is resolved amicably. The five approaches are:
Involve other people, accept their input, and gain their support. Inviting the participation of others can reduce the chances of conflict later . This could also mean using a third party to help mediate a conflict. Communicate clearly and openly.
Avoidance (low assertive, low cooperation) – A person perceives that a conflict exists and withdraws from it, ignores it, or avoids the other party to the conflict. People with the avoidance style. Act passive or submissive at all times. Do not appear interested; act as if they do not want to be involved.
You can act more assertive by adopting the behaviors and speech patterns of the assertive personality. You can learn to ask for what you want and say “no.”. But you must be assertive. Seek to identify the style of the other party to the conflict.
Compromise (moderately assertive and cooperative) – Each party makes concessions and accepts a solution which only partially satisfies his own interests. Those who are quick to compromise will. Ask the other party for ideas and input. Look for some underlying needs and interests-for both parties.
Communicate clearly and openly. Conflict is almost always a communication problem. By keeping the lines of communication open, honest, and straightforward, you can resolve conflict more easily and minimize the chances of having a conflict in the first place. Confront difficult issues frankly, fairly, and directly.
Competition (high assertive, low cooperation) – One party seeks to satisfy his own interests at the expense of, or without regard to, the interests of another. Competitive people will. Dominate the conversation. Interrupt the other party. Insist on having their way.
Traditional approach: The traditional approach to conflict is the earliest view on organizational conflicts. It is the simplest approach for conflicts and was developed in the 1930s. In the past, the managers considered conflicts as evil, outright wrong, destructive, and negative.
It is viewed in terms of a two-dimensional model. Thompson suggested five styles viz., collaborating, avoiding, competing, accommodating, and compromising. The choice and use of the five conflict-handling styles is likely to depend upon both the nature of the individual and the situational factors.
Dysfunctional (win-lose situation): Dysfunctional conflict is the conflict that leads to a decline in communication or the performance of a group. Dysfunctional conflict can be an overabundance of conflict or a lack of sufficient motivating conflict.
Conflicts are more favorable at the minimum level of it as it brings self-motivation, self-evaluation, and creativity among individuals. It is due to the competition between each other. Also, it reflects better outcomes of tasks assigned, effective resolutions and improves group performance.
According to modern theories, if an organization does not face any conflicts, the organization is unadaptable, non-flexible, non-responsive, and static.
If there is conflict there will be no challenge and no dynamics. But if there is too much conflict, it brings a great loss in the organization. There are two approaches to conflict management: There are some possible combinations given regarding conflict: “Conflict is inevitable, an agreement is possible.”.
Creating a shared goal that cannot be attained without the cooperation of each of the conflicting parties. Expansion of resources. When a conflict is caused by the scarcity of a resource- say, money, promotion opportunities, office space- expansion of the resource can create a win-win situation. Avoidance.
What Is Negotiation? Negotiation is a process by which two or more people (or groups) resolve an issue or arrive at a better outcome through compromise. Negotiation is a way to avoid arguing and come to an agreement with which both parties feel satisfied.
Negotiation training comes in handy in a variety of real-world situations, whether at work (like negotiating a job offer) or at home (like deciding whose turn it is to do the dishes). The first step to being a skilled negotiator—and finally “getting to yes”—is understanding the five basic stages of the process.
While there are many approaches to negotiation tactics, there are five common steps that most effective negotiations follow to achieve a successful outcome: Prepare: Negotiation preparation is easy to ignore, but it’s a vital first stage of the negotiating process.