MGMT2100 Chap.8 Conflict Management and Negotiation
Conflict Management and Negotiation
Conflict starts once one party sees that another has harmed, or is about to harm, something it cares about. The chapter contrasts the traditional and interactionist views, explains task, relationship and process conflict, and maps the five handling modes of competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding and accommodating with their win and lose consequences.
It shows how to diagnose a disagreement by its nature, underlying factors and stage. Negotiation follows: why parties negotiate, positive and negative bargaining ranges, BATNA as the source of bargaining power, distributive and integrative strategies, the four integrative steps, common tactics and the role of third parties.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Traditional and interactionist views of conflict
- 02
Task, relationship and process conflict
- 03
Five conflict-handling modes
- 04
Nature, factors and stages of a disagreement
- 05
Bargaining ranges and BATNA
- 06
Distributive versus integrative bargaining
- 07
Tactics and third parties
Worked example · free
Choose a conflict-handling mode for two disputes
- 1Dispute 1 is a disagreement over goals, cost against wellbeing, and both parties have high concern for a shared outcome: keeping experienced staff.
- 2Choose collaborating, which combines high concern for own and others' outcomes: ask staff about shift preferences and look for a roster that meets both goals.
- 1Dispute 2 matters little to you but a lot to the colleague.
- 1Choose accommodating, low concern for own outcome and high concern for the other's, which preserves the relationship at almost no cost.
Key terms
- Interactionist view
- The view that some conflict is needed to stop groups becoming static, while dysfunctional conflict still harms performance.
- Relationship conflict
- Conflict focused on interpersonal relationships, which the course treats as harmful.
- Positive bargaining range
- The overlap between two negotiators' acceptable outcomes, where an agreement is possible.
- Integrative bargaining
- An open, creative negotiation strategy that values the relationship and looks to expand the resources available.
- Agent of limited authority
- A tactic in which a negotiator claims not to be free to make a concession.
Conflict Management and Negotiation FAQ
What is a BATNA and why does it matter?
BATNA stands for best alternative to a negotiated agreement. It gives a negotiator the power to walk away: with an attractive alternative you can set higher goals and make fewer concessions, while without one your bargaining power is far weaker. It also fixes your resistance point.
How do distributive and integrative bargaining differ?
Distributive bargaining divides a fixed resource: push toward the other side's resistance point, guard information and make an aggressive first offer. Integrative bargaining is open and creative, shares information including BATNAs, values the relationship and intangibles, and tries to expand the pie before claiming value.
Is task conflict good or bad?
Task conflict, about the content and goals of work, can help at low to moderate levels. But the lecture cautions that most conflicts at work turn out unproductive, they create stress, and task conflict often turns into relationship conflict, so even useful disagreement needs to be managed openly.
What should I avoid doing in a workplace conflict?
The lecture lists running to the manager, posting on social media and talking behind people's backs as common mistakes that should never be first options. Address differences openly, use 'I' language, watch nonverbal cues and know when to agree to disagree.
When should a third party be brought into a dispute?
When the people involved, or those representing groups, are deadlocked and direct negotiation has stopped making progress. The lecture lists a mediator, a conciliator, an arbitrator or a consultant, and stresses that whoever is chosen should be competent and unbiased for the process to be accepted.
Exam move
Draw the conflict-mode plane from memory with concern for own outcomes on one axis and concern for the other party on the other, and attach the win and lose consequence to each mode. Practise diagnosing short disputes by nature, factor and stage before choosing a mode.
For negotiation, work several number problems: identify each party's resistance point from its BATNA, calculate the range and decide whether it is positive or negative. Then practise turning a distributive situation into an integrative one by asking what each side needs. In a case answer, explain why a party's mode or tactic produced the outcome described, then recommend a better one.
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