16-1
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Organizational
Conflict,Politics,
and Change
16
16-2
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Organizational Conflict
Conflict exists in situations where goals,
interests or values of people are
incompatible and they block other’s efforts
to achieve their goals,
Some level of conflict is inevitable given the
wide range of goals in a firm,
? Some conflict is good for organizational performance,
? Too much causes managers to spend much time
responding to conflict,
16-3
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Conflict and Organizational Performance
Level of Conflict Low Lo High
Low
High
Lev
el o
f Org
ani
za
tio
na
l
Perf
orm
ance
B
A C
Figure 16.1
16-4
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Types of Conflict
?Interpersonal Conflict,between individuals based on
differing goals or values,
?Intragroup Conflict,occurs within a group or team,
?Intergroup Conflict,occurs between 2 or more teams
or groups,
? Managers play a key role in resolution of this conflict
?Interorganizational Conflict,occurs across
organizations,
? Managers in one firm may feel another is not
behaving ethically,
16-5
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Types of Conflict
Conflict
Interpersonal Intragroup Intergroup Inter- organizational
Figure 16.2
16-6
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Sources of Conflict
? Different goals and time horizons,different groups
have differing goals,
?Production focuses on efficiency; Marketing on
sales,
? Overlapping authority,two or more managers
claim authority for the same activities,
?Leads to conflict between the managers and
workers,
? Task Interdependencies,one member of a group
fails to finish a task that another depends on,
?This makes the worker that is waiting fall behind,
16-7
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Sources of Conflict
? Incompatible Evaluation or reward system,workers are
evaluated for one thing,but are told to do something
different,
?Groups rewarded for low cost but firm needs higher
service,
? Scarce Resources,managers can conflict over allocation
of resources,
?When all resources are scarce,managers can fight over
allocations,
? Status inconsistencies,some groups have higher status
than others,
?Leads to managers feeling others are favored,
16-8
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Sources of Conflict
Conflict
Status
inconsistency
Different goals
& time horizons
Scarce
Resources Incompatible
evaluation &
Reward
Task
Interdependency
Overlapping
Authority
Figure 16.3
16-9
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Resolving Conflicts
? Functional Conflict Resolution,handle conflict by
compromise or collaboration between parties,
?Compromise,each party concerned about their goal
accomplishment and is willing to engage in give and
take to reach a reasonable solution,
?Collaboration,parties try to handle conflict without
making concessions by coming up with a new way to
resolve differences,
? Managers also need to address individual sources of
conflict,
16-10
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Managing Individual Conflict
? Increase awareness of the source of conflict
?Can conflict source can be found and corrected?
? Increase diversity awareness and skills
?Older workers may resent younger workers,or
experience cultural differences,
? Practice Job Rotation & Temporary assignments
?Provides a good view of what others face,
? Use permanent transfers & dismissal if needed
?Avoids problem interaction,
? Change organization’s structure
?Conflict can signal the need to adjust the structure,
16-11
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Conflict Solutions
? Alter the source of conflict,
?If due to overlapping authority,managers fix the
problem to change the source,
? Negotiation,use when parties have equal power,
?Parties try and find a common ground by
considering various alternatives,
?Distributive negotiation,parties see there is a
fixed resource base,
? For them to gain,the other must lose,
?Integrative negotiation,parties can increase total
resources by coming up with a new solution,
? Information sharing,trust are common here,
16-12
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Negotiation Strategies for Interactive Bargaining
?Emphasize Superordinate Goals,these
are goals both parties agree on,
? Keeps the big picture in focus,
?Focus on the problem,NOT the people,
don’t make it personal,
? It is easy to dwell on people’s shortcomings rather
than problems,
? Once this occurs,people resist negotiation,
16-13
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Negotiation Strategies
?Focus on interests,not demands,demands are
what you want,interests are why you want
them,
? Demands are confrontational and slow negotiations,
?Create new options for joint gain,focusing on
interests allows for new ideas to come forth,
? Perhaps there is a new solution that can solve the issue,
?Focus on what is fair,emphasizing fairness
allows both parties to give a bit and agree,
16-14
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Organizational Politics
?Organizational politics are the activities
managers engage in to increase their power
and use it to achieve their goals,
? Political strategies,specific tactics used to increase
power and use it effectively,
? Politics can be negative,but also is a positive force
allowing needed change,
?Everyone throughout the firm engages in politics
?Political activity allows a manager to gain support for an
idea,
16-15
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Political Strategies for Increasing Power
Control
Uncertainty
Be
Irreplaceable
Be in a central
position
Generate
Resources
Build
Alliances
Increase a
manager’s
power in
the
organization
Figure 16.4
16-16
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Strategies for Increasing Power
? Control Uncertainty,managers who can reduce
uncertainty for the firm increase power,
? Be Irreplaceable,develop valuable special knowledge or
skills,
? Be in a Central Position,managers have crucial control
over the firm’s activities,They increase their power and
can influence others,
? Generate Resources,managers who can hire skilled
people or find financing,
? Build Alliances,develop mutually beneficial relations
with others inside and outside the organization,
16-17
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Strategies for Exercising Power
Objective
Information
Outside
Experts
Control the
Agenda
Everyone is
a Winner
Help
Managers
Use Their
Power
Effectively
Figure 16.5
16-18
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Strategies for Exercising Power
? Rely on Objective Information,impartial information
causes others to feel the manager’s course of action is
correct,
? Bring in an Outside Expert,lends credibility to
manager’s proposal (when the expert agrees),
? Control the Agenda,influence those issues included
(and those dropped) from the decision process,
? Make Everyone a Winner,everyone whose support is
needed benefits personally from providing that support,
16-19
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Relationship Between Conflict,Politics
and Change
Signal managers
change is
needed
Organizational
change
Change alters
goals of different
groups causing
conflict & politics
Organizational
conflict & politics
Figure 16.6
16-20
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Managing Organizational Change
?Assess need for change,recognize a problem exists and
find its source,
? Look inside and outside the firm for sources,
?Decide on the change to make,determine the ideal
future state,
? Decide exactly what the future company will look like,
? What obstacles need to be changed to get there,
?Implement the change,a top-down change is quickest,
bottom-up is more gradual,
? Bottom-up is more effective at eliminating obstacles,
?Evaluate Change,was it successful? Benchmark
(compare) your change to others,
16-21
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Steps in the Organizational Change
Process Figure 16.7
Assess need for
change
Find source of problem
Decide on the
change
Identify obstacles
Implement Change
Top-down or
Bottom-up
Evaluate Change
Is it successful?
Benchmark to others
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Organizational
Conflict,Politics,
and Change
16
16-2
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Organizational Conflict
Conflict exists in situations where goals,
interests or values of people are
incompatible and they block other’s efforts
to achieve their goals,
Some level of conflict is inevitable given the
wide range of goals in a firm,
? Some conflict is good for organizational performance,
? Too much causes managers to spend much time
responding to conflict,
16-3
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Conflict and Organizational Performance
Level of Conflict Low Lo High
Low
High
Lev
el o
f Org
ani
za
tio
na
l
Perf
orm
ance
B
A C
Figure 16.1
16-4
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Types of Conflict
?Interpersonal Conflict,between individuals based on
differing goals or values,
?Intragroup Conflict,occurs within a group or team,
?Intergroup Conflict,occurs between 2 or more teams
or groups,
? Managers play a key role in resolution of this conflict
?Interorganizational Conflict,occurs across
organizations,
? Managers in one firm may feel another is not
behaving ethically,
16-5
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Types of Conflict
Conflict
Interpersonal Intragroup Intergroup Inter- organizational
Figure 16.2
16-6
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Sources of Conflict
? Different goals and time horizons,different groups
have differing goals,
?Production focuses on efficiency; Marketing on
sales,
? Overlapping authority,two or more managers
claim authority for the same activities,
?Leads to conflict between the managers and
workers,
? Task Interdependencies,one member of a group
fails to finish a task that another depends on,
?This makes the worker that is waiting fall behind,
16-7
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Sources of Conflict
? Incompatible Evaluation or reward system,workers are
evaluated for one thing,but are told to do something
different,
?Groups rewarded for low cost but firm needs higher
service,
? Scarce Resources,managers can conflict over allocation
of resources,
?When all resources are scarce,managers can fight over
allocations,
? Status inconsistencies,some groups have higher status
than others,
?Leads to managers feeling others are favored,
16-8
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Sources of Conflict
Conflict
Status
inconsistency
Different goals
& time horizons
Scarce
Resources Incompatible
evaluation &
Reward
Task
Interdependency
Overlapping
Authority
Figure 16.3
16-9
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Resolving Conflicts
? Functional Conflict Resolution,handle conflict by
compromise or collaboration between parties,
?Compromise,each party concerned about their goal
accomplishment and is willing to engage in give and
take to reach a reasonable solution,
?Collaboration,parties try to handle conflict without
making concessions by coming up with a new way to
resolve differences,
? Managers also need to address individual sources of
conflict,
16-10
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Managing Individual Conflict
? Increase awareness of the source of conflict
?Can conflict source can be found and corrected?
? Increase diversity awareness and skills
?Older workers may resent younger workers,or
experience cultural differences,
? Practice Job Rotation & Temporary assignments
?Provides a good view of what others face,
? Use permanent transfers & dismissal if needed
?Avoids problem interaction,
? Change organization’s structure
?Conflict can signal the need to adjust the structure,
16-11
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Conflict Solutions
? Alter the source of conflict,
?If due to overlapping authority,managers fix the
problem to change the source,
? Negotiation,use when parties have equal power,
?Parties try and find a common ground by
considering various alternatives,
?Distributive negotiation,parties see there is a
fixed resource base,
? For them to gain,the other must lose,
?Integrative negotiation,parties can increase total
resources by coming up with a new solution,
? Information sharing,trust are common here,
16-12
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Negotiation Strategies for Interactive Bargaining
?Emphasize Superordinate Goals,these
are goals both parties agree on,
? Keeps the big picture in focus,
?Focus on the problem,NOT the people,
don’t make it personal,
? It is easy to dwell on people’s shortcomings rather
than problems,
? Once this occurs,people resist negotiation,
16-13
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Negotiation Strategies
?Focus on interests,not demands,demands are
what you want,interests are why you want
them,
? Demands are confrontational and slow negotiations,
?Create new options for joint gain,focusing on
interests allows for new ideas to come forth,
? Perhaps there is a new solution that can solve the issue,
?Focus on what is fair,emphasizing fairness
allows both parties to give a bit and agree,
16-14
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Organizational Politics
?Organizational politics are the activities
managers engage in to increase their power
and use it to achieve their goals,
? Political strategies,specific tactics used to increase
power and use it effectively,
? Politics can be negative,but also is a positive force
allowing needed change,
?Everyone throughout the firm engages in politics
?Political activity allows a manager to gain support for an
idea,
16-15
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Political Strategies for Increasing Power
Control
Uncertainty
Be
Irreplaceable
Be in a central
position
Generate
Resources
Build
Alliances
Increase a
manager’s
power in
the
organization
Figure 16.4
16-16
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Strategies for Increasing Power
? Control Uncertainty,managers who can reduce
uncertainty for the firm increase power,
? Be Irreplaceable,develop valuable special knowledge or
skills,
? Be in a Central Position,managers have crucial control
over the firm’s activities,They increase their power and
can influence others,
? Generate Resources,managers who can hire skilled
people or find financing,
? Build Alliances,develop mutually beneficial relations
with others inside and outside the organization,
16-17
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Strategies for Exercising Power
Objective
Information
Outside
Experts
Control the
Agenda
Everyone is
a Winner
Help
Managers
Use Their
Power
Effectively
Figure 16.5
16-18
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Strategies for Exercising Power
? Rely on Objective Information,impartial information
causes others to feel the manager’s course of action is
correct,
? Bring in an Outside Expert,lends credibility to
manager’s proposal (when the expert agrees),
? Control the Agenda,influence those issues included
(and those dropped) from the decision process,
? Make Everyone a Winner,everyone whose support is
needed benefits personally from providing that support,
16-19
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Relationship Between Conflict,Politics
and Change
Signal managers
change is
needed
Organizational
change
Change alters
goals of different
groups causing
conflict & politics
Organizational
conflict & politics
Figure 16.6
16-20
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Managing Organizational Change
?Assess need for change,recognize a problem exists and
find its source,
? Look inside and outside the firm for sources,
?Decide on the change to make,determine the ideal
future state,
? Decide exactly what the future company will look like,
? What obstacles need to be changed to get there,
?Implement the change,a top-down change is quickest,
bottom-up is more gradual,
? Bottom-up is more effective at eliminating obstacles,
?Evaluate Change,was it successful? Benchmark
(compare) your change to others,
16-21
Irwin/McGraw-Hill ?The McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,2000
Steps in the Organizational Change
Process Figure 16.7
Assess need for
change
Find source of problem
Decide on the
change
Identify obstacles
Implement Change
Top-down or
Bottom-up
Evaluate Change
Is it successful?
Benchmark to others
