Chapter 6

Communication, Conflict and Negotiation

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Communication
Questions for Consideration Questions for Consideration 1. How does communication occur? 2. Are there barriers to communication? 3. How can communication be encouraged? 4. What are the current issues in communication? 5. What is conflict? 6. What are the sources of conflict? 7. How does a situation turn into a conflict? 8. What is negotiation and how does it help?

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Communication Problems
People spend nearly 70 percent of their waking hours communicatingwriting, reading, speaking, listening WorkCanada survey of 2039 Canadians in six industrial and service categories found
61 percent of senior executives believed that they did a good job of communicating with employees. only 33 percent of the managers and department heads believed that senior executives were effective communicators. Only 22 percent of hourly workers, 27 percent of clerical employees, and 22 percent of professional staff reported that senior executives did a good job of communicating with them.

Canadians reported less favourable perceptions about their companys communications than did Americans
Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Communication Terms
Communication Sender Receiver

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Communication Terms
Message Encoding Channel Decoding

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Exhibit 6-1 The Communication Process Model

Chooses Encodes the Chooses the

a message

message Considers the receiver

channel

Sender Considers the sender Provides Decodes the

Receiver

feedback

message

Choosing Channels
Channels differ in their capacity to convey information.

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Exhibit 6-2 Information Richness of Communication Channels

Source: Based on R. H. Lengel and R. L. Daft, The Selection of Communication Media as an Executive Skill, Academy of Management Executive, August 1988, pp. 225-232; and R. L. Daft and R. H. Lengel, Organizational Information Requirements, Media Richness, and Structural Design, Managerial Science, May 1996, pp. 554-572. Reproduced from R. L. Daft and R. A. Noe, Organizational Behavior (Forth Worth, TX: Harcourt, 2001), p. 311.

 Filtering Selective Perception

Barriers to Effective Communication

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Barriers to Effective Communication

Defensiveness Information Overload Language

Nonverbal Communication
Messages conveyed through body movements, facial expressions, and the physical distance between the sender and the receiver
Kinesics Proxemics

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Silence as Communication
Defined as an absence of speech or noise Not necessarily inaction Individuals should be aware of what silence might mean in any communication.

 Men use talk to emphasize status, women use it to create connection Women and men tend to approach points of conflict differently

Communication Barriers Between Men and Women

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

 Men and women view directness and indirectness differently Men criticize women for apologizing, but women say Im sorry to express empathy

Communication Barriers Between Men and Women

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

 Sources of barriers
Semantics Word connotations Tonal differences

Cross-Cultural Communication Difficulties

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

 Assume differences until similarity is proven. Emphasize description rather than interpretation or evaluation. Practise empathy. Treat your interpretations as a working hypothesis.
Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Cross-Cultural Communications: Helpful Rules

Effective Listening
If you want to improve your listening skills, look to these behaviours as guides
Make eye contact Exhibit affirmative head nods and appropriate facial expressions. Avoid distracting actions or gestures. Ask questions. Paraphrase. Avoid interrupting the speaker. Dont over talk. Make smooth transitions between the roles of speaker and listener.
Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Conflict
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 Dysfunctional

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Types of Conflict
Cognitive
Conflict related to differences in perspectives and judgments

Affective
Emotional conflict aimed at a person rather than an issue

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Exhibit 6-5 Conflict Intensity Continuum

Annihilatory conflict Overt efforts to destroy the other party Aggressive physical attacks Threats and ultimatums Assertive verbal attacks Overt questioning or challenging of others No conflict Minor disagreements or misunderstandings

Sources: Based on S. P. Robbins, Managing Organizational Conflict: A Nontraditional Approach (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1974), pp. 93-97; and F. Glasl, The Process of Conflict Escalation and the Roles of Third Parties, in Conflict Management and Industrial Relations, ed. G. B. J. Bomers and R. Peterson (Boston: Kluwer-Nijhoff, 1982), pp. 119-140).

Exhibit 6-4 How Conflict Builds

Conflict-handling Intentions
Competing Collaborating Compromising Avoiding Accommodating

Outcomes
Functional: increased performance Dysfunctional: decreased group performance

Behaviour

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Conflict handling intentions

Two Dimensions
Cooperativeness Assertiveness

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Five Conflict-Handling Strategies

Forcing. Problem solving Avoiding Yielding Compromising

Exhibit 6-6 Conflict-Handling Strategies and Accompanying Behaviours

Trying to satisfy ones own concerns
Forcing Satisfying ones own interests without concern for the others interests Make threats and bluffs Make persuasive arguments Make positional commitments Problem solving Clarifying differences to find mutually beneficial outcomes Exchange information about priorities and preferences Show insights Make trade-offs between important and unimportant issues

ASSERTIVENESS

Assertive

Compromising r Giving up something to reach an outcome (done by both parties) Match others concessions Make conditional promises and threats Search for a middle ground A voiding Withdrawing from or ignoring conflict Dont think about the issues Yielding Placing the others interests above ones own Make unilateral concessions Make unconditional promises Offer help

Uncooperative COOPERATIVENESS

Cooperative

Sources: Based on K. W. Thomas, Conflict and Negotiation Processes in Organizations, in Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, vol. 3, 2nd ed., ed. M. D. Dunnette and L. M. Hough (Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1992), p. 668; C. K. W. De Dreu, A. Evers, B. Beersma, E. S. Kluwer, and A. Nauta, A Theory-Based Measure of Conflict Management Strategies in the Workplace, Journal of Organizational Behavior 22, no. 6 (September 2001), pp. 645-668; and D. G. Pruitt and J. Rubin, Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate and Settlement (New York: Random House, 1986).

Unassertive

Trying to satisfy the other persons concerns

Factors That Lead to Personality Conflicts

Misunderstandings Intolerance Perceived inequalities Falsehoods Blaming

Tips for Employees Having a Personality Conflict

Communicate directly with the other person to resolve the perceived conflict. Avoid dragging co-workers into the conflict. If necessary, seek help from direct supervisors or human resource specialists.

Source: R. Kreitner and A. Kinicki, Organizational Behavior, 6th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004), p. 492, Table 14-1. Reprinted by permission of McGraw-Hill Education.

Conflict Outcomes
Functional (supports the goals of the group and improves performance) Dysfunctional (hinders group performance)

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Negotiation
A process in which two or more parties exchange goods or services and attempt to agree upon the exchange rate for them

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Issues, Positions and Interests

Individuals have issues, positions, and interests
Issues are items that are specifically placed on the bargaining table for discussion Positions are the individuals stand on the issue Interests are the underlying concerns that are affected by the negotiation resolution

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Types of Bargaining
Distributive bargaining Integrative bargaining

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Exhibit 6-9 Distributive versus Integrative Bargaining

Bargaining Characteristic
Available resources

Distributive Bargaining
Fixed amount of resources to be divided I win, you lose

Integrative Bargaining
Variable amount of resources to be divided I win, you win Convergent or congruent with each other Long term

Primary motivations Primary interests Focus of relationships

Opposed to each other Short term

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

How to Negotiate
Five steps to negotiation:
Developing a strategy. Definition of ground rules. Clarification and justification. Bargaining and problem solving. Closure and implementation.

Identify BATNA:
Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement.

Exhibit 6-8 The Negotiation Process

Developing a strategy

Defining ground rules

Clarification and

justification

Bargaining and problem solving

Closure and implementation

Source: This model is based on R. J. Lewicki, Bargaining and Negotiation, Exchange: The Organizational BehaviorTeaching Journal 6, no. 2 (1981), pp. 39-40.

Exhibit 6-9 Staking Out the Bargaining Zone

$400 $475 Buyers aspiration range Bargaining Zone $525 $600 Sellers aspiration range

Buyers target point

Sellers resistance point

Buyers resistance point

Sellers target point

Getting to Yes
Separate the people from the problem. Focus on interests, not positions. Look for ways to achieve mutual gains. Use objective criteria to achieve a fair solution.

Summary and Implications: Communication A common theme regarding the relationship between

communication and employee satisfaction Less distortion in communication equals: Ambiguity between verbal and nonverbal communiqus increase uncertainty and reduce satisfaction The goal of perfect communication is unattainable The issue of communication is critical to motivation

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

 Conflict can be either constructive or destructive to the functioning of a group. An optimal level of conflict: Inadequate or excessive levels of conflict can hinder group effectiveness.

Summary and Implications

Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Summary and Implications

Dont assume there's one conflicthandling intention that is always best. Negotiation is an ongoing activity in groups Intergroup conflicts can also affect an organizations performance.
Chapter 6, Stephen P. Robbins and Nancy Langton, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour, Second Canadian Edition. Copyright 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc.