Page 10 - DMGT519_Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

Notes
Did u know? The word “negotiation” originated from the Latin expression, “negotiatus”,
past participle of negotiare which means “to carry on business”. “Negotium” means
literally “not leisure”.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
1. .............................. is inevitable and universal phenomenon of our individual, team &
organizational life.

2. Conflict is not confined at the individual level alone but is manifesting itself more and
more in ...................................
3. ................................... requires us to “wake up” out of vengeance and numbness.

4. Conflict can be defined in many ways and can be considered as an expression of
...................................
5. Conflict is not ....................................... at the individual level alone but is manifesting itself
more and more in organizations.

1.2 Different Thoughts on Conflict

Conflict can be defined in many ways and can be considered as an expression of hostility,
negative attitudes, antagonism, aggression, rivalry and misunderstanding. It is also associated
with situations that involve contradictory or irreconcilable interests between two opposing
groups. A few definitions of conflict are as given below:
In simple terms, “conflict is a situation in which two people cannot agree on the actions that one
person takes or that he or she doesn’t want the other to take”.

Follett defines conflict as, “the appearance of difference – difference of opinions, of interests.”
Chung & Megginson define conflict as, “the struggle between incompatible or struggling needs,
wishes, ideas, interests or people. Conflict arises when individuals or groups encounter goals
that both parties cannot obtain satisfactorily.”
According to David L. Austin, “It can be defined as a disagreement between two or more
individuals or groups, with each individual or group trying to gain acceptance of its views or
objectives over others.”
Louis R. Pondy has given a very comprehensive definition of conflict. According to him, the
term conflict is used in four ways in the literature to describe:
1. Antecedent conditions of conflictful behaviour such as scarcity of resources or policy
differences.
2. Effective states of individuals involved such as stress, tension, hostility, anxiety etc.
3. Cognitive state of individuals, that is their perception or awareness of conflictful situation,
and
4. Conflictful behaviour ranging from passive resistance to over aggression.
The common theme in all definitions are two or more competing goals, ideas, attitudes, behaviors
of one or more parties are perceived in disagreement and feeling of aversely affected interests.

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