Conflict Management Techniques

Conflict Management Techniques — Five Styles (Thomas)

Foundation

Conflict Management Foundation

There are a few techniques that can be used to minimize the impact that workplace conflict can have on individuals and on the organization.

Two Categorization Dimensions

2 Categorization Dimensions

When considering:

The degree of cooperation
The degree of assertiveness

…of those involved, leaders can determine how to categorize conflict and how to best manage it.

Cooperation Defined

Cooperation refers to how willing a person or group is to satisfy the other's needs.

Assertiveness Defined

Assertiveness refers to how active a person is in addressing the conflict.

Source

Thomas Source

Using an approach addressed by Dr. Kenneth Thomas, author of *Conflict and Negotiation Processes in Organizations*, there are five major conflict management styles and categories, defined based on the levels of cooperation and assertiveness associated with any given situation.

Five Conflict Management Styles

Competing (Forcing)

Competing/Forcing

(High assertiveness and low cooperativeness)

The competing (forcing) style attempts to overwhelm an opponent with:

Formal authority
Threats
Use of power

Collaborating

(High assertiveness and high cooperativeness)

The collaborating style uses an attempt to satisfy the concerns of both sides through honest discussion.

Collaborating Creative Approaches

Creative approaches to conflict reduction, such as sharing resources, may actually lead to both parties being materially better off.

Collaborating Requirements

For the collaborating style to be successful, trust and openness are required of all participants.

Collaborating Win/Win

Collaborating involves behavior that seeks a 'win' position for both groups.

Accommodating

(Low assertiveness and high cooperativeness)

The accommodating style often simply consists of giving in to another person's wishes.

Avoiding

(Low assertiveness and low cooperativeness)

The avoiding style appears to indicate a neutral position of participants which can:

Often lead to 'things working themselves out'
Also result in an escalation of a situation by allowing it to go unresolved

Compromising

(Some assertiveness and some cooperativeness)

The compromising style requires a willingness of both parties to:

Change
Adjust
Give something up

Compromising Partial Satisfaction

Compromising involves behavior that seeks to partially satisfy both parties' desires and resolves the conflict.

Situations Are Unique

Situations Unique

All situations are unique, depending on:

The individuals involved
The criticality of the issues
The urgency of the situations

Considerations for Style Selection

Style Selection Factors

When considering each of the conflict management styles, consider:

The who
The stakes
The situation

…to determine the best approach to take to resolve conflict.

USAF Negotiation Center

The USAF Negotiation Center has additional resources on negotiation and conflict management:

- https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/AFNC/