CHAPTER 13
Resolving Conflict and Dealing with
Difficult People
CHAPTER PREVIEW
After studying this chapter, students should be able to:
1. List and describe some of the major causes of conflict in the workplace.
2. Use assertiveness skills in conflict situations.
3. Understand when and how to implement effective negotiation skills.
4. Identify key elements of the conflict resolution process.
5. Discuss the role of labor unions in conflict resolution.
PURPOSE AND PERSPECTIVE
After studying this chapter, students will begin to understand that conflict is an everyday affair in most
organizations. Conflicts can be caused by many factors including ineffective communication, value and
culture clashes, policies and practices, and adversarial management. Workers who refuse to comply
with the rules of the organization can be the source of major employee conflicts.
Assertiveness skills may offer individuals help in personally dealing with conflicts. Students will
examine various negotiating styles such as avoidance, accommodating, win/lose, compromising, and
problem solving. The sections on negotiation and conflict resolution include the “crucial conversation”
model for negotiations as well as a five-step plan that has proven helpful in many organizations.
The discussion on the role of conflict resolution in labor unions examines the traditional approaches to
collective bargaining, but also highlights the emergence of the non-union strike and the on-demand,
app-enable workforce as alternative forms of organization.
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
I. A New View of Conflict
A. Meaningful conflict
II. Finding the Root Causes of Conflict
A. Conflict triggers
1. Organizational change
2. Ineffective communication
3. Value and culture clashes
4. Work policies and practices
5. Adversarial management
6. Competition for scarce resources
7. Personality clashes
III. Resolving Conflict Assertively
50 Chapter 13: Resolving Conflict and Dealing with Difficult People
A. Introduction: nonassertive, assertive, and aggressive behaviors
B. How to become more assertive
1. In the beginning, take small steps
2. Use communication skills that enhance assertiveness
3. Be soft on people and hard on the problem
IV. Learn to Negotiate Effectively
A. Think win/win
B. Beware of defensive behaviors
V. Negotiating Compensation
A. Know that negotiating styles vary
1. Avoidance style (uncooperative/nonassertive)
2. Accommodating style (cooperative/nonassertive)
3. Win/lose style (uncooperative/aggressive)
4. Problem-solving style (assertive/cooperative)
5. Compromising style (moderately aggressive/moderately cooperative)
B. How to have a crucial conversation
VI. Conflict Resolution Process
A. Step 1: Decide whether you have a misunderstanding or a true disagreement
B. Step 2: Define the problem and collect the facts
C. Step 3: Clarify perceptions
D. Step 4: Generate options for mutual gain
E. Step 5: Implement options with integrity
VII. The Role of Labor Unions in Conflict Resolution
A. Introduction: collective bargaining
1. Mediation
2. Voluntary arbitration
3. Compulsory arbitration
B. The on-demand, app-enabled workforce
CAREER INSIGHT EXERCISE: Dealing with Workplace Bullies
Students can share their experiences with bullying. Help students understand that one of the most
underutilized weapons in the arsenal against bullying is telling bullies the truth about the way they
make a person feel.
TRY YOUR HAND EXERCISES
1. Students’ answers will vary. Refer to Figure 13.2 in the textbook.
2. Students’ conflict resolution plans may vary in detail, but the basic design and sequence should
3. This quiz will set the stage for a stimulating discussion of assertive behavior.
4. Ask students to begin with simple conflicts to help make the role playing less threatening. It is, of
course, most useful to use real events in their lives rather than fabricated ones.
CRITICAL THINKING CHALLENGE
Students’ answers will vary. Encourage students to discuss ways to prevent or resolve the types of
conflict they described.
Chapter 13: Resolving Conflict and Dealing with Difficult People 51
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
After answering the questions, students should focus on how they could change the result of a conflict
by intentionally adjusting their conflict resolution style.
YOU PLAY THE ROLE EXERCISE
Before the role play begins, ask students to open their texts to “The Art of Apologizing” in Chapter 8
and monitor which techniques the participants in the role play use to resolve the conflict.
CASE QUESTIONS
BELOW THE SURFACE: Avoiding Gridlock
For discussion of both issues, students should follow the “crucial conversation” model by focusing on
bringing relevant information out into the open, into the “pool of shared meaning.” Students should try
to maintain meaningful dialog by monitoring the group environment and stepping outside of the content
of the discussion to restore safety whenever participants begin to feel unsafe. They should work to
counteract movement by anyone into the realms of silence (suppression of information) or violence
(attacking or manipulation). They should also try to resist the urge to make assumptions/speculate about
other students’ thoughts or intentions when their emotions are aroused.
CLOSING CASE: Not What the Doctor Ordered
1. Students’ answers will vary. Encourage them to use the techniques offered in the chapter.
(Note: Students must recognize that handling a pen/papers could re–contaminate the surgeon’s
hands to understand the issue in this question.)
2. Students should consider the crucial conversation model (Fig. 13.4) in their response. They should
discuss the use of grievance procedures and whistleblowing.
3. Students’ should debate the pros and cons of each approach. Encourage students to discuss how
the conflict resolution process described in the chapter might be applied in each case.
ADDITIONAL APPLICATION EXERCISES
1. Ask coworkers, friends, and family members how they handle major conflict situations. What
alternatives do they offer? Select one interview to share with the entire class. Of course, you
should not use real names or company names when you give your report.
2. Form a team with other class members and together interview a labor union negotiator or official
and report to the class that person’s answers to the following questions:
a. How do you support your membership when it is having a conflict with management?
b. How do you handle a grievance between two union members in the same organization?
c. Do you have a written grievance procedure? (Try to obtain a copy for classroom study.)
d. What do you envision for the future of labor unions?
3. Divide the class into groups of three or four each. Give group members the information below and
encourage them to discuss it thoroughly. Give the groups 10–15 minutes to answer the following
question:
52 Chapter 13: Resolving Conflict and Dealing with Difficult People
Do you agree or disagree with the position taken by Deborah Tannen? What examples can you
give to support your position?
• Deborah Tannen, author of The Argument Culture: Moving from Debate to Dialogue, takes
the position that we argue too much. She believes we have a tendency to turn every
difference of opinion into an argument that each side wants to win. These polarized debates,
according to Tannen, often leave us without the facts we need to make up our minds. People
often approach dialogue as it if were a fight to be won. Those who support Tannen’s position
say our culture has regressed to a social structure in which human relations are viewed
primarily as a contest between those tough enough to win and those who are not.
• Those who disagree with Tannen say that a spirited debate or argument is a healthy activity,
a good way to get at the truth. Polarized debates, critics say, give us the information we need
to make up our mind.
From “The Argument Culture” by Larissa MacFarquhar, The New York Times Book Review, April
5, 1998, p. 38; “What Do We Learn From Fighting Words” by Riane Eisler, Common Boundary,
May/June 1998, pp. 47–51.