W5 - Discussion 2

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Chapter 12 Managing Con�lict in the Workplace

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Objectives At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

Describe the sources of con�lict in the workplace. Describe diversity-based con�lict. Describe work– life con�lict. Describe workplace bullying. List strategies you can use to manage diversity-based con�lict, deal with work– life con�lict, and combat bullying in the workplace.

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Key Terms bullying (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 7#P7000481815000000000000000002048) collective voice (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 7#P7000481815000000000000000002050) cyberbullying (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 7#P7000481815000000000000000002049) diversity-based con�lict (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 5#P700048181500000000000000000203C) exodus (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 7#P7000481815000000000000000002052) forming (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 2#P7000481815000000000000000002020) identity con�lict (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 1#P7000481815000000000000000002017) information processing  perspective (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 1#P700048181500000000000000000201C) instrumental/task con�lict (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 1#P7000481815000000000000000002011) mentor (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 3#P7000481815000000000000000002032) norming (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 2#P7000481815000000000000000002025) performing (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 2#P7000481815000000000000000002027) process con�lict (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 1#P7000481815000000000000000002019) psychological detachment (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 7#P7000481815000000000000000002051) relationship con�lict (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 1#P7000481815000000000000000002014) reverse discourse (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 7#P700048181500000000000000000204D) roles (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 3#P700048181500000000000000000202C) storming (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 2#P7000481815000000000000000002022) subversive (dis)obedience (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 7#P700048181500000000000000000204E)

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termination (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 2#P700048181500000000000000000202A) work– life con�lict (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/sec12- 6#P7000481815000000000000000002040) workplace con�lict (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch12#P700048181

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What are your plans for after graduation? Tired of being asked? Some students have always known what career they want and are likely enrolled in engineering, nursing, pre-med., journalism, law, education, ROTC, law enforcement, or other major tied to a particular occupation. But many more are unable to predict what they want to do. One of the authors of this book remembers switching majors more than once in college and still being undecided at graduation.

Regardless what career you end up choosing, we can guess that you will in fact end up employed somewhere. This also means that you will have to deal with interpersonal con�licts in some organizational context.

It is also apparent to those of us who have been employed for a number of years that many types of interpersonal con�licts at work resemble those we had in college when we worked part-time, pursued an internship, played sports, participated in a sorority/fraternity, or student organization, or were elected to of�ice in the student government. Many students are already working fulltime while going to school. By applying our con�lict management skills in your current organizational environments as students, you can develop highly valued and much appreciated skills for resolving con�licts in the workplace. Your handling of these con�licts may make the difference between your success or failure in your chosen career. As De Dreu and his colleagues report,

The effectiveness of individual employees, teams, and entire organizations depends on how they manage interpersonal con�lict at work. . . .  Managers spend an average of 20 per cent of their time managing con�lict . . . , and evidence suggests that con�lict and con�lict management at work substantially in�luences individual, group and organizational effectiveness.

It is really no surprise to discover that we encounter many con�licts when we participate in groups and organizations. Many working people spend more time with people at their jobs than they do with loved ones, so it shouldn’t surprise them that con�licts are inevitable. Prolonged, unresolved con�lict at work has negative consequences for team members’ health

and for individual, group, and organizational effectiveness.

There are many types of organizations. Basically, we can categorize them as workplace (small businesses, medium-sized companies, and large corporations), social (social fraternities/sororities, parents without partners, and other single organizations), and interest/entertainment (dance, hockey, and astronomy clubs). You go to a workplace to get a job done, or go to a social organization to socialize with others and perhaps “meet someone,” or go to an interest/entertainment organization to participate in an interesting, relaxing, and fun activity. Many organizations combine all of these purposes, but one purpose stands out as primary— the reason d’etre for the organization’s being. While we focus on workplace organizations in this chapter, our principles and techniques cut across all of these types. Organizations consist of divisions or groups ranging from large to small. Sometimes these groups are referred to as teams.

In workplace organizations, coworkers are assigned to a group, often referred to as a team, staff, committee, subcommittee, department, or task force. The group becomes a close network of relationships to be managed. Group members are also part of larger units where there exists a network of relationships that are not as close.

At the outset, we want to distinguish the more common everyday workplace con�licts from the less common formal grievances and litigation. Workplace con�lict is de�ined the same as interpersonal

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con�lict (see Chapter 1 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch01#ch01) ), but the interdependence among the parties involves workplace relationships (boss– employee, colleagues, department heads, employee– public, etc.). Workplace relationships are more or less mandatory relationships (if one wants a job and intends to keep it). Sometimes, these con�licts rise to the level of formal grievances in the organization that must be resolved by third parties such as human resources specialists. Litigation may include both lawsuits and issues involving regulatory agencies that oversee an organization. Sadly, many organizations ignore workplace con�licts until they become formal grievances or even litigation, when they are forced to address them.

How do we avoid unproductive con�lict while allowing healthy dissension? In this chapter, we look at how different types of goals, roles, and people contribute to workplace con�lict. We also examine the con�lict between work and life and the topic of workplace bullying. Obviously, we cannot eliminate the problems created by these factors, but we can learn how to better manage the con�licts. At the end of this chapter, we provide a group con�lict exercise to give you an opportunity to put into practice what you learn in this chapter. We hope that this chapter prepares you to be a more productive and less anxious employee.

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12.1 Con�licts Arising out of Differences in Goal Seeking I had just started working for a Fortune 500 Company when I was told to plan and manage a weekend retreat for our department. When I asked my boss, colleagues, and Human Resources for more details on such retreats and what resources I had available to make the arrangements I was told that this was the �irst such recognition retreat, so there was no precedent.

I was nervous the whole eventful weekend, running around and ensuring that all went as I hoped (I had to deal with a couple of unforeseen problems). While everyone appeared to have a good time and thanked me at the end of the retreat, I was still unsure of my success. However, a few days later I received a call from the same person in Human Resources who complemented me for the way I managed the event and asked me to write up a step-by-step description of how I planned and executed it. She said it would serve as a model for future years. I asked her if she would put that in writing and add it to my personnel �ile, which she agreed to do.

This woman’s story serves to illustrate the main goals organizations tend to focus on. We learned about these types of goals back in Chapter 4 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch04#ch04) , but now we must consider them in an organizational context. Recall that instrumental goals are those that focus on a task or problem or issue. If you want someone to do something, your instrumental goal is the actual behavior requested. While instrumental goals are set by the organization in the form of mission statements, policies, and handbooks, or SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), workers may have their own ideas of how best to go about getting a job done. In the above scenario, the narrator’s boss is representing the company, and he is trying to ensure the weekend retreat goes off as usual, every year. This is the company’s and, therefore, the narrator’s assigned instrumental goal.

Instrumental/Task Con�lict

Instrumental/task con�lict occurs when there is disagreement between supervisors and subordinates or among members of a team over how to get a job done—the instrumental goals. In the above scenario, the narrator engages her boss as well as others at work and received no help.

When others are involved such as in a team, their answers to her questions or offers to help may actually complicate matters. They may disagree with one another over how to best do a task. Under some conditions, task con�lict does decrease worker satisfaction and feelings of well-being. In private, pro�it-structured organizations, con�lict that persists over the best way to accomplish a task interferes with the feelings of its members. If con�licts persist even in the face of achieving goals, feelings of satisfaction and well-being are affected. Therefore, it helps when workers coalesce around a common understanding of the organization’s task-oriented or instrumental goals.

Yet, a moderate amount of task-related con�lict, while it may take precious time to resolve, may result in greater ef�iciencies and productivity in the long run.

From this point of view, task con�lict “prevents moving to premature consensus, and thus should enhance decision-making quality, individual creativity, and work-team effectiveness in general.”

Moderate levels of task con�lict alone lead to the best productivity.

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Relationship Con�lict

You may recall our discussion about relationship goals in Chapter 4 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch04#ch04) . Relationship goals in organizations are formal and informal.

The organization chart or “chain of command” depicts the formal links, showing who reports to whom. The informal links include some of the formal relationships but others it takes to “get a job done” as well as people one meets in the lunch room or at the water cooler. Relationship con�lict occurs when workers experience with one another issues of power, trust, supportiveness, competition, and differences over the rules that govern various types of workplace relationships. A team’s capacity for effectively and ef�iciently processing information is impacted as “members spend their energy focusing on the personal antagonisms rather than on the task.”

Some organizations go so far as to establish policies that forbid intimate relationships among workers or with clients. Still, platonic relationships are sources of con�lict. Relationship con�lict was found to negatively affect feelings of satisfaction and well-being in both private and public organizations.

In the above scenario, the narrator reaches out to others, but no one responds to her call for assistance or even answers her questions. There were opportunities for the boss and colleagues to build a foundation for future cooperative projects, but they passed on them. The narrator opened the door for help but was forced to go it alone. She could have decided “to heck with it” and not planned the event, “because she did not know what to do.” She could have quit her job because “they didn’t like her or want to work with her.” On the other hand, she may need the job and income and have no choice but to go it alone.

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Identity Con�lict

Because one’s identity in the workplace is connected to that person’s position in the organization, identity goals concern one’s desires for status, prestige, and authority (see Chapter 4 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch04#ch04) ). Bosses or supervisors expect that their employees respect them. At the same time, each worker also wants to be treated with respect and appreciated for the work he or she does as prerequisites for promotion to higher levels and salary increases. We learned in Chapter 7 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch07#ch07) about autonomous face, where we need some time alone and hope for recognition for the work we do. “Worker of the month” is a coveted goal and its achievement is something an employee can be proud of. Identity con�lict occurs when others treat a person contrary to the way that person sees himself or herself. This happens when workers go over their supervisors’ head and challenge their authority (or identity). Higher level supervisors are unhappy if they are not given preferred parking spaces and larger, better furnished of�ices than their subordinates.

The narrator in the above scenario may feel some satisfaction in the fact that she was picked for the event and that her boss and colleagues must think she can handle the job. As the organizer of the event, she is now the “person in charge.” She can contact people directly to secure support and make arrangements for the event. She has been delegated an important responsibility and hopes to pull off the event in a way that makes her look good. As it turned out, the narrator was complemented and asked to supply a write up of the event to serve as a model for future years, and a positive and permanent entry was made in her personnel �ile. She probably felt more con�idence in her abilities as a result of doing an outstanding job––planning the event.

Process Con�lict

Finally, as we learned in Chapter 4 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch04#ch04) , process goals refer to alternative ways to manage communication and con�lict. Some people prefer to manage others in a more open, consensual, and fair way, while others prefer to keep more to themselves, maintain control, and assert more authority. Still others seem more chaotic with no clear plan or set of expectations. Similarly, some organizations tolerate or advocate more autocratic styles, in which the supervisor makes the decisions with little or no input from employees. Other organizations encourage a more democratic style, where bosses consult with and utilize input from their workers. Such an organization may have a “suggestion/complaint box” and supervisors have an open door policy. Finally, some organizations seem much more unstructured and disorganized with unclear channels of communication and divisions of responsibility. Process con�lict has to do with disagreements over the management style that is typical of a particular organization. Management might prefer more centralized authority and decision making, but employees may want a more decentralized system, so they can play a stronger role in making decisions that affect them.

In our vignette, the narrator appears to have no say in the way she was selected for the task. Her boss simply told her to do it. In a more democratic organization, she might have had an opportunity to volunteer for it. Her boss might have laid out some bene�icial outcomes or inducements if she agreed to take on the responsibility. He might have laid out the company’s expectations for the event and support resources. Perhaps he might have put together a team rather than expect one person to do it all. On the other hand, her boss and colleagues may have conspired to “test her.” She was new to the department, and perhaps they did not want to associate with her until she had “proven herself.” Perhaps others may now invite her to work with them on teams and give her more help on future tasks. So, in her case, her con�lict management had positive outcomes.

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Con�lict is a natural part of workgroup development.

Con�licting Goals

Interestingly, moderate amounts of con�lict can be helpful and therefore desirable in the workplace. To understand how this works, we need to take information processing perspective and apply some of what we learned about stress in Chapter 8

(http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch08#ch08) . According to this view, at low levels of con�lict, teams may not experience enough stress (eustress) to think actively, and in so doing may ignore important information. At high levels of con�lict, teams may be overwhelmed (hyperstress), which could render them unable to process information well and so perform at low levels of productivity. Advocates of the information processing perspective state that “Compared to low levels of con�lict, moderate levels arouse employees to consider and scrutinize the problem at hand, to generate ideas, and to select and implement adequate problem solutions.”

What does all this mean to the competent con�lict manager? For one, it is important to stay focused and not let con�licts escalate beyond what is best for the organization and con�licting parties. It is apparent that if con�lict in teams is to have any bene�icial effect, it must be managed at its early stages using strategies appropriate to the type of con�lict experienced. Con�lict that is not managed quickly is a source of hyperstress that can also make employees feel helpless,

and may lead to emotional exhaustion, absenteeism, and turnover in organizations, particularly if employees think they have no one they can turn to for help in resolving the con�lict.

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12.2 CONFLICTS at Different Stages of GROUP DEVELOPMENT Development is a process view of changes that take place in groups and organizations. Looking at con�lict from a developmental perspective helps us see con�lict as a “natural part of workgroup development.”

Effective and productive teams experience clearly identi�iable phases of development that are largely de�ined by the kind of con�lict that happens within them and the way in which that con�lict is managed by workers. From this perspective, con�lict is productive because its resolution can move a group toward a higher level of functioning. You have probably experienced these phases when working with groups in student organizations, jobs, or group projects in class.

The Forming Phase

When a young Ph.D. �irst joined the faculty at his university, he proposed to teach a section of an existing course he taught elsewhere on organizational communication. He was told that he was hired to develop the interpersonal communication area and not to teach courses offered by another colleague. At �irst there was a heated discussion of the faculty member’s role, but after calming down, he simply accepted the situation and moved forward to develop the new area in the department.

In the forming phase, a tremendous amount of unfamiliarity with people who are in the work group and what they bring to it creates some con�licts over differing expectations. Some authors refer to this as the dependency and inclusion stage, as much of the focus is on how people are to be included in the group. This raises relationship issues. Do you belong in this group? How do you �it in? How are you supposed to work with the others? What role can you play? Because the group’s structure is initially tentative, members need time to become acquainted with one another and prove themselves as worthy of the group. Con�lict at this stage forces members to de�ine and develop roles and check personal assumptions about both team goals and personal responsibility. Of course, not everyone always agrees about these roles, goals, and responsibilities, hence con�lict is expected. If these differences are managed effectively, members become more attracted to the group, win acceptance, and develop a sense of loyalty to it; they also have a good idea of who does what and how the group is organized.

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The Storming Phase

Now that the new faculty member had proposed and created three new courses in interpersonal communication, he was asked to develop a fourth course in intercultural communication. After re�lecting on his commitment to teach the three courses as well as other courses he was assigned to teach in the department, he requested to be released from the other courses. When his request was denied, he explained that he was unable to add more courses because he had reached his limit as far as teaching and research went. After a few days of discussions, the chair of the department agreed with the faculty member and decided to hire an additional scholar who had expertise in intercultural communication.

The next phase, storming, occurs as people begin to feel some identi�ication with the group but don’t really feel a sense of unity around its purpose. In many ways, group members are struggling with the idea of acceptance and the desire to be independent (autonomous face in Chapter 7 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch07#ch07) ); thus, this phase is also called counterdependency and �light. As group members prove themselves in the forming stage, they now may �ind that group expectations exceed their ability or desire to perform. In the storming phase, group members may use con�lict quite purposefully to help create a clearer sense of their role in the group (i.e., identify goal) and to further in�luence how the group functions. Successful management of this stage increases trust among group members, greater interdependence, and a greater sense of their purpose.

The Norming Phase

Now that faculty member had been teaching for a few years, he proposed at a department meeting that some guidelines be accepted that governed the number of courses new faculty were expected to teach, the diversity of those courses, and how often he or she would teach them. After considerable discussion, the department agreed to setting limits that would prevent new faculty from being spread too thin and overworked.

As a group works through the con�licts of the storming phase and begins to fall into regular patterns of behavior, the group evolves into the norming phase. Also called the trust and structure stage, this phase allows group members to plan how the group functions more effectively. This is a good time to clarify process goals. Spurred on by the need for quickly accomplishing a speci�ic task or activity, the team members come to accept both their own individual roles and the responsibilities of fellow participants. A sense of unity emerges as members begin to repeat tasks and group norms become observable. In this phase, con�lict serves to bring together different role expectations, reiterate and strengthen a participant’s chosen action, and solidify his or her roles and responsibilities within the group. The norming phase allows a group to move into higher levels of productivity in the performing phase.

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The Performing Phase

Now that the department had guidelines that clearly laid out the expectations of new faculty and helped them specialize so they could be productive members of the department, the faculty successfully taught courses, were not spread too thin, and published articles and books in their specialized areas.

Finally, the group development process culminates in the team’s awareness that they are focusing on the task, problem, or issue. In this performing phase (work stage), con�lict serves to focus individuals on reaching consensus on expectations regarding problem-solving behaviors and accomplishing instrumental goals. Behaviors such as group interactions being focused on accomplishing the team’s task, individuals consistently addressing potential solutions, and attainment of consensus con�irm the team’s arrival at becoming a highly productive and functional performing group.

The Termination Phase

Unfortunately, sometimes good times must end. The college needed to reduce its expenses and had to reorganize by combining some departments. Journalism and communication were combined into a single department. Communication was told that Journalism was being added, but that the chair of journalism would continue as chair of the newly formed department because the chair of communication retired. Faculty members objected to all these changes but to no avail. Who would teach what courses? Who would work with whom? There was a lot of confusion over how individual faculty would �it into the newly formed department.

We are talking about the end of an era. The �inal phase of group development is termination, either of the group or of particular group members. The group itself may end, the particular task may end, or some members depart or are replaced by newcomers. At this stage, con�lict arises from individuals not wanting to let go and move on and newcomers entering the forming stage of group development. Those senior group members may �ight any effort to end the project or release workers, and the newcomers may encounter considerable ambiguity about what is expected of them.

Groups develop as workers successfully manage con�licts at each of these stages. To the extent that workers avoid these con�licts or unsuccessfully deal with them, groups become mired down at one stage with negative effects on productivity and morale. We all have had bad experiences working in one group or another probably due to the mismanagement of con�lict at one stage of development. Should a group not be able to appropriately handle con�lict, outside guidance or intervention, human relations training, or dispute mediation becomes necessary in an effort to move a group to the next stage of development.

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12.3 Con�licts due to Differences in ROLE EXPECtATIONS Roles are associated with a set of expectations for the successful performance of a particular job or task. Workplace group members can take on one of three types of roles: task, maintenance, and disruptive. Con�licts over expectations can occur in any of these types of roles.

Task Roles

Task roles help the group or organization work toward expected outcomes. They are the means to achieving the instrumental goals we discussed earlier. If the goal is to answer questions from people in a home builder store, then the task is to be able to answer the questions in a way people understand and help them �ind the product they are looking for. Employees who do not help customers in an effective and ef�icient manner are in con�lict with their supervisors expectations about their role. They should not respond with “that’s not my department” or engage in prolonged conversations with the customer. Con�lict over task roles may quickly lead to a counseling session, warning, and perhaps eventual termination of employment.

Maintenance Roles

Maintenance roles facilitate communication and resolve con�lict in the pursuit of task roles. These roles include supporting and encouraging others, helping relieve tensions in the group, and monitoring the feelings of the group. Humor is actually bene�icial here where used appropriately. Con�licts are likely to occur when maintenance roles are at odds with task roles. An employee may not be able to get a task done immediately and in an ef�icient manner for health, home and family, or vacation reasons. A supervisor may want employees to work the next weekend, but they may have made other arrangements or have home/family commitments. Here again, employees who turn down requests to work extra hours when their supervisors need to meet deadlines or goals run the risk of having their jobs in jeopardy as other employees agree to work the extra shifts.

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Disruptive Roles

Some employees are problematic. Their attitudes, habits, or lack of training/education constantly interfere with the day-to-day operation in an organization. For these reasons, some employees engage in disruptive roles due to unmet personality needs. They may isolate themselves, demand the center of attention, clown around in situations where serious behavior is called for, or be cynical about all the tasks the group takes on. Supervisors �ind it challenging to get pessimists more on board and motivated to accomplish tasks, to get individuals who engage in offensive or immature behavior to change, or to encourage people to produce more than they think they can. People can change and sometimes do. Many of us who have worked many years can point to people who got the message, took up the challenge, and made an effort to change. The problem is that some don’t.

People who engage in disruptive roles may do so for different reasons, and each type should be treated differently. In the above scenario, all of the staff members may have obsessions or unmet needs of their own that thwart their ability to work together.

Sometimes, disruptive roles can also arise when people take their roles too seriously. Again we refer to a topic we treated earlier, “trained incapacities,” which included being too goal directed or too critical. People who are too goal directed and see themselves as high achievers, for example, may want to tackle tasks that aren’t within their purview because they don’t think that a problem is being solved quickly enough. The narrative below re�lects one person’s interaction with a high achiever and the problems that trained incapacity can create:

We just switched to a new customer service delivery system and we are still ironing out all the bugs in it. My job is to manage the process— what gets done �irst, who does it, and where it goes from there. The �irst weekend we were up and running, when I thought I could �inally relax, one of my coworkers (who I’m convinced never sleeps) sent me a series of emails on a part of the process, ultimately offering to address the issue on the following Monday. I �inally wrote back and asked that she please let me deal with it. I didn’t want to dampen her enthusiasm, but I needed to make sure that I was doing the job I’m responsible for.

Managers need to help employees identify their trained incapacities and help them learn how to be more effective. In a discussion about the problematic behavior, the manager needs to begin by recognizing the value such behavior may serve in certain situations, but then show how it is a problem in other situations. The goal is not to eliminate the behavior altogether but rather to help the individual recognize situations where such behavior is inappropriate or problematic. In the narrative above, care must be taken to value the employee’s input while moving ahead to do what must be done.

There are times when supervisors or subordinates don’t perform their roles well. Alert managers spot weaknesses in their lower level managers or employees and arrange for training to overcome these de�icits. In the absence of such a training program, the manager may serve as a mentor who takes a personal interest in the subordinate and helps them adapt to the speci�ic workplace and become more productive. It is common for many top-level managers to report that they owe their success to a person who taught them “the ropes” and how to learn what they needed to know. In some organizations, “mentors” are assigned to new employees to help them succeed at their jobs. However, the best situations are those where an employee is impressed by a successful person and makes the effort to work with or for that person. Then, a simple request for help often results in superior mentoring. Because some people are known for their effective role as mentors, it would behoove a person to seek them out and arrange to work for them.

Finally, disruptive roles occur when managers and employees cannot achieve the proper balance between the different hats they must wear to successfully perform their roles (role con�licts). These

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different hats may have con�licting expectations. For example, managers must often wear their supervisory hat and push employees to meet the company’s instrumental goals. However, there are times they need to switch hats, take on their maintenance roles, and perhaps shift to a counseling or advising capacity to help their employees overcome some personal situations that may affect their job performance.

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12.4 How to Manage Workplace Con�lict

Adapting the S-TLC Model

As we said in the introduction, interpersonal con�licts are managed differently in groups. In the case of S-TLC (see Chapter 4 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch04#ch04) ), some adaptation is necessary. It is more dif�icult to STOP and take a time out when a group has only a designed time to meet each day or week or a deadline to make. In cases where it is possible, a member may suggest that “everyone take a break” and resume work in 20 minutes or that we adjourn for the day and hope that cooler heads prevail at the next meeting.

To THINK, groups may consult with others or ask “experts” to attend meetings and provide useful information. While thinking is considered a psychological activity in interpersonal con�licts, group members spend a lot of a meeting “thinking out loud.” This is why groups are said to “deliberate.” Because members are not always sure of answers to problems, this deliberation often in�luences the way group members view problems and their solutions. Therefore, this stage, viewed as deliberation, is key to group decision making.

To LISTEN, in addition to our suggestions in previous chapters, it is often permissible to take notes, designate a secretary to take minutes, or tape record a meeting. These aids are a useful record of what transpired, provide feedback to everyone, often encourage people to behave in a civil manner at the meeting, and permit people to “correct” or clarify comments made previously. Moreover, individuals should not “do all the talking.” Time is limited. Talkative members need to get control of themselves and allow others an opportunity to contribute information and express their views.

To COMMUNICATE, it is useful to remember from previous chapters how to be assertive. A s a member of a group, you have a right to be heard and an obligation to speak either in support or against what others say. People who avoid or accommodate add little, if any, value to a group meeting.

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Adapting the Six Steps to Effective Confrontation

In the case of the six steps to effective confrontation (see Chapter 4 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch04#ch04) ), some adjustment is also necessary when managing group con�licts. The preparation stage is often taken for granted in the workplace. Members are commonly assigned to a group because they have an interest and knowledge that may be useful. They often come to meetings prepared, carrying reams of paper, books, and a laptop with them. Some use projection aids to show graphs and charts. Often, preparation for a group meeting exceeds what we encounter in our own personal con�licts.

The next stage, setting aside a time and place, is also taken for granted in the workplace. This is the time and location of the group meeting. Some places have a daily meeting in the morning, or at noon, or at the end of the workday. Others meet weekly or monthly or quarterly. Whereas it can be a challenge getting others to �ind time and motivation to meet in one’s personal life, employees expect meetings and only need to be told when and where to meet.

The third stage, the interpersonal confrontation, is also common at group and organizational meetings. People even rehearse for the meeting during the preparation stage, because they know what resistance they are likely to encounter. Meetings are called for the purpose of making a decision— to approve or recommend some course of action for an organization to take. The decision usually has either bene�icial or negative effects on other parts of the organization, so the outcome is important to the group members. Because they take the issues seriously, how they look and how they sound carry weight. Members who appear con�ident, authoritative, and articulate have impact on these decisions, whereas people who are not persuasive don’t. While useful for personal con�licts, I-statements are more about one’s position than group interests. By this we mean that the strongest basis for making group decisions rests on those who can tie together the common interests of others. What we share, how we can work together, and how we can all contribute de�ine interests that form a basis for a group decision. Not everyone realizes this:

A member of our group always talked about how everything would affect her personally. Every discussion and decision provoked her to talk about her interests. She never sensed the needs of the “group as a whole”—that there was something above and beyond what she would get personally. We grew tired of hearing why she couldn’t do this or couldn’t do that when everyone else saw merit in an idea. The leader �inally said we would vote on our decisions and that a simple majority would rule. At last we were able to make progress as a group by voting her down on one decision after another. The leader told me later that he wanted the group to be unanimous on its decisions, but realized that there was no way the group would make any decisions without voting and overriding her objections.

Continuing with the interpersonal confrontation step, we can include techniques we learned from previous chapters on mediation and negotiation. As we learned in Chapter 11 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch11#ch11) that the caucus is a useful tool for creating consensus. The group leader may ask to meet in private with a member of the group to �ind out why the person is taking a particular stand or acting in a problematic way. This may result in the resolution of some individual problem. Or, the group leader may �ind a way to have the individual replaced by someone else. Perhaps the leader of the above group could have met and talked about his concerns with the woman who could not let go of her personal life. Sometimes, two or more group members “have lunch together” to iron out some issues rather than take up valuable time to do that at a group meeting.

Other useful principles and skills were presented in Chapter 10 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch10#ch10) . Because

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some problems are quite complicated, fractionation may be a useful way to identify components of an issue that may be tackled one by one. Group members should separate people from the problem and comment on ideas rather than verbally attack other group members. To generate more options, group members are encouraged to focus on interests rather than positions like the woman in the scenario above who insisted on focusing on her position or self-interests. In addition, the group can generate more options by brainstorming, cost cutting, compensation, and prioritizing. They are encouraged to consult with others before or outside meetings before presenting ideas at a meeting. As suggested in earlier stages, everyone should strive for common ground and think positively. With little adaptation, many of the principles and techniques presented Chapter 10 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch10#ch10) may be used to manage group con�licts.

The fourth step, consider the other’s view, is important in workgroup con�licts. The suggestion to be empathetic, which we made earlier, applies here as well— up to a point that is. Sometimes it is necessary to lay off workers, to change their work schedule, which may cause personal problems for some, and to pressure some workers to be more productive to meet instrumental goals. While we should strive to make group decisions for the good of everyone, sometimes not everyone is happy with the outcome. The important goal is to be fair and open in the process. Remember, as a participant at group meetings, it is important that you and the group work hard on establishing and maintaining the process than dictate or control the outcome.

The �ifth step is to come to an agreement. In the case of a task group, there is usually some problem requiring solution. The group’s decision is then reported to management, which should take the group’s deliberation and recommendation into consideration. In Chapter 10 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch10#ch10) , we learned about establishing objective criteria for making decisions. Voting is a useful application of an objective criterion to the decision-making process. Some workgroups prefer to decide on the basis of consensus, which means that everyone agrees. In such cases, great efforts are undertaken to get everyone on board. Someone who holds out may be offered creative solutions that move the individual toward consensus. However, sometimes a “hung jury” occurs because at least one person refuses to go along with the rest of the group. This is why some groups prefer to vote, requiring two- thirds or a simple majority (51%) as a decision-making mechanism. Perhaps the group has formal bi- laws and follows Roberts Rules of Order (or a modi�ied version of it) in the conduct of meetings. Still other groups that have a powerful manager may �ind that, after a serious discussion of a problem and its solutions, her or his decision is all that matters. At least the decision maker heard wanted input and was interested in what others thought before deciding. In any case, workgroups realize that they need a mechanism for resolving issues, so that the group reaches a decision in the time allotted and the organization can move ahead.

The sixth step is to follow up on the solution. Organizations may not always require a group to re- evaluate their decisions at a future date. However, a group may include an assessment in their recommendation. Managers are often interested in ways to measure outcomes and evaluate progress.

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Adapting the Communication Options

In Chapter 2 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch02#ch02) ,

avoiding/accommodating collaborating compromising passive–aggressive competitive con�lict escalation

The strategy one should employ to effectively manage con�lict depends on the type of con�lict experienced. For reasons presented in Chapter 2 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch02#ch02) , w e would argue that competitive con�lict escalation and passive–aggressive communication constitute inappropriate responses to con�lict within a workplace group. However, a con�lict manager may need to avoid some con�licts or accommodate when con�licts arise over relationship goals. One might think that it makes sense to openly confront all issues facing the team, but research says otherwise. Trying to deal with relationship issues may actually escalate their intensity rather than resolve them. In such cases, maintaining ambiguity through avoidance and accommodation may allow the issues to simply resolve themselves over time. De Dreu and Van argue that avoiding responses might be better for two reasons:

 . . .  relationship con�lict is dif�icult to settle to mutual satisfaction . . . (and directs) team members away from their tasks and instead focus them (even more) on their interpersonal relations. As a result, team members do not invest their time and energy in teamwork, and team functioning and effectiveness suffers . . . 

The preponderance of evidence suggests that task and process con�licts are productively confronted in their early stages through collaborating and compromising strategies. This is a logical conclusion: Since task and process con�licts have the potential to clarify issues and processes, a con�lict manager should deal with those con�licts early in a direct way, so that information processing activities are activated, resulting in team creativity, innovation, and productivity.

Now that we’ve given you an overview of con�lict in groups and organizations and the effect it has, we turn to three areas of research on group and organizational con�lict that are especially problematic at this time: con�lict arising from diversity, con�lict arising from the clash of work and life demands, and con�lict manifested in bullying.

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12.5 Con�licts Due to Differences in People: Diversity in the Workplace Our culture, ethnic identi�ication, and race have powerful in�luences on what we believe and how we behave. When people with different heritages �ind that these differences clash, we have diversity- based con�lict. As the working world becomes more diverse, it is inevitable that different attitudes and practices come into con�lict with one another. Whether or not the results of this kind of con�lict are productive depends on a number of factors. The research in this area has produced contradictory �indings. On the one hand, con�lict from perceived differences between group members may result in negative effects; on the other hand, those differences may enhance the information and perspectives available to group members.

Perhaps the greatest cause of con�licts in organizations arises from our perceptions of an in-group and an out-group, or us versus them.

Further, it is possible that, since it is one person’s perception that indicates the presence of a con�lict, that those who are members of minority groups are more likely to perceive a con�lict than those in the dominant group. Dominant group members may be so accustomed to taking their view for granted that they “sometimes fail to realize their own prejudices. Modern racists, for example, do not recognize themselves as racist despite their capacity for holding subtly racist attitudes.”

Two such con�licts about taken-for-granted assumptions are related below:

Monday was my birthday and my supervisor invited me to have lunch. I was upset with her at �irst because she did not ask me but simply told me the time that I should meet her and where we would be eating. I felt that she was forcing me to do something and not taking my interest into consideration.

Of course, eating preferences are not the only way personal characteristics lead to diversity-based con�lict in the organization. We subtly make judgments about the other person’s gender, race, social standing, etc., whether or not we meet them face to face. And as we do so, our own gender, race, etc. become important in our interaction with others.

Informational characteristics also create con�lict in ways we often are unable to see. While a group is more likely to be productive and have a variety of resources at its disposal where there is a high level of informational diversity, those invisible characteristics may lead to con�lict that is dif�icult to manage. For example, a person who has studied communication might have different expectations about the way instructions are relayed than someone with a technical background.

While the principles and techniques taught in previous chapters are useful in managing con�licts that occur because the con�licting parties are from different cultural backgrounds, most important is showing respect by the way we communicate with one another. This often manifests itself when we listen. To begin with, we would caution you to be willing to accept that you may be wrong. Rather than engaging in conversation with the readiness to refute all the other has to say, be willing to listen to the other. Listening does not imply agreement, after all. It simply implies respect and regard for the other as a human being.

Second, we would ask you to remember that not only are your experiences unique, but so are the experiences of others. You cannot presume to understand what another person has lived, felt, or seen. You must hear them out to understand them. Honoring the stories of others, understanding

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that people carry a narrative important to them, is probably the most effective way to manage con�licts due to diversity.

We will return to the idea of diversity-based con�licts in Chapter 13 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch13#ch13) , where we look at large-scale, intractable con�licts that arise from our fundamental differences in the way we see the world.

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12.6 Con�licts Due to Pressures from outside the Workplace: Work– Life Con�licts

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De�ining Work– Life Con�lict

While work comprises a major portion of our waking hours, it is not the only activity we engage in. For many of us, our home, family, and outside interests play an important role as sources of pleasure, physical health activities, and time away from pressures at work. Some of us are burdened by signi�icant responsibilities due to the needs of our children, spouses, and relatives we care for because they cannot care for themselves. Problems occur. Unfortunately, there are times when these outside demands and interests over�low into the workplace. These work– life con�licts between one’s personal life and the demands of work exist in two directions: The outside responsibility may interfere with one’s job performance, or the job may interfere with one’s adequately managing a responsibility outside of work. As more single parents have entered the workforce, questions of child and family care become more common. Should a single parent abruptly leave work because his or her child has been sent home from school? Should the workplace demand that an employee come to work on days that a person is confronted by a sick spouse or children? Some large companies provide “personal leave days” which are charged against sick leave to cover such cases, and some allow a person such time off without pay, but some businesses do not and may not continue to employ people who are “undependable.”

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Causes of Work– Life Con�lict Work– life con�lict often takes the form of “a problem employee.” This person may be late for work, frequently ask for time off, fall asleep on the job, or have recurring illnesses. While there may be problem employees, there are other times when circumstances make it dif�icult for an employee to do his or her job to the best of their abilities. We are reminded of our treatment of attribution theory in Chapter 3 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch03#ch03) , because a supervisor may attribute internal causation (i.e., the employee is unmotivated, can’t be trusted, and wants to take advantage of the system) while in reality the employee may be under severe external pressures, some of which we describe here. Especially for the working poor, work– life con�lict reaches critical levels when attending to one’s personal life may result in lost income, as the narrative below illustrates:

For over three years, I’ve been trying to �ind a job I am trained for. I have a minimum wage retail job with unpredictable hours that helps me pay the bills. I went through a long process with one company and was one of the �inal candidates. Although they didn’t hire me, they wanted me to come back the following week and interview again for a different position. On such short notice, I couldn’t get the time off, and I had already lost so much money interviewing for them that I had to turn them down. I can’t afford to lose the one job I do have.

This story illustrates one of the many ways a job interferes with other interests and activities or vice versa. Of course, we all realize that committing to a work schedule can prevent us from pursuing outside interests, but the schedule becomes problematic when it interferes with doctor appointments, children’s important school events or days school is cancelled, and other pressures an employee may feel outside the workplace.

Work– life con�lict isn’t limited to one socioeconomic class. For example, technology such as Internet- connected phones typically carried by those in managerial positions has created an hourless workday (i.e., 24/7) and a sense of always being on call. In some workplaces, it is expected that people are immediately available and others get frustrated when they are unable to get a speedy answer to a question or request. We may �ind ourselves trying to do too many tasks at one time because of such devices— texting while in another meeting, checking email in the evening while watching television, and going over our upcoming schedule on a cell phone at home while getting ready for bed at night. However, receiving a cell phone call, text, or email at night that is upsetting interferes with one’s sleep. In addition, in some cases the availability of such technology actually slows down decision making in an organization rather than speeding it up, because those at higher levels expect to be consulted since their availability can be taken for granted. Decisions that really don’t require consultation wind up getting it anyway.

Work– life con�lict is not necessarily limited to those with families, because single persons or couples without children would like to have a personal life outside of work.

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Suggestions for Dealing with Work– Life Con�lict

Throughout this book, we have argued that different types of con�lict require different approaches for effective con�lict management. There are three different kinds of con�lict that can arise from the interference of work and life demands: con�licts due to time limitations, con�licts due to interference between roles at work and roles at home, and con�licts that arise when behaviors appropriate to one role carry over to another where they are not appropriate.

Because each type must be handled differently, we look at each of these in turn.

Clearly, the easiest con�lict to identify and probably the hardest one to address is the limitation of time. When a person has multiple roles, the hours required by each may overwhelm that person. Because work– life con�lict often contributes to hyperstress, which we discussed in Chapter 8 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch08#ch08) , many of the suggestions listed in that chapter are helpful here. Among them, learning to say no, prioritizing one’s schedule, and asking for more help or �lexibility (being assertive) are ways to deal with such work– life con�licts. One of the authors is reminded of a colleague who made it clear to everyone at work, including her boss, that she would not read or reply to any emails or texts in evenings or on weekends.

A second contributing factor to work– life con�lict concerns inappropriate behaviors. A special case of inappropriate behavior occurs when a work role interferes in some way with a role outside of work. For example, one role a person is playing (e.g., work) may create a great deal of pressure, which makes the person dif�icult to live with at home.

Recall from Chapter 2 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch02#ch02) that b ehaviors vary with the situation, occasion, or context. Behavior that is appropriate in one context may not be in another and vice versa. In Chapter 4 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch04#ch04) we called these trained incapacities. When a person is used to giving orders at work, it may be hard to turn that off when he or she comes home. Likewise, a person who is nurturing at home may be expected to be so at work as well, leading to compassion fatigue. Problems arise when a person is unable to adjust from one setting to the other.

Organizations and workers can lessen the impact of this type of work– life con�lict. For example, “�lex- account policies” and allowing “personal leave days” to count as sick days offer employees options for better balancing demands of work with those of home and family. Due to a unique situation at home, some workers need more �lexibility in working hours, vacation times, child care, maternity leave, and elder care. What works well for a colleague might not work for you and vice versa. Such policies help reduce work– life con�lict. Unfortunately, not everyone supports �lex-account policies or allows “personal leave days.” Some managers resort to the “fair but consistent” approach (deciding that everyone should be treated alike— claiming that consistency is the only “fair” way to make decisions— in effect, denying �lexibility to everyone).

Supportive coworker relationships may also help reduce work– life con�lict. “Talking with coworkers about family and personal life has been shown to lead to greater work satisfaction and higher work functioning as well as higher satisfaction with family activities.”

Likewise, one can talk with family and friends about problems at work. However, you may recall, back in Chapter 8 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch08#ch08) we cautioned

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frustrated individuals from venting their anger on others rather than confronting the problem person. While we recommended using the constructive confrontation steps in Chapter 4 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch04#ch04) to work through con�licts with the person responsible for them, w e also realize that not all people in the workplace or at home respond well to assertiveness. We recommend that you start out trying to be assertive, but if this back�ires, then you can temporarily resort to accommodation and avoidance. In such cases, you may bene�it by talking with coworkers about marital problems at home or venting to family and friends about problem people at work.

Overall, work– life con�lict is a serious issue for organizations and the employees who work within them. Balancing demands, having suf�icient rest and “down time,” and setting reasonable boundaries on what organizations demand continue to be challenges for us. One of the authors makes every attempt not to read emails at bedtime to avoid losing a night’s sleep.

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12.7 Con�licts with Bullies: Workplace Bullying

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De�ining Bullying and Cyberbullying

While workplace bullying is not a new phenomenon, the study of it is fairly recent. According to a recent study, “workplace bullying behavior is a noteworthy and prevalent issue in organizations around the world (e.g., Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Ireland, UK, Korea, Japan, Germany, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, US, and other countries),”

and almost 80 percent of workers report having witnessed or experienced bullying.

State governments are passing anti-bullying laws and interest is growing in preventing cyberbullying.

Bullying is “a frequent, enduring abusive interaction distinguished by targets’—bullied workers’— inability to defend themselves.”

In recent times, the introduction of the Internet has added a new dimension to such abuse. Cyberbullying occurs when people use the Internet to intentionally harm another person through instant messaging, chat rooms, or social media sites. Bullying is behavior far more serious than general unpleasantness or single-issue con�lict. It is distinguished by “four speci�ic features: intensity, repetition, duration, and power disparity.”

It is meant to control or harm others through insults, gossip, criticism, ridicule, and other verbally aggressive behaviors. Bullying is a pattern of abuse that persists; it is estimated that “. . . the average duration for US workers is 18– 20 months.”

One of the dif�iculties organizations have in dealing with workplace bullying is that there are no legal remedies for it as there are for sexual harassment or racial discrimination in the workplace; there is simply no law against being a jerk.

We hope that this gets corrected eventually.

The effects of bullying on the target can range from mental stress through physical illness. How long a person is bullied affects the level of harm experienced; as it increases, so does the harm. Targets often report headaches, body aches, anxiety and panic attacks, sleeplessness, self-medication, overeating, or under eating (depending on one’s typical stress-related patterns). Targets also often dread or fear going to work. They frequently are afraid their complaints about the bullying will not be heard or will make it worse. Targets often isolate themselves out of self-protection.

When people are bullied, they are ashamed of their vulnerability, and in turn create negative self-talk that essentially re-victimizes them.

“Victims of bullying may even show symptoms of post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) . . .”

As tempted as one is to “bully back,” unfortunately, this usually makes matters worse. Keep in mind schismogenesis from Chapter 2 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch02#ch02) , where abusive behaviors escalate violence, which may worsen the bullying taking place.

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Bullying produces harmful effects that extend beyond victim suffering. Witnesses to bullying may also suffer by experiencing decreased creativity and mental performance.

Those who witness someone being bullied are more likely to perceive their organization in a negative manner than those who do not.

When a workgroup is aware that one of its members is being bullied, relationships among group members may be affected. Other group members may fear becoming the bully’s target. Further, prolonged exposure to bullying behaviors may desensitize members to it and lead them to eventually engage in it themselves.

Does a particular type of person engage in bullying? One mark of a bully is a person who wants to control, dominate, and abuse others. Early work in the area identi�ied dispositional hostility, a lack of self-control, a history of enacting aggression, acceptability of seeking revenge, and substance and/or alcohol abuse as predictors of workplace aggression.

There is some evidence that a person likely to bully is also likely to act in a discriminatory manner toward cultural, ethnic, or racial groups other than his or her own. Additionally, trait anger, verbal aggressiveness, and the desire to have one’s own ethnic or racial group be dominant have signi�icant relationships with bullying. Further, a person less able to take the perspective of another is more likely to bully others as well.

Men appear to be more likely to bully than women, at least in those who have been studied, although typically people tend to bully members of their sex. In addition, large organizations that are male dominated tend to experience a greater degree of bullying than organizations that are not male dominated.

If a particular type of person is likely to bully, is there a corresponding target pro�ile? One study found that about a third of those who were bullied tended to be “more anxious and neurotic and less agreeable, conscientious and extravert than non-victims.”

Generally, those who bully often believe they have power over their targets, although that power may be due to their superior strength or may be derived from a formal position of authority. Bullying by someone above the target’s formal position is most frequent (superior to subordinate), followed by horizontal bullying (peer to peer), and lastly upward bullying. This student relates an example of superior-to-subordinate bullying:

While serving in the Coast Guard, I had a supervisor who only knew one way to communicate with her coworkers— she was always “the boss.” She demanded everything she wanted and most of her coworkers felt bullied in the workplace. Instead of using language that would encourage coworkers to work harder, she chose to demean people and challenge them with personal attacks. We later learned that she took the assignment in our of�ice not because she wanted to but because she knew it would help her get promoted. She did not care about being fair to her colleagues.

As this narrative suggests, bullying is usually done by those in higher positions of authority or are physically dominating. However, upward bullying, while not common, may occur where employees see the supervisor as weak and ineffective. Upward bullying also often follows organizational change

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or a change in leadership. The danger, of course, in even trying to determine whether

there is a particular target pro�ile is that it runs the risk of blaming the victim rather than preventing the negative behavior in the �irst place.

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Managing Bullies What is the most effective way to combat workplace bullying? In the absence of organizational systems that keep it in check, targets of bullying have several other ways of responding. The research discussed above indicates that counter attack is not effective. We believe that civility (see Chapter 1 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch01#ch01) ) may be an effective response to bullying, but it is dif�icult to employ in this case. Remember that how we treat others should be independent of what we think of them. Civility is a way of acknowledging others, thinking the best of others, listening, being inclusive, speaking kindly, accepting others, respecting their boundaries, accepting personal responsibility, and apologizing when appropriate. We listed �ive rules to help implement a civil response, which may be used here. In addition to civility, other strategies have been discovered.

Lutgen-Sandvik’s research found that there were a variety of ways that people found to combat bullying.

First, a strategy that may be more empowering for the target is reverse discourse, which encompasses several tactics of responding to the bully through communicative means. One means is simply turning an insult around and treating it as though it is a compliment—“yes, I’m a troublemaker, but someone has to say something, and you should be glad that I am willing to speak up.” Other communicative strategies, more passive-aggressive in nature, include avoiding the bully and going to lawyers, outside experts, or oversight agencies to help in bringing a halt to the bullying. This approach may include �iling a grievance against the bully. The target may need to �irst document all interactions with the bully and make note of any witnesses, so that he or she can accumulate a body of evidence before engaging in a formal complaint. Often before �iling a grievance, a person is required to speak to the bully �irst. If you run into this requirement, you could confront the problematic individual (i.e., a bully) by using the confrontation steps as presented in Chapter 2 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch02#ch02) , which seems on the surface as a positive approach. As teachers and researchers of communication, we (the authors) believe in trying communication �irst, but unfortunately, we have found that it does not always work out as we hope. At least we can say we tried. Don’t be surprised if bullies, unlike reasonable individuals, fail to respond productively to what you think, feel, or want. Now you can take further steps to �ile a grievance.

A second means of coping with bullying is subversive (dis)obedience, which is another form of passive–aggressive behavior we discussed in Chapter 2 (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/Cahn.7882.17.1/sections/ch02#ch02) , where the target changes his or her work output or communication patterns in ways that disadvantage the bully. For example, the target of a bully may increase his or her work for a while and then let it drop off, making it dif�icult for the bully to predict work�low. The target may also work-to-the-rule, doing exactly what is required or the minimum required by the bully. A worker can insist that a job take a particular amount of time to process, even though it could be done more quickly. As this person writes in his narrative:

I was in a meeting with my boss and tried to say something when he told me to shut up. Not only did he say it to me once, he actually said it to me three times, even though I was trying to explain something really important. I was pretty steamed at him. I thought it was degrading and parental. I decided that two could play that game. For nearly three weeks, I gave him no information and initiated no communication with him. He had to ask for everything. He never really apologized; he thinks it’s his right to order us around. However, I felt better as a result.

A person may also engage in retaliation, which includes hostile gossip, which may result in others taking action against the abusive person. Using these options, a person uses the system in order to

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create problems for the bully. Subversive (dis)obedience also encompasses the creation of distance between oneself and the bully, physically if possible but also by limiting communication options.

Realize for your own protection that there can be a �ine line between the aggressive behavior taken by a target of bullying and the person who is the bully. Deciding on your own that a supervisor is “out to get you” does not mean that your retaliatory behavior is justi�ied. The abusive supervisor must in fact truly be a bully. Others must agree with you that the problem supervisor has a history of engaging in clearly inappropriate tactics, including picking on weaker people, and menacing, threatening, and offending them. Bullies cannot hide; they stand out clearly and are usually a problem for everyone including their own bosses.

Collective voice exists when most or at least many others have let others know that they have a problem with a particular supervisor or work colleague. The important aspect of collective voice is that it helps the bullied person realize that he or she is not alone and that the person is a real problem. Collective voice may also result in people agreeing to protect each other and even start keeping records or even reporting the bullying. However, some bullies may respond by increased harassment of individuals when they are not gathered as a group with the goal of reporting them. Moreover, some organizations go to great extremes to protect certain individuals, and you may not �ind it easy to take action against a bully. Knowing this, some workers �ind the workplace terrifying.

A third means of coping is through psychological detachment, or creating a sense of being away from work. Psychological detachment reduces the effect a bully has, as well as providing a healthy balance between work and life outside. Self-talk can play an important role here. You need to remind yourself to leave work and the bully at the of�ice. In the of�ice, it is the equivalent of taking a mental vacation. For instance, if you can imagine the bully in a ridiculous situation, or envision something funny happening, your stress level comes down. Be aware, though, that thoughts of revenge increase stress levels.

Finally, one last way to deal with a bully is exodus. A person can quit, make a threat to quit, put in for a transfer, and aid others in �inding new jobs. When we have recommended quitting, others often tell us that they can’t for some �inancial reason. In such cases, we suggest that they view their work situation as temporary and plan ways to transfer or �ind a better place to work at some clearly de�ined time in the future, such as graduation, marriage, pregnancy, separation from a spouse, or repayment of a debt. We recognize that we all have to put up with bad work situations from time to time, but we do not want them to last longer than absolutely necessary.

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Manage It It is really no surprise to discover that groups and organizations are sources of con�lict in our lives. The effective management of such con�lict may reduce its harmful effects, and at the same time, it may enhance worker productivity and job satisfaction.

You learned in this chapter that con�lict in groups is a variation of interpersonal con�lict. Workers may disagree over instrumental/task goals that concern the best way to accomplish the workgroup’s assignment. They may differ over relationship goals that are related to what group members want in power, trust, supportiveness, competition, and rules that govern types of relationships in the workplace. There may be con�licts over someone’s identity goal, which refers to the way that person wants to see himself or herself. Workers may disagree over process goals that concern the way they want to interact together. Research from the information-processing perspective indicates that focusing on process goals is most effective for a workgroup.

Con�licts may also occur at each of the developmental stages a workgroup moves through. In the forming phase, a tremendous amount of unfamiliarity with group members and what they bring to it creates some con�licts over expectations. The next phase, storming occurs as people begin to feel some identi�ication with the group but don’t really feel a sense of unity around its purpose. In the norming phases, a sense of unity emerges as members begin to replicate functions and group norms become observable. In the performing phase, con�lict serves to focus individuals on accomplishing team goals and reaching consensus. At this point, there are clear expectations regarding problem- solving behaviors that are focused on goal attainment. The �inal phase of group development is termination, either of the group or of particular group members. Individuals may not agree over when a task ends, who may be let go, and when the group should stop meeting. Unless the team can effectively manage con�lict in all phases, the sum of the con�licts may be greater than the team’s capacity to be effective. Should the team not be able to appropriately handle con�lict, outside intervention in the way of guidance, training, therapy, or mediation may become necessary.

As people act informally in groups and organizations, they can take on one of three types of informal roles: task roles that help the group or organization achieve instrumental goals, maintenance roles that facilitate relationship goals such as communication and resolution of con�lict, or disruptive roles that keep the group from achieving its task.

Most of what was presented in previous chapters may be adapted to the workplace. We discussed the various communication options workers have to manage con�licts in workgroups. These include avoiding, accommodating, competing, compromising, and collaborating. For some issues, especially those involved in relationship and identity, avoidance and/or accommodation can be a good way to manage the con�lict, as groups that develop over time also develop an understanding for those kinds of differences. However, we recommend a bias toward cooperation as we deal with con�licts in groups.

For con�licts resulting from diversity in the workplace, we need to be more in tune with cultural differences and how they may be accommodated in the workplace. As for work– life imbalances over the long run, we must strive for relieving hyperstress by balancing demands, having suf�icient rest and “down time,” and asserting ourselves when negotiating with our supervisors reasonable boundaries on what they can demand of our time and energy especially beyond the normal workday. For dealing with bullies in the workplace, a person may use a variety of communicative means described in this chapter. Remember our warning that one mark of a bully is a person who wants to control, dominate, and abuse others. The victim of bullying may engage in passive–aggressive behavior, may rally others at work in an effort to “gang up” on the bully, and quit the job or put in for a transfer.

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Our approach in this chapter is to encourage you to carefully analyze a workplace con�lict so that you can apply the appropriate response to it. All too often we respond to problematic situations by habit rather than make a more effective and appropriate response.

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Exercises

Think about It

1. When have you seen task-related con�lict contribute to productivity in a group or organization? When has it been unproductive?

2. Have you used an avoiding strategy in the past with a group and found that things did work out over time?

3. What kind of roles do you play in groups? Are you comfortable with those roles? 4. Where have you seen issues related to diverse members become a con�lict in groups or

organizations? 5. How do you try to balance your work and personal life? How do you avoid or minimize

con�licts between them? 6. Have you ever been the victim of a workplace bully? How did you respond to it? Were your

efforts effective?

Apply It

1. Think back to one of your experiences in a group. Describe the experience and show how your group went through the �ive stages of group development.

2. Give an example of a process con�lict, a task con�lict, and a relationship con�lict in a group or organization.

3. Recall a group con�lict in which you have been involved. Explain how you might apply any of the chapter’s suggestions for managing that con�lict.

4. Consider a situation in which you experienced a con�lict based on diversity issues. What was it about? How did you manage the con�lict? Explain how you might apply any of the chapter’s suggestions for managing that con�lict.

5. Have you encountered a bully? List the strategies you read about in this chapter that you could use to deal with a bully in that kind of situation.

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Work with It

1. Read the following case study. Imagine that you are a human resources of�icer to whom this person is relaying the information. How would you advise this person to operate more effectively in his or her group given the information you have learned in this chapter?

When I began working at my new job a little over 18 months ago I found that I always had to prove myself to my coworkers. Where I am employed, we often work as a team to get the job done. Perhaps it was my coworkers’ way of “testing” me, but whatever the reason I found it frustrating. Even my good ideas would be brushed off simply because I was the “new guy.” After a while I stopped arguing and took my ideas straight to our boss. The team got really upset over that. Now we aren’t working together at all.

a. What kind of con�licts did this person encounter? b. What stage of development is this group? c. How have roles created con�lict in this group? d. What strategies from this chapter did he or she use to address the con�licts that

arose? e. What strategies from this chapter might have produced better outcomes?

2. Imagine you are in charge of creating a new program for employees at your place of business. Based on your reading of this chapter, create a list of principles for working together that you would teach to incoming employees.

Discuss It

1. Read the following case and answer the questions following it. A few years ago my position at work changed, and I suddenly became responsible for the nursing and ancillary staff on the unit. I had worked with some of these nurses as equals, but now I was playing a supervisory role; suddenly my friends were now my subordinates. Deciding how to deal with the various con�licts was quite challenging at �irst. One of my greatest challenges was trying to make the monthly staf�ing schedule. The problem was that everyone wanted speci�ic time off, which would sometimes mean that most of the staff would request to be off on a particular day. I think that some of my former colleagues thought that they should be treated differently and get whatever they wanted because they were my friends. Since we were already short staffed, it was impossible to give everyone what they wanted and as such it was up to me to decide how it was going to be done in a way that would ensure we had enough staff to provide quality patient care, and at the same time not alienate the staff. I decided to set up a pattern of rotation in which everyone was treated equally and fairly, but that has resulted in a lot of complaints.

a. What kind of con�licts did the narrator encounter? b. What stage of development is this group? c. How have roles created con�lict in this group? d. What strategies from this chapter did he or she use to address the con�licts that

arose? e. What strategies from this chapter might have produced better outcomes?

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Group Class Exercise: “Making a Change in Policy”

Objective: The objective of this exercise is to give students an opportunity to apply principles of cooperative group con�lict management. The following case involves small groups (4– 6 members) discussing how to implement a policy change. It helps to provide the group with bare essentials but allow the members to embellish the situation as they see �it. Another group project or commercial group con�lict exercise may be substituted for the following case.

Time Period: 2 class periods (1 for group discussion of policy change, followed by 1 evaluation session).

Instructions: 1. Step 1: The class is divided into small groups, ranging from 4 to 6 members each plus 1 or 2

observers for each group. 2. Step 2: Groups are assigned to discuss how they would implement one of the following policy

changes (topic): academic calendar/holidays; teacher evaluation process/form; graduation requirements; parking regulations; college/university mission statement; student fees.

3. Step 3: Each group selects a discussion leader. Observers do not participate in the discussions, sit outside the group circle, but sit where they can hear and observe the group members.

4. Step 4: The group discusses how they would like to change the present policy regarding the selected or assigned topic. During and after the discussion, observers �ill out Form 1.

5. Step 5: The group attempts to come up with a consensus regarding how to change and put into practice a new policy regarding the selected or assigned topic.

6. Step 6: At the conclusion of the discussion, group members �ill out Form 2. 7. Step 7: Group members and observers discuss how the group communicated and resolved

issues (this may be done by all groups simultaneously or as a presentation by each group to the class one at a time).

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Form 1: Observer’s/Judges Group Con�lict Observation Group’s Topic

Your Name

Date

1. Was a discussion leader selected by the group? How well did that person function in his or her leadership role?

2. Were there con�licts over instrumental goals; how were they resolved? 3. Were there con�licts over relationship goals; how were they resolved? 4. Were there con�licts over identity goals; how were they resolved? 5. Were there con�licts over process goals; how were they resolved? 6. Draw the group (i.e., small circles for group members all in a circle) and show who talked to

whom (draw lines/arrows from one person to others). Was there an equal amount of communication between the leader and other members of the group? Did group members interact with one another? Did cliques form in which a few interacted a lot more with one another than with other members of the group? (Show the diagram to the group for individuals’ comments about the distribution of interaction, such as why it happened and how they felt about it.)

7. Which members seemed to most characterize the following roles: a. Task roles (that helped the group work toward expected outcomes) b. Maintenance roles (that facilitated communication and con�lict resolution) c. Disruptive roles (that interfered with maintenance and task roles)

Form 2: Group Members Evaluation Form 1. What were the group’s goals?

a. What were the group’s instrumental goals? Any con�licts over them? b. What were the group’s relationship goals? Any con�licts over them? c. What were the group’s identity goals? Any con�licts over them? d. What were the group’s process goals? Any con�licts over them?

2. How effective was the leader? 3. Did anyone say anything to other members of the group that made anyone appear to feel

uncomfortable? What did that person say? What efforts contributed to avoidance, accommodation, or competing?

4. Did anyone say anything to other members of the group that you thought helped facilitate the group’s decision making or con�lict management? What efforts contributed to compromise and collaboration?

5. What stages did your group progress through (forming, storming, norming, performing, termination)?

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Notes 1. Carsten K. W. De Dreu, Arne Evers, Bianca Beersma, Esther S. Kluwer, and Aukje Nauta, “A

Theory-Based Measure of Con�lict Management Strategies in the Workplace,” Journal of Organizational Behavior 22 (2001), 645, 645– 668.

2. Carsten K. W. De Dreu, Dirk van Dierendonck, and Maria T. M. Dijkstra, “Con�lict at Work and Individual Well-Being,” International Journal of Con�lict Management 15 (2004), 6– 26.; Maria T. M. Dijkstra, Dirk van Dierendonck, Arne Evers, and Carsten K. W. De Dreu, “Con�lict and Well-Being at Work: The Moderating Role of Personality,” Journal of Managerial Psychology 20 (2005), 87– 104.

3. Dijkstra, et al. Journal of Managerial Psychology,

4. Carsten K. W. De Dreu, “When Too Little or Too Much Hurts: Evidence for a Curvilinear Relationship between Task Con�lict and Innovation in Teams,” Journal of Management 32 (2006), 83– 107.

5. De Dreu et al., Journal of Organizational Behavior, p. 109.

6. Karen A. Jehn and E. Mannix, “The Dynamic Nature of Con�lict: A Longitudinal Study of Intragroup Con�lict and Group Performance,” Academy of Management Journal 44 (2001), 238– 251.

7. Ruth Anna Abigail and Dudley D. Cahn, “Working with You Is Killing Me: Learning How to Effectively Handle Workplace,” in Jason Wrench (Ed.), Workplace Communication for the 21st Century: Tools and Strategies that Impact the Bottom Line (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2012), pp. 289–320.

8. Tracy L. Simons and Randall S. Peterson, “Task Con�lict and Relationship Con�lict in Top Management Teams: The Pivotal Role of Intragroup Trust,” Journal of Applied Psychology 85 (2000), 102– 111.

9. José M. Guerra, Inés Martinez, Lourdes Munduate, and Francisco J. Medina, “A Contingency Perspective on the Study of Consequences of Con�lict Types: The Role of Organizational Culture,” European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 14 (2005), 157– 176.

10. Ibid.

11. Maria T. M. Dijkstra, Dirk van Dierendonck, and Arne Evers, “Responding to Con�lict at Work and Individual Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Flight Behaviour and Feelings of Helplessness,” European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 14 (2005), 119– 135.

12. Ellen Giebels and Onne Janssen, “Con�lict Stress and Reduced Well-Being at Work: The Buffering Effect of Third Party Help,” European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 14 (2005), 137– 155.

13. Marshall Scott Poole and Johny T. Garner, “Perspectives on Workgroup Con�lict and Communication,” in John G. Oetzel and Stella Ting-Toomey (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Con�lict Communication: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006), p. 269.

14. Ibid.

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15. Ricky Grif�in, Management, 8th Ed. (Boston, MA: Houghton Mif�lin Company, 2005).

16. Lars Glasø, Stig Berge Matthiesen, Morten Birkeland Nielsen, and Ståle Einarsen, “Do Targets of Workplace Bullying Portray a General Victim Personality Pro�ile?” Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 48 (2007), 317; 313– 319.

17. Karen A. Jehn, Katerina Bezrukova, and Sherry Thatcher, “Con�lict, Diversity, and Faultlines in Workgroups,” in Carsten K. W. De Dreu and Michele J. Gelfand (Eds.), The Psychology of Con�lict and Con�lict Management in Organizations (New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2008), pp. 179– 210.

18. Kristin Smith-Crowe, Arthur P. Brief, and Elizabeth E. Umphress, “On the Outside Looking In: Window Shopping for Insights into Diversity-Driven Con�lict,” in Carsten K. W. De Dreu and Michele J. Gelfand (Eds.), The Psychology of Con�lict and Con�lict Management in Organizations (New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2008), pp. 415– 424.

19. Ibid., pp. 416– 417.

20. Erika L. Kirby, Stacey M. Wieland, and M. Chad McBride, “Work Life Con�lict,” in John G. Oetzel and Stella Ting-Toomey (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Con�lict Communication: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006), pp. 327– 358.

21. Ibid., p. 333.

22. Joyce Heames and Mike Harvey, “Workplace Bullying: A Cross-Level Assessment,” Management Decision, 44 (2006), 1214, 1214– 1230.

23. Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik, “Take this Job and . . . .: Quitting and Other Forms of Resistance to Workplace Bullying,” Communication Monographs 73 (2006), 407, 406– 433.

24. Ibid., p. 407 (italics in original).

25. Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik, Sarah J. Tracy and Jess K. Alberts, “Burned by Bullying in the American Workplace: Prevalence, Perception, Degree and Impact,” Journal of Management Studies 44 (2007), 841, 837– 863.

26. Lutgen-Sandvik, “Take this Job and . . . .: Quitting and Other Forms of Resistance to Workplace Bullying,” p. 408.

27. Helen LaVan and Wm. Marty Martin, “Bullying in the U.S. Workplace: Normative and Process- Oriented Ethical Approaches,” Journal of Business Ethics 83 (2008), 147– 165.

28. Anni Townend, “Understanding and Addressing Bullying in the Workplace,” Industrial and Commercial Training, 40 (2008), 270, 270– 273; see also Lutgen-Sandvik, “Burned by Bullying in the American Workplace: Prevalence, Perception, Degree and Impact.”

29. Dianne M. Felblinger, “Incivility and Bullying in the Workplace and Nurses’ Shame Responses,” JOGNN 37 (2008), 234– 242.

30. Glasø, Matthiesen, Nielsen, and Einarsen, p. 317.

31. Raymond T. Lee and Ce´leste M. Brotheridge, “When Prey Turns Predatory: Workplace Bullying as a Predictor of Counteraggression/Bullying, Coping, and Well-Being,” European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 15 (2006), 371, 352– 377.

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32. C. Porath and A. Erez, “Overlooked but Not Untouched: How Rudeness Reduces Onlookers’ Performance on Routine and Creative Tasks,” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process 109 (2009), 29– 44.

33. Lutgen-Sandvik, “Burned by Bullying in the American Workplace: Prevalence, Perception, Degree and Impact.”

34. Heames and Harvey, Management Decision.

35. Jana L. Raver and Julian Barling, “Workplace Aggression and Con�lict: Constructs, Commonalities, and Challenges for Future Inquiry,” in Carsten K. W. De Dreu and Michele J. Gelfand (Eds.), The Psychology of Con�lict and Con�lict Management in Organizations (New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2008), pp. 219, 211– 244.

36. Irina Sumajin Parkins, Harold D. Fishbein, and P. Neal Ritchey, “The In�luence of Personality on Workplace Bullying and Discrimination,” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36 (2006), 2554– 2577.

37. Margaretha Strandmark, and Lillemor R.-M. Hallberg, “The Origin of Workplace Bullying: Experiences from the Perspective of Bully Victims in the Public Service Sector,” Journal of Nursing Management, 15 (2007), 332– 341.

38. Glasø et al., Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 317.

39. Sara Branch, Sheryl Ramsay, and Michelle Barker, “Managers in the Firing Line: Contributing Factors to Workplace Bullying by Staff – An Interview Study,” Journal of Management & Organization 13 (2007), 264– 281.

40. Lutgen-Sandvik, “Burned by Bullying in the American Workplace: Prevalence, Perception, Degree and Impact.”

41. Bernardo Moreno-Jiménez, Alfredo Rodriguez-Muñoz, Juan Carlos Pastor, Ana Isabel Sanz- Vergel, and Eva Garrosa, “The Moderating Effects of Psychological Detachment and Thoughts of Revenge in Workplace Bullying,” Personality and Individual Differences 46 (2009), 359– 364.