DB 10

Chapter 10 Student Response

Student# 1 Post (Conflict and Negotiation)

It is hard to believe that any conflict can be good, but the textbook makes some convincing points about

the benefits of task conflict such as more well-rounded decision making. When people don’t just take

someone else’s perspectives as they are the parties involved can learn more about each other’s way of

thinking. This occurs through questioning and can help everyone reduce their hidden and blind areas of

the Johari Window model. For instance, let’s say that you needed to reach out to some people in the

community for a Relay for Life fundraiser. You suggest sending a text to previous supporters to inform

them of the new fundraiser. I could just take your word for it, or I could ask you why you chose that

method. I could also say that I was thinking about putting an ad in the newspaper, what are your

thoughts? By questioning you I will learn about the benefits of text messaging and I will also gain

someone else’s perspective on the use of newspaper ads. I would not have learned this information had

I not been willing to question your decision. This new knowledge could potentially make me more

effective in future advertising campaigns.

Conflict is about perceptions and as a result sometimes we make conflict where it doesn’t exist because

we perceive the other person is out to get us when in reality they are not. Sometimes this perceived

negative attitude occurs through email because there are no facial expressions or vocal tones to help

the receiver decode the message. Conflict could also occur during a team meeting just by the tone one

chose to use, even if they did not intend to cause any harm.

I could not help but think about car dealers when reading the section about negotiation. Let’s say you

want to buy a new car. Your initial point is the price you are willing to pay for the car, say $15,000. The

car dealer’s initial price is the MSRP of $23,000. You realize that your initial point is way below MSRP

and that there is no way you will be able to get the car at this price so you make your target point

$19,500. The dealer knows that you have done your research and are willing to go elsewhere if they

aren’t willing to work with you on the price, so they set their target point at $21,500. You know all you

can afford is $20,000 and the car dealer knows they can still make a profit off of you at $20,000, the

resistance point. You prepared and set goals prior to even talking with the car dealer so that you would

not go over budget and cause yourself financial distress. You determined your BATNA by contacting a

few different car dealers at the same time, to see how much they were willing to compromise. After

days of negotiating you finally buy the car.

Student# 2 Post (Gender and Negotiation )

The part of this chapter that most stood out to me was the section on gender and negotiation. This section discussed how women are not as good at negotiating than men are and the various reasons why. This really does bother me because I do think it's a stereotype partly and also I sadly do agree with the points made by the author. It stated that women set lower target points, women are less likely to use alternatives to improve the outcome, women are treated worse by the opposing negotiator, and women give more concessions and even try to avoid negotiating more than men do. All of this really does bother me, but I can see the truth to it in certain aspects.

I have always tried to change how I was treated because I was a woman and I would do that by educating myself. A perfect example is when a woman takes her car in for service and they try to up-sell her on many things that are not needed. Many times this does not happen to a man because it is assumed that he knows all about the vehicle being serviced. When I was 19 I received my Certified Auto Appraiser license not because I was interested in being an appraiser, but because I thought it was interesting learning about all parts of a vehicle. This section did talk about that women do perform at the same levels of a man when educated/trained. I do hope more women step up and be better negotiators and maybe one day this section will not be needed.

Student# 3 Post (Conflict)

It is crazy to think conflict can be good and bad. Conflict is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party. The book talks about the benefits of conflict. The first benefit of conflict is it prevents individuals and teams from making inferior decisions and potentially helps them develop more sound and creative solutions. It can help teams make better decisions and tests the logic of the arguments. The second benefit is that moderate levels of conflict prevent organizations from becoming non-responsive to their external environment. The last benefit the book talks about occurs when team members have a dispute or competition with external sources. This conflict can potentially increase cohesion within the team. People are motivated to work together, and not work against each other. While there are benefits to conflict we also need to remember the consequences of negative conflict. These include lower performance, higher stress, less information sharing, wasted resources and weakened team cohesion, just to name a few of those consequences.

I believe it is important to come up with some type of team conflict plan to help deal with conflict when it arises. Setting clear rules, understanding how others in the group handle conflict and setting guidelines for communication can help if conflict arises. Some people may have different ways they handle conflict, and finding the best conflict handling style is also important. For example someone may engage in avoiding or yielding conflict, while another person may prefer the compromising and forcing strategies. There are also going to be differences with how cultures and gender handle conflict. The book talks about how cultures with high or low collectivism may handle conflict differently. This chapter is very beneficial when it comes to describing ways to approach conflict management and helping have a cohesive team.