CHAPTER 6: COMMUNICATION, CONFLICT, AND ability to process it, the result is information Kinesics - The academic study of body
Kinesics - The academic study of body motions. It refers to
NEGOTIATION
THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
No group can exist without communication, which is the
transfer and understanding of a message between two
more people. Communication can be thought of as process,
or flow. The model indicates that communication is both an
interactive and iterative process. The communication
process is significantly affected by the sender’s perception of
the receiver and the receiver’s Perception of the sender.
Encoding - converting a message to symbolic form by a
sender.
Decoding - interpreting a sender’s message by a receiver.
4 FACTORS – S A K S
 skill
 attitudes
 knowledge
 socio-cultural system
The Message  actual physical product from the source
encoding.
The Channel  medium through which a message travels.
 selected by the source, who must determine
which channel is formal and which one is
informal.
The Feedback Loop  final link in the communication
process; lets us know whether understanding has been
achieved.
The Context  All communication takes place within a
context, and violations of that context may create additional
problems in sending and receiving messages.
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
FSDILC
 FILTERING  occurs when a sender manipulates
information so that the receiver will view it more
favorably.
 SELECTIVE PERCEPTION  Receivers in the
communication process selectively see and hear
based on their needs, motivations, experience,
background, and other personal characteristics.
 DEFENSIVENESS  When people feel that they
are being threatened, they tend to react in ways
that reduce their ability to achieve mutual
understanding.
 INFORMATION OVERLOAD  When the
information we have to work with exceeds our
overload.
 LANGUAGE  Words mean different things to
different people. “The meanings of words are not
in the words; they are in us.”
 COMMUNICATING UNDER STRESS  speak
clearly, be aware of the nonverbal part of
communicating, and think carefully about how you
state things.
CURRENT ISSUES IN COMMUNICATION – E N S M C
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
EMAIL - Electronic mail, commonly shortened to
“email,” is a communication method that uses
electronic devices to deliver messages across
computer networks.
Considerations for Writing and Sending Email:
 Don’t send emails without a subject line.
 Be careful in your use of emoticons and acronyms
for business communication.
 Write your message clearly, and briefly.
 Copy emails to others only if they really need the
information.
 Sleep on angry emails before sending to be sure
you are sending the right message
INSTANT MESSAGING - essentially real-time email
Several advantages over email:
 no delay
 no inbox clutter of messages
 no uncertainty as to whether the message
was received.
 excellent means for monitoring employees
’physical presence at their workstations
 “With a glance at their contact lists, users can
tell who’s logged on and available right now.”
EMAIL vs INSTANT MESSAGING
EMAIL - better for conveying long messages that need
to be saved.
INSTANT MESSAGING - preferred for sending one or
two-line messages that would just clutter up an email inbox.
VIDEO CONFERENCING  allows face to face
communication over almost any distance.
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATIONS - includes body
movements, facial expressions, and the physical distance
between the sender and the receiver.
gestures, facial configurations, and other movements of the
body.
Types of Nonverbal Communication: - F G P B P E A A
 Facial expressions
 Gestures
 Paralinguistics (such as loudness or tone of voice)
 Body language
 Proxemics or personal space
 Eye gaze, haptics (touch)
 Appearance
 Artifacts (objects and images)
SILENCE AS COMMUNICATION - defined as an absence of
speech or noise a powerful form of communication.;
"Sometimes the real message in a communication is buried
in the silence.
MEN WOMEN COMMUNICATIONS - Men use talk to
emphasize status, while women use it to create connection.
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS – S C D P
- barriers caused by semantics.
- barriers caused by word connotations.
- barriers caused by tone differences.
- barriers caused by differences in perceptions.
CONFLICT - a process that begins when one party
perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is
about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares
about.
FUNCTIONAL (CONSTRUCTIVE) - conflicts that support the
goals of the group and improve its performance.
DYSFUNCTIONAL (DESTRUCTIVE) - conflicts that hinder
group performance.
The criterion that differentiates functional from dysfunctional
conflict is group performance. If a group is unable to
achieve its goals because of conflict, then the conflict is
dysfunctional.
CONFLICT RESOLUTION - A method for two or more
parties to reach an acceptable settlement to a disagreement.
The conflict could be personal, financial, political, or
emotional.
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES - The most
common method to use in describing people’s conflict
management is through the Dual Concern Theory.
Dual Concern Theory - A model that considers one’s
 degree of cooperativeness (the extent to which
one attempts to address the concerns of
another)

 assertiveness (degree to which one tries to
satisfy one’s own concerns).
5 CONFLICT-HANDLING STRATEGIES IDENTIFIED BY
DUAL CONCERN THEORY – F P A Y C
FORCING – imposing one’s will on the other party.
PROBLEM SOLVING – trying to reach an agreement that
satisfies both one’s own and the other party’s aspirations as
much as possible.
AVOIDING – ignoring or minimizing the importance of the
issues creating the conflict
YIELDING – accepting and incorporating the will of the other
party.
COMPROMISING – balancing concern for oneself with
concern for the other party in order to reach a solution.
What Can Individuals Do to Manage Conflict? – P D S C
A formal than a handshake.
Problem solving. Requesting a face-to-face meeting to
identify the problem and resolve it through open discussion.
Developing superordinate goals. Creating a shared goal
that requires both parties to work together and motivates
them to do so.
Smoothing. Playing down differences while emphasizing
common interests with the other party.
Compromising. Agreeing with the other party that each will
give up something of value to reach an accord.
Altering the human variable. Behavioral change
techniques such as human relations training can alter
attitudes and behaviors that cause conflict.
Altering the structural variables. The formal organization
structure and the interaction patterns of conflicting parties
can be changed through job redesign, transfers, creation of
coordinating positions, and the like.
RESOLVING PERSONALITY CONFLICTS
A variety of factors leads to personality conflicts,
including the following: - M I P M B
• Misunderstandings based on age, race, or cultural
differences
• Intolerance, prejudice, discrimination, or bigotry
• Perceived inequities
• Misunderstandings, rumors, or falsehoods about an
individual or group
• Blaming for mistakes or mishaps (finger-pointing)
NEGOTIATION - A process in which two or more parties try
to agree on the exchange rate for goods or services they are
trading.
Within a negotiation, one should be aware that individuals
have issues, positions, and interest.
BARGAINING STRATEGIES – D I
DISTRIBUTIVE BARGAINING is a negotiating strategy that
operates under zero-sum (win-lose) conditions. That is, any
gain I make is at your expense, and vice versa.
INTEGRATIVE BARGAINING - In contrast to distributive
bargaining, integrative bargaining operates under the
assumption that there exists one or more settlements that
can create a win-win solution.
Resistance point- lowest outcome that is
possible.
Bargaining zone- the overlap between two points
2. DEFINING GROUND RULES - At this phase,
people involved, place, time, limitations, and
procedures must be determined. Parties exchange
their initial proposals or demand.
3. CLARIFICATION AND JUSTIFICATION - After
exchanging initial positions, both you and the other
party will go further on, strengthening, clarifying,
and defending your initial demands. It is a chance
for everyone to learn more about the problems,
why they are significant, and how each person
came to make their first demands.
4. BARGAINING AND PROBLEM SOLVING - The
actual giving and taking in an effort to reach a
compromise is the essence of the negotiating
process. Both parties will definitely need to make
concessions in this area.
5. CLOSURE AND IMPLEMENTATION - Formalizing
the agreement that has been reached and creating
the protocols required for implementation and
monitoring are the last steps in the negotiating
process. However, in the majority of situations, the
conclusion of the negotiation process is no more

Avoidance. Withdrawing from, or suppressing, the conflict. HOW TO NEGOTIATE? - D D C B C

The choice of technique may depend on how serious the
issue is to you whether you take a win-win or a win-lose
approach, and your preferred conflict management style.
When the conflict is specifically work-related, there are
additional techniques that might be used: E A A A
Expansion of resources. The scarcity of a resource—say,
money, promotion opportunities, office space—can create
conflict. Expansion of the resource can create a win win
solution.
1. DEVELOPING A STRATEGY - Make an
evaluation of the conflict's nature, its history, the
parties involved, their perspectives, and their
objectives. It often helps to put your goals in
writing and develop a range of outcomes—from
“most hopeful” to “minimally acceptable”—to keep
your attention focused.
Parties are well advised to consider taking into account their
"target and resistance" points.

Authoritative command. Management can use its formal Target point- what he/she needs to achieve.
authority to resolve the conflict and then communicate its
desires to the parties involved.