The “5 Ps” of conflict resolution: Designing

systems to manage workplace disputes

Sherrill Hayes, Ph.D.
Master of Science in Conflict Management Program
Kennesaw State University
shayes32@kennesaw.edu

First Presented at
North Carolina Employee Assistance Program
Annual Spring Training
May 14, 2009

Last modified: May 7, 2013

Please reference at:
Hayes, S. (2009) The 5 Ps of conflict resolution: Designing systems to
manage workplace disputes. North Carolina Employee Assistant
Program Annual Spring Training, Winston-Salem, NC.

Hayes, S. (2009) 1
“It isn't that they can't see the solution. It's
that they can't see the problem.” -- G.K.
Chesterton

Hayes, S. (2009) 2
 Assumptions about conflict
• The existence of conflict is a necessary
catalyst that allows an organization to
survive, evolve, and progress in changing
times.
• Conflict becomes negative when
differences are handled poorly

Hayes, S. (2009) 3
 Conflict (negative)
• Differences that create tensions, overt conflicts,
or power struggles at any level in an organization
• Can involve and combination of clients,
volunteers, staff, management, organization, or
broader contextual issues
• Up to 80% of patient errors in health care and
social service result from negative conflict and
poor communication

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 Negative conflict
• Negative organizational conflict is usually
evident when one sees
– Patterns of disputes
– Competition
– Sabotage
– Low morale
– Withholding of information
– Marked inefficiency

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How most organizations handle negative
conflict
• The majority of organizations deal with
conflicts as situational (e.g. discrete
events)
• Some corporate structures have in place a
basic process regarding employee
complaints or grievances, often they
cannot address all of these types of
conflicts
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 How not to handle conflicts
• Watch “Conflict Resolution” episode of “The
Office” and answer the following
1. What were the issues/conflicts in the episode?
• Immediate issues
• Longer-term issues
2. What did Michael “miss” in the application of
his techniques? (i.e. why didn’t they work?)

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 Conflict or Dispute Resolution
• Any number of interventions that focus on
addressing both immediate and longer-
term impact of conflicts
• Emphasis placed on
– need to maintain good working relationships
– effective processes
– open and effective communication
– good faith
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 Addressing conflict
• 5 Ps approach multifaceted approach that
includes
– Galtung’s TRANSCEND method
– Bronfenbrenner’s Bio-ecological theory
– Ury’s Dispute System Design & “Third
Side”

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 Framework for intervention
• Treat conflict the same way a physician
would treat an illness
1. Diagnosis
2. Interpretation
3. Intervention
• 5 Ps can be used as diagnostic tool,
interpretive instrument, and framework
for intervention
Hayes, S. (2009) 10
5Ps of conflict model
Perceptions
People
Practices
Policies
Persistence

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 Perceptions
• Individual’s beliefs, values, and expectations
about the organization and the individuals
• Individual perceptions influenced by what
happens in and out of the workplace
• Perceptions primarily changed through
– Education
– Experience
– Interventions resulting in reflective processes

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 People
• Characteristics of the people
– Age
– Gender
– Race/Ethnicity
– Social class/educational background
– Experience in their position and others in
organization
• Organization of people in relation to others
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 Practices
• Practices are “what actually happens”
– Interpretation of policies based primarily in perception
and person characteristics
– influenced by education and prior
knowledge/experience with similar policies or
practices
• Most organizational conflicts are at the level of
“practices”
• Behaviors can altered without altering
perceptions or personal characteristics

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 Policies
Policies are a broad range of written and
unwritten rules
• Organizational culture • Policy manual
– Work demands – Work schedules
– Appropriate demeanor – Productivity
– Process of promotion expectations
– Whose involved in – Rules for promotion
grievance and – Grievance &
termination Termination

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 Persistence
• Persistence is the element of “time” in the
model, change takes place over time
• An intervention’s ability to be successful is
dependent on addressing “persistence”
– Individual time ≤ Organizational time
– Interventions are time limited
– Individuals must take “long view”,
organizations see “shorter term” interests of
individuals
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 Nature of organizational conflicts using
5Ps model
• “Personality” conflicts generally aren’t
about the people
• What they are
– really practice conflicts in disguise
– mismatch between individuals expectations
and policy interpretation
– mismatch between the stated policies and the
actual practices

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 Diagnostic process
Fieldwork
(informal,
Document
ecomap,
analysis
observation,
interviews)

Fieldwork Standardize
(especially d or
facilitated quantitative
sessions) instruments

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 Interpretation using 5 Ps
• Knowing what the diagnosis means
depends on understanding of the stages in
the development of conflicts
1. Identify where organization is currently.
2. Ask organization “Where would you like
to be?”

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 Interpretation: The escalation of
conflict

Power Struggle

Overt Conflict

Latent Tensions

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Adapted from Ury “The Third Side” (2000)
 Levels of conflict intervention

Power
Struggle Contain

Overt
Conflict Resolve

Latent
Tensions Prevent

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Adapted from Ury “The Third Side” (2000)
 “Appropriate” dispute resolution
Level of Prognosis “Therapy” options
conflict
Latent Prevention Training/ Education
tensions Team and skills building
Coaching
Overt conflict Resolution Negotiation
Ombuds
Facilitation
Mediation
Restorative conferencing
Arbitration
Power Containment Advocacy
Struggle Referrals

22
 Preventing conflicts
• Education and training allows for
– Reflection on perceptions
– Modification of expectations
– Skills building
• Providing skills in a (semi) structured
environment that allows participants to
relate prior experience with new material

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 Using standardized instruments
• Several “conflict styles” inventories
– Thomas-Killman
– Kraybill conflict style
– Intercultural conflict style (Hammer)
• Kraybill conflict styles Inventory
– Not a “test” set of scores to give you a picture
of your responses to conflict.
– Point is to give you a tool to start thinking
about yourself.
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 25
p. 9-12
 Reflecting on your scores
• Take a few minutes and come up with
some personal examples of times when
your style reflects “calm” and “storm”
• What are the triggers?
• Do you know when you are moving from
one to the other?
• Remember that these are “tendencies”
NOT diagnoses

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 Using this tool
• How can you use this tool in education,
training, and facilitated sessions with
groups in order to “prevent” conflicts?
• What others tools could be helpful?

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 Resolving Conflicts
• Negotiation
• Facilitation
• Mediation
• Restorative justice/conferencing
• Arbitration

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 Negotiation
• Negotiation is a direct, face-to-face, two- party discussion
that leads to a mutually agreeable, voluntary resolution.
• Interest based negotiations*
– Separate the people from the problem
– Focus on interests
– Generate options for mutual gain
– Use objective criteria
– Level the playing field
– Negotiate in good faith
– Don’t use dirty tricks or sneaky tactics

*Fisher, Ury, and Patton, 1981, “Getting to Yes”

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 Facilitation
• A facilitator helps guide or manage the
process of conversation but does not direct
the conversation or change the content of
the discussion.
• Many EA use facilitation skills in trainings
or when working with groups of
employees (e.g. critical incident stress
debriefings)
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 Mediation
• An impartial third party facilitates a discussion
between conflicting parties to help them
– reach a mutually agreeable, voluntary resolution.
– help participants reconstruct their relationship
• Can take place formally by trained professionals
or more casually by naturally skilled employees.

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 Restorative conferencing*
• Restorative justice is a theory of justice
that emphasizes repairing the harm caused
or revealed by criminal behavior.
• It is best accomplished through
cooperative processes that include all
stakeholders.

*http://www.restorativejustice.org
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 Restorative conferencing
• Conferencing programs are similar to
victim-offender reconciliation/ mediation
programs
– involve the “victim” and “offender” in an
extended conversation about the
incident/crime and its consequences
– conferencing programs also include the
participation of other individuals affected by
the incident or crime
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 Arbitration
• Arbitration is a quasi-judicial process
• Often included in organizational policies
with little understanding of what it is or
how it works
• Potential revisions to Federal Arbitration
Act (keep watching)

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 Containing conflicts
• These issues are those that have no “voice”
or have not found a kind “ear” in the
organization
• These interventions are a “last resort” to
allow the organization a chance to work
collaboratively on conflict issues before
they “get out of hand”

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 Containing
• Advocacy
– Serious structural situations that require direct
discussions with organizational management/owners
about practices or policies issues affecting people
• Referrals
– Serious individual situations that require interventions
from mental health, legal, or outside governing bodies
(state agencies, EEOC)

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 How do you already use these
interventions?
• Think about ways these interventions
are already part of what you do.
• How can knowing more about the
situation from 5Ps help you make
better choices?
• Now an exercise…

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Apply this model to a real conflict
Perceptions
People
Practices
Policies
Persistence

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 What is your diagnosis &
forecast?
• Perceptions
• People
• Practices
• Policies
• Persistence

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 What are your interventions?
• Perceptions
• People
• Practices
• Policies
• Patience

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 What are your questions?
Contact me at:
Email: shayes32@kennesaw.edu
Phone: (678) 206-8897

If you found this presentation useful or have

any questions, please contact me.

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