Page 129 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Communication in organizations 118

Conflict management behaviour

Depending on personal characteristics and the specifics of the conflict situation, people
‘choose’ certain behaviours to resolve a conflict. Here, two general ways or styles of
conflict management can be distinguished. Two personality characteristics are underlying
these ways or styles:
• the tendency to accommodate the wishes of the other party
• the tendency to promote one’s own interests.
Blake and Mouton (1977) argue that as a consequence of these general personality
characteristics people may develop a preference for a certain behavioural style when they
have to manage conflicts. The authors discuss five dominant conflict styles that people
may have developed based on their personal preference:

1 Avoiding or running away from the conflict.
2 Adapting to the other and covering up the conflict.
3 Negotiating with the other in order to reach a compromise.
4 Fighting the other as an adversary, forcing them into a solution.
5 Working together to reach a solution.

Blake and Mouton (1977) illustrated these conflict handling styles in a diagram (see
Figure 14.1). The X-axis shows the extent to which one is

Figure 14.1 Conflict management
styles

inclined toward promoting one’s own interests. Analogously, the Y-axis shows the extent
to which one is inclined to take the interests of the other into account. The five conflict
management styles can be placed in the area bordered by the axes.

Description of the conflict management styles