Negotiation Process Control Report (Assessment)

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Negotiation aims to resolve the conflict between my colleague and me for the benefit of both the corporate operations and our relationship. Each of us tried to humiliate the other at the stalemate level, thus resulting in negligence of our purpose in the work environment. The process went into a stalemate when my workmates felt the adverse effects of our conflict on the operations of the business. My reaction stalled the normal operations in the sales department, which prompted the sales manager’s intervention. After understanding the cause of the problem, the chief accountant and the human resource manager were engaged because promotional issues lie in the human resource department.

However, the negotiation process faced potential barriers to achieving the anticipated goals. The conflict had escalated to a point where other persons got involved. The sales department personnel had realized that I had developed a bad attitude towards them. In response, they linked my behavior to pride since I had been working with them before getting a promotion. Moreover, my colleague viewed the human resource manager as biased since he is qualified for the position, and thus my promotion was allegedly not only based on merit but also as biased.

Additionally, neither my colleague nor I was willing to reconcile with each other at a time when the negotiation process was starting. I had anger and bitterness towards my colleague because I felt that he was the major cause of the conflict. I could not understand why he developed a bad attitude towards me after getting a promotion, and I had have worked with him in the sales department for a long period. I concluded that he was jealous and thus I considered him as the biggest enemy to my career success. On the other hand, my colleague could not understand why I put pressure on him after getting a promotion especially having worked with him and learned his working behaviors. He felt that I was trying to humiliate him due to my higher position. Therefore, he considered me arrogant and unworthy of being considered a friend. Hence, the negotiation process could not succeed without us resolving our twisted notions and attitudes towards each other.

The individuals involved in the negotiation process were of high caliber in the workplace. Our immediate bosses needed to be involved in the negotiation process, which explains why both the chief accountant and the sales manager were present. Their main interests were to present the departments since our conflict was interdepartmental when looked at from the business operations perspective. Moreover, they were to clarify our roles in our respective departments and inform us of the relationship between the two departments coupled with how we should conduct ourselves when interacting in business operations. Hence, the two had a great influence on the negotiation process, and their best no-deal options were to ensure that their departmental operations were not affected by the personal conflict between my colleague and me.

Besides, the human resource manager was very critical of the negotiation process, and thus he had to be present. The role of the human resource manager is to handle the welfare of workers in a workplace including resolving personal conflicts among others. A human resource manager has the relevant skills for resolving conflicts. Therefore, he was the best-suited person for the process, and the best no-deal option was to ensure our differences did not interfere with the smooth flow of business operations in the organization.

The map of the sequence of negotiations started with the understanding of the causes of conflict between the two of us. We were in a roundtable meeting in the human resource manager’s office. My colleague was given the first opportunity to explain why we conflicted. Afterward, I was allowed to talk, and everybody else was supposed to listen while one party talked. The sales manager was given a chance to explain the causes of the problem from what we had said. Surprisingly, he pointed out the problem to me for failing to use the laid down mechanisms of communication between departments. My colleague was pointed as the cause of the problem for reacting when I asked for a sales record and more so demanding that I comply with his work pace and attitude. The chief accountant was also given a chance, and he pointed each one of us as the cause of the problem.

Finally, the human resource manager told us that we were the causes of the problems revolving around our conflict. He noted that my friend was jealous of my promotion, and he cautioned him for trying to sabotage the operations of the accounting department. He also looked at me in the eye and said that I behaved mischievously after realizing there was a problem and failing to report the matter to the relevant authority. Finally, he asked each one of us to take time, relook at our roles in the workplace, and resolve to have healthy relations with everyone else in the workplace. We were given time to explain the causes of the conflict and to my surprise, we collaborated with the human resource manager’s comments. Before leaving the office, the human resource manager assured my colleague of promotion after achieving an exemplary performance according to the set rules of promotion in the organization. According to the set rules, promotion can only come after one achieves certain performance and qualifications.

Conflict Analysis Checklist

Conflict theory	Case study example (linkthe theory to your specific example and explain in each case, the consequences: whythis contributes to / reduces conflict)				Relevant theory references
Introduction
What is the context of the conflict: private life/ workplace/ community/ nation etc.?	The conflict is in the workplace environment.				(Furlong, 2005)
What level of conflict is it: intrapersonal/ interpersonal/ intergroup?	The conflict was at the interpersonal level.
How might the history of the conflict: previous events/relationships contribute to causing it?	Before being promoted to an assistant accountant, I worked in the sales department together with my colleague.
Give a summary of the conflict and relate the stages of conflictdescribed below to precise events in your conflict:	The conflict started after I was promoted. My colleague saw my promotion as a biased decision and thus he started sabotaging our departmental operations.
Latent (early signs?)/Emergence (triggering event),/Escalation/Failed peacemaking / stalemate/De-escalation, negotiation, settlement,/Peace-building & reconciliation	At the latent stage, my colleague and I started to have different status issues. The escalation stage occurred when my colleague started to delay the submission of the sales record. I reacted by delaying the preparation of petty cash vouchers for the sales department. The de-escalation stage occurred when the chief accountant, human resource manager, and the sales manager intervened. Lastly, the reconciliation stage was arrived at when my colleague and I came back together.
Causes
What are the main structural cause/s of the conflict:	The main causes of conflict are personality, identity, character, values, and ideological differences between individuals and groups.				(Convette, 2006)
Value & ideology differences: What are the value sets of each party on the Schwartz (1992) values model? Are they theoretically compatible or conflicting? How can this help explain the conflict?	My colleague values security and power while I value achievement, benevolence, stimulation, and self-direction. The incompatibilities of the values triggered the conflict, thus necessitating negotiations to manage it.				(Convette, 2006)
Identity issues/ What is/are the key identity/ies /role/s of each of the parties? Are these identities: 1. achieved or ascribed 2. primary or secondary 3. persisting or transient Are they social identities (group categorization) or individual identities? How do the identities and the type of identity each one is contributing to the conflict?	I considered myself superior since I was promoted, thus an achieved identity. On the other side, my colleague saw my promotion as ascribed. Secondly, my current identity is secondary because of promotion while my colleague has a primary identity. Besides, my identity is transient since I recently was promoted, and my colleague has a persisting identity. Our identity issues are currently individual identities. Our identities contribute to the conflict due to pride and anger.				(Convette, 2006)
Resources:High-stakes distribution issues: Type of resources: money, goods, land, respect, freedom, etc. Type of distribution: equity/ equality/ need-based Justice issues (procedural, relational, & distributional) – perceptions of…	In our case, money is the major distributable resource that has a need-based type of distribution. Besides, in a workplace environment, resources are distributed in procedural justice. In this case, regardless of the level of conflict between individuals, resources have to be distributed.
What is the powerbalance between parties at different stages of the conflict?	In my case, the power balance often starts to decline at the latent stage, and it is the least at the stalemate stage. It attains equilibrium at the reconciliation stage.			My colleague escalates as the conflict escalates via the coercive power that reduces after we are engaged in a negotiation process.	(Berg, Curseu, & Meeus, 2014)
What types of powerare used by each party at different stages of the conflict? Coercive/Reward/Legitimate/Referent/Expert	At the latent stage, I have legitimate power as an assistant accountant, and thus I have the right to ask for the sales records from the sales department. At the escalation stage, I increase my legitimate power over my colleague by using authority. At the stalemate stage, I use coercive power to impose punishment. At the de-escalation level, I engage in referent power to involve negotiators to come to terms with my colleague. At the reconciliation, I use the expert power to apply my knowledge and skills in the workplace.			My colleague uses referent power to delay submission of sales record since we have been friends for a long time. My colleague increases coercive power to acquire my compliance. My colleague does not relent. He stops using coercive power. My colleague uses expert power in the workplace, and we are reconciled.
What is the impact on each party of the other party’s power and the way they use it?	At each level of conflict, my colleague’s usage of power humiliates me.			My colleague feels threatened, and he senses unnecessary pride in me.
Are there any unused sources of power present?	I do not use position power in the course of the conflict.			My colleague does not use the position of power
	Party 1			Party 2
Frames: What are the perceptions of each party of: Themselves/The other party/The situation of conflict (What stereotypes /prejudices/ biases might be activated?)	I felt hatred and I could not see anything wrong with my side, but only jealousy and anger from my colleague.			My colleague felt hatred since he sensed arrogance in me.	(Furlong, 2005)
In an interpersonal conflict, how do the personalitytraits of each party and the combination of the two potentially aggravate the conflict? (Introvert vs. extrovert/Sensing vs. intuitive/Thinking vs. feeling/Judging vs. perceiving) Are the personality traits of each party more self-serving or other-serving?	I am naturally an introvert, and thus my personality worsened the conflict. Besides, I am a perfectionist, which is a self-serving personality that played a major role in causing conflict.			My colleague is an extrovert. My colleague is not a pragmatist and thus in trying to resist the pressure I imposed, he resolved to cause conflict.	(Ayub & Jehn, 2014).
What is each party’s conflict style : collaborate/ compete/ avoid/ accommodate/ compromise	I tried to use an accommodating conflict style by compromising to reduce pressure from the escalating conflict.			My colleague used a competing conflict style.
What are the main process factors?
What emotionsare generated by the conflict at different stages? How do these emotions influence the course of the conflict?	At the latent stage, I sensed a great deal of disgust. Hence, I became angry that my colleague was an obstacle to my success, thus escalating the conflict. At the escalating stage, I was terrified since I could not tell the next move that my colleague could make. At the de-escalating stage, I was anxious that something positive could happen. Lastly, we both had trust and admiration after reconciling.			My colleague was sad that I was being authoritative, which escalated the conflict between us. My colleague was angry with me, and thus he caused a stalemate in our conflict. On the other hand, my colleague anticipated good things from our relationship.	(Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2014)
How does limbic resonance influence the conflict?	It causes emotions of fear, anxiety, and anger.				(Levinger, 2013)
How could the limbic revision influence the conflict?	A person may choose to apply conflict styles that would escalate or de-escalate the conflict between individuals.
What are the main motivations/goals of the two parties?	My goal was to force my colleague to compromise with my authority.		My colleague wanted me to compromise by allowing him to work according to his style.
Are each party’s goals in the conflict more focused on content (getting something tangible) or relationship (maintaining the relationship with the other)?	In my case, I focused on content since the conflict began due to work-related issues rather than personal relationships.		My colleague focused on personal relationships whereby I could allow him to do things in his way.
How do the relative strategies and goals influence the conflict in its early stages?	In my case, they escalated conflict since my colleague was not ready to relent, and I could not compromise.		My colleague viewed my approach as a demand to push him to compromise, and he relented.		(Levinger, 2013)
What is the evolution of each party’s conflict style (during the conflict): competing, accommodating, avoiding, collaborating, compromising) and how does this impact the course of the conflict?- competition/cooperation	The evolution was avoiding, collaborating, competing, and finally cooperating.		The evolution was competing, compromising, and cooperation.
How does each party perceive the conflict style of the other party?	I perceive my colleague’s conflict style as competing.		On the other hand, my colleague perceives my conflict as a collaborative style since I engaged others to resolve the conflict at the early stages.
How does each party perceive the justice of the conflict process?	I perceive the justice of the conflict process as procedural since I was focused on reconciliation.		On the other hand, my colleague viewed the process as procedural since our relationship improved after the reconciliation.
How does trust evolve during the conflict/resolution process?	I lost trust in my colleague until we reconciled because I had seen him as an obstacle to my success.		My colleague had lost trust also, but he regained it after we had reconciled.
How does communication between parties help/hinder the conflict/resolution process?	Communication helps to resolve the conflict since each party gets a chance to point out the problems.		On the other hand, it may hinder the resolution of conflict if a party wrongly defends a mistake.
Conflict assessment and evaluation
If there were any intervention/ mediation processes, how did they work?		The intervention by the chief accountant, human resource manager, and sales manager helped to resolve the conflict. They followed a work-related process as the negotiation map.
What were the short-term and long-term outcomes of the conflict for each party and their relationship? Was there any social learning/ limbic revision? What lessons can be learned generally?		The short-term outcome was the regaining of our relationship. The long-term outcome was the establishment of a conflict resolution mechanism in the organization. Social learning was the upholding of corporate visions when dealing with a workmate.

References

Ayub, N., & Jehn, K. (2014). When diversity helps performance: Effects of diversity on conflict and performance in workgroups. International Journal of Conflict Management, 25(2), 189 – 212.

Berg, W., Curseu, L., & Meeus, M. (2014). Emotion regulation and conflict transformation in multi-team systems. International Journal of Conflict Management, 25(2), 171 – 188.

Convette, A. (2006). Conflict Management: A Practical Guide to Developing Negotiation Strategies. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Furlong, G. (2005). The Conflict Resolution Toolbox: Models and Maps for Analyzing, Diagnosing, and Resolving Conflict. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Levinger, M. (2013). Conflict Analysis: Understanding Causes, Unlocking Solutions. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.

Lewicki, R., Saunders, D., & Barry, B. (2014). Negotiation. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

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