Constructive conflict at work

Two field studies of interpersonal conflict in organizations and a simulated dyadic negotiation show that problem solving and forcing are frequently combined simultaneously and sequentially. As a robust finding, conglomerations of problem solving and forcing appear to enhance the parties' joint effectiveness. The best substantive and relational outcomes for the organization are reached through forcing followed by problem solving. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social value orientation,organizational goal concerns and interdepartmental problem‐solving behavior

In a study of 11 organizations among 120 manufacturing, planning and sales employees, support was found for the hypothesis that a prosocial value orientation—as a personality trait—increases the likelihood that employees show a high concern for the goals of other departments. This concern, combined with a high concern for own goals, furthermore appeared to increase the likelihood of problem‐solving behavior during interdepartmental negotiations. Measures of goal concerns were attained, firstly, by asking employees how important they found six specific organizational goals and, secondly, by assessing which goals were found most important by members of which department. The results of this study suggest that problem solving can be induced by selecting or developing prosocial employees, because a prosocial value orientation increases the likelihood of having broad role orientations, in which employees not only care for goals characteristic of their own department, but also for goals of other departments. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A theory‐based measure of conflict management strategies in the workplace

Conflict management influences individual wellbeing, group performance and organizational effectiveness. This research examined the psychometric qualities of two versions of the newly developed test for conflict handling. The lean version (Study 1 and 2) included problem solving, forcing, yielding and avoiding as distinct conflict management strategies, and the expanded version (Study 3) also included compromising. A negotiation study (Study 1) showed substantial convergence between self‐reports, opponent‐reports and observer rated behavior for problem solving, forcing and yielding, but not for avoiding. In Study 2 and Study 3 the psychometric properties were examined of the lean and the expanded version, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed good to excellent psychometric qualities of both versions of the scale. We conclude that the scale is a parsimonious, flexible and valid instrument to assess conflict management strategies at work. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.