Every communication process brings within it the possibility of conflict, because with each person who starts some kind of communication that possibility is present. In a company it is a latent and manifest reality, the diversity of criteria leads the workers to manifest a position opposite to that desired and required by the lead manager. Therefore, fostering communication between the members of the organization in a fluid way will help to improve production processes and reduce possible conflicts.
INTRODUCTION
In recent years, interest in conflict resolution has developed considerably. Conflicts are a phenomenon that accompanies human beings throughout their lives and affects all people (Vinyamata, 1999). The conflict is part of human interaction because the difference of opinions, desires and interests is inevitable between people (Torrego, 2000). According to this author, there is a very close relationship between conflict and communication, since at the root of many conflicts is poor communication. On the contrary, quality communication can help the parties work together to find solutions that satisfy both parties.
Whether conflicts can be negative or become an opportunity to learn more about oneself and others will depend on how they are approached. To transform the conflict into an enriching element for the parties, certain skills, techniques and procedures are required. Among these are negotiation. One of the characteristics of negotiation is that it is cooperative, insofar as it promotes a solution in which both parties involved win and obtain benefits, and not just one of them. Negotiation avoids the antagonistic position of winner - loser, seeks to obtain the position of winner - winner (Torrego, 2000).
Conflicts can be intrapersonal (typical of the "I") or interpersonal (typical of a group of people who form an organization). There are some conditions that predispose to conflict:
- Differentiation of activities: different objectives and interests (including antagonistic ones) tend to provoke conflicts. (Chiavenato, 1994) Shared resources: the need to distribute resources that are scarce in themselves can generate interest struggles in the face of the need to meet goals or objectives Interdependent activities: When groups become highly interdependent, opportunities arise for a group helps or harms the work of others. (Chiavenato, 1994).
There are many definitions of conflict, however despite the various meanings that the term implies, most of the definitions include several common themes the parties must perceive the conflict as such, the fact that the conflict exists or not is a matter of perception. If no one is aware that there is a conflict then it does not exist.
Conflict is a process that begins when one party perceives that another has affected it negatively or is about to do so to one of its interests.
Different perceptions of the causes of organizational problems, their impact, and appropriate solutions can often create defensive behaviors and conflict between individuals or workgroups in the same company.
Given the rapid pace of change in organizations today, managers are regularly faced with two kinds of conflict that occur at the group and individual levels.
Conflict is necessary for the survival of any organization. Taking into account that this is conceived as a system in which internal interactions and processes naturally occur (within that relationship between its parts), and exchanges of information and resources with the external environment.
In this sense, the organization can be thought of as an open system and consequently, the conflict would be the degree of disorder that said system presents (entropy). In the moments in which disorder (conflict) appears, it tends to be corrected and this correction of entropy leads to the establishment of a higher order and afterwards the organization (the system) is perpetuated by adapting to the conditions posed by the environment and its own internal dynamics.
The negotiation lies in the instance of resolving some type of conflict. It is present daily, for example, among friends, family and more importantly in the workplace.
When observing two groups (organization, natural persons, etc.), one of the parties is interested in something that it wants to obtain from the other, for which it will try through effective communication and in addition to multiple maneuvers, to achieve a mutual satisfaction, that is, reaching a point of balance, this is what we call a negotiation.
When a negotiation ends, there are two cases; first, win / win, in which both parties have a satisfactory solution, analogously it can happen that both lose, that is, lose / lose. In conclusion, what you want to achieve is that both parties win, thus achieving what could have been a possible opponent; a collaborator, to achieve this the negotiator must have the following skills.
There are different types of negotiation and at the same time they require different qualities, they can be formal or informal negotiations, habitual or exceptional. All parts of an organization have different interests.
At the organizational level, business negotiations are classified as follows:
- Every day: These are concerned with internal relations, that is, between employees, for example, defining labor standards and areas of responsibility, etc. Commercial: Points to what are agreements between one company and another, for example, scheduling services and deliveries of products. Legal: They commit to comply with local and national laws.
A key aspect is that communication is the starting point of any relationship, it directly affects self-esteem and is essential to develop in the personal, school and professional future.
Difficulties in communication can affect the structure of the personality.
Normally when talking about conflict, the idea that this word gives is negative, however it is an element that can strengthen relationships, for example, a positive conflict resolution results from open discussions clearly exposing ideas and reaching agreements, where both parties have to negotiate solutions, for which the first thing to do is to have an open mind to criticism, in this way a discussion will be positive by presenting more benefits than drawbacks or costs.
1. Effectiveness of the communication process in organizations
Stephen Robbins (1996, pp. 380-381), explains that in this process there is a source (sender) and a receiver, which are key elements; the message is encoded, that is, it is converted into symbols and these are sent by some means or channel to the receiver, who translates or decodes it again, so that the result is a transfer of meanings from one person to another.
Now, in an organization, the sender or source of the message is the person who has information, need or desire, as well as a purpose to communicate it to another person or several. The receiver is the person who perceives the message and who in an organization may be represented by a number of people, for example when a memorandum is addressed to all members of the organization, or there may be only one, when an employee of the organization Talk about something private with a co-worker. (Robbins, (1996), Costa, (2000).
The effectiveness of communication largely depends on several factors. For Stoner (1996, p. 375.), the effectiveness depends on the encoding, decoding and noise. Berlo (1964), cited by Robbins (1996), p. 407), however, it does not speak of effectiveness but of fidelity to refer to the same thing, that is, the communicator has to achieve what is desired, pointing out that within the source there are four factors capable of increasing fidelity and constituting these in:
- Communication skills: There are five verbal skills in communication, two of them are speaking and writing (in encoders); the other two read and listen (decoders) and the fifth that is crucial, is reflection or thought.Attitudes: represented by the attitudes that one has towards oneself, attitudes regarding the topic or issue to be discussed and the attitudes towards the Receiver Level of knowledge: it is a very important element to achieve effective communication, obviously that the degree of knowledge possessed by the source regarding the subject will have a positive or negative effect on the receptivity of your message. Cannot communicate effectively, a matter about which nothing is known or is unknown, or about a topic about which too much is known,but the communication skills necessary to make it understood are not used.Socio-cultural system: the position of the source in a social and cultural context will generally affect their communication behavior, thus it is observed that they do not communicate in the same way so people belonging to different social classes and with different cultural backgrounds.
As for the decoder-receiver, there are also factors in it that contribute to achieving effectiveness or fidelity in communication, but nevertheless, it should be noted that when an intrapersonal conversation is established, the source and the receiver are the same person, for Therefore, if you like, it can be said that when talking about the encoder source, in this case we are also talking about the decoder-receiver. But, for analytical purposes, it is very useful to discuss the two separately. (Berlo, (1964), cited by Robbins, (1996).
For Stoner, (1996), pp. 376-410), the difference between effective and ineffective communication may be due to the way in which the parties involved handle aspects related to differences in perception, in that people perceive phenomena based on their knowledge and experiences. On the other hand, emotional reactions such as anger, hatred, love and fear, among others, influence the way things are understood. Also, the messages sent and received are subject to the influence of non-verbal factors such as body movements, clothing, posture, gestures, eye movements and body contact. Another very important factor is trust or mistrust in the message, due to the degree of credibility with respect to the issuer.
Italo Pizzolante, (1997, pp. 23-24); Sanz de la Tajada (1994) and Costa (2000) when talking about communication in the organization, point out that it occurs in two senses: communication with the outside world and communication with the inner world, very important elements for training of the image of the company or institution.
Regarding communication with the outside world, it explains how it can happen using advertising, but it alone is not enough to convey the credibility that is sought. Another alternative is the news through social communication media, however, there will always be the possibility that some of these will not be selected for publication.
It is necessary to clarify that the image of the company or organization is not only built with advertising or news, but with the way the company is presented and acts in front of the community and especially with the target audience, it is its style and behavior in union and sectoral activity; in front of government officials; It is the presence in exhibitions, the brochures that it publishes or sponsors, it is the way in which it is socially involved with the community to which it belongs and it is not only what it says but what it stops saying, it is the means it uses to communicate. Ultimately, it is the image of the organization, which Pizzolante (1979, p. 25) defines as "a solid mental structure made up of formal or informal messages.
2. Organizational conflict
When a team is established, difficulties usually arise between team members and the leader. (McFarland, Senn and Childress, (2000); Drucker, (1997); Rosen and Berger, (1993) Unfortunately, these differences may not be so obvious to the group leader, but it is obvious to his subordinates and to an observer. The problem is not that the supervisor and subordinates have differences, but in how they cope. A common consequence of these differences is the exaggerated conformity condition (Herzberg, (1998); Bittel and Newstrom, (1999). Subordinates feel that the only way to get along with the supervisor is to do what the supervisor tells them and agree with what he says. This is less distressing than being in conflict all the time (Freíd. D., (2000)); Pizzolante, (1997).
On the other hand, there is conformity that is actually passive resistance. People can agree with the boss publicly, worse privately they hold resentments and resist (Robbins and Cenzo, (1996); Imai, (1998) There are subtle forms of resistance, for example, when decisions are lost or never are fully implemented. Opposed to exaggerated conformity is open resistance to what the supervisor wants. Normal problem-solving procedures are abandoned and when supervisor and subordinates meet, they generate a struggle. This struggle too It can be hidden, and although the superficial interaction may seem compatible, there are strong internal conflicts in the background (Palacios, (2001); Nash, (1991); Pizzolante, (1997); Freíd, (2000).
In reality, the conflict should not be assumed as good or bad, it should not be subjected to ethical prejudices, nor be considered as a fight, but simply as a difference of opinions and interests that must be elucidated. (Parra de P (2004), Ayala, (2002); Esqueda, (1999) The difficulty lies in how to face these conflicts and revert them in favor of the organization's objectives.
When the conflict is studied, several elements are considered: first, the problem or situation that generates the conflict, which have external or internal causes; the circumstances that precipitate the conflict, which can be events such as hostile interactions, strong disagreements, sincere confrontations, internal temptations, among others; the behavior of the protagonists when facing the conflict must also be considered, since competitive strategies to win the conflict can aggravate it.
3. Negotiation in conflict resolution
The resolution of conflicts through negotiation has contemporary relevance, because conflicts are a phenomenon that extends to all activities or social areas and can affect people's emotional balance. In recent years, interest in conflict resolution has developed considerably. In companies, interpersonal conflicts contribute to reducing productive capacity and become the source of many psychological and social discomforts (Vinyamata, 1999).
Negotiating consists of having the will to find a satisfactory solution for each of the affected parties. It is to confront ideas and feelings to avoid that people confront or continue to confront each other. It is a necessity before the emergence of a conflict between two parties. Each party has the power both to prevent the other from achieving its goals, as well as to help it achieve them.
Negotiation is the fundamental form of conflict resolution, generally voluntary, and that involves discussion between the parties in dispute in order to reach an agreement or settlement in the conflict that confronts them.. To the extent that there is no third party intervention, negotiation allows the parties to the conflict to maintain control over the process and the agreement that may result from it. Among the various forms that this process adopts, positional or competitive negotiation stands out, in which each party tries to obtain the greatest possible benefit for itself without taking into account the result for the other party, and interest-based negotiation, centered not so much in the manifest positions of the parties but in their underlying interests and in the assumption that the search for at least one common interest will allow an agreement to be reached. This basic classification is expanded by Dean Pruitt (1991), who describes five possible negotiation strategies:
- Flexibility: implies the renunciation of one of the parties to all or almost all of what it intends to achieve, since it considers that pleasing the other party or avoiding the dispute is more important than winning. Rivalry: supposes that the parties enter into competition to obtain the greatest possible advantage, using means such as coercion and pressure that force the other party to make concessions. Problem Solving - This is a collaborative strategy in which opponents work together to reach a solution that meets the interests and needs of both parties. Inaction: the parties in conflict make the least possible effort to negotiate, so that, although sometimes a delay increases the opportunities to reach a later agreement, this strategy usually results in the breakdown of the negotiation. Abandonment: this position supposes the end of the negotiation and obliges both parties to depend for the achievement of their ends on alternative means to the negotiated agreement.
Regardless of the forms and strategies of negotiation adopted, this usually requires as a precondition the entry of the conflict into a state of maturity that facilitates the opening of the resolution process. This situation of maturity of a conflict is characterized by the perception of the parties that the costs of an ongoing confrontation are more damaging than the costs of a hypothetical agreement, and can result from several circumstances: the frustration of one or more parties due to their inability to achieve their objectives by the chosen means, the prominence within one or more parties of new people with a different mood from the people previously involved in the conflict,and the existence of external pressures that urge the parties to reach an agreement within a specified period of time.
When the negotiation process does not start at the moment when the optimal conditions for it exist, the conflict does not necessarily remain in a mature state and it may take a long time before a new opportunity for its resolution arrives.
In negotiation, emotions and feelings play a fundamental role, so a badly handled negotiation or dispute resolution causes us to get involved in unproductive tensions and debates where people get upset, lose control, passion overcomes reason and conflict is accentuated, creating an inappropriate climate to reach an understanding. Said Frank Barron, scholar of Psychology: Never take away her dignity from a person: she is everything to her, while she represents nothing to you. " Faced with the imminent influence of emotions in conflict resolution, we must know our character, have the appropriate behavior, approach the subject without offending and control our reaction, because the way to earn the respect of others begins by respecting them, and in life our attitude and way of treating people are a reflection of who we really are. Therefore, empathy and good treatment favor the collaboration of the parties to resolve the conflict.
It is important to note that negotiation is not a debate of ideas or a battle that ends with winners and losers; Rather, it must be seen as a process of dialogue that seeks to reach a satisfactory agreement for both parties in conflict. It is necessary to be clear that the positions raised in a conflict are not an end, but a means to satisfy interests and needs, therefore, it is essential to discover the true interest and need to satisfy in order to understand the fears, objectives and true motivation of the other part.
One of the main keys to success or failure in negotiation lies in negotiating skills, and a good negotiator will have a better chance of reaching an optimal agreement, given that, he prepares, knows his interests and those of the other party, he asks too much, listens more than he talks, explores the feelings and needs to be satisfied, fosters trust, promotes respect and has defined the "Best Negotiated Agreement Alternative" of the parties.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Conflict is part of everyday life, some more complex than others, the important thing is to know how to face it and have enough cognitive acuity to anticipate the possible scenarios where the opponents can act, to achieve this you have to memorize the rules of the game and avoid their transgression by any player. (Adair, 1990; Bohórquez, 2000) The conflict is established when there is disagreement, and as both parties become radicalized, they negotiate the use of mechanisms that make possible the possible shared and beneficial arrangement, to achieve it they use communication, as the most expeditious way out.
Communication is the ideal element for conflict resolution, its timely and efficient use helps to clear up doubts, clarify ideas and fix positions.
Avoiding conflicts is avoiding responsibilities, on the contrary, a company is strengthened with overcome conflicts and not with escaped ones. For this, highly trained personnel must be counted on to assess (the dimension of the conflict), dialogue, plan the appropriate strategies and thus face the problem.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
- Jennings, Marie and David Churchill, (1991): How to manage corporate communication? Colombia; Legis publishing fund, business series Vasquez Javier, (2008). Organizational Communication Vinyamata, E. (1999). Conflict prevention and resolution manual. Barcelona-Spain: Ariel SATorrego, JC (2000). Conflict mediation in educational institutions. Madrid-Spain: Narcea. Paulo Cesar Mesa (2001). Labor Conflicts. Stephen Robbins (1996, pp. 380-381), communication and conflict. Stoner J. (1996) Administration. Edit Prentice Hall, SA. Edicion.Mexico.Granell de Aldaz E. (1999) The multiple faces of conflict in organizations. Managers and negotiators? IESA debates magazine. Vol Nº 2 October-December. McFarland, L. Senn, L. and Childress, J. (1996) Leadership for the XXI Silo. Dialogue with 100 outstanding leaders.Editorial Mc Graw Hill Interamericana, SA Colombia.Palacios N. (2001). Negotiation Topics. Game Theory. Nash M. (1991) How to increase the Productivity of Human Resources. Editorial Norma. Colombia.
