Controlling The Costs Of Conflict: How To Design Asystem For Your Organization

Written for non-experts in jargon-free language, this work shows how to create systems within organizations that preempt the monetary, strategic, and emotional costs associated with on-the-job conflict. Its clear and simple approach translates advanced concepts into practical how-tos and provides readers with four guiding principles they can follow to create conflict control systems of their own. Amply illustrated with real-world examples, it details the policies, procedures, and practices that make for successful control systems and tells precisely how to implement them.

KARL A. SLAIKEU is president of Chorda Conflict Management, a consulting and training company that specializes in conflict management systems. He has taught in the psychology departments of the University of South Carolina at Columbia and the University of Texas at Austin, and is the author of When Push Comes to Shove: A Practical Guide to Mediating Disputes (Jossey-Bass, 1996). RALPH H. HASSON is vice president of Chorda Conflict Management. He also serves in the Graduate School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches negotiation.

Introduction.

The Hidden Culprit of High Costs: Weak Systems.

First Principle: Acknowledge Four Ways to Resolve Conflict.

Defining Four Options.

Weighing Costs and Risks of Each Method.

Choosing an Approach to Conflict Management.

The Preferred Path for Cost Control.

Second Principle: Create Options for Prevention and Early Intervention.

A Template for All Organizations.

Applying the Template: Real Stories.

Third Principle: Build Collaborative Strength Through Seven Checkpoints.

Seven Checkpoints.

Clarify Policy.

Define Roles and Responsibilities.

Revise Documents.

Establish Selection Criteria.

Provide Education and Training.
Strengthen Support Systems.

Evaluate the System.

Fourth Principle: Use the Mediation Model to Build Cosensus Among Decision Makers and Users.

Assumptions About Change.

Phase One: Draft a Blueprint.

Phase Two: Implement the Plan.

Phase Three: Review the System Annually.

Conclusion.

Conclusion: A Vision for Your Organization.

Resource A: Glossary.

Resource B: Ombudsman Code of Ethics and Standard Practices.

Resource C: Skills Courses.