- 1. PATHS TO HARMONY Working with Conflict among Groups Frank
OConnor NZ Psychological Society ~ Annual Conference 2009
Palmerston North, Aotearoa / New Zealand Developing Organisations
& Leaders Improving Business Performance & Management Moa
Resources, 103 Overtoun Terrace, Hataitai, Wellington, New Zealand
6021+64 21 386-911[email_address]
2. CONFLICTS WITH MAJOR EMOTIONAL AND COMMERCIAL ELEMENTS
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- Conflicts between two or more parties of disparate power
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- responsibility overlaps or underlaps
3. UTILITY OF APPROACHES
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- Theories and approaches designed to assist understanding and
intervention are noted
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- Motivation and efficacy work
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- But utilitys low from participants perspectives
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- Watch for their comments: they balance effort with
achievement
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- Much theory seems unhelpful: it takes too long to see
progress
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- Specific situations, issues or behaviours that exemplify the
conflict
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- Examples compare aspects of legalistic and other paths to
improvement
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- Clients calls for help seems better met by small changes now
than by deeper analysis
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- Best approaches make change quickly
4. CONSEQUENCES OF PATH CHOICE
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- Choosing a collaborative path after failed earlier attempts to
find an improvement path
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- Impact of readiness, willingness and ability of
participants
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- Timing and extent of benefits
5. NOTHING WRONG WITH MY IDEA 6. HEALING PUBLIC HEALTH
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- Two previously competing health service units, one publicly
owned and the other from the private sector, were committed to a
joint venture in delivering a range of community and public heath
services
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- This joint venture could only succeed if longstanding
differences in work priorities and operating style were
resolved
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- Levels of manager commitment varied, as some had not been
involved in the bidding process that won the contract
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- Aided participants in leaving past differences behind by
clarifying common goals for overall businesses, objectives shared
in specific service areas and operational issues to be
resolved
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- Assisted working parties in defining practice standards and
work processes and then timetable tasks allocated to specific
people so business as usual would continue during the
transition
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- Participants reported confidence in being able to advance with
the agreed programme by the end of the planning workshop
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- Follow-up over subsequent months reported regular achievement
of standards
7. A HARD POSITION TO MOVE FROM 8. PARTNERSHIP LUBRICATION
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- A District Council (as contract client)
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- Their contract consultant
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- Clients contracted deliverables
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- Reasons deliverables were wanted
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- What would make achievement unacceptablefailure factors
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- Perspectives from consultant then contractor
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- Participants discovered their differences:
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- Much more on the things each group expected to achieve
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- Not things they really needed to avoid (delays and death)
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- The similarity of these failure factors made it easy to agree
risks
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- A clearly understood single page of tangible partnership
objectives
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- Aligned to the business goals and obligations of the three
parties
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- Says What we want to happen and What we dont want to
happen
9. AS LONG AS WE KEEP TALKING 10. PUBLIC HEALTH
REGULATIONDISPUTE RESOLUTION
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- The Minister of Health requested mediation services
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- A protracted dispute between a health sector regulatory
authority, the leading relevant professional association and the
primary tertiary education institution providing professional
training
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- The dispute had seen more than $250,000 spent on lawyers
without improvement and was seen to be adversely affecting the
professions ability to safely deliver its services to the
public
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- A process of structured conversations
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- Enormous amount of getting ready to talk confidence
rebuilding
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- Improved communication increased mutual understanding
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- Participants relationship styles shifted in a constructive
way
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- Hearing all the grievances was crucial action on each was
not
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- agreed to leave the dispute behind them
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- forged a binding Memorandum of Understanding & Commitment
(their choice of title) to guide their interactions over the years
ahead
11. GETTING MY MESSAGE ACROSS 12. PUBLIC WORKS 1 RELATIONSHIP
BREAKDOWN
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- Shortfall in communication and ease around the delivery sought
by both parties
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- territorial local authority (asset owning client)
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- commercial engineering service contractor
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- Essential points of the commercial contract were being met
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- Both parties agreed to assistance in clarifying the issues is
there something wrong with the contract?
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- Survey showed their interface not working smoothly
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- Many examples of good performance
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- Expected work not being completed to mutual benefit
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- Issues needing resolution not addressed fairly and
promptly
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- Some of the people, some of the time, just didnt get on
13. PUBLIC WORKS 2 TANGIBLE INDICATORS OF DIFFICULTY
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- Contractor: increased staff turnover, especially in
hard-to-replace experienced staff
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- Client: increasing public concern about timing and quality of
work, especially where it caused disruption to citizens
activities
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- Both: low confidence in the other group
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- Small topics of disagreement were difficult to resolve
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- Negotiations on substantial matters were stalling and
inflexible
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- Direct cost incurred by the scrambling: $100,000 per month
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- Operating loss for the contractor
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- Recurring rework and repeated communications for both
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- Real money: We could have used that time to do profitable
work!
14. PUBLIC WORKS 3 RELATIONSHIP RESTORED
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- Id like you to meet our marriage guidance counsellor he has
saved our relationship
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- According to the contractor:
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- The increase in understanding of the our needs and effort
perspective was made possible by open discussion of business
drivers and styles we got listened to
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- Client: happy with work quality, rate and style
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- Contractor: Monthly commercial loss turned round and each month
now showed a small profit, due in part to improved collaboration
and in part to renegotiated rates for some work
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- All staff reported improvement in clarity of expectations and
ease of getting work done the goals of the intervention
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- Discomfort remained in parts of the interface
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- Awkward relationship remains personality transplant?
15. TENSION PEAKS AT BREAKING POINT 16. TELECOMMUNICATIONS 1
NETWORK CONSTRUCTION
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- A three year $250M project designed and built a new
telecommunications network
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- Support was provided at the commencement of the project, with
frequent refreshers, to ensure that the planning, staffing and
focus of the joint project team was sufficient for the task
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- Effort had been kept up to clarify evolving roles,
responsibilities, management practices and key processes
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- Many meetings between the partners were facilitated, to promote
a united approach and to plan and agree on the actions and
responsibilities for work programmes with high complexity or high
risk of conflict
17. TELECOMMUNICATIONS 2 NETWORK BREAKDOWN
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- The partnership between the network owner and a key technology
provider was suffering from exhaustion
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- Differences of opinion about work to be done and quality of
work delivered were requiring more and more management
conciliation
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- Confidence between the two parties was falling as the public
launch approached
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- Conflict flared between the parties and the project leaders
sought reorientation of staff to the task in hand, and a
collaborative charting of tasks critical to the projects
completion
18. TELECOMMUNICATIONS 3 CRITICAL CARE
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- After extensive preparation
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- A two day conversation involving seventy people
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- Cleared the air Without prejudice
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- Refocused on the goal shared and tangible vision of
success
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- Developed action plans through to operational completion
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- Relationships were reoriented
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- capability of people valued Well only get there together
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- technical failures and delays acknowledged and prioritised for
fixing
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- Reorientation held through to the completion of the
project
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- Launch was achieved on schedule within budget and without
public problems
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- The projects leadership was recognised by national awards.
19. GETTING IT TOGETHER 20. CHILD YOUTH AND FAMILY 1 SERVICE
NON-DELIVERY
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- Field service delivery performance being compromised by the
apparent inadequacy of information systems
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- Technical review demonstrated that the systems were largely
functioning as expected and the specialist team knew what they were
doing
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- However, relationship between business management and the IT
service team were characterised by buck-passing and
blame-shifting
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- Both parties believed they were being reasonable but the other
party would not allow a compromise to be reached
21. CHILD YOUTH AND FAMILY 2 GETTING AROUND THE SAME TABLE
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- Negotiated attendance of key players at a workshop
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- Established joint action plans
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- Documented responsibilities agreed
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- Properly heard, both parties found more common ground than was
expected
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- Priorities were sorted out together
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- Interface protocols were understood by the little people
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- Monitored action plans for three months to ensure issues
arising were addressed
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- Resulting effectiveness improvements and consequent benefits in
business performance were reported in a paper jointly presented by
representatives of the delivery and IT teams at the annual
conference of the New Zealand Computer Society
22. UTILITY RECAP
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- From participants perspectives
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- Watch for their comments: they balance effort with
achievement
-
-
- Much theory seems unhelpful: it takes too long to see
progress
-
-
- Specific situations, issues or behaviours that exemplify the
conflict
-
- Clients calls for help seems better met by small changes now
than by deeper analysis
-
-
- Best approaches make change quickly
23. FAVOURITE REFERENCES
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- Argyris, C. and Schn, D.A. (1974)Theory in practice: increasing
professional effectivenessSan Francisco: Jossey-Bass
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- Argyris, C. and Schn, D.A. (1978)Organizational learning: a
theory of action perspectiveNew York: McGraw-Hill
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- Leng, Russell J and Wheeler, Hugh G (1979) Influence stategies,
success and warJournal of Conflict Resolution23 p 655