Managing Conflicts of Interest
Definition - Conflict
"a process which begins when one party perceives that the other is frustrated, or is about to frustrate, some concern of his (or her).       Thomas, 1976 in B&H p634
Exercise
Clients – who is affected?
Actors – who are the leading players (individuals, groups and institutions)
Transformations (what is the content and process? What is the ground that is being fought over?)
World-view – what is the wider perspective
Organisation – what are the organisational and coordinative implications
Environment – what are the characteristics of the environment in which this is played?

What are the conflicts & interests?
How are they manifested (feelings & behaviour)?
How would the conflicts normally be resolved?
How do you think the participants perceive the resolutions in terms of degree of satisfaction ?

Organisational policy and practice on conflict management
What would be the content and coverage of an organisational policy on conflict management?
What policy areas?
What norms and expectations in terms of behaviour?
Factors influencing the manner of resolution
Organisational climate & culture
Habituation, custom & practice, status quo
Personal or political interests
Presence or absence of systems, policies & procedures for managing conflict
Individual skill in conflict handling
Willingness to compromise
Attitudes towards conflict
A way of life
War ("…all's fair in love & …..")
Attrition
Coup de grace
Competition ("…we'll see who gets there first")
Avoidance ("…leave well alone")
Accommodation ("…no, after you")
Compromise ("…split the difference")
Collaboration ("…lets work this out together")

B&H pp 564-656