How does Conflict Lead to Negotiation?

Conflicts arise when one or more parties to a situation differ in their interests or objectives. One or more of the partys actions or ideas (beliefs) in furtherance of these interests or objectives are incongruent or at odds with those of another party. 

There are two primary categories of conflict: 

What is Intra-personal Conflict (or intra-psychic conflict)?

This regards the internal conflict that an individual experiences regarding her ideas, thoughts, emotions, values, predispositions, etc. These conflicts are psychological and are worked out through cognition (mental reasoning) rather than negotiated with another party. 

What is Interpersonal Conflict? 

This regards the conflict between two or more individuals whose interests or objectives are at odds. Sub-classifications of inter personal conflicts involving more than two people include: 

What is Intra-group Conflict? 

This regards conflicts that arise between members of small group (such as a team or family). In a negotiation, such intra-group conflicts are equally important to the conflicts that exist with the counterparty. 

What is Intergroup Conflict? 

This regards conflicts that arise between different groups (such as teams, businesses, nations, etc.). This is the most commonly understood type of conflict in a group negotiation. 

In interpersonal conflict, the parties cannot act or otherwise achieve their interests or objectives without interacting with (negotiating with) another party with the same or similar interests or objectives. Further, in some interpersonal conflicts, the parties cannot achieve their interests or objectives simultaneously. That is, any negotiation over the interests at stake will cause one party to benefit at the expense of another. This is known as a distributive negotiation. 

In other interpersonal conflicts, the parties can achieve their desired outcomes in the negotiation without usurping value from the other party. This is known as an integrative negotiation. 

Related Topics

• What is negotiation?
• What scenarios or situations lead to a negotiation or cause parties to negotiate?
• What characteristics are common to all negotiations?
• What are the differences among negotiators that affect the negotiation process?
• What is a conflict and how does it give rise to negotiation?
• How is a negotiators disposition toward conflict resolution related to negotiation strategy?
• What is the level of dependence in a conflict negotiation?
• What are integrative, distributive, and compatible bargaining scenarios?
• What is the BATNA and what is the significance of alternatives in negotiation?
• What is the significance of the reservation point and ZOPA in a negotiation?
• What is the significance of concessions or adjustment of the bargaining position?
• What are anchor points and the bargaining range in a negotiation?
• What personal and situational factors are commonly understood to affect negotiation?