Look for solutions that create value for both parties when attempting to resolve departmental conflicts, Ann Martin, a Cornell expert in conflict resolution, told academic department chairs during a workshop in December.
Provost Biddy Martin, who hosted the fourth in the new universitywide series of workshops established to help orient department chairs, added that she knows from personal experience that resolving conflicts between and among faculty members in departments can be one of the most time-consuming and significant jobs for department chairs.
"There are many times I think the job of department chair is the hardest of all," Provost Martin said. "It's a very difficult task and a very important one. Maintaining relations in departments can be a challenge. But faculty morale can be improved dramatically by the efforts chairs make to reduce conflict and ensure that faculty feel their work is appreciated."
That's why Francille Firebaugh, vice provost for land grant affairs and special assistant to the president, selected the topic of "Conflict Resolution" in the session held Dec. 11 in Hollister Hall.
Approximately 50 department chairs, deans and administrators attended the session, conducted by Ann Martin, associate dean and director of extension for the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), and Scott Sears, a consultant and trainer in conflict resolution and organizational change in ILR's Programs for Employment and Workplace Systems.
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| Scott Sears, a consultant and trainer in ILR's Programs for Employment and Workplace Systems, conducts the Dec. 11 workshop for department chairs in Hollister Hall. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography |
Through discussion and a series of small-group exercises, Martin and Sears briefed chairs on what's called "the interest-based approach to conflict resolution." That involves:
The key, Sears said, is to "create value without claiming value. Look for a solution that creates value for both parties as opposed to claiming your portion of satisfaction and thereby giving something up."
In compromise, he explained, each side gives something up. In interest-based conflict resolution, or what in collective bargaining R. Walton and R. McKersie called the integrative approach, "the idea is to attain objectives that are not in fundamental conflict; each party can gain without imposing loss on the other. ... Conflict can actually be healthy. It's a sign that something needs to be fixed; an opportunity to make things better. You just have to figure out how to work with the conflict."
Several chairs commented that while such an approach sounded fine for the kinds of issue-specific, discreet negotiations involved in labor disputes, they wondered if it could be effectively applied to the kinds of personality-related problems and "simmering resentments" that often plague departments. These kinds of problems often don't respond to logical, or gain-gain, solutions, they noted.
But Ann Martin said that she and Sears use the tools of the interest-based approach in all kinds of disputes based on personalities and simmering resentments, including marriage counseling and divorce and child custody cases. The key, she said, is to figure out what actually is being expressed, what the parties' underlying needs are and try to expand beyond the immediate issues and claims to create gain for each party.
"The presenting issue may not be what you need to work on," she said. "The problem may be in the structure or the system. The basis is understanding, getting to the bottom of what the problem or issue is, looking at what's underneath and then creating value or gain for both parties, perhaps beyond the presenting issue. ... In the end you do the best you can. At least this gives you a set of tools to start with."
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