CHANGING CULTURE THROUGH CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

Suzanne M. Crampton and Donald J. Klein

Abstract One of the most difficult aspects of changing an organization's culture is that managers do not effectively deal with criticism and discipline. This article briefly reviews some of the literature regarding conflict as well as presents a study of how four organizations trained their managers to effectively address conflicts. The results indicate that a variety of management approaches were currently being utilized and that commitments were made by participants to improve their conflict management skills. Introduction Conflict is inevitable. When differing perceptions, attitudes and values interact, disagreements and misperceptions often occur. Most organizations do not train their managers to deal with the inevitable. Managers are supposed to know how to handle conflict through some mystical force that somehow they acquire at birth through osmosis. Today organizations recognize the need to grow their people as well as nurture a positive organizational culture. However, until managers are taught how to effectively deal with conflict situations, these two goals will not be achieved. This paper outlines a management training approach implemented at four small manufacturing organizations to assist their managers in managing conflict. By learning to more effectively interact with others, managers are able to nurture more positive attitudes, values, and culture. The organizations included in the study are four manufacturing organizations--a toolmaker, two metal stamping companies, and a screw machine shop. They ranged in size from 45 to 250 employees and in sales between $5 million and $70 million. This paper also includes the results of an exercise that we have used at the four organizations in teaching conflict and issue resolution. Background There are two forms of conflict that managers must be able to recognize and understand--one positive and one negative. The positive forms of conflict are functional and allow organizations to enhance their creativity and cohesiveness, to innovate, and to improve productivity. Without it, organizations become stagnant, complacent, and often unresponsive. Thus, it is critical to an organization's existence. However, negative forms of conflict and excessive conflict are disruptive to the organization and its employees and can undermine organizational success. Long, ongoing conflicts can develop an ineffective culture and become difficult to resolve (Mantell, 1991). Thus, if left uncontrolled, organizations can become dysfunctional. "Unless a company builds on positive, creative conflict and eliminates sources of destructive conflict, the company will fall short while trying to implement sweeping changes" (Klunk, 1997, p. 37).

There is a tendency for most managers to simply want to avoid conflict--real or perceived--for a number of reasons. Some managers do not want to get involved with problem employees because they want to be liked and approved of, they think the problem will go away if ignored, or they just fear confrontations. Second, people often don't feel comfortable about taking responsibility for their judgments. Third, managers may feel more certain of their judgments than their facts. Fourth, managers are afraid that if they start giving clear, serious feedback, they will receive feedback on their own performance. Fifth, many managers simply have not been exposed to conflict resolution skills. According to Kiechel (1990), when an organization has disciplinary problems, the majority of the time it is due to the management system in place; i.e., managerial incompetence, or poor performance evaluation and feedback techniques. For example, in a study by Ralfs and Morley (1990), they found that some managers covered up for troubled employees because they believed it was easier to demote them, promote them, or just ignore them while others were simply unsure about what to do so they let the problem slide. Unfortunately, managerial procrastination may turn a minor difficulty into a major and costly disruption. Finally, while managers are in the best position to monitor employees' performance and recognize potential problems, another problem is that they often are the last to recognize a troubled employee (Ralfs & Morley, 1990). It is our belief that the literature review above is applicable to over 95% of the small businesses in the world. What are small businesses doing about it? Our professional judgment is probably not much. Why are managers not doing more if there is such overwhelming literature and evidence that indicate addressing conflicts is one of the key elements to positively changing culture? We believe that the primary reason is a lack of training on how to effectively provide criticism. The balance of this paper details a simple and successful training approach on sending criticism that has started four different small manufacturing organizations on the path to addressing conflicts that impeded their progress in growing people and nurturing a positive culture. Culture Change In order to develop a more positive organizational culture, employees need to change their behaviors or be removed from the organization. One of the most difficult aspects of changing culture is having all echelons of management face problems and conflicts on a timely basis. Facing conflicts is one of the prerequisites needed to provide people with an opportunity to change their behavior. However, sending and receiving criticism is usually not desired by many. It is the authors' experience that most managers, regardless of what level of responsibility they might have, do not like or know how to properly deal with others, much less manage the organization's culture. This is consistent with what the literature indicates. The Training Process The training program the authors conduct to assist an organization's management in developing a more positive culture consists of ten sessions, each two hours in length. Typically during the fourth two-hour session, we begin to address how to effectively provide feedback and criticism. Prior to this specific session, we have already spent at least six hours discussing what culture is and its importance to implementing change within an organization. This paper is based on the two-hour session experiences that we have had on how to provide criticism.

Sometimes we are asked why the training program consists of ten sessions. There is nothing sacred in the number ten. So why not use fewer sessions? It is the belief of the authors that the soaking process of education and training yields greater results. This approach is analogous to the natural law of farming. One must frequently water the crops so that they have a greater chance of growing. Therefore, we feel it is more conducive to meet with the participants approximately every other week for two hours, rather than in one or more all-day sessions or other longer meeting formats. It is necessary to spend time together often if you are going to get to know people. The more frequently people meet and interact with each other, the greater the opportunity to improve and develop relationships and understandings. The Importance of Discipline The session commences with a thirty-minute overview of why discipline is positive and not negative. Too many times we grow up believing that discipline is bad. The dictionary informs us that discipline primarily focuses on education, training, changing behavior and molding character, followed by punishment if the teaching doesn't take root. You are not helping people to grow if you don't provide them discipline. We inform participants that if they fail to discipline, they are like thieves, robbers, and people who lack integrity because they are failing to help people grow. How can an individual know what to change and how to change if someone doesn't help him or her? We believe that growing people is an organization's number one goal, assuming that the company is built upon ethical and moral values. This thirty minute discipline overview sets the tone and understanding for why management must deal with problem employees, conflicts and other issues on a timely basis. Our experience has been that this discussion clearly illustrates the need to deal with conflicts and the punishment aspect of discipline instead of deferring it and hoping that problems will disappear on their own. The Training Technique After the above discussion is completed, a handout on "Helpful Hints For 'Sending' Criticism" is provided to all participants (see Table 1). We then have seven volunteers each read to the group a different section of the table. Participants are invited to make comments and discuss or add any new items after each section is read. The purpose of this is make sure that everyone reviews and hears the multitude of suggestions available on how to send criticism. This approach also allows us to clarify any point presented. Sometimes comments are made regarding some of the points listed as well as organizational war stories that relate to them. On a couple of occasions a company has entered into a meaningful dialogue regarding some past issue or personnel problem, which proved to be very beneficial. However, there is usually limited discussion at this point. Table 1 has evolved over time. When we first developed this training program, we began with a short list of suggestions on how to send criticism. We then asked participants as part of another exercise to expand this list of suggestions. The list has grown to the point where there is considerable redundancy or lack of new suggestions when using the old exercise. Consequently, we have discontinued trying to enlarge the list of suggestions. Table 1 - Helpful Hints For "Sending" Criticism (Part a) 1. When criticizing, concentrate on developing the individual. a. One effective technique is to create an action plan as a guide for the individual to improve. b. Avoid making any criticism destructive or too personal. c. Concentrate on turning the session into a win-win situation, so the teammate, manager, and company gain.

d. Criticize actions, not people. e. Be prepared (anticipate questions). f. Ask them how they would change things to improve the situation. g. Provide specific examples and alternatives for the criticized behavior. h. Be direct and to the point. i. Try to make as many positive statements as possible. 2. Often the criticism's tone, not the exact words selected, provokes an employee. a. Concentrate on establishing a constructive and positive tone. Example: Begin with phrases such as "These skills could enhance your repertoire and make you more effective" and "Here's how you can improve." b. Don't demean employees or make them feel that they are incapable of improving. c. Put yourself in your teammate's shoes when planning your criticism and think about how you would feel if someone delivered those comments to you. d. Rehearse what you are going to say before the meeting. e. Make sure the meeting ends on a positive note. f. Always stay calm and in control. g. Always be specific. h. Choose a neutral location. i. Praise in public, criticize in private. j. There is no need to raise your voice in anger. k Constantly monitor your voice tone and body language. l. Allow some cool down time period if possible. m. Respect an individual's space and don't physically get in his/her face. n. Walk through the situation so the worker knows what needs to be changed and why. 3. Involving the teammate in the process serves as another way to turn the experience into a rewarding one: Example: "Let's look at alternatives. Let's come up with solutions together." a. Avoid supplying all the answers. b. Avoid making sweeping statements. Example: Instead of saying, "You're messing up", a comment that makes the other person feel angry and helpless, offer suggestions on how to improve. c. How can you help me with this problem? d. How do you see this as affecting the team? e. What do you feel should be done? f. How long should it be before we evaluate this again? g. Ask them for their view of the problem (maybe they don't even believe there is a problem). h. How can I help? i. Ask for opinions first. Table 1 - Helpful Hints For "Sending" Criticism (Part b) 4. Focus on the future, not the past. a. Stress partnership in trying to solve problems. b. Don't fix blame or point fingers. c. Show how action leads to a higher skill level. d. Clearly reinforce expectations. e. Develop action plans and practice follow-up. f. Don't put down a person for past mistakes.

g. Spend more time on discussing future improvements and less time on the past incident. 5. Accentuate that the teammate will see positive results from changing behavior. This change will: a. Make you more proficient, more valuable, more competent. b. Help grow one's self-esteem. c. Develop teamwork. d. Make the company more profitable. e. Develop self-motivation. f. Develop trust. g. Show how everyone wins with the improvement (person, department, company). 6. Do not wait until the annual performance appraisal process to deliver criticism. a. By the time the performance appraisal comes around, there should be no surprises. b. Inform the individual how this (action) is being recorded. c. Provide a person a known opportunity is available to them to improve in a specific area before evaluation time. d. Praising should be done frequently. e. Confront issues on a timely basis. f. The time until a review is wasted and company performance is poorer if you wait. g. A person should be given a chance to show improvement before the annual review. Don't let a person lose a wage increase because of a lack of timely feedback. 7. Clarify the consequences of not correcting behavior. a. Explain what this action, or lack of it, means to the company and to the individual. b. Make sure you follow through or your credibility is lost. c. Don't be overly tolerable on allowing individuals not to follow rules (e.g., absenteeism, lateness). d. Explain disciplinary actions. e. Lay out the specifics of consequences. After reviewing Table 1, participants are paired off in a random manner. To do this, typically an envelope with matching numbers, letters and symbols is circulated to establish who is paired off with whom. Each member in the paired group is asked to spend about twenty minutes discussing with each other what each member currently feels he or she is doing well as a manager regarding the ability to deal with problems and conflicts. Participants are also asked to choose or identify at least two additional techniques that each will use in the future to improve their skills in this area. Most often, participants select items from Table 1. The next step is to reassemble as a large group and have all the managers share with everyone what they feel that they are currently doing well and what techniques they are going to work on improving regarding sending criticism. The group as a whole is asked to affirm whether what each individual claims he or she is doing is perceived as reality. In most cases, the group agrees with what the individual perceives. This is a critical step in teaching participants that they must be vulnerable to the group and learn how to receive feedback if they want to grow and teach others. Being vulnerable breaks down a lot of barriers and enhances communication and honesty with one another.

Each participant is next asked to act as a coach. To do this, the pairs created earlier reconvene and each person in the dual group acts as the other partner's coach. A coach is expected to, at least once a week, ask the other person if he or she has used the new techniques the person promised to use. Partners are encouraged to discuss more fully how they have been doing in sending criticism and dealing with problems. We believe that if this sharing and discussing are repeatedly practiced, both the open sharing and the implementation of the techniques will become a habit. During the subsequent two-hour training session (typically the fifth in the series), each person is asked if his or her coach had been faithful to the commitment made. Our experience indicates mixed results at this point. Some participants have remembered to faithfully coach their partner while others forgot. However, as we continue to make this inquiry during each of the next few training sessions in the series, the weekly coaching expectation results increase to almost one hundred percent. This approach acts as a constant reminder of what the participants have learned and what they are expected to be doing. It thus becomes habit forming. In addition, we reinforce the learning process by requiring all participants to role play various conflict situations (typically during sessions five through nine in the training series). Each participant is required to role play at least twice--once as a manager and once as a subordinate. Utilizing this technique has proven to be very effective in improving the participants' confidence and skills in dealing with conflicts. Results We found that over ninety percent of the managers that we have trained have never received training on how to manage much less address conflict and on how to change the culture. This is consistent with the literature. During the last training session at each company, we surveyed the participants as to what they had learned. We specifically asked them what they felt they knew before and after taking the ten sessions regarding managing and dealing with criticism, There was an overwhelming one hundred percent response that they learned the importance of why and how to send criticism. Participants also reported that they had more confidence in their abilities to properly provide criticism. Some shared that they had found new respect from their employees because of their approach to addressing ongoing problems. Several times we have observed that the managers who were initially perceived to be weak at managing due to their temper, their inability to address problems and issues, their softspoken manner, etc. have made the greatest transformation toward a more effective management style. In all four organizations we witnessed significant personal and professional growth in participants. Our exit surveys from the participants have been excellent regarding the progress made in developing more effective management skills. Tables 2 through 5 contain the comments made by management from four of the manufacturing organizations where we have implemented the above training.

Person

Coach

What I Do Well Now As A Manager

What I Promise To Improve As A Manager

Anne

Pete

Determine positive facts first and then explain how to improve on negative one Coach and counsel with a plan in mind Have a time line for noticeable improvement Ask the person for suggestions on improvement ideas Keep the conversation positive Work on the problem together Choose an opportune time to deliver criticism Deal with facts and not rumors Use "we" versus "you" Speak honestly about the issue Explain to the person what he/she has to do or what we need

Remain calm Help the other person remain calm

Pete

Anne

Focus on issues and not hearsay Present the problem to the person's sense of fairness and ask him/her to help solve it

Mike

Harry & Kevin

Avoid sarcasm Slow down and consider the circumstances--what and why

Harry

Kevin & Mike

Concentrate on developing the individual Ask for the individual's input Don't wait until the situation is intolerable

Develop more control over losing temper Moderate tone Allow cool down time Ask for help in solving the problem Address criticism situations more rather than avoid them Follow up and verify the effectiveness of the criticism Make the company more profitable/areas to improve Provide more coaching/counseling Remain calm under stress

Kevin

Harry & Mike

Do not yell Show compassion Use examples

Marty

John

Don't fix blame; point fingers; focus on action Help grow self-esteem

Lois

Mike

Face situations quickly

Provide positive criticism

Improve follow-up Use the socratic way of coaching Keep outside emotions outside Better preparation for the situation Remain calm Need to call people on the situation Monitor body language-expression Better listening skills Communicate dissatisfaction-be more direct Compliment more Discipline more Improve patience Compliment more Patience--deal with frustrations Discipline properly Display of anger Discipline uglies Criticize Praise Learn to say "no" Take initiative more often

Frank

Beth

Follow through with direction Discuss why/how a specific task is done

Mike

Lois

Provide good instructions Keep everyone informed

John

Marty

Follow through Give praise

Gerry

Maria

An objective thinker Treat all fairly, equally

Beth

Frank

Open and listen Treat everyone fairly Get others' viewpoint Accurate Detail oriented Communicate well Teamwork--motives Praise others Deal with situations Treat all equally Encourage well Computer skills

James

Kathy

Maria

Gerry

Scott

Vern

Kathy

James

Ray

Roberta

Kathy

James

Stay direct Emphasize good issues

Explain how actions affect others Detail the consequences Follow up is slow--respond more timely Monitor progress Assumptions of past practices Follow up Reinforce how actions can be positive Follow up--compliment change Tone of criticism Focus on the future, not the past Concentrate on improving the individual Clarify consequences Need to listen more Need to praise more Improve effective criticism Be more assertive Confront ideas on a timely basis Improve positive feedback Praise more Be better prepared Compliment more--be sincere

Richard

Val

Talk about solutions Willing to listen

Vern

Scott

Stay calm In control

Edward

Brian

Keep positive tone with associates Be direct about situation

Roberta

Ray

Concentrate on development Develop a plan/clarify consequences

Val

Richard

Focus on the future Positive mannerisms

Caroline Ray

Communicate well Criticize in a timely manner Patient Very thorough

Walter

Patricia

Ray

Caroline

Effective communication Accept others' opinions

Brian Patricia

Edward Walter

Respectful Control anger Listen to both sides of the story

Investigate and not confuse Find the best in people Remain calm Point out the facts Let other person draw his/her own conclusion Try to understand what is happening Focus on the process and not the problem Try to be a part of the solution Try not to be just a problem identifier

Watch personal jokes Discipline more Stick to beliefs

William

Brian

Harry

Jason

Ask how I can help more Explain better how actions or skills will cause betterment

Larry

Joe

Ask about issues and express concerns Request explanations Ask what actions have been initiated or why they have not been initiated Express madness

Have less anger or madness when issues occur Investigate the other person's paradigm before speaking Focus on the problem and not the person Increase the frequency of feedback to employees regarding their performance Involve the person more in correcting and changing the problem to a positive result Always stay calm and in control Allow some cool down time before acting Get the facts first Make sure that no one is surprised at review time for what needs to be changed Try not to procrastinate as much Use fewer facial expressions of not being pleased

Randy

Barry

Use specific activity examples rather than general comments Address the problem rather than the personality Try to tie activity or lack of it to a consequence

Barry

Randy

Try to be clear on how he feels-sometimes anger shows through Ask the person how he/she would come up with a solution

Marty

Gordy

Get the facts--have examples of items that are not correct Try to choose the time of day to increase the effectiveness of the meeting

Try to only confront significant differences--not petty issues

Use more verbal expressions

Joe

Larry

Pull the person aside when discussing issues--don't put him/her on the spot Accentuate the positive Try to steer the person to a different path Always try to keep an open mind

Be more assertive when confronting the issues--have the facts Improve presentation to the person by having pertinent information Do more public praising and criticizing in private Allow some cool down time Gather the facts before taking action

Charlie

Stan

Direct and to the point Criticize the action and not the person Ask the person if he/she sees any wrong or sees any mistake

Gordy

Marty

Describe the problem in a positive and complete manner Try to ask questions so that the person will invent his/her own answer Give the person an opportunity to bring problems to him Sometimes sarcastic when dealing with people Blunt and to the point Try to find the facts out before criticizing anyone Explain to the person the way it should be done after deciding that the action taken was better or worse than expected Sometimes allows individuals to make mistakes and then explain why and how it should have or could have been done better

Address issues more quickly Provide clear answers

Stan

Charlie

Be less sarcastic Focus on criticizing actions and not people Make as many positive comment as possible Create action plans as guides on how to help individuals improve Be more direct and to the point with people Explain expectations more frequently

Jason

Harry

Person

Coach

What I Do Well As A Manager

What I Promise To Improve As A Manager

Robin

Anges

Remember to be compassionate Start out with a positive statement, then give the negative, end on a positive Show the facts to be sure the criticism is truth Criticize in private Criticize the behavior, not the person Open with praise, continue with concern, ask for suggestions, set goals Go over prior, rehearse Stay low key, use a private area Respect the person's space Start out with a positive statement, then give the negative, end on a positive Honesty with compassion to the point Show the facts Direct Not afraid to apologize Criticize action, not people Stay calm Criticize privately Allow the person to maintain his/her dignity Correct the behavior, not the person Talk on the person's level and involve him/her Review the conversation to see what was heard Do not demean employees

Move on gut feelings Keep in mind that each person is different Watch my body language

Russ

Barbara

Respond quicker Follow-up with praise Be consistent Lay out the consequences Focus on the issue, not the person Stay calm Ask, "How can I help?" Trust instincts of when to get involved Use more senses than his eyes Realize when I don't criticize (grow people) that I'm not doing my part Control my temper Put myself in others' shoes Listen to to others' points of view Stop procrastinating when criticism is needed Criticize the action, not the person Control body language

Agnes

Robin

Barbara Russ

Diane

Denise

Dick

Maxine

Steve

Jack

Timing Can be too soft Control my body language

Denise

Diane

Focus on the issues

Respect their space Put myself in their shoes

Stay calm, in control Get to the point Focus on the issues, not the people Control my body language Resist giving the answer to the person Address the issues more directly Be more consistent Control body language

Maxine

Dick

Try not to demean the person Protect the person's space Protect the individual

Jack

Steve

Talk in private to individuals Give some praise Provide the facts Direct and to the point More in private Try to explain reasons Avoid being too personal Stay calm Rehearse what I will say Criticize in positive manner Focus on the action--not the person Share good work points too Use a question to start the meeting Send message in a joking manner Try to set an example of how to by role modeling Always meet one on one Keep smiling when talking--don't raise voice Provide choices for changing decision Discipline in private Specific on the issue Send positive non-verbal communication

Roger

Vern

Stay calm Reduce raising of voice

Gordy

George

Ask for input Fix the problem; not the blame

Vern

Roger

Stay calm--think through the situation Don't criticize in front of others

Gene

Grant

Don't procrastinate Develop more trust with individuals

Ted

Larry & Mick

Be more specific (share reasons) Cool down, time--to think about options

Mick

Ted & Larry

Be prepared--know the history of the person and the situation Praise in public--criticize in private

George

Gordy

Stick to the action not the person Stay relatively calm Criticize in private

Start criticizing on a more timely manner Think over reasons for disciplinary actions before delivering Develop trust Stress partnership in solving problems

Grant

Gene

Criticize in private Direct and to the point Don't demean others Criticize in private Positive attitude Do things in a timely manner

Larry

Ted & Mick

Don't do on spur of moment Plan ahead when criticizing

Some commonalties among the managers on commitments for improvements appear frequently among all the companies' data. These include the need to discipline more frequently and on a timely basis, to control tempers and to remain calm while confronting others. There were also some similarities among the comments that managers felt they are currently doing well. These include criticizing in a positive manner, being direct and to the point, not demeaning the individual, and trying to criticize the action/behavior rather than the person. As one reads through the individual responses to the exercise it becomes apparent that there are many managers behaving and managing differently within the same organization. Everyone manages according to his or her personality, training and comfort zone. We applaud the organizations that recognize their training needs and provide the necessary education to grow their managers so that they are better prepared to handle difficult situations. This not only provides for a healthier manager but also a healthier work force. It also makes changing to a positive culture more feasible. Summary It is difficult for most managers to criticize others, including their subordinates, because they have never been properly trained to do so or to understand what is expected of them in conflict situations. However, constructive criticism is a critical step in developing and maintaining a qualified and productive workforce. The exercise that we have described in this paper is one technique or tool that can be utilized to help managers start to focus on improving their abilities to deal with conflict and issues and, consequently, change their organization's culture. References Kiechel, W. III (1990, May). How to discipline in the modem age. Fortune, 179-180. Klunk, S. W. (1997). Conflict and the dynamic organization. Hospital Material Management Quarterly, 19(2), 37-44.

Mantell, E. H. (1991). Factional conflict through the generations. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 50(8), 407-418. Ralfs, M., Morley, J. (1990, November). Turning employee problems into triumphs. Training & Development Journal, 73-76. About the Authors Suzanne M. Crampton Seidman School of Business Grand Valley State University L. V. Eberhard Center 301 W. Fulton Grand Rapids, MI 49504 Phone: (616) 771-6808 fax (616) 771-6515 E-mail: [email protected] Donald J. Klein Seidman School of Business Grand Valley State University L. V. Eberhard Center 301 W. Fulton Grand Rapids, MI 49504 Phone: (616) 771-6674 fax (616) 771-6515 E-mail: [email protected]