Acquisition in Multinational Coperation Essay Example for Free

Acquisition in Multinational Coperation EssayPurpose This snatchceptual paper aims to draw upon recent knottyness and transcriptional psychology literature to examine flimflamict facts, exploring the limitations of the prevalent interrogation i purloin that treats flurryict ends as come outring in sequence, as separate isolated incidents. Design/ methodology/approach The paper addresses a long-standing issue in swipe gameict readcern interrogation, which is that the predominant typology of stingict is takefusing. The manifoldness status challenges the fundamental paradigm, which has dominated query in the short-changeict eld, in which bunkoict sequels breathe in sequence and in isolation, with animal trainers using atomic weigh 53 predominant form of acquireict dissolver demeanor. Findings The ndings argon two-fold rst, the sortal strategies embellished in the focussing of these gypicts will be highly complex and will be determined by a is sue of inuencing factors and se heard, this touch offs supposition beyond the two dimensional affaire dhonneur abductcern panorama, in that the all-mains(prenominal) manager dealing with these multiple, simultaneous get a lineicts will also emergency to short-changesider the come-at- fitting implications of their chosen strategy along with the changing micro environment in which they operate.Originality/ cherish This paper adds value to the eld of shirkict theory by moving beyond two dimensions and exploring a sequential determinetingency situation for memorizeict wariness within the system of rules. It argues that multiple bunko gameict episodes potentiometer occur at the same time, requiring managers to use differing appearances for advantageful bunco gameict charge. Keywords yardbirdict perplexity, playict resolution, organisational yard birdvictict, Indivi dual behaviour, social transactionPaper suit Conceptual paper supranational daybook of Conict managementVol. 21 no. 2, 2010pp. 186-201q Emerald Group Publishing Limited1044-4068DOI 10.1108/10444061011037404IntroductionIt is now over 40 years since Louis Pondy (1967) wrote his seminal article on shrink fromict within the organization and its direction and or so 20 years since his reections on his earlier work were published (Pondy, 1989)1. In 1967 Pondy established what was for two decades the world(a)ly accepted paradigm of get wordict that yard birdict episodes occur as temporary disruptions to the otherwise cooperative bloods which make up the organization (Pondy, 1967). In his subsequent reections on his earlier work and that of others, Pondy proposed that shrink fromict is an subjective peculiarity of organisational life, rather than an occasional breakdget of cooperation (Pondy, 1989). This radically challenged the previous paradigm. Indeed, Pondy (1989) even extracted that question into the phenomenon of cooperation within the organization could be be necial in providing further insight into cheatict within the organization, implying that it was cooperation, not confidence gameict, which was the anomalous state requiring investigation. Yet, for al well-nigh two decades, Pondys conceptualization of conict as a natural state for the organization has remained much often than not unexplored despite the emergence of a complexity perspective which explores multiple elements of the conict situation or cooperative state. One possible reason why Pondys challenge has not been answered is that whatsoever perplexity has arisen over the cost and typologies utilize for the classication of conict episodes. Consequently, debates near conict structure or composition befuddle tended to dominate the research agenda. The potential for confusion arising from these various conict classications will be discussed in this paper. Where conict commission behaviors abide been studied, researchers clear tended to focus on a flattened approach or dual concern theory rulel (Thomas, 1976) which suggests that several(prenominal)s adopt conict management behaviors based on their sensed egotism interests and those of others i.e. concern for self (competitive behaviors) versus concern for other (accommodating behaviors). Although this approach to the research of conict and its management ts well with Pondys (1967) original paradigm, it is challenged by the complexity perspective that has emerged in psychology research. The complexity perspective of intraorganizational conict maintains that inter private relationships ar to a greater extent than complex than hitherto thought, and that the unfolding conict is inuenced by a enormous variety of conditions. more than thanover the complexity perspective encourages the consideration of simultaneous complexity (more than ane event occurring simultaneously) and of how the mode of conict management collide withs the outlets (Munduate et al., 1999). This fresh perspective has en abled researchers to examine the point at which behavioral style is changed and the instal on the conict episode (Olekalns et al., 1996) and to air at how unalike behaviors argon combined (Janssen et al., 1999).With the recent developments in the complexity perspective of conict management research (Van de Vliert et al., 1997 Munduate et al., 1999), the time has come to further explore the possible consequences of the complexity perspective whether it is in fact the case that conict is an inherent condition within the organization (Pondy, 1989) whether conict episodes donot occur in isolation but occur frequently and simultaneously (Euwema et al., 2003) and whether complex sequences of adaptive behaviors atomic number 18 required to continually manage the constantly changing intraorganizational, conict environment. in the beginning we rat do this, and to tolerate a common lay down for discourse, we rst need to examine some of the theories roughly conict typology that remov e arisen in the psychology and management literature and which may be the cause of some confusion.Conict wrong and typologiesConict is a broad construct that has been studied extensively across several(prenominal) disciplines covering a wide range of social interactions. Previous conict research has identied four main trains of conict in the context of human behavior and relationships as summarized by Lewecki et al. (2003)(1) Intergroup conicts in the midst of groups of individuals which usher out range in size and complexity due to the m whatsoever relationships twisting, including international conict betwixt nations.(2) Intragroup or intraorganizational conicts arising within smaller groups which comprise the organization.A re-evaluationof conict theory187IJCMA21,2188(3) inter private conict that is, conict at an individual level, conict between individuals, or conict between an individual and a group. (4) Intrapersonal conict on a personal level, where the conict occurs i n ones own mind.Although these four levels of conict all appear across both(prenominal) the psychology and management literature, it is the three level (interpersonal conicts within the organization or the reactions an individual or group has to the perceptual experience that two parties have aspirations that thronenot be achieved simultaneously) that has become the central eld of research within the organization (Putnem and Poole, 1987). In 1992, Thomas proposed a simplied denition of interpersonal conict as the subprogram which begins when an individual or group feels vetoly moved(p) by another individual or group. The conict consists of a perception of barriers to achieving ones goals (Thomas, 1992). More recently, interpersonal conict has been dened as an individuals perceptions of incompatibilities, differences in views or interpersonal incompatibility (Jehn, 1997). Conict at this level has nearly been seen as adversarial and as having a negative effect upon relationshi ps (Ford et al., 1975). These denitions presuppose that an underground or incompatibility is perceived by both parties, that some interaction is taking place, and that both parties are able to inuence or get involved that is. that there is some degree of interdependence (Medina et al., 2004). Interpersonal conict could arise within organizations where, for example, customer-facing departments such as gross sales make promises to customers that other departments then have to deliver. In this domain of intraorganizational, interpersonal conict, both Pondys (1966, 1967) work and recent developments adopting the complexity perspective are of fussy interest This broad empyrean of intraorganizational, interpersonal conict has been further subdivided into two types relationship conict and labour conict. Relationship conict arises between the actors through their subjective emotional positions, whereas undertaking conict relates primarily to the more objective projects or issues inv olved (Reid et al., 2004). A series of studies conrmed this duality between relationship and business. fence and nonean (1986) identied raft oriented versus confinement oriented conict. In the early to mid-1990s Priem and Price (1991), Pinkley and no.thcraft (1994), Jehn (1995) and Sessa (1996) all identied relationship and task as discrete aspects of conict. The painting became rather more complicated in the late 1990s. In 1995 Amason et al. redened conict types as affectional and cognitive and in 1999 Van de Vliert further redened these types as task and person conict. In working toward a more comprehensive pretense ofintraorganizational, interpersonal conict, Jameson (1999) suggested three dimensions for conict(1) sum(2) relational and(3) situational.The content dimension encompasses the previously discussed conict types (affective, cognitive, relationship etc) while the relational dimension considers the subjective, perceived variables within the relationships of the actors involved .trust.status....A re-evaluationof conict theoryseriousnessdegree of interdependencerecord of success andthe number of actors involved.The situational dimension examines the variables which may be most relevant in selecting an clutch conict management strategy. These include time pressure, the potential impact of the conict episode, the degree of escalation and the range of options available in the management of the conict episode (Jameson, 1999). Meanwhile, Sheppard (1992) criticized the multiplicity of damage that were being used to expose types of interpersonal conict, and the gratuitous confusion that this caused. The leave of the m whatsoever approaches described above is that there is no general model for the typology of interpersonal conict within the organization. In the absence of such a model, other researchers have taken distinguishable approaches, using the antecedents of the conict episode to describe conict types. Examples of this proliferation incl ude intent conict (Walker et al., 1975), gender conict (Cheng, 1995) and goal conict (Tellefsen and Eyuboglu, 2002). This proliferation of terms or typologies has unsurprisingly led to confusion, most noticeably with the term interpersonal conict being used to describe purely relationship or emotional conict (Bradford et al., 2004) or conict being dened in terms of emotion only, adding to the wide range of terms already used (Bodtker and Jameson, 2001). then, at a time when international, interorganizational, intraorganizational, interpersonal and intrapersonal conicts are being extensively studied with conict dened and operationalized in a variety of expressive styles, no widely accepted and consistent model has emerged to shape conict research (Reid et al., 2004). hold over I summarizes the many divers(prenominal) conict typologies that have been proposed. Table I illustrates that relationship and task conict are almost universally accepted as distinct types of interpersonal conict by psychology and management researchers. DateAuthor(s)Conict typology198619911994199519951996199619971999199920002000200220032003200420042005Wall and no(prenominal)anPriem and PricePinkley and nary(prenominal)thcraftJehnAmason et al.SessaAmasonAmason and SapienzaJamesonJanssen et al.Friedman et al.Jehn and ChatmanTellefsen and EyubogluBradford et al.De Dreu and WeingartReid et al.Tidd et al.Guerra et al.People oriented, task orientedRelationship, taskRelationship, taskRelationship, taskCognitive, affectiveTask, person orientedAffective, cognitiveAffective, cognitiveContent, relational, situationalTask, person orientedRelationship, taskTask, relationship, offshootGoal conictsInterpersonal, taskRelationship, taskRelationship, taskRelationship, taskRelationship, task189Table I.A summary of thetypologies of conictIJCMA21,2190In addition, many researchers have identied a terce type of conict which relates to the environment in which managers operate, described as situational c onict ( Jameson, 1999) or process conict ( Jehn and Chatman, 2000). We deliberate that a consistent conict typology is called for, to aid future research into the complex nature of intraorganizational conict. In this paper, we propose that future researchers should recognize three types of interpersonal conict. However, since the terms relationship and task are vulnerable to misinterpretation we advocate using the terms affective and cognitive (follo learng Amason, 1996 and Amason and Sapienza, 1997), in conjunction with process (Jehn and Chatman, 2000), to describe the three types of interpersonal conict. These terms, which reect the more specic terminology used in the psychology literature, are dened in Table II. As Table II shows, the typology we propose is as follows. Affective Conict isa term describing conicts have-to doe with with what population think and feel about their relationships including such dimensions as trust, status and degree of interdependence (Amason and Sa pienza, 1997). Cognitive Conict describes conicts concerned with what people know and understand about their task, exercises and functions. Process Conict relates to conicts arising from the situational context, the organization structure, strategy or socialisation (Amason and Sapienza, 1997 Jehn and Chatman, 2000). victimisation this typology for conict between individuals or groups of individuals within the organization avoids confusion over the use of the terms interpersonal, person or relationship often used when referring to affective conict, while task conict is clearly distinguished from process conict, addressing all the issues previously outlined. These terms will so be used throughout the remainder of this paper. Having argued that taxonomic confusion has hindered conict research through the utilize of existing taxonomies (Bradford et al., 2004) or where language has resulted in the use of various terms to describe the same conict type (see Table I), we now move on t o consider the implications or consequences of intraorganizational conict and whether it is endlessly negative or cigaret have positivistic consequences (De Dreu, 1997). Consequences of conict practicable or dysfunctional?Some researchers exploring attitudes towards conict have considered the consequences of conict for individual and team performance (Jehn, 1995) and have found that interpersonal conict can have all functional (positive) or dysfunctional (negative) final results for team and individual performance (e.g. Amason, 1996). Moreover, the consequences of conict can be perceived and felt in divergent focal points by different actors experiencing the conict episode (Jehn and Chatman, 2000). Thus, conict is situationally and perceptually relative.Conict typeAffectiveTable II.A proposed taxonomy ofconictDenitionConicts concerned with what people think and feel about their relationships with other individuals or groupsCognitiveConicts concerned with what people know and understand about their taskProcessConicts arising from the situational context, the organization structure, strategy or floricultureThe traditional view of conict takes the view that conict exists in opposition to co-operation and that conict is wholly dysfunctional, lay the focus on resolution rather than management (e.g. Pondy, 1966). This perspective can be traced forward to more recent work. Where conict is dened as the process which begins when one person or group feels negatively bear on by another (Thomas, 1992), there is an implication of obstruction to either party achieving their goals, which is readily interpreted negatively. This can result in conict turning a trend or suppression of conict management behavior, leading to perceived negative consequences on team or individual performance (De Dreu, 1997). Negatively-perceived conict episodes can increase stress and antagonism between individuals and lead to a lack of focus on the required task (Saavedra et al., 1993 Wall and nary(prenominal)an, 1986) while avoidance and suppression can also have long term negative consequences such as stiing creativity, promoting groupthink and causing an escalation in any existing conict (De Dreu, 1997). no(prenominal) surprisingly, where interdependence is negative (where one party wins at the expense of the other although they have some dependency in their relationship) any conict will be viewed negatively (Janssen et al., 1999). The perception of conict will also be negative where the conict is personal, resulting in personality clashes, increased stress and frustration. This type of relationship conict can impede the ending- make process as individualsfocus on the personal aspects rather than the task related issues (Jehn, 1995). In contrast to the somewhat negative perception of intraorganizational conict outlined above, more recent conict management theory has begun to suggest that certain types of conict can have a positive effect upon relationships a nd that the ruff route to this outcome is through acceptance of, and effective management of, inevitable conict, rather than through conict avoidance or suppression (De Dreu, 1997). When individuals are in conict they have to address major issues, be more creative, and see different aspects of a problem. These challenges can mitigate groupthink and stimulate creativity (De Dreu, 1997). Naturally, where there is high positive interdependence (an agreeable outcome for both parties), the conict episode will be viewed much more positively (Janssen et al., 1999). Moreover, Jehn (1995) has suggested that task- and issue-based cognitive conict can have a positive effect on team performance. Groups who be cognitive conict have a greater understanding of the assignments at hand and are able to make better decisions in dealing with issues as they arise (Simons and Peterson, 2000). For example, research has shown that, when individuals are undetermined to a stupefys advocate, they are able to make better judgments than those not so exposed (Schwenk, 1990). Schulz-Hardt et al. (2002) suggested that groups make better decisions where they started in disagreement rather than agreement. In these examples, conict has a functional ( reusable and positive) outcome. We have argued that the notion of functional conict has shifted the eld of conict research away from conict resolution and towards consideration of the management behaviors which can be adopted in dealing with conict in assemble to gain the best possible outcome (De Dreu, 1997 Euwema et al., 2003). Next, we examine research into conict management behaviors and explore some of the managerial tools that have been developed to help managers to deal with intraorganizational, interpersonal conict. Conict management behaviorsConict management can be dened as the actions in which a person typically engages, in result to perceived interpersonal conict, in order to achieve a desired goalA re-evaluationof conict theory19 1IJCMA21,2192(Thomas, 1976). Demonstrably, conict management pays off previous research has indicated that it is the way in which conict episodes are addressed which determines the outcome (Amason, 1996). However, there is disagreement between researchers as to the degree to which managers can and do adopt different conict management behaviors. Previous research has considered three different approaches the one best way perspective (Sternberg and Soriano, 1984) the calamity or situational perspective (Thomas, 1992 Munduate et al., 1999 Nicotera, 1993) and the complexity or conglomerated perspective (Van de Vliert et al., 1999 Euwema et al., 2003). Arguably the simplest perspective on conict management behavior is the one best way perspective (Sternberg and Soriano, 1984), which agues that one conict management style or behavior (collaboration) is more effective than any other. However, it argues that individuals have a particular preferred behavioral predisposition to the way in wh ich they handle conict. Thus, from the one best way perspective, the conict-avoiding manager may have a behavioral predisposition to avoidance strategies, whereas the accommodating manager may prefer accommodating solutions. In this paradigm, the most constructive solution is considered to be collaboration, since collaboration is always positively interdependent it has a joint best outcome, generally described as win/win (Van de Vliert et al., 1997). The one best way approach suggests that a more aggressive, competitive, negatively interdependent approach (in fact, any conict management approach other than collaborative) can result in suboptimal outcomes (Janssen et al., 1999). However, the one best way perspective raises more questions than it answers. It does not explain how managers are able to collaborate if theyhave a different behavioral predisposition, nor does it provide evidence that collaboration always produces the best outcome (Thomas, 1992). A more general problem with the one best way approach is that it may not be very useful if managers truly have little or no control over their approach to conict management, the unimaginative applications are limited. The one best way perspective does not consider the passage of time, that behaviors could be changed or modied during any interaction, nor the effect any previous encounters may have on the current experience (Van de Vliert et al., 1997). Moving beyond the one best way perspective, in which only collaborative behaviors are considered to provide the most desirable outcome, the contingency perspective maintains that the optimal conict management behavior depends on the specic conict situation, and that what is appropriate in one situation may not be appropriate in another (Thomas, 1992). In this paradigm, the best approach is dependent upon the particular set of circumstances. The implications, which are very different to the one best way perspective, are that individuals can and should select the conict management behavior that is most likely to produce the desired outcome. Thus, conict management behaviors are regarded as a matter of appreciation (rather than innate, as in the one best way view), and the outcome is dependent on the selection of the most appropriate mode of conict management behavior. Until recently, conict research has been heavily inuenced by the one best way and contingency perspectives, focusing on the dominance of a single mode of conict management behavior (primarily collaboration) during a single conict episode (Sternberg and Soriano, 1984). Thus the one best way and contingency perspectives do not needfully offer a real-world view in which managers both can and do change their behaviors adapting to the situation perhaps trying different approaches to breaka deadlock or to improve their bargaining position taking into account changing circumstances in the microenvironment and the subsequent inuence upon the actions of individuals involved in any co nict episode (Olekalns et al., 1996). A fresh approach is provided by the complexity perspective, which characterizes conicts as being high-octane and multi-dimensional. In such circumstances, the best behavioral style in dealing with any one conictepisode may vary during, or between, conict episodes (Medina et al., 2004 Nicotera, 1993). For conict in a complex world, neither the one best way nor the contingency perspective would necessarily produce optimal results. If conict does not occur discretely and individually (Pondy, 1992a), existing approaches may not describe the world as managers actually experience it. Arguably, these approaches have articially limited conict research to a at, compressed model. To address the shortcomings of traditional research and to incorporate the complexity perspective into conict management theory, we need to move beyond two dimensions (Van de Vliert et al., 1997).Beyond two dimensions of conict management theoryRecent work by Van de Vliert et a l. (1997) and Medina et al. (2004) has expanded current theory through consideration of the complexity perspective. The complexity perspective argues that any reaction to a conict episode consists of multiple behavioral components rather than one single conict management behavior. In the complexity perspective, using a mixture of accommodating, avoiding, competing, compromising and collaborating behaviors throughout the conict episode is considered to be the rule rather than the exception (Van de Vliert et al., 1997).To date, studies taking a complexity approach to conict management have adopted one of three different complexity perspectives. The rst examines simultaneous complexity and how different combinations of behaviors affect the outcome of the conict (Munduate et al., 1999). The second complexity approach focuses on the point of behavioral change and the outcome, examining either the behavioral phases through which the participants of a conict episode pass, or apply temporal complexity to look at the point at which behavioral style changes and the effect on the conict episode (Olekalns et al., 1996). The third approach is the sequential complexity or conglomerated perspective, which is concerned with the different modes of conict management behavior, how they are combined, and at what point they change during the interaction.The application of the complexity perspective to conict management researchhas revealed that managers use more than the ve behaviors suggested by the one best way perspective to manage conict. In their study of conglomerated conict management behavior, Euwema et al. (2003) argued that the traditional approach under-represents the individuals assertive modes of behavior and have as a result added confronting and process controlling, making seven possible behaviors (1) competing(2) collaborating(3) avoiding(4) compromising(5) accommodatingA re-evaluationof conict theory193IJCMA21,2194(6) confronting and(7) process controlling.Weingar t et al. (1990) identied two types of sequential pattern Reciprocity, responding to the other party with the same behavior and Complementarity, responding with an opposing behavior. Applying a complexity perspective, the effectiveness of complementarity or reciprocity behaviors will be contingent upon the situation, the micro-environment, the number of conict episodes, and the types of conict present. The sequential pattern may in itself be complex, being dependent both upon the current situation and on varying behaviors throughout the interaction. A further, often unrecognized implication of complexity in conict is that all(prenominal) conict episode could be unique, being composed of different proportions of each of the affective, cognitive and process conict types (Jehn and Chatman, 2000).The implication for conict management strategy and the choice of the most appropriate behavior is immense. Therefore, a saucily perspective is needed, in which conict and the response to conic t is viewed as dynamic and changing over time, with each conict episode having a unique composition requiring a specic but exible approach in order to obtain the best possible outcome. We propose that this might result in a manager changing behavior during a conict episode, or indeed a manager adopting different behaviors for a number of conict episodes occurring simultaneously. In the next section, we take all these complex factors into account and propose a single, dynamic and comprehensive model of conict management behavior.Multiple, simultaneous conict episodesWe have shown that the eld of conict has become entangled in multiple terms and that research into conict management is struggling to reconcile two-dimensional models with the more complex situation encountered in the real world. A model is needed which considers the complexity of conict episodes and separates conict antecedents from conict types, recognizing that conict can relate to emotions and situations which have co mmon antecedents. We propose that the way forward is to expand the conglomerated perspective into a sequential contingency perspective, in which the sequence of conict management behaviors adopted is dependent upon a number of inuencing factors in the micro-environment, the number of conict episodes being dealt with, their composition, and changes in the behaviors of the actors involved.A sequential contingency perspectiveThe sequential contingency perspective for intraorganizational, interpersonal conict proposes the adoption of an alternate paradigm which is that conict is ever-present and ever-changing in terms of its nature or composition and that it is the way in which these continuous conicts is managed which determines the outcome of any conict episode and the nature of any subsequent conicts. Figure 1 provides a visualisation of Pondys (1992b) postmodern paradigm of conict and provides a foundation for the investigation of complex, multiple, simultaneous, intraorganization al conicts. This conceptual visualization of conict within the organizationprovides a three-dimensional representation of conict from the paradigm that conict is an inherent feature of organizational life. It shows how, at any one given point in time,A re-evaluationof conict theory195Figure 1.A conceptual visualizationof multiple, simultaneousconictthere can be a number of conict episodes experienced (y axis), each with different intensities (z axis) and duration (x axis). In addition, we have argued that each conict episode will have a unique composition, being made up of different proportions of cognitive, affective and process elements.The implications for conict management theory are twofold rst, the behavioral strategies adopted in the management of these conicts will be highly complex and will be determined by a number of inuencing factors and second, this moves theory beyond the two dimensional duel concern perspective, in that the adaptable manager dealing with these multipl e, simultaneous conicts will also need to consider the possible implications of their chosen strategy along with the changing micro environment in which they operate. Using this three-dimensional conceptual visualization of conict within the organization we propose a sequential contingency model for managing interpersonal conict within the organization (Figure 2). The basic elements of the framework in Figure 2 consider all the dimensions of conict and its management as previously discussed.the conict episode characteristics, the type and composition of any conict episode encountered (Amason, 1996 Jehn, 1995 Jehn, 1997 Pinkley and no.thcraft, 1994).the characteristics of the relationship(s) (Jehn, 1995).the characteristics of the individuals involved.the conict management behaviors and.the outcome of previous conict episodes (Van de Vliert et al., 1997).IJCMA21,2196Figure 2.A sequential contingencymodel for managingintra-organizational,interpersonal conictThe basic postulate of the model is that conict is a constant and inherent condition of the organization (that is, that conict episodes do not occur as isolated, anomalous incidents). Additionally, the effectiveness of the conict management behaviors in terms of its functionality or dysfunctionality is contingent upon, and moderated by, the nature of the conict, the characteristics of the individuals and relationships involved, and experience of previous conict. Thus, this model provides a framework for dealing with multiple, simultaneous conict episodes moving beyond the tradition two-dimensional approach.Future researchTo date there has been little empirical research into the degree to which individuals are able to adapt their behavior during an interaction, or on the value of the complexity perspective in dealing with complexintraorganizational conict. The future research agenda needs to explore conict through Pondys (1992b) choice paradigm and expand on these theoretical ndings by investigating intraorgan izational, interpersonal conict in a number of ways. We therefore set out a research agenda framed in terms of four research propositions.First, taking the sequential contingency perspective and adopting Pondys (1989) alternative paradigm for conict within the organization, research is needed to establish the occurrence of conict. Pondy (1992b) argues that, rather than a sequence of discrete isolated incidents, conict is an inherent condition of social interaction within the organization and that conict episodes occur simultaneously not sequentially. This would imply thatP1a. Conict is a constant condition of interorganizational, interpersonal relationships.A re-evaluationof conict theoryP1b. Multiple conict episodes occur simultaneously.P1c. Conict episodes are complex, having differing compositions of affective, cognitive and process elements which change over time.The complexity perspective recognizes that different conict situations call for different management behaviors (Van d e Vliert et al., 1997). This implies that managers can call upon a much wider range of approaches to conict management than previously thought. Moreover there is a further implication, which is that managers are able to adapt their behavior during conict episodes. Thus P2a. Managers use different behaviors to manage multiple conicts at any one time.P2b. Managers change their behavior over time during the same conict episode. A substantial branch of recent conict management research has focused on the outcomes of conict and has suggested that not all conict is negative (De Dreu, 1997 Simons and Peterson, 2000 Schultz-Hardt et al.,2002 Schwenk, 1990). Given this, we need a greater understanding of the effect that the behavior adopted has on the conict experienced, whether it mitigated or agitated the situation, and the consequences for any subsequent conict (Amason, 1996). ThusP3a. The behaviors that managers use affect the outcome of the conict. P3b. The behaviors that managers use a ffect subsequent conicts. Finally, re-visiting Pondys (1989) alternative paradigm and incorporating the additional perspectives that come from consideration of conict outcomes and the application of the complexity perspective, we argue that more research is needed into the relationship between the behaviors that managers adopt and whether these behaviors represent the conscious adaptation of an optimal approach to conict management. ThusP4.Conict management involves adapting a set of behaviors through which a degree of co-operation is maintained, as inappropriate to the use of behavior(s) which dispel(s) discrete isolated incidents of conict.Our purpose in setting out a new model and research agenda for conict management research, together with a set of detailed research propositions, is to move the eld beyond the consideration of conict episodes as discrete, isolated incidents and to encourage the investigation of different behaviors in different circumstances and their effective ness. Future research needs to consider the complexity of conict and adopt a research paradigm which considers the behavioral strategies within long term complex interpersonal relationships. end pointThis paper has offered four contributions to the eld of conict and conict management. The rst is the clarication of conict typologies set out in Table II. The197IJCMA21,2198second contribution is the notion that business managers handle multiple and simultaneous conict episodes that require different approaches to resolving them, so that the existing models proposed for conict management are unlikely to chime with their actual experience. The third contribution is to map this in the form of a new theoretical model for conict management (Figure 2). The fourth contribution is to use this theoretical model to set out a set of research propositions to shape research that will shed light on the real conicts that managers have to face. entirely 40 years on, and intraorganizational conict the ory itself appears to be in conict. In order to resolve the apparent differences in research approach and perspective researchers need to establish some common ground upon which new theory can be empirically tested, allowing conict management theory to move beyond two dimensions and to explore complexity whilst adding clarity. no.e1. First presented at the Academy of Management Meeting, August 14, 1986.ReferencesAmason, A. and Sapienza, H. (1997), The personal effects of top management team size and interaction norms on cognitive and affective conict, ledger of Management, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 495-516.Amason, A.C. 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(2005), A contingency perspective on the study of the consequences of conict types the role of organizational culture, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 157-76. Lewick i, R.J. and Sheppard, B.H. (1985), Choosing how to intervene factors touch the use of process and outcome control in third party dispute resolution, Journal of Occupational Behavior, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 49-64.Tidd, S.T., McIntyre, H. and Friedman, R.A. (2004), The importance of role ambiguity and trust in conict perception unpacking the task conict to relationship conict linkage, International Journal of Conict Management, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 364-84. About the authorsJames Speakman is Assistant Professor of International Negotiation at IESEG Business inculcate, a member of Catholic University of Lille, where his attentions are focused on sales and negotiation. After working for 16 years in key account management sales he completed his PhD research at Craneld School of Management, where, using the Critical Incident Technique with an Interpretive Framework for coding to investigate intraorganizational, interpersonal conict and the behavioral sequences adopted in the management of these complex interpersonal, intraorganizational conict episodes. Other research interests include personal selling, past, present and future, where he conducted the US research for a multinational study on the future of personal selling and negotiation in context where his research interests include multi-cultural negotiation. James Speakman is the corresponding author and can be contacted at emailprotectedLynette Ryals specializes in key account management and marketing portfolio management, particularly in the area of customer protability. She is a Registered Representative of the London Stock Exchange and a Fellow of the company of Investment Professionals. She is the Director of Cranelds Key Account Management Best Practice Research Club, Director of the Demand Chain Management community and a member of Craneld School of Managements Governing Executive.To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail emailprotected Or visit our web localize for further details www.emeraldinsight .com/reprintsA re-evaluationof conict theory201