Theoretical and empirical models of interpersonal conflict focus primarily on engagement and avoidance behaviors between the conflict parties. Recent studies of workplace conflicts, however, suggest that encounters with third parties (e.g., co-workers, friends, family) are common responses to perceived incompatibility of interests. This paper introduces a model for understanding conflict-induced sensemaking behaviors, grounded in the conflict and social cognition literatures. Three components of sensemaking are proposed-emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. These elements are influenced by the focus of the party initiating sensemaking, as we illustrate through case-history scenarios.
ALDERFER, C. P.Existence, relatedness, and growth. New York: Free Press , 1972.
2.
ASHFORTH, B. E. , & HUMPHREY, R. H.Emotion in the workplace: A reappraisal . Human Relations, 1995, 48(2), 97-125 .
3.
ASHFORTH, B. E. , & MAEL, F.Social identity theory and the organization . Academy of Management Review, 1989, 14(1), 20-39 .
4.
BARON, R. A.Personality and organizational conflict: Effects of the Type A behavior pattern and self-monitoring . Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1989, 44(2), 281-296 .
5.
BERGMANN, T. J. , & VOLKEMA, R. J.Understanding and managing interpersonal conflict at work: Its issues, interactive processes, and consequences. In M. A. Rahim (Ed.), Managing conflict: An interdisciplinary approach. New York: Praeger , 1989, pp. 7-19.
6.
BERGMANN, T. J. , & VOLKEMA, R. J.Issues, behavioral responses and consequences in interpersonal conflicts . Journal of Organizational Behavior, 1994, 15, 467-471 .
7.
BILLINGS, A. G. , & MOOS, R. H.The role of coping responses and social resources in attenuating the stress of life events . Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 1981, 4(2), 139-157 .
8.
BLAKE, R. R. , & MOUTON, J. S.The managerial grid. Houston, TX: Gulf , 1964.
9.
CLARK, M. , & ISEN, A.Toward understanding the relationship between feeling states and social behavior. In A. Hastorf and A. Isen (Eds.), Cognitive social psychology. New York: Elsevier/North-Holland , 1982, pp. 73-108.
10.
COSIER, R. A. , & DALTON, D. R.Positive effects of conflict: A field experiment . International Journal of Conflict Management, 1990, 1, 81-92 .
11.
DAVIS, K.Management communication and the grapevine. In S. D. Ferguson and S. Ferguson (Eds.). Organizational communication. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction , 1988, pp. 277-289.
12.
DEUTSCH, M.The resolution of conflict: Constructive and destructive processes. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press , 1973.
13.
ERERA, L. P.Social support under conditions of organizational ambiguity . Human Relations, 1992, 45(3), 247-264 .
14.
FESTINGER, L.A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford: Stanford University Press , 1957.
15.
FISHER, D.Communication in organizations. Minneapolis, MN: West Publishing , 1993.
16.
FOLGER, J. P. , & POOLE, M. S.Working through conflict: A communication perspective. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman , 1984.
17.
GAERTNER, G. H. , RAMNARAYAN, S. , & GAERTNER, K. N.Conflict management in the public workforce: Frequent means of coping and consequences of action . Review of Public Personnel Administration, 1985, 5(3), 65-77 .
18.
GIOIA, D. , & CHITTIPEDDI, K.Sensemaking and sensegiving in strategic change initiation . Strategic Management Journal, 1991, 12, 433-448 .
19.
GOTTLIEB, B. H.The development and application of a classification scheme of informal helping behaviors . Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 1978, 10, 105-115 .
20.
GREENBERG, L. S. , & SAFRAN, J. D.Emotion in psychotherapy: Affect, cognition and the process of change. New York: The Guilford Press , 1987.
21.
GREENE, D.Social perception as problem solving. In J. Carroll and S. Payne (Eds.), Cognition and social behavior. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum , 1976, pp. 155-161.
22.
HART, D. , & DAMON, W.Contrasts between understanding of self and understanding others. In R. L. Leahy (Ed.), The development of self. Orlando, FL: Academic Press , 1985, pp. 151-178.
23.
HAYNES, J. M.The fundamentals of family mediation. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press , 1994.
24.
HOUSE, J. S.Work stress and social support. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley , 1981.
25.
IBARRA, H.Personal networks of women and minorities in management: A conceptual framework . Academy of Management Review, 1993, 18(1), 56-87 .
26.
ISEN, A.Toward understanding the role of affect in cognition. In R. S. Wyer and T. Srull (Eds.), Handbook of social cognition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum , 1984, pp. 179-236.
27.
KAHN, R. L. , & BYOSIERE, P.Stress in organizations. In M. D. Dunnette and L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press , 1990, pp. 571-650.
28.
KOHLBERG, L.Stage and sequence: The cognitive-development approach to socialization. In D. A. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally , 1969, pp. 347-480.
29.
LARSON, J. R., Jr.The dynamic interplay between employees' feedback-seeking strategies and supervisors' delivery of performance feedback . Academy of Management Review, 1989, 14(3), 408-422 .
30.
LOUIS, M. R.Surprise and sense-making: What newcomers experience in entering unfamiliar organizational settings . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1980, 25, 226-251 .
31.
MASLOW, A. H.A theory of human motivation . Psychological Review, 1943, 1, 370-396 .
32.
McCLELLAND, D. C.Human motivation. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman , 1985.
33.
MEAD, G. H.Mind, self, and society. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press , 1934.
34.
MILLER, V. D. , & JABLIN, F. M.Information seeking during organizational entry: Influences, tactics, and a model of the process . Academy of Management Review, 1991, 16(1), 92-120 .
35.
MOORE, C. W.The mediation process: Practical strategies for resolving conflict. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass , 1986.
36.
MUSSER, S. J.A model for predicting the choice of conflict management strategies by subordinates in high-stakes conflicts . Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1982, 29, 257-269 .
37.
NICOTERA, A. M.The use of multiple approaches to conflict: A study of sequences . Human Communication Research, 1994, 20(4), 592-621 .
38.
PARK, O. S. , SIMS, H. , & MOTOWIDLO, S.Affect in organizations: How feelings and emotions influence managerial judgment. In H. Sims ,. D. Gioia , and Associates (Eds.), The thinking organization. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass , 1986, pp. 215-237.
39.
PINKLEY, R. L.Dimensions of conflict frame: Disputant interpretations of conflict . Journal of Applied Psychology, 1990, 75(2), 117-126 .
40.
PINKLEY, R. L. , & NORTHCRAFT, G. B.Conflict frames of reference: Implications for dispute processes and outcomes . Academy of Management Journal, 1994, 37(1), 193-205 .
41.
PIPP, S.Sensorimotor and representational internal working models of self, other, and relationship: Mechanisms of connection and separation. In D. Cicchetti and M. Beeghly (Eds.), The self in transition: Infancy to childhood. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press , 1990, pp. 243-264.
42.
PONDY, L. R.Organizational conflict: Concepts and models . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1967, 12, 296-320 .
43.
POOLE, P. , GRAY, B. , & GIOIA, D.Organizational script development through interactive accommodation . Group and Organization Studies, 1990, 15(2), 212-232 .
44.
RAHIM, M. A.Managing conflict in organizations. New York: Praeger , 1986.
45.
SCHACHTER, S.The interaction of cognitive and physiological determinants of emotional state . Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 1964, 1, 49-80 .
46.
SCHERER, K. R.Emotion as a multicomponent process: A model and some cross-cultural data . Review of Personality and Social Psychology, 1984, 5, 37-63 .
47.
SMITH, K.The movement of conflict in organizations: The joint dynamics of splitting and triangulation . Administrative Science Quarterly, 1989, 34, 1-20 .
48.
SPECTOR, P. E. , & O'CONNELL, B. J.The contribution of personality traits, negative affectivity, locus of control and Type A to the subsequent reports of job stressors and job strains . Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 1994, 67(1), 1-12 .
49.
STEVENSON, W. B. , PEARCE, J. L. , & PORTER, L. W.The concept of “coalition” in organizational theory and research . Academy of Management Review, 1985, 10(2), 256-268 .
50.
SWINGLE, P.The structure of conflict. New York: Academic Press , 1970.
51.
THOMAS, K. W.Conflict and negotiation processes in organizations. In M. D. Dunnette and L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press , 1992, pp. 651-717.
52.
THOMPSON, L. , & HASTIE, R.Social perception in negotiation . Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1990, 47, 98-123 .
53.
VAN de VLIERT, E.Escalative intervention in small-group conflicts . Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1985, 21(1), 19-36 .
54.
VOLKEMA, R. J.The mediator as a face manager . Mediation Quarterly, 1988, 22, 5-14 .
55.
VOLKEMA, R. J. , & BERGMANN, T. J.Interpersonal conflict at work: An analysis of behavioral responses . Human Relations, 1989, 42(9), 757-770 .
56.
WALTON, R. E.Managing conflict: Interpersonal dialogue and third party roles. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley , 1987.
57.
WEICK, K.The social psychology of organizing (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley , 1979.
58.
WEINER, B.Human motivation: Metaphors, theories, and research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage , 1992.
59.
WICKLUND, R. , & BREHM, J.Perspectives on cognitive dissonance. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum , 1976.
60.
WILHELM, C. C. , HERD, A. M. , & STEINER, D. D.Attributional conflict between managers and subordinates: An investigation of leader-member exchange effects . Journal of Organizational Behavior, 1993, 14(6), 531-544 .
61.
WOMACK, D. F.A review of conflict instruments in organizational settings . Management Communication Quarterly, 1988, 1(3), 437-445 .
