This study examined disputants’preferences for supervisory conflict resolution tactics. We identified three research needs. Previous work has (a) been mostly from the manager’s (and not the subordinate’s) perspective, (b) examined only a limited set of possible intervention tactics, and (c) tended to be confined to North American samples. In this role-playing study, we addressed these three needs by examining disputant reactions to five different conflict resolution tactics. In addition, we included participants from Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the United States. The results provide evidence pertaining to the efficacy of some tactics and the problems of others. In particular, managers seem to engender the most positive responses when they act either as impartial facilitators or as inquisitorial judges.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Adler, N. J.
(1991). International dimensions of organizational behavior (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
2.
Aguinis, H.
(1995). Statistical power problems with moderated multiple regression in management research. Journal of Management, 21, 1141-1158.
3.
Aguinis, H.
, & Kraiger, K. (1996). Intervening in emerging markets: Back to the basics, or go home empty-handed. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 33(3), 84-87.
4.
Baron, R. A.
(1991). Conflict in organizations. In K. R. Murphy & F. E. Saal (Eds.), Psychology in organizations: Integrating science and practice (pp. 197-216). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
5.
Benjamin, R. W.
(1975). Images of conflict resolution and social control: American and Japanese attitudes toward the adversary system. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 19, 123-137.
6.
Bergmann, T. J.
, & Volkema, R. J. (1994). Issues, behavioral responses and consequences in interpersonal conflicts. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 467-471.
7.
Berkowitz, L.
, & Donnerstein, E. (1982). External validity is more than skin deep: Some answers to criticisms of laboratory experiments. American Psychologist, 37, 245-257.
8.
Bolger, N.
, & Schilling, E. A. (1991). Personality and the problems of everyday life: The role of neuroticism in exposure and reactivity to daily stressors. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 355-386.
9.
Bond, M. H.
, Wan, K. C., Leung, K., & Giacalone, R. A. (1985). How are responses to verbal insult related to cultural collectivism and power distance?Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 16, 111-127.
10.
Chen, C.
, Lee, S. -Y., & Stevenson, H. W. (1995). Response style and cross-cultural comparisons of rating scales among East Asian and North American students. Psychological Science, 6, 170-175.
11.
Cohen, J.
(1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
12.
Cropanzano, R.
, Howes, J. C., Grandey, A. A., & Toth, P. (1997). The relationship of organizational politics and support to work behaviors, attitudes, and stress. Journal of Organizational Behavior.
13.
Dworkin, J. B.
(1994). Managerial third party dispute resolution: An overview and introduction to the special issue. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 7, 1-8.
14.
Folger, R.
, & Cropanzano, R. (1998). Organizational justice and human resource management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
15.
Folger, R.
, Cropanzano, R., Timmerman, T., Howes, J. C., & Mitchell, D. (1996). Justice is not so complex after all: Further evidence for voice in judgments of procedural fairness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 435-441.
16.
Fromkin, H. L.
, & Streufert, S. (1976). Laboratory experimentation. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (1st ed., pp. 415-465). Chicago: Rand McNally.
17.
Gordon, M. E.
, Slade, L. A., & Schmitt, N. (1986). The “science of the sophomore” revisited: From conjecture to empiricism. Academy of Management Review, 11, 191-207.
18.
Gordon, M. E.
, Slade, L. A., & Schmitt, N. (1987). Student guinea pigs: Porcine predictors and particularistic phenomena. Academy of Management Review, 12, 160-163.
19.
Greenberg, J.
(1987). The college sophomore as guinea pig: Setting the record straight. Academy of Management Review, 12, 157-159.
20.
Halberstam, D.
(1986). The reckoning. New York: William Morrow.
21.
Hayes, W. L.
(1988). Statistics (4th ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehard, & Winston.
22.
Heilbroner, R.
, & Thurow, L. (1994). Economics explained (2nd ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster.
23.
Hofstede, G.
(1980). Culture’s consequences. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
24.
James, K.
, Chen, D., & Cropanzano, R. (1996). Culture and leadership among Taiwanese and U. S. workers: Do values influence leadership ideas? In M. N. Ruderman, M. W. Hughes-James, & S. E. Jackson (Eds.), Selection research on work team diversity (pp. 33-52). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association/Center for Creative Leadership.
25.
Karambayya, R.
, & Brett, J. M. (1989). Managers handling disputes: Third-party roles and perceptions of fairness. Academy of Management Journal, 32, 687-704.
26.
Karambayya, R.
, Brett, J. M., & Lytle, A. (1992). Effects of formal authority and experience on third-party roles, outcomes, and perceptions of fairness. Academy of Management Journal, 35, 426-438.
27.
Kolb, D. M.
(1986). Who are organizational third parties and what do they do? In R. J. Lewicki, B. H. Sheppard, & M. H. Bazerman (Eds.), Research on negotiation in organizations (Vol. 1, pp. 207-278). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
28.
Kolb, D. M.
, & Glidden, P. (1986). Getting to know your conflict options. Personnel Administration, 31(6), 77-90.
29.
Kotkin, J.
(1993). Tribes: How race, religion, and identity determine success in the new global economy. New York: Random House.
30.
Kozan, M. K.
, & Ilter, S. S. (1994). Third party roles played by Turkish managers in subordinates’ conflict. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15, 453-466.
31.
Lepore, S. J.
(1992). Social conflict, social support, and psychological distress: Evidence of cross-domain buffering effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 857-867.
32.
Leung, K.
(1987). Some determinants of reactions to procedural models of conflict resolution: A cross-national study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 898-908.
33.
Leung, K.
(1988). Cross-cultural differences of conflict avoidance. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 19, 125-136.
34.
Leung, K.
, Au, Y-F., Fernández-Dols, J. M., & Iwawaki, S. (1992). Preference for methods of conflict processing in two collectivist cultures. International Journal of Psychology, 27, 195-209.
35.
Leung, K.
, & Bond, M. H. (1989). On the empirical identification of dimensions for cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 20, 133-151.
36.
Leung, K.
, Bond, M. H., Carment, D. W., Krishnan, L., & Liebrand, W. B. G. (1990). Effects of cultural femininity on preference for methods of conflict processing: A cross-cultural study. Journal of Social Experimental Psychology, 26, 373-388.
37.
Leung, K.
, Bond, M. H., Carment, D. W., Krishnan, L., & Liebrand, W. B. G. (1991). Correction to this paper. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 27, 201-202.
38.
Leung, K.
, & Lind, E. A. (1986). Procedural justice and culture: Effects of culture, gender and investigator status on procedural preferences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 1134-1140.
39.
Lewicki, R. J.
, & Sheppard, B. H. (1985). Choosing how to intervene: Factors affecting the use of process and outcome control in third party dispute resolution. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 6, 49-64.
40.
Moghaddam, F. M.
, Taylor, D. M., & Wright, S. C. (1993). Social psychology in cross-cultural perspective. New York: Freeman.
41.
Murphy, K. R.
, Herr, B. M., Lockhart, M. C., & Maguire, E. (1986). Evaluating the performance of paper people. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 654-661.
42.
Nunnally, J. C.
(1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
43.
Oyserman, D.
, & Markus, H. R. (1993). The sociocultural self. In. J. Suls (Ed.), Psychological perspectives on the self (Vol. 4, pp. 187-220). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
44.
Rahim, M. A.
(1985). A strategy for managing conflict in complex organizations. Human Relations, 38, 81-89.
45.
Robbins, S. P.
(1974). Managing organizational conflict: A nontraditional approach. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
46.
Ross, A. S.
, & Grant, M. (1994). Experimental and nonexperimental designs in social psychology. Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark.
47.
Sackett, P. R.
, & Larson, J. R., Jr. (1991). Research strategies and tactics in industrial and organizational psychology. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 419-498). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
48.
Shapiro, D. L.
, & Rosen, B. (1994). An investigation of managerial interventions in employee disputes. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 7, 37-51.
49.
Sheppard, B. H.
(1983). Managers as inquisitors: Some lessons from the law. In M. H. Bazerman & R. J. Lewicki (Eds.), Negotiation in organizations (pp. 193-213). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
50.
Sheppard, B. H.
(1984). Third party conflict intervention: A procedural framework. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 6, pp. 141-191). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
51.
Sheppard, B. H.
, Blumenfeld-Jones, K., Minton, W. J., & Hyder, E. (1994). Informal conflict intervention: Advice and dissent. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 7, 53-72.
52.
Smith, P. B.
, & Bond, M. H. (1993). Social psychology across cultures: Analysis and perspectives. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
53.
Sowell, T.
(1983). The economics and politics of race. New York: Quill.
54.
Sowell, T.
(1994). Race and culture: A world view. New York: Basic Books.
55.
Stone-Romero, E. F.
, Alliger, G. M., & Aguinis, H. (1994). Type II error problems in the use of moderated multiple regression for the detection of moderating effects of dichotomous variables. Journal of Management, 20, 167-178.
56.
Thibault, J. W.
, & Walker, L. (1975). Procedural justice: A psychological perspective. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
57.
Thomas, K. W.
(1993). Conflict and negotiation process in organizations. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 651-717). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
58.
Thomas, K. W.
, & Schmidt, W. H. (1976). A survey of managerial interests with respect to conflict. Academy of Management Journal, 19, 315-318.
59.
Triandis, H. C.
(1989). The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts. Psychological Review, 96, 506-520.
60.
Triandis, H. C.
(1994). Culture and social behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill.
61.
Triandis, H. C.
(1996). The psychological measurement of cultural syndromes. American Psychologist, 51, 407-415.
62.
Wall, J. A.
, & Callister, R. R. (1995). Conflict and its management. Journal of Management, 21, 515-558.
