Negotiation Styles:�Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

Roman Sheremeta, Ph.D.

Professor, Weatherhead School of Management

Case Western Reserve University

1

“Erin Brockovich”

• Negotiation Styles
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGX4nMrnxg0

​

2

Different Styles of Negotiation

• Two contrasting styles of negotiators: “tough” or “soft”.
• Muhammad Ali was known to be competitive to his core.
• Larry King was known to be empathetic and easy to get along with.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

• What if Muhammad Ali were to negotiate with Larry King?

3

What is a Negotiation Style?

• Negotiation styles are relatively stable, personality-driven clusters of behaviors and reactions that arise in negotiating encounters.
• Gilkey and Greenhalgh (1986: 245) “patterns in individuals’ behavior that reappear in various [bargaining] situations”.

​

• Why is it important to know your and your counterpart’s negotiation style?
• (1) To decide if you want to participate in a negotiation.
• (2) To decide if you want to delegate.
• (3) To make strategic decisions.

4

Dual Concerns Model

• Models describing negotiation styles:
• (1) Cooperative versus competitive: cooperative vs competitive types.
• (2) Interpersonal orientation (IO): high IOs vs low IOs.

​

• Dual Concerns Model (Blake and Mouton 1964) combines (1) and (2):
• The concern for the “self” (Assertiveness) and for the “other” (Cooperativeness).

​

• The model traces five different conflict handling styles:
• Competing (high self, low other).
• Collaborating (high self, high other).
• Compromising (moderate self, moderate other).
• Accommodating (low self, high other).
• Avoiding (low self, low other).

5

Five Conflict Handling Styles

6

Unassertive

Assertive

Assertiveness

Uncooperative

Cooperative

Cooperativeness

Competing

Collaborating

Compromising

Avoiding

Accommodating

Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument

• The TKI was developed by Kilmann and Thomas (1977) to test the Dual Concerns Model.
• The TKI measure is designed to assess an individual’s behavior in conflict (negotiation) situations based on self-reported preferences for using the five conflict modes.

​

• TKI measure has many applications:
• Leadership development.
• Negotiation training.
• Team building.

​

​

​

7

TKI Questionnaire

• Please take time to fill out the “Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Questionnaire”.

​

8

TKI Scores

• Shell (2001) collected TKI scores from over 1600 global executives participating in negotiation sessions.

​

9

Interpreting TKI scores

​

​

​

​

​

​

• All five modes are useful in some situations:
• “Might makes right” (Competing).
• “Two heads are better than one” (Collaborating).
• “Split the difference” (Compromising).
• “Leave well enough alone” (Avoiding).
• “Kill your enemies with kindness” (Accommodating).

​

10

Competing (Assertive and Uncooperative)

• Characteristics:
• Enjoy negotiations because there is an opportunity to win.
• High competing scores: litigation attorneys, investment bankers, and hedge fund managers.

​

• Usefulness:
• When quick, decisive action is vital.
• The stakes are high.
• Bluffing is possible.

​

• Weaknesses:
• Competitive people can be hard on relationships.
• Lack of learning.

11

Collaborating (Assertive and Cooperative)

• Characteristics:
• Enjoy negotiations because they enjoy solving problems.
• High collaborating scores: executives, entrepreneurs, corporate lawyers, real estate developers, and brokers.

​

• Usefulness:
• The issues and relationships are both significant.
• A creative end is important.
• Reasonable hope exists to meet all concerns.

​

• Weaknesses:
• Not forceful enough to defend a position.
• Too much time spent discussing trivial matters.

12

Compromising (Intermediate)

• Characteristics:
• Want to “close the gap” in negotiations by finding mutually acceptable solution.
• High compromising scores: people from different professions can use a compromising style.

​

• Usefulness:
• Time is short.
• Stakes are small.
• It is important to reach at least some agreement.

​

• Weaknesses:
• Often rush the negotiation process and make concessions too fast.
• Do not carefully consider all issues of negotiation.

13

Avoiding (Unassertive and Uncooperative)

• Characteristics:
• Try to avoid confrontational aspects of negotiation.
• High avoiding scores: professional diplomats, police officials, and military officers.

​

• Usefulness:
• The issue is trivial.
• The relationship is insignificant.

​

• Weaknesses:
• Often pass up many good opportunities to negotiate.
• Too much precaution often results in ineffective risk aversion.

14

Accommodating (Unassertive and Cooperative)

• Characteristics:
• Satisfaction from solving other peoples’ problems.
• High accommodating scores: clinical professionals in the health care field, people engaged in consulting, and relationship-based sales (realtors).

​

• Usefulness:
• Good relationship-building skills.
• Sensitive to others’ emotional states.
• Great when working on negotiating problems within teams.

​

• Weaknesses:
• Place more weight on the relationship than the situation.
• Vulnerable to more competitively-oriented people.

15

Question: Middle Percentiles

• Question:
• What if a person’s scores are all in the middle percentiles — i.e., he or she has no strong preferences?

​

• Answer:
• This usually indicates that a person has an adaptable style.
• Such a person usually adopts different conflict styles depending on circumstances.
• However, such people may still be at a relative disadvantage when facing off against equally experienced people who have much more definite styles.

16

Question: Several Styles at the Same Time

• Question:
• What if I have several styles?

​

• Answer:
• A person high in both competing and collaborating tends to be comfortable in many negotiating situations in which the stakes are large.
• A person high in both competing and avoiding is somewhat one-dimensional as a negotiator and tends to project a “we’re-doing-this-my-way-or-I’m-hitting-the-road” attitude.
• A person high in both accommodating and compromising is very relationship-oriented and will tend to be seen as relatively easy to get along with.

17

Question: Styles Over Time

• Question:
• Do TKI scores change over time?

​

• Answer:
• TKI scores are a function of the time and place.
• Similarly, TKI scores are a function of recent experiences.

18

Question: Styles and Promotion

• Question:
• Are some styles better than others in achieving promotion?

​

• Answer (Blake and Mouton 1964):
• Managers with competing and collaborating styles are more likely to occupy higher-ranked positions in organizations.
• Managers with accommodating and avoiding styles are less likely to occupy higher-ranked positions in organizations.
• Thus, it appears that having a more assertive style increases a likelihood of promotion in organizations.

19

Question: Styles and Gender

• Question:
• Do women have different negotiation styles than men?

​

• Answer (Thomas et al. 2008):
• Males report higher levels of competing styles (Holt and DeVore 2005).
• Females report higher levels of compromising (Holt and DeVore 2005), accommodating (Sone 1981), and avoiding (Cardona 1995) styles.
• Interestingly, neither males nor females dominate the most effective negotiation style (cooperative).

20

Question: When to Use Which Style

• Different styles may be appropriate for different jobs:
• Competitive and collaborative for people engaged in transactional negotiations.
• Accommodating and compromising for people who do relationship-based sales or consulting, and clinical professionals.
• Avoiding for people involved in diplomacy.

21

Question: When to Use Which Style

• Question: What outcomes (Good or Bad) negotiation styles produced when two people (A and B) interacted together in a negotiation?

22

And the Winner is?

23

Unassertive

Assertive

Assertiveness

Uncooperative

Cooperative

Cooperativeness

Competing

Collaborating

Compromising

Avoiding

Accommodating

“Good Cop, Bad Cop”

• The Pink Panther (2006) - Good Cop, Bad Cop
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkgntZqYDHU

​

24

Thank you!

Roman Sheremeta, Ph.D.

Professor, Weatherhead School of Management

Case Western Reserve University

25

References

• Thompson, L. (2004). The Mind and Heart of the Negotiator. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. (Chapter 5)
• Shell, G.R. (2001). Teaching Ideas: Bargaining Styles and Negotiation: The Thomas‐Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument in Negotiation Training. Negotiation Journal, 17, 155-174.
• Gilkey, R.W., & Greenhalgh, L. (1986). The role of personality in successful negotiating. Negotiation Journal, 2, 245-256.
• Blake, R.R., & Mouton, J.S. (1964). The managerial grid. Houston: Gulf Publications.
• Kilmann, R.H., & Thomas, K.W. (1977). Developing a forced-choice measure of conflict-handling behavior: The" MODE" instrument. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 37, 309-325.
• Thomas, K.W., Thomas, G.F., & Schaubhut, N. (2008). Conflict styles of men and women at six organization levels. International Journal of Conflict Management, 19, 148-166.
• Blake, R.R., & Mouton, J.S. (1964), The Managerial Grid: Key Orientations for Achieving Production through People, Gulf Publishing, Houston, TX.

​

​

​

26