Relationship Management
Relationship Management
What you will learn
- Name the five Thomas-Kilmann styles and where each sits on assertiveness and cooperativeness.
- Distinguish integrative from distributive negotiation and know the role of BATNA.
- Tell mediation apart from arbitration.
- Explain Tuckman's team development stages and the concept of psychological safety.
Relationship management means building a network of trust with managers, employees, and their representatives, and handling conflict well when it arises. HR's role in disputes is usually that of a neutral facilitator, not a judge and not a backer of the more senior party.
Thomas-Kilmann conflict modes
| Competing | High assertiveness, low cooperativeness: I win. Fits emergencies and necessary unpopular decisions. |
|---|---|
| Collaborating | High on both: we look together for a solution that fully satisfies both sides. |
| Compromising | Moderate on both: each side gives up part. |
| Avoiding | Low on both: postponing or withdrawing from the conflict. |
| Accommodating | Low assertiveness, high cooperativeness: I yield to preserve the relationship. |
Mediation vs. arbitration
| Mediation | Arbitration | |
|---|---|---|
| Third party's role | Facilitates dialogue so the parties reach their own agreement | Hears both sides, then issues a decision |
| Binding? | Non-binding unless the parties agree | Often binding |
BATNA in a job-offer negotiation
A candidate has a firm offer from another company at 15,000. That offer is their BATNA: they won't accept less unless other benefits make up for it. An employer that knows the candidate has a strong alternative negotiates differently.
What matters on the exam
- In an ordinary work dispute without time pressure, facilitating dialogue around shared interests is usually the strongest answer.
- Conflict in Tuckman's storming stage is normal, and managing it moves the team to norming.
- Psychological safety enables constructive disagreement; it doesn't mean no disagreement.
Quick check
Answer in your head first, then reveal.
Which style combines high assertiveness and high cooperativeness?Reveal the answer
Collaborating.
What is the core difference between a mediator and an arbitrator?Reveal the answer
A mediator imposes no solution; an arbitrator issues a decision that may be binding.
What does BATNA represent?Reveal the answer
Your best available alternative if no agreement is reached.
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Your next step
Read the lesson, then mark it complete
Sources
Used to verify the facts. The writing is original to Passuit.