From the Negotiating Arena to Conflict Management

Richard Walton and Robert McKersie's A Behavioral Theory of Labor Negotiations has influenced generations of scholars who have studied conflict resolution and negotiations, as well as countless negotiation practitioners (Walton and McKersie 1991; for an assessment of Walton and McKersie's influence on research and practice, see Kochan and Lipsky 2003). In this article, they extend Walton and McKersie's theory, which focused on the negotiations between unions and employers, to consider its implications for the strategic choices made by organizations as they develop conflict management policies. They begin by discussing Walton and McKersie's influence on the language that both scholars and practitioners use to describe not only negotiating behavior but also the strategies organizations pursue to manage workplace conflict. Extending from the practice of negotiation to the strategies of conflict management, Walton and McKersie have been the great teachers of an ever-growing number of conflict resolution scholars and practitioners.