Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument
Encyclopedia
The Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) is a conflict style inventory
, which is a tool developed to measure an individual's response to conflict situations.
have been in active use since the 1960s. Most of them are based on the managerial grid developed by Robert R. Blake
and Jane Mouton
in their Managerial Grid Model
. The Blake and Mouton model uses two axes. "Concern for people" is plotted using the vertical axis and "Concern for task" along the horizontal axis. Each axis has a numerical scale of 1 to 9. These axes interact so as to diagram five different styles of management. This grid posits the interaction of task with relationship and shows that according to how people value these, there are five basic ways of interacting with others.
In 1974, Kenneth W.Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann introduced their Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (Tuxedo NY: Xicom, 1974). In 1999, CPP, Inc. (Mountain View, CA) acquired Xicom and is now the sole publisher and international distributor of the TKI. The TKI popularized conflict style inventories and, according to the publisher's website, there are over five million copies published, making it the best known of the commercial conflict style inventories.
The TKI uses two axes (influenced by the Mouton and Blake axes), called "assertiveness" and "cooperativeness". The TKI identifies five different styles of conflict: Competing (assertive, uncooperative) Avoiding (unassertive, uncooperative), Accommodating (unassertive, cooperative), Collaborating (assertive, cooperative), and Compromising (intermediate assertiveness and cooperativeness). There is some seemingly obvious, but difficult to support, similarities between anger resolution-management style ideas with other tools and theories, such as DISC assessment
, Social styles, and even the theory of Five Temperaments
which is based in the theories of ancient Greece.
A similar inventory is the Kraybill Conflict Style Inventory
which is also based on the Mouton-Blake Managerial Grid and identifies five styles of responding to conflict.
Compared to some other conflict instruments, the TKI has shown that it reduces the social desirability bias from over 90% to less than 20%. Also, other instruments that do not use a forced-choice format may inadvertently confuse the frequency of using each mode with the amount of conflict in the situation.
Conflict style inventory
A conflict style inventory is a written tool for gaining insight into how people respond to conflict. Typically, a user answers a set of questions about their responses to conflict and is scored accordingly....
, which is a tool developed to measure an individual's response to conflict situations.
Development
A number of conflict style inventoriesConflict style inventory
A conflict style inventory is a written tool for gaining insight into how people respond to conflict. Typically, a user answers a set of questions about their responses to conflict and is scored accordingly....
have been in active use since the 1960s. Most of them are based on the managerial grid developed by Robert R. Blake
Robert R. Blake
Dr. Robert R. Blake was an American management theoretician. He did pioneer work the field of organizational dynamics.Together with Jane S...
and Jane Mouton
Jane Mouton
Jane Srygley Mouton was a management theorist, remembered in particular for developing the Managerial grid model with Robert Blake.-Biography:...
in their Managerial Grid Model
Managerial grid model
The managerial grid model is a behavioral leadership model developed by Robert R. Blake and Jane Mouton. This model originally identified five different leadership styles based on the concern for people and the concern for production. The optimal leadership style in this model is based on Theory...
. The Blake and Mouton model uses two axes. "Concern for people" is plotted using the vertical axis and "Concern for task" along the horizontal axis. Each axis has a numerical scale of 1 to 9. These axes interact so as to diagram five different styles of management. This grid posits the interaction of task with relationship and shows that according to how people value these, there are five basic ways of interacting with others.
In 1974, Kenneth W.Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann introduced their Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (Tuxedo NY: Xicom, 1974). In 1999, CPP, Inc. (Mountain View, CA) acquired Xicom and is now the sole publisher and international distributor of the TKI. The TKI popularized conflict style inventories and, according to the publisher's website, there are over five million copies published, making it the best known of the commercial conflict style inventories.
Description
The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode instrument consists of thirty pairs of statements. For each pair, the respondent must choose either the A or B item (for example, one item depicts collaborating while the other item describes avoiding). Each pair of statements was specifically designed, through a multi-stage research process, to be equal in social desirability.The TKI uses two axes (influenced by the Mouton and Blake axes), called "assertiveness" and "cooperativeness". The TKI identifies five different styles of conflict: Competing (assertive, uncooperative) Avoiding (unassertive, uncooperative), Accommodating (unassertive, cooperative), Collaborating (assertive, cooperative), and Compromising (intermediate assertiveness and cooperativeness). There is some seemingly obvious, but difficult to support, similarities between anger resolution-management style ideas with other tools and theories, such as DISC assessment
DISC assessment
DISC is a group of psychological inventories developed by John Geier, and others, and based on the 1928 work of psychologist William Moulton Marston and the original behavioralist Walter V. Clarke and others.-History:...
, Social styles, and even the theory of Five Temperaments
Five Temperaments
Five temperaments is a theory in psychology, that expands upon the Four Temperaments proposed in ancient medical theory.The development of a theory of five temperaments begins with the Two-factor models of personality and the work of the late William Schutz, and his FIRO-B program...
which is based in the theories of ancient Greece.
A similar inventory is the Kraybill Conflict Style Inventory
Kraybill Conflict Style Inventory
The Kraybill Conflict Style Inventory is a conflict style inventory developed by Dr. Ronald S. Kraybill in the 1980s. Like the widely-used Thomas Kilmann Inventory , it is built around the Mouton-Blake grid and identifies five styles of responding to conflict, calling them Directing, Harmonizing,...
which is also based on the Mouton-Blake Managerial Grid and identifies five styles of responding to conflict.
Strengths
The TKI is quick to administer and interpret. It takes about 15 minutes to answer the questions, and about an hour for interpretation by a trainer. Interpretation materials help respondents identify the appropriate use of the styles and help them become more comfortable with styles they are less familiar with. The TKI is widely known and is available in English, French, and Spanish versions.Compared to some other conflict instruments, the TKI has shown that it reduces the social desirability bias from over 90% to less than 20%. Also, other instruments that do not use a forced-choice format may inadvertently confuse the frequency of using each mode with the amount of conflict in the situation.