CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLE - COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN CROATIA AND USA

By examining negotiating and conflict management as daily occurrence in business life, this empirical research, conducted among members of two completely different cultural worlds, Croatian and U.S., it is possible to determine that national culture is one of the factors affecting behavioural differences when managing conflicts. A negotiator from the individualistic society concentrates on preserving individual rights and features, and to a greater extent uses cooperation and dominance as conflict management style, while negotiator from the collectivistic society focuses on conserving relationships and to a greater extent applies adjustment style. Gender as an individualistic characteristic also determines conflict management style preference whereby men demonstrate inclination towards dominance and cooperation, while women express preference towards compromise, adjustment and avoidance.