The Dana Survey of Conflict Management Strategies
Uncovering how conflict is managed in your organization

The Dana Survey is one of the two benchmarking instruments of the MTI Training System, a programme for strategic conflict management. (The other instrument is the Dana Measure of Financial Cost of Organizational Conflict.) The survey yields a set of index scores that can be used to establish a quantitative assessment of the conflict management strategies that are currently imbedded in your organization. Following implementation of training and optional additional components of the Mediation Works Training System, the survey is again completed. A comparison of pre- and post-implementation indices provide a concrete measure of the impact of training in the core competencies for management workplace conflict and other support activities.

The Dana Survey is an organizational measure, not an individual one. That is, the index scores resulting from a single individual's responses are of limited value, unless they happen to be representative of that individual's organization. However, individuals who visit this website may complete the survey to gain greater insight into the value of using the instrument on a broader organizational basis.

Here is a guide to help you interpret your results..

©2003-2019 by Dana Mediation Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. The Dana Survey of Conflict Management Strategies was developed by Daniel Dana, Ph.D., Barbara Hillmer, Ph.D., and Kathryn Jones, Ph.D.



Survey Questions

Referring to the scale below for definitions of each of the seven points, indicate how true each statement is of your organization by clicking a number on the scale to the right of each item. All items must be answered.

Strongly
Disagree
1
Disagree
2
Somewhat
Disagree
3
Neither Agree
nor Disagree
4
Somewhat
Agree
5
Agree
6
Strongly
Agree
7

When conflict occurs in our organization, those in conflict tend to . . .
1. Disagree without becoming angry.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2. Openly share relevant information, rather than secretively withhold it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
3. Go directly to the person with whom they are in conflict to resolve it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
4. Get together on their own to resolve the conflict cooperatively.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
5. Avoid others with whom they are upset.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6. Keep score and try to get even.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7. Know how to resolve conflicts cooperatively.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8. Avoid dealing with conflict directly by complaining to others.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
9. Take personal responsibility for resolving conflicts to the mutual satisfaction of all parties.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
10. Work together to find an agreeable solution.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
11. Withhold information that may be needed by others.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
12. Get someone else to take care of solving the conflict for them.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
13. Approach conflict as a competition to be won.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
14. Engage in gossip and feed the rumor mill.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Strongly
Disagree
1
Disagree
2
Somewhat
Disagree
3
Neither Agree
nor Disagree
4
Somewhat
Agree
5
Agree
6
Strongly
Agree
7
In conflict situations in our organization,  
15. Employees often use threats to get their way.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
16. Reprimands tend to occur publicly (in front of other people).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
17. Powerful people often win conflicts by dominating others.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
18. Managers tend to dictate solutions when they are in conflict with employees they supervise.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
19. Hostile arguments between people happen frequently.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
20. People “gang up” to pressure those with whom they disagree.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
21. Managers often use threats to get employees to do what the managers want them to do.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Strongly
Disagree
1
Disagree
2
Somewhat
Disagree
3
Neither Agree
nor Disagree
4
Somewhat
Agree
5
Agree
6
Strongly
Agree
7
In our organization,
22. Managers make the decision when there is a conflict between employees.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
23. People don’t seem to notice when conflicts occur.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
24. There is no formal process for effectively resolving conflicts.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
25. People are apathetic – they don’t seem to care about anything.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
26. People pretend everything is okay even though everyone knows there are unresolved problems.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
27. People pretend conflicts don’t exist.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
28. People tend to recognize conflicts early and resolve them before they escalate into major problems.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Done

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