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.
9-493: A number of conflict style inventories 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
18-487: A 1978 published analysis of 86 responses, Thomas and Kilmann determined that the TKI exhibited moderate test-retest repeatability , moderate internal consistency (measured by Cronbach's alpha ), and low to moderate correlation with three other instruments. The TKI is held under copyright and is not publicly available or accessible to be conducted without being purchased for each individual assessment. Paper copies for purchase by
27-405: 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. Most people develop a patterned response to conflict based on their life history and history with others. This response may fit some situations well, but may be ineffective or destructive in other circumstances. The goal
36-658: Is to increase people's awareness of their own patterns and bring more options and flexibility within reach. The most widely used conflict style inventories are based on the Mouton Blake Axis which posits five styles of conflict response (see Managerial Grid Model ). These include the Jay Hall Conflict Management Survey, the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument , a standard since the 1960s,
45-679: 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). In
54-1040: The Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation's (CIIAN) Conflict Style Root Assessment , and the Kraybill Conflict Style Inventory, a more recent publication that is culturally sensitive . More extensive personality type instruments are also useful to help understand conflict style differences. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator , which is based on the work of Carl Jung , and the Gilmore Fraleigh instruments fall in this category. Conflict resolution teachers and trainers, mediators, organizational consultants, and human resource managers use conflict style inventories in their work to help people reflect on and improve their responses to conflict. Awareness of styles helps people recognize that they have choices in how to respond to conflict. Since each style has
63-479: The Myers Briggs Company (the current copyright holder) cost $ 21.95 USD per copy, and an on-line administered assessment with 90 days download access costs $ 45 USD . The instrument is often used by students in conflict management classes or workshops. It has also been used in psychological studies—for example, to compare the conflict attitudes of college athletes and non-athletes. One criticism of
72-452: The instrument was that it was given so often in employment situations, as one newspaper columnist wrote in 1993, "I’ve taken the test so many times I know what answers will get the desired outcome." Others praise the TKI as a reliable, valid measure of personality. 11. Kenneth W. Thomas & Ralph H. Kilmann (1974), "Conflict Mode Instrument, "XICOM Incorporated, 33rd Printing 1991 Conflict style inventory A conflict style inventory
81-417: 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). The Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Mode instrument consists of thirty pairs of statements. For each pair, the respondent must choose either
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