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Chapter 14
Managing Tensions in Collaboration Practice
Aim of the chapter
Costs, benefits, inverses Relates to extremes where the cost (i.e. inverse of
the benefit) of one is the benefit of the other and
vice versa
Intermediate points Practical ways forward between the extremes;
many forms exist
Reformulated Reframing an extreme (removing obstacles to
achieve the extreme). A more sophisticated
reformulations increase the chance that a tension
can be a way forward but do not remove the
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tension altogether.
Characteristics of Good Practice
Tension
Language/Characteristic Interpretation
Shift the location A reformulation that resolves the original tension
but creates a new one elsewhere (moving tension
from one point in the hierarchy to another)
Contingency statements Complex “What if” formulations of extremes. They
(emergency statement) cannot be condensed into a single sound bite.
They require a complex set of statements.
Inconsistency costs A downside of behaving contingently (to have two-
faced or inconsistent way of dealing with
employees).
Multidimensional tensions Interrelated tensions which “pull” in many
directions
Portfolio A collection of identified tensions that can be used
as conceptual handle for reflection (one tension
leads to identification of another, related one).
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Developing a Practice-Oriented
Theory of Tensions / Levels of
• Tension
We distinguish 4 levels of tensions:
– Level one - the notion of tension: Need to accept that tensions lead to dilemma
and coping with these is an important aspect of the “reality” of managerial life. This
will allow practitioners to search for “good enough” solutions rather than to look at
“illusive prescriptions”.
– Level two – the notion of multiple, interacting tensions: the process of managing
is that of continually resolving dilemmas, trilemmas, multilemmas across many
dimensions. There is a need to isolate tensions so that reflection becomes
manageable. Resolutions are to be seen as ephemeral (i.e. temporary).
– Level three – the notion of tensions in specific management areas: the need to
identify tensions in various management area, defined and redefined by
management need. Any manager will need, at one time or another, to work in many
such areas. Instead of dealing with all tensions at once, s/he will identify the most
important/ predominant concerns so that reflection becomes manageable.
– Level four – the notion of deconstructed tensions: learn about specific tensions
through the process of deconstructing them and use deconstructed tensions based
on rigorous research to learn about own situation.