Title: Conflict Management Styles Assignment Instructions
Course: Career Communication > Section: COM105-Career Communication

Conflict Management Styles Assignment Instructions

1. Read these 5 steps to resolve conflict:

Step 1. Identify reason for conflict-what is the root issue? Remember what you read about the reasons conflicts occur:

  - Poor Communication: different communication styles can lead to misunderstandings between employees or between employee and manager. Lack of communication drives conflict ‘underground’.
  - Different Values: any workplace is made up of individuals who see the world differently. Conflict occurs when there is a lack of acceptance and understanding of these differences.
  - Differing Interests: conflict occurs when individual workers ‘fight’ for their personal goals, ignoring organizational goals and organizational well-being.
  - Scarce Resources: too often, employees feel they have to compete for available resources in order to do their job. In a resource scarce environment, this causes conflicts – despite awareness of how scarce resources may be.
  - Personality Clashes: all work environments are made up of differing personalities. Unless colleagues understand and accept each other’s approach to work and problem-solving, conflict will occur.
  - Poor Performance: when one or more individuals within a work unit are not performing - not working up to potential – and this is not addressed, conflict is inevitable.

Step 2: What is the actual problem to be resolved: Try to get to the real reason why the person is upset. This requires active listening and empathy. Put yourself in their shoes. Put your emotion aside and just listen. Make sure to state what you are hearing to make sure you are understanding them correctly.

Step 3: What solutions do you see: Talk about all possible solutions. You may find that other people will not agree with some solutions but do agree with others.

Step 4: What roadblocks may come up: What might get in the way of using the solution you picked? What others problems might come up because of the solution you picked?

Step 5: Final solution: It is best to find a solution that has a win-win outcome; you will get some of what you want and the other person will get some of what they want. Agree on a solution and move forward.

1. Next, read through the conflict between Mark and Joe:

Mark has been working at Trusta Manufacturing for three years. He shows up to work on time every day, gets all of his work done and gets along well with the other employees on the floor. Mark and the owner are very close and he hopes to one day take over the company when the owners is ready to retire. He often helps his supervisor with incoming orders while he is out of town. Recently, an order came in for 3,000 parts and Mark guaranteed the customer they would be ready by Thursday and informed the team.

Joe has been working at Trusta Manufacturing for 1 year. He often shows up 10 minutes late, spends a lot of time on the floor talking with the other guys or is on his iPhone. He takes a lot of breaks and doesn’t ever really seem like he is working. Joe is happy to have the job, but feels no real loyalty to the company. If another shop offered him $2 more an hour, he would leave in a heartbeat. He is one of the employees responsible for producing the 3,000 parts needed for Thursday.

When Mark checked in on the status of the order on Wednesday, he found that the team was still short by 500 pieces. He had been keeping an eye on everyone all week, and knew that this shortage was due to all the time Joe was late or spent on his phone. He pulled Joe into his office and began yelling at him for his lack of disrespect and for being a “worthless employee”. He began threatening to fire him, stating that Joe’s laziness is the reason for order not being ready.

1. This conflict could go in a number of directions at this point. In an effort to resolve this conflict in a positive way and to keep and keep his job, work through the 5 steps to resolving conflict from Joe’s point of view. At each stage, identify the appropriate step or response.
2. Take the short quiz on identifying the correct stages.