Workplace Conflict Resolution Work place conflict resolution

Management Role

In this case I will be assuming the role of direct supervisor for the operations department, which oversees the shipping and manufacturing functions at the organization. Each of the employees involved in the case study analyzed will report directly to me, and therefore I will be responsible for developing a solution to their problems and enforcing disciplinary action if necessary.

As a direct supervising manager and operations manager, I am personally accountable for any issues or loss of profits that might arise from shipping malfunctions, and therefore must resolve and find the source of the shipping problem because it could possibly cause the organization additional expenses.

Narrative Analysis

In this particular case, two individuals have initiated a heated debate which revolves around assigning responsibility for a shipping mistake that might cause the company lost production dollars. Neither employee at this point is willing to admit blame for the issue, and both are directly involved in the shipping process and could therefore be held responsible. As a manager, it is critical to evaluate each individual's behavior during a conflict situation. This is very often the first step toward successful workplace conflict resolution.

According to the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode instrument, conflict situations can be defined as "those in which the concerns of two people appear to be incompatible" (Bitman, 2002). In this particular case, the individuals in question are both concerned about looking out for what is in their best interests, and not the interests of the company as a whole. As a manager, it is my duty to look out not only for their interests but also the interests of the company. A successful...

One is the competing personality, which is typically "assertive and uncooperative" (Bitman, 2002). In this situation the individual involved in conflict is much more likely to pursue their own interests regardless of anyone's personal expense that might be involved. This is also typically referred to as a "power-oriented mode" (Bitman, 2002), where a person exudes whatever "power" they feel appropriate in order to win over their position.
Both individuals involved in this particular conflict are assertive and uncooperative, unwilling to admit fault or seek out the true source of the problem to prevent it from happening again in the future. Very often the best method for revolving conflict in this situation is to handle any issues that arise with logic, and to be assertive in return, concise and prepared for anything. As a manager it is critical to remain calm and level headed.

There are also situations where two individuals are both assertive and uncooperative, and thus are labeled "Avoiding" (Bitman, 2002). In this situation the two people in conflict may not immediately pursue their own concerns or those of any one else, but rather attempt to avoid the conflict all together. This may happen via way of "diplomatically sidestepping an issue" or postponing an issue until hopefully it disappears (Bitman, 2002). Many times this happens because the individuals involved hope that the issue will merely go away, however this seldom results in a solution to issues. This also seems to…