1. Identify the main conditions at Ford described in this case study that seem to have generated dysfunctional conflict.
2. What has Mulally done to reduce or remove these sources of conflict? In what ways has he encouraged or created more conflict?
3. The opening paragraphs of this case study describe a conflict incident involving Consumer Reports staff and two senior Ford engineers. Discuss this incident in terms of the conflict model. Was Mulally’s intervention in this incident a good idea? Why or why not?

Soon after Alan Mulally became Ford Motor Co.’s new chief executive, he and two senior engineers endured a grueling critique by Consumer Reports magazine’s automobile testing staff of the company’s current lineup of vehicles. After a couple of hours on the firing line, Ford’s engineers started interrupting the testers in attempts to defend their products. Sensing the building conflict, mulally handed the two engineers pads and pens. “You know what? Let’s just listen and take notes,” he said. This episode, and many others, illustrated that Ford has become a troubled organization where people are more focused on fighting each other than on learning from disagreement.