Case Study Questions from Ch $8$:

Applying Conflict Management Principles

You would think that board members of the Buckner Valley food bank would be$,$ for the most part, pleasant, selfless people who were trying to give something back to the community by volunteering their time to help provide food for those who need a little assistance. Yet the board members often found themselves embroiled in conflict, partly due to some of their personalities.

Jeff meant well, but he seemed to have a need to dominate the board. He talked too much. Also, although he was not the current board chair, he wanted to insist that his ideas were the ones to be implemented. Jeff$$s dominance made other board members reactively reject his ideas, even when the ideas were good ones, such as purchasing a new van to make food deliveries. Tired of Jeff$$s overly bombastic style of trying to get his way, they usually disagreed with him regardless of the merit of his suggestions.

Aiden also meant well, but he missed about half of the twice$-$monthly meetings. He often didn$$t follow through on assignments. Yet he liked being on the board because it looked good on his r$$sum$$; he was planning on running for city council next year and wanted to demonstrate his concern for the community by being on the board. Even when Aiden was present, he seemed mentally absent; he didn$$t say much, even though as manager of the local grocery store he had much to offer.

Jessica was a hard worker$$maybe too hard. She always followed through on her assignments and had little patience for people who didn$$t do what they were supposed to do$.$ She did more than just raise her voice when expressing her concerns: She yelled and often screamed obscenities at members who made the smallest errors or mistakes. Because of her hard work, the board needed her$$but members were a bit afraid of her wrath and just kept quiet when she shouted at them. They didn$$t want to upset Jessica further because they knew she would shout even more loudly.

Hudson always thought the food bank was running out of money $($even when it wasn$$t$).$ He longed for the good old days when just he and C$.$ J$.$ ran the food bank. Hudson was typically against any new idea, especially anything that would cost money. When strategies were suggested to raise more funds, Hudson was against it$.$ He didn$$t agree with the philosophy, $$It takes money to raise money,$$ so he blocked most new ideas.

$1$ J$.,$ the current board chair, was the glue that held the board together. She was mild$-$mannered yet hard$-$working and talented at keeping the other board members moving forward $($most of the time$).$ Yet she was getting weary of the constant bickering, power struggles, and inactivity on the part of some.

It was time for the board to organize the annual holiday gift basket program for Buckner Valley, but the board simply wasn$$t making progress. The need was greater than ever this year because of the economic downturn. Many people had lost their jobs and would have no holiday if it weren$$t for the food bank. Jeff had a good idea for streamlining the operation so that more families could be fed, but other members rejected his idea because they didn$$t want Jeff to get credit for it$.$ Since Aiden ran the grocery store, he could make a major difference in the community, but he didn$$t have time to attend many meetings and didn$$t seem to have real interest in the food bank. Hudson didn$$t want to spend a dime more than what was spent last year and was against any new plan that might cost more money. Jessica was at her prickly best, and, although she could do the work, she had nothing but critical comments for her fellow board members. C$.$ J$.$ knew the Buckner Valley community was depending on the board, so she was intent on doing whatever she could to feed even more people this year$$families were depending on it$.$

Questions for Analysis: Applying Conflict Management Principles

$1.$What type or types of conflict do you see evident on the board?

$2.$What different styles of conflict management do you see among the board members? How do those different styles affect the level of conflict among board members?

$3.$Which collaborative conflict management principles and skills would be helpful for board members to implement to address the recurring conflicts they were experiencing?

$4.$Based on the strategies presented in Table $8-1,$ what suggestions would you make to help manage the array of personalities present on the board?