software exercise is used with permission Copyright @ 1995 by Susan Schot Joseph Seltzer, and Jemina Stew All rights reserved EXERCISES FOR SELECTING AN APPROPRIATE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY Not all conflicts are alike; therefore, they cannot all be managed in exactly the same way Effective managers are able to accurately assess the true causes of conflict and to match each type of conflict with an appropriate management strategy. Assignment For each of the following brief scenarios, select the most appropriate conflict manage ment strategy. Refer to Table 7.3 for assistance in matching situational factors with strategies. The Red Cow Grill During an extended holiday overseas, you have decided to take your family to a local restaurant, to celebrate your son's birthday. You are a single parent, so getting home from work in time to prepare a nice dinner is very difficult. Knowing that local regulations re- quire restaurants to provide separate nonsmoking areas, you ask the hostess to seat you in the nonsmoking section because your daughter, Shauna, is allergic to tobacco smoke. On your way to your seat, you notice that the restaurant seems crowded for a Monday night. After you and your children are seated and have placed your orders, your conversation turns to family plans for the approaching holiday. Interspersed in the general conversation is a light banter with your son about whether or not he is too old to wear "the crown" during dinner-a family tradition on birthdays. Suddenly, you become aware that your daughter is sneezing and her eyes are begin ning to water. You look around and notice a lively group of businesspeople seated at the table behind you; they are all smoking. Your impression is that they are celebrating some type of special occasion. Looking back at Shauna, you realize that something has to be done quickly. You ask your son to escort Shauna outside while you rush to the front of the restaurant and find the hostess. ATING AND RESOLVING CONFLICTDiscussion Questions 7.4. What are the salient situational factors? 7.5. What is the most appropriate conflict management strategy? Avocado Computers When the head of Avocado Computers ran into operational problems at his produc- tion facility, he hired you away from a competitor. It meant a significant increase in pay and the opportunity to manage a state-of-the-art production facility. What's more, there were very few other female production managers in Silicon Valley. Now you've been on the job a year, and it's been exciting to see your staff start working together as a team to solve problems, improve quality, and finally get the plant up to capacity. In general, Bill, the owner, has also been a plus. He is energetic, fair, and a proven industry leader. You feel fortunate to be in a coveted position, in a "star" firm, in a growth industry. However, there is one distraction that bugs you. Bill is a real stickler about cleanli- ness, order, and appearance. He wants the robots all painted the same color, the com- ponents within the computer laid out perfectly on a grid, the workers wearing clean smocks, and the floor "clean enough to eat off." You are troubled by this compulsion. "Sure," you think, "it might impress potential corporate clients when they tour the production facility, but is it really that important? After all, who's ever going to look for symmetrical design inside their computer? Why should customers care about the color of the robot that built their computers? And who, for Pete's sake, would ever want to have a picnic in a factory?" Today is your first yearly performance appraisal interview with Bill. In prepara- tion for the meeting, he has sent you a memo outlining "Areas of Strength" and "Areas of Concern." You look with pride at the number of items listed in the first column. It's obvious that Bill likes your work. But you are a bit miffed at the single item of concern: "Needs to maintain a cleaner facility, including employee appear PRACTICE lage ance." You mull over this "demerit" in your mind, wrestling with how to respond in with your interview. Burd 70 Discussion Questions 7.6. What are the salient situational factors? 7.7. What is the most appropriate conflict management strategy? Phelps Inc. Eno You are Philip Manual, the head of sales for an office products firm, Phelps Inc. Your personnel sell primarily to small businesses in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Phelps is doing about average for this rapidly growing market. The firm's new president, Jose Ortega, is putting a lot of pressure on you to increase sales. You feel that a major obstacle is the firm's policy on extending credit. Celeste, the head of the credit office, insists that all new customers fill out an extensive credit application. Credit risks must be low; credit terms and collection procedures are tough. You can appreciate her point of view, but you feel it is unrealistic. Your competitors are much more lenient in their credit examinations; they extend credit to higher risks; their credit terms are more favorable; and they are more lenient in collecting overdue payments. Your sales personnel frequently complain that they aren't "playing on a level field" with their competition. When you brought this concern to Jose, he said he wanted you and Celeste to work things out. His instructions didn't give NEGOTIATING AND RESOLVmany clues to his priorities on this matter. "Sure, we need to increase sales," he said, "but the small-business failure in this area is the highest in the country, so we have to be careful we don't make bad credit decisions." You decide it's time to have a serious discussion with Celeste. A lot is at stake. Discussion Questions astugmoo obsoovA 7.8. What are the salient situational factors? 7.9. What is the most appropriate conflict management strategy