The chief operating officer $($COO$)$ has noticed that production employees in the company's Mexican manufacturing operations are unhappy with some of the production engineering decisions made by engineers in the company's headquarters in Toronto. At the same time, the engineers complain that production employees aren't applying their engineering specifications correctly and don't understand why those specifications were put in place.

The COO believes that the best way to resolve this conflict is to have a frank and open discussion between some of the engineers and employees representing the Mexican production crew. This open$-$dialogue approach worked well recently among managers in the company's Toronto headquarters, so it should work equally well between the engineers and production staff. Based on your knowledge of communication and mutual understanding as a way to resolve conflict, discuss the COO's proposal.

$7.$ Describe the inquisitional approach to resolve disputes between employees or work units. Discuss its appropriateness in organizational settings, including the suitability of its use with a multigenerational workforce.

$8.$ Jane has just been appointed as purchasing manager of Tacoma Technologies Inc. The previous purchasing manager, who recently retired, was known for his "winner$-$take$-$all" approach to suppliers. He continually fought for more discounts and was skeptical about any special deals that suppliers would propose. A few suppliers refused to do business with Tacoma Technologies, but senior management was confident that the former purchasing manager's approach minimized the company's costs. Jane wants to try a more collaborative approach for working with suppliers. Will her approach work? How should she adopt a more collaborative approach in future negotiations with suppliers?

$9.$ Laura is about to renegotiate her job role with her new manager. She has heard through e grapevine that he is a tough negotiator, highly competitive, and unwilling to take others' needs into consideration. She has also heard that even if he gives concessions in the negotiation, he often fails to keep his word. If you were Laura, how would you prepare for this negotiation?