Conflict Resolution: A Process View

The following is an assignment through Ashford University's Communication Studies Capstone Course...

Review the case study below and in 350 – 700 words explain how you would approach this employee, anticipate the employee’s response, and discuss which conflict resolution techniques you would use. Submit your response to your instructor through the Dropbox in your online course and add it to your Blog.

“You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services.  You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service.  One of your employees, who has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers.  In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment.  You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.”

Textbook authors Abigail and Cahn (2011) propose that conflict and conflict resolution are a process.  In the process view of conflict, they list six “confrontation steps” that should be followed for satisfactory conflict resolution (p. 35). 

1.     Preparation: Identify your problem/needs/issues.

2.     Tell the person “We need to talk.”

3.     Interpersonal confrontation: Talk to the other person about your problem.

4.     Consider your partners point of view: Listen, empathize, and respond with understanding.

5.     Resolve the problem: Make a mutually satisfying agreement.

6.     Follow up on the situation: Set a time limit for reevaluation.

Although these steps are for interpersonal conflict, they can be useful in organizational conflict as well, with minor modifications. Using these steps in the scenario described above, I would first prepare myself for the confrontation by making sure I clearly understood the situation, the ramifications of the unacceptable behavior, and the outcomes that I considered acceptable.  I would try and to anticipate the employees possible responses and be prepared with reasons and responses of my own. Once I felt prepared, I would approach the employee.

Telling the employee that we need to talk would be the first, difficult step.  Just the wording of “we need to talk” implies that I will listen as well as speak and is less intimidating than “I need to talk to you.” Preferably, I would want to have the conversation immediately.  Leaving the employee to ponder and worry about the conversation for any length of time increases the possibility of an escalated conflict situation. Regardless, I would refuse to discuss the situation with the employee until such time as we were alone.

Addressing the problem in detail would be the next step.  If the problems were minor, the options on how to address this would be greater.  I could use a “Let’s work together to solve this problem. What can we do to help you...?” Because the situation involves the employee’s performance level, customer complaints, and the creation of a hostile working environment, the discussion must take a more serious, firm tone. Perhaps the best way to deal with this would be to state the expectations of the organization for this employee’s position and the vision of the organization for internal and external customer relations and then explain to him or her that he or she was not meeting these expectations nor were was he or she behaving in a manner that exemplified the vision of the organization. Then, following up with the details of the undesired behavior and the specifics of the complaints, I would clearly and completely state the problem and express that it must be rectified.

The next step would involve listening to the employee’s side of the story.  Although Abigail and Cahn (2011) mention empathizing with the employee (p. 35), this may be difficult in a situation such as this.  The employee may have family or personal issues that were contributing to their poor behavior, but these issues could not be allowed to impact the organization.  It may be possible to empathize to the point of allowing the employee some time off to deal with situations, but it could not be to the point of allowing the behavior to continue.  This would need to be clearly communicated and goals specifically defined.

Resolving the problem may involve a verbal acknowledgement on the part of the employee that the behavior has been taking place and a promise to improve or it may involve the employee choosing to leave their position and find another employer. Even if the employee promised to improve, the possible consequences of releasing the employee from their position if the situation did not improve would need to be verbalized and documented in writing.

With the problem communicated, both sides of the story heard, and a plan of action agreed upon, a time limit would need to be set in which to accomplish specific goals and reevaluate the situation (unless the employee chose to quit). This time limit would need to be strictly adhered to and the reevaluation would need to take place, at which points the above steps would need to be repeated until a satisfactory outcome was reached.

Conflict is inevitable.  If a person interacts at all with other individuals or groups, there will eventually be an issue that needs to be addressed and resolved. To become effective at conflict resolution, whether it is within your family or within your organization, an individual needs to take the time to learn the necessary skills.  Positive outcomes are possible with proper preparation and practice.

Abigail, R.A. & Cahn, D.D. (2011). Managing conflict through communication (4^th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.coursesmart.com/9780205750559/firstsection# X2ludGVybmFsX1BGUm VhZGVyP3htbGlkPTk3ODAyMDU3NTA1NTkvMTI=.