case study

Workplace conflict comes in many forms and levels, with issues ranging from as simple as a coworker always interrupting at meetings to far more serious like a co-worker embezzling funds from the company. This case study will allow you to analyze a series of conflicts occurring in your team and provide an opportunity for you to apply the conflict management skills discussed in this unit.

Scenario: Your CEO has asked your team to design a workplace pamphlet to educate all departments on the PUGSS model of conflict management presented in the eTextbook. However, you have a problem. You would like for the whole team to be involved in creating the pamphlet, but your team is dealing with several individual conflicts that could derail the project. You are unable to move forward until their conflicts are resolved.

Applying the leadership concepts from this and other units, you must analyze the situation and develop a strategy to deal with each team member’s conflict issues so that the project can be completed by the whole team.

Begin with identifying each team member’s conflict style based on your analysis of the team member dynamics below. Interpret how each of their styles could affect the team and the project.

Mr. A.: Does not seem to care about anyone on the team and seems to have very little passion or energy for completing the team assignment.

Ms. B: Wants to have everyone get along, so she volunteers to help other team members with their work to keep peace in her department. Unfortunately, she is getting none of her own work done.

Mr. C: Is frustrating everyone else on the team. He refuses to listen to anyone else’s ideas and feels everyone should just get on board with his suggestion so the team can finally get the job done.

Mrs. D: Notices there are people upset on her team, and she is trying to get everyone to sit down and have a talk so the team can get more done.

Mr. E: Offered to give up his idea of creating an interactive forum for a more participative PUGSS section on the company website (which you actually thought had the most potential), If Mr. C will give up a part of his plan to have the pamphlets only available in the company lounge and find some middle ground the whole team can agree on.

Next, you will explain your strategy to resolve conflict to allow the team to complete the project. You must:

Assign one aspect of the PUGSS model to each team member to work on for the pamphlet.

Determine how you will lead your team and facilitate conflict resolution to help the team work together to create the PUGSS pamphlet for your company. This section should contain a detailed explanation of your conflict management plan with specific actions needed for each team member to overcome their obstacles. For example, how you will follow up on each coworker’s conflict issue in order to help your team stay on track? Be sure to develop a plan to address all conflicts.

Finally, provide a written summary of your team’s final pamphlet that you will present to your CEO. This summary should include a detailed explanation of the PUGSS model and the steps in the PUGSS approach to conflict (with examples for each step).

Your case study should present an insightful and thorough analysis with strong arguments and evidence. It must be at least three pages in length, not including the title and reference pages.

You must use at least three sources, one of which may be your textbook, to support your analysis. All sources used must have properly formatted APA Style citations and references.

CriteriaAchievement LevelLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4Level 5Analysis

(40 points)

0 – 23

Presents an account containing little analysis or relevant argument; interpretation is not well supported. Course concepts and analytical tools are not applied appropriately.

24 – 27

Presents an account that is descriptive but contains little analysis or relevant arguments; interpretation is not well supported. Course concepts and analytical tools are not applied appropriately.

28 – 31

Presents an analysis containing relevant arguments; interpretation is not thoroughly supported and not compelling. Course concepts and analytical tools are sometimes applied appropriately.

32 – 35

Presents a thorough analysis with effective arguments; interpretation is both reasonable and compelling. Course concepts and analytical tools are often applied appropriately.

36 – 40

Presents an insightful and thorough analysis with strong arguments and evidence; interpretation is both reasonable and compelling. Course concepts and analytical tools are expertly applied.Content

(30 points)

0 – 17

Content is often irrelevant; information may be noticeably incorrect and/or off-topic.

18 – 20

Content is somewhat relevant and informative; may stray off topic a few times.

21 – 23

Content is mostly relevant and informative; may stray off topic one or two times.

24 – 26

Content is relevant and informative; may stray slightly off topic one time.

27 – 30

Content is highly relevant and informative; remains on topic.Accuracy

(10 points)

0 – 5

Most of the assignment is clearly inaccurate and lacks attention to detail.

6 – 6

Several areas of the assignment may be slightly lacking in accuracy and/or attention to detail.

7 – 7

Most of the assignment is fairly accurate and shows fair attention to detail.

8 – 8

Most of the assignment is accurate and shows good attention to detail.

9 – 10

Accuracy is excellent and close attention to detail is clearly evident in all parts of the assignment.Writing Mechanics

(10 points)0 – 5

Writing lacks clarity and conciseness. Serious problems with sentence structure and grammar. Numerous major and/or minor errors in punctuation and spelling.

6 – 6

Writing lacks clarity and/or conciseness. Contains minor problems with sentence structure and some grammatical errors as well as several minor errors in punctuation and spelling.

7 – 7

Writing is mostly clear and concise. Sentence structure and grammar are strong and mostly correct. There may be three or four minor errors in punctuation and/or spelling.

8 – 8

Writing is clear and concise. Sentence structure and grammar are strong. There may be one or two minor punctuation errors and/or spelling errors.

9 – 10

Writing is clear and concise. Sentence structure and grammar are excellent. Correct use of punctuation. No spelling errors.Citations and References

(10 points)0 – 5

The majority of sources used are not academically reliable. If in-text citations and references are included, they contain major errors to APA guidelines and several in-text citations are missing references and vice versa.

6 – 6

Some peer-reviewed papers are used along with non-academically reliable sources. Reference entries and in-text citations may somewhat follow APA guidelines; several major errors in in-text citations or references may be present. Some in-text citations are missing references and vice-versa.

7 – 7

Most sources used are peer-reviewed papers, though two or more sources are not academically reliable. Reference entries and in-text citations show effort to follow APA guidelines; several errors in in-text citations or references may be present. Most in-text citations are referenced and vice versa.

8 – 8

The number of sources meets any expressed assignment requirements, and all but one source is a peer-reviewed paper. Reference entries and in-text citations follow APA guidelines and are usually correct. All in-text citations are referenced and vice versa.

9 – 10

The number of sources meets or exceeds any expressed assignment requirements. Every source used is peer-reviewed or academic in nature. Reference entries and in-text citations follow APA guidelines and are free of errors. All in-text citations are referenced and vice versa.

UNIT IV STUDY GUIDE
Communication in Conflict Management
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit IV
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
2. Determine factors that can influence effective communication.
2.1 Identify conflict styles and their effects in a team dynamic.
3. Examine the role of communication in building effective conflict management skills.
3.1 Summarize an approach to conflict resolution.
5. Explore communication dynamics and methods that can help leaders to develop highly effective
teams.
5.1 Outline strategies to resolve conflict and lead a team to success.
Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes
2.1
3.1
5.1
Learning Activity
Unit Lesson
Chapter 6
Video: Resolving Workplace Conflicts
Video Segment: “Styles of Conflict Management”
Video Segment: “Personal Code of Conduct”
Video Segment: “Email and Social Media Etiquette”
Video Segment: “Ethics at Work”
Unit IV Case Study
Unit Lesson
Chapter 6
Video: Resolving Workplace Conflicts
Video Segment: “Styles of Conflict Management”
Video Segment: “Personal Code of Conduct”
Video Segment: “Email and Social Media Etiquette”
Video Segment: “Ethics at Work”
Unit IV Case Study
Unit Lesson
Chapter 6
Video: Resolving Workplace Conflicts
Video Segment: “Styles of Conflict Management”
Video Segment: “Personal Code of Conduct”
Video Segment: “Email and Social Media Etiquette”
Video Segment: “Ethics at Work”
Unit IV Case Study
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 6: Relating to Others at Work
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
The transcript for these videos can be found by clicking on “Transcript” in the gray bar to the right of the video
in the Films On Demand database.
LDR 4302, Communication Skills for Leaders
1
ABC News (Producer). (2011). Resolving workplace conflicts [Video]. Films On
Demand.
UNIT
x STUDY GUIDE
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla
Title
ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=54357
Cambridge Educational (Producer). (2011). Styles of conflict management (Segment 6 of 13) [Video
Segment]. In Managing conflict resolution. Films On Demand.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?
auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=42092&loid=107358
Cambridge Educational (Producer). (2012). Personal code of conduct (Segment 2 of 9) [Video Segment]. In
Business etiquette: Professionalism 101. Films On Demand.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?
auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=47515&loid=149594
Cambridge Educational (Producer). (2012). Email & social media etiquette (Segment 6 of 9) [Video Segment].
In Business etiquette: Professionalism 101. Films On Demand.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?
auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=47515&loid=149598
Cambridge Educational (Producer). (2012). Ethics at work (Segment 6 of 7) [Video Segment]. In Working
together: Professionalism 101. Films On Demand. https://fod-infobasecom.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=47514&loid=149591
Unit Lesson
It is highly suggested you read and view the Required Unit Resources for this unit prior to viewing the unit
lesson.
Unit IV Lesson Presentation: Communication in Conflict Management
PDF version of the Unit IV Lesson Presentation
Suggested Unit Resources
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
This article provides an examination of how people avoid conflict. The author shares that people may actually
resolve conflict faster if they move toward it instead of running away.
LDR 4302, Communication Skills for Leaders
2
Matsudaira, K. (2017, January). Resolving conflict. Communications of the ACM,
60(1),
42–44.
UNIT
x STUDY
GUIDE
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
Title
t=true&db=bth&AN=120347682&site=ehost-live&scope=site
This article discusses the impact of communication style on impression formation and durability in a mediated
environment. In our digital age, the article also takes a look at common writing styles and their reception when
used in the workplace; including emails, emoticons, uppercase, lowercase, typographical errors.
How to keep compliance and ethics on target. (2017, January). Journal of Accountancy, 223(1), 29–30.
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
t=true&db=bth&AN=120541665&site=ehost-live&scope=site
LDR 4302, Communication Skills for Leaders
3