Overview
What You Will Learn: A degree of conflict is vital to group success in order to avoid groupthink and to generate more innovative ideas among members of a group, who have diverse opinions and points of view. This touchstone will give you practice in recognizing and addressing conflict in a healthy way. Why It Matters: The ability to manage conflict is an essential skill for managers and professional communicators. What You Will Hand In: You will download the template and complete it with your own responses, then upload it in the original MS Word (.doc or .docx) format. Keys to Success:
- Develop and submit original work.
- Demonstrate understanding of the material by applying concepts from the tutorials in responding to the questions.
- Answer all of the questions completely in a paragraph of 5-7 sentences.
- Ensure your writing is grammatically correct and best represents you as a professional.
- Tutorial on Managing Conflict
- Tutorial on Building Consensus
- Academic Integrity Guidelines
- Ethical Standards and Appropriate use of AI
Instructions
Step 1: Review the Case Study
An insurance company executive and her managers have been challenged by their company to increase the productivity of their 100 customer service associates. The associates are very diverse in all respects, including cultural background and languages spoken. The executive observes associates mingling during work hours and is concerned they are under-performing as a result. She makes a unilateral decision to have associates log their time on each call so they are more accountable for their time. Associates complain that this new tracking system itself takes time from their schedule, making them less productive. After a few months, morale and productivity are lower, and tensions are high due to the tracking system. The insurance executive hires you as an independent management consultant to analyze the situation and recommend solutions, including helping the stakeholders decide if the tracking system should remain in place. Note that it is not your job to make this decision but to facilitate an agreement supported by all or most of the organization.
Step 2: Download the Template
download
Bus Comm Touchstone 2 Template.docx
Step 3: Answer the Questions
- Open the file and respond to the questions, applying the concepts learned in the class to help resolve the issues faced by this organization:
- What decision-making approach will you recommend the executive take for achieving the best decision on whether to keep this tracking system in place and for obtaining cooperation from the customer service associates? Why do you think this method is best?
- You recommend that the executive and managers meet with their customer service associates to better connect with them and create empathy as a key step toward resolving the conflict. What advice would you give to the executives and managers to facilitate such a meeting? What advice would you give to customer service associates?
- To accommodate their customers, the company employs a number of native speakers of Spanish, Russian, and other languages. In your recommendation about this tracking system issue, how will you ensure the meeting feels inclusive and equitable to these staff members?
- Can you identify how this organization’s conflict might result in improvements to its internal processes and productivity? Can you explain some possible benefits of such improvements to the larger organization?
This process will help prepare you for the next "real-world" situation where you have to manage conflict. Good luck!Share your feedback on Touchstones
Rubric
| Advanced (100%) | Proficient (85%) | Acceptable | Needs Improvement | Non-Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Question 1Describes a decision making process to determine if this time-tracking process should continue. (20%) | Describes and justifies a decision making process that is aligned with the tutorials on building goodwill and applied to the scenario. | Describes and justifies a decision making process that is either aligned with the tutorials on building goodwill or applied to the scenario but not both. | Recommends a decision making process that is only loosely connected to the scenario or the tutorials. | Response contradicts the tutorials or the scenario or is not clearly written due to grammatical errors. | Does not recommend a decision making process. Response may be off-topic or absent. |
Question 2Gives clear advice to executives, managers, and associates on how to have an effective meeting. (20%) | Gives advice to each of the specific groups named in the scenario, advice is aligned with the tutorials on professional communication and ethics in business communication. | Either gives advice to each of the specific groups named in the scenario, or advice is aligned with the tutorials on professional communication and ethics in business communication, but not both. | Gives advice that is only loosely connected to the scenario or the tutorials. | Response contradicts the tutorials or the scenario or does not give clear advice to the executives, managers, and associates. | Does not give clear advice to the executives, managers, or associates on how to have an effective meeting. Response may be off-topic or absent. |
Question 3Gives specific recommendations to make a meeting inclusive and equitable. (20%) | Gives advice that is aligned with the tutorials on communication in a diverse workplace and applied to the specific details of the scenario. | Gives advice that is either aligned with the tutorials on communication in a diverse workplace and applied to the specific details of the scenario but not both. | Makes suggestions that are only loosely connected to the scenario or the tutorials. | Response contradicts the tutorials or the scenario or does not make inclusive and equitable recommendations. | Does not recommend a decision making process. Response may be off-topic or absent. |
Question 4Demonstrates how mediating conflict can lead to improved processes and outcomes. (20%) | Suggestions for how mediating conflict can improve processes and outcomes are aligned with the tutorials on building goodwill and the scenario. Specific solutions are not required. | Suggestions for how mediating conflict can improve processes and outcomes are aligned with the tutorials on building goodwill or the scenario but not both. Specific solutions are not required. | Has commentary that is only loosely connected to the tutorials or the scenario. | Response contradicts the tutorials or the scenario or does not clearly demonstrate how mediating a conflict can lead to improved processes and outcomes. | Does not demonstrate how mediating a conflict can lead to improved processes and outcomes. Response may be off-topic or absent. |
ConventionsSubmission follows conventions for standard written English and meets formatting and length requirements. (20%) | There are almost no errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization; all length and formatting requirements are met. | There are minor errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that do not impede readability; length and formatting requirements are nearly met. | There are frequent errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that somewhat impede readability; length and formatting requirements are nearly met. | There are consistent errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that significantly impede readability; length and formatting requirements are not nearly met. | Submission does not meet the minimum threshold for points to be awarded. |