Communication and Negotiation Strategies in Conflict Resolution

This assignment presents two case studies focusing on communication and negotiation strategies in different contexts. The first case examines the 1981 Air Traffic Controllers' strike, analyzing the ethical implications of the union's actions and the government's response, emphasizing the importance of staying within authorized limits during labor negotiations. It critiques the union leader's decision to strike despite a prior agreement and suggests alternative conflict resolution methods like improved communication and ethical negotiation. The second case study addresses communication challenges faced by a food service manager, Barry, including language barriers, high employee turnover, and lack of motivation in food safety practices. It proposes solutions such as using interpreters, investing in thorough training, and engaging employees through open communication. The assignment also outlines standard operating procedures (SOPs) to promote food safety and suggests motivational strategies for employees, highlighting the benefits of safe handling practices and positive reinforcement. Desklib offers similar solved assignments.

Running head: COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION
Communication and negotiation
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

1COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION
Case study A:
Answer 1:
The PATCO (Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization) union was attempting to
negotiate a new labor management contract with the FAA. The contract was rejected by 90% of
the members and Robert Poli, the union leader used the tactic of offering better package from the
FFA. However, when no fruitless result was found, Poli took strike action against the` FAA. This
act of negotiating is considered unethical because according to previously signed contract with
FAA, strike action was prohibited and rendered illegal. Hence, by taking this step, the union
exceeded its authority. It is necessary for union negotiators to take a fine line and never exceed
their authority (Fisher, Ury and Patton 2011). However, by going towards strike action, the union
committed an unethical or illegal act.
Answer 2:
Since the strike action by the union was inappropriate, the government took the step of
firing all striking controllers from their job and imposing several million dollars per day fine for
violations. Poli was imprisoned and all striking controllers were banned from any further
employment. This act of the government is right because when a union negotiator exceeds their
authority, they are deemed to be punished. Such acts by the union negotiator should be
immediately opposed because such action harms the whole community or members of the
community too (Delreux and Kerremans 2010). Hence, the government’s action is right because
the negotiator is liable to pay compensation or fine when they breach contracts and negotiation
rules.
Answer 3:

2COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION
Robert Poli, the union representative of PATCO was at fault in breaking down the negotiation
because instead of staying in the limits of his authority, he violated the negotiation norms by the
breaking the contract signed by FAA. Going on strike in normal when negotiation fails, however
Poli did the mistake of ignoring the previous contract signed with FAA where he was strictly
prohibited from taking any strike action. Hence, despite signing this contract, Poli’s instruction
to PATCO to strike action against FAA was a mistake. They can display a certain degree of
militancy in fulfilling union’s demand, however they cannot show their credibility by exceeding
their authority.
Answer 4:
Instead of going for strike, PATCO could have taken the action of communicating with
the members again to resolve the conflict. Since the FAA did not agreed to get a better package,
Poli could have interacted with members to explain them the benefits of going for labor
management contract even without constitution. By looking at the benefits of the contract, the
conflict between the two parties could have been resolved and the union would not have to go
through harmful consequences (Moorthy and Ghosal 2017). Another approach that Poli could
have taken was to handle the matter ethically instead of breaching the contracts. He could have
done the negotiation in front of the member of PATCO so that they could understand the reasons
for limiting concessions. This would have helped Poli to show to their members that he can only
demonstrate solidarity, however he does not has the authority to get the desired concessions from
the other party.
Case study B
Answer 1:

3COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION
Some of the communication challenges and barriers that Barry, food service manager at a casual
dining restaurant, faces in his work are as follows:
1. Language and cultural barrier in communication: Barry has the role of supervising
employees at the back of the house. However, different age group of employees and their
different cultural and ethnic background is a challenge in communication for Barry. This
is because many do use English as a primary language and during training for food safety
issues, they may not follow the advice given by Barry. This is likely to create
misunderstanding and communication problems at the restaurant (De Jesus-Rivas,
Conlon and Burns, 2016).
2. High turnover rate: High turnover rate and rushed training schedules for employees is
another barrier to effective communication with employees as Barry fails to provide
adequate food safety trainings to workers.
3. Lack of motivation: Lack of motivation to take part in food safety also inhibits Barry
from properly communicating with employees.
Answer 2:
Barry can take the following steps to address the challenges and barriers mentioned above:
 As employees from different language and cultural groups are working at the restaurant,
Barry can solve the issue by using interpreters during training session so that all
employees understand instructions and give feedback (Badruddin and Arif, 2017). Barry
can also address the language gap by showing ways to practice food safety at the
restaurant instead of verbally telling them.

4COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION
 Since high turnover creates gap in communication, Barry needs to invest time in training
session so that no employees gets placed without getting the required training. Additional
time and cost is required in this endeavor.
 Barry can motivate employees by engaging in open communication with employees and
inquiring them about any barriers that prevent them from complying with food safety
protocol. The act of listening is likely to engage employees and increase their motivation
to response during meetings (Mikkelson, York and Arritola 2015).
Answer 3:
The standards operating procedure (SOPs) that Barry could look to enforce to promote food
safety practices in the restaurant are:
 Barry can create SOPs to list down stepwise procedures to hand washing such given
instruction regarding how to wash hand, using soaps from dispensers, washing fingers
thoroughly and drying hand using towels or mechanical dryer
 In the same ways, SOPs can be enforced regarding usage of glove and utensil and
personal hygiene
 The most important priority would be to list down ways to handle, received, thaw and
store foods.
Answer 4:
Barry can act as a motivator for employees to follow safe food handling practices by:
 Openly communicating with employees and explaining them about the benefits of safe
handling practices for their own safety and safety of consumers

5COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION
 Taking feedback from employees regarding the challenges they face in implementing
food safety protocols
 Appreciating any employees who comply with food safety protocols. This will motivate
others to follow the same routine and such tactics will improve motivation of employees
to follow the food safety guidelines.


6COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION
Reference:
Badruddin, S. and Arif, S., 2017. Beyond the Language Barrier ‘Speak’,‘See’,‘Help Me’. J Nurs
Care, 6(418), pp.2167-1168.
De Jesus-Rivas, M., Conlon, H.A. and Burns, C., 2016. The impact of language and culture
diversity in occupational safety. Workplace health & safety, 64(1), pp.24-27.
Delreux, T. and Kerremans, B., 2010. How agents weaken their principals’ incentives to control:
The case of EU negotiators and EU member states in multilateral negotiations. European
Integration, 32(4), pp.357-374.
Fisher, R., Ury, W.L. and Patton, B., 2011. Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving
in. Penguin.
Mikkelson, A.C., York, J.A. and Arritola, J., 2015. Communication competence, leadership
behaviors, and employee outcomes in supervisor-employee relationships. Business and
Professional Communication Quarterly, 78(3), pp.336-354.
Moorthy, D.M. and Ghosal, M., 2017. A study on a rhetorical approach to effective
communication to resolve conflicts at industries. People: International Journal of Social
Sciences, 3(2).