Conflict Analysis Report: MAN501 - Analyzing Conflict Situations

This report presents an in-depth analysis of four distinct conflict situations, drawing upon concepts from leadership management and organizational behavior. The first scenario examines an ethical dilemma involving a sales manager and a request to falsify an expense report, prompting an exploration of personal moral development, interpersonal orientations, and the ethical implications of truth versus falsehood. The second situation focuses on a lower-level manager dealing with a new, disruptive boss, leading to an assessment of creative blocks, communication barriers, and leadership styles to propose solutions for fostering a more collaborative environment. The report continues by examining the conflicts and how they can be resolved using different leadership styles and management theories. The analysis incorporates relevant academic literature and critical reflection, providing a comprehensive examination of conflict resolution strategies and their practical application in a business context.

Description/
Focus:
Written assessment
Value: 50%
Due date: Midnight Sunday Week 10
Length: 3500 - 4000 words (without list of references, appendix)
Task: Analyze certain situations of conflict and come up with a solution.
Presentation: Submission in a word document. Include appropriate headings; font
Arial 11. Submissions via Learnline through safeassign submission
point.
Assessment Item 2 Written assessment
The task:
Below you will find 4 situations of conflict. Analyse each situation and come up with a
solution. At the end of the description of each situation, there are some additional questions
or statements that provide you with some hints what you should address in your answer. In
your answer refer to concepts (from the textbook) as appropriate and also critically reflect on
the concept(s) you have utilized. Insert your answer right after the additional questions or
statements by expanding the space. Your answer to each of the 4 situations should be about
800-1000 words (i.e. all 4 together 3500-4000 words).
MAN501 Page 1 of 14

ATTENTION: Your report will be checked for plagiarism (i.e. copy & paste / using any
material from any kind of source, including from other students, without referencing it
properly). Plagiarism will lead to a fail and might trigger further consequences.
1. Developing Self-Awareness (Chapter 1)
You are a sales manager in the Northwestern division of a large clothing manufacturing company.
Recently, you and some other managers in your division attended the yearly national sales meeting
in Chicago. Just now one of the other managers who attended the conference has come into your
office. He says, “While I was at the conference, I took out some friends of mine in Chicago to
dinner at an expensive restaurant, and charged it to my expense account. I said they were potential
clients. Now my boss is questioning that. He says he wants proof. Would you write him a note
saying you were there and that they were really potential clients?” What will you do? How will
you do it? Why?
Aspects that should be addressed/included in your answer:
Identification of personal stage of moral development, explanations of how the stage is likely
to influence behavior, identification of own interpersonal orientation, explanation of how
orientation is likely to affect what one is likely to do.
[Your answer starts here]
Answer 1.
Great philosopher Immanuel Kant once a narrated a story, about a person hiding in a bush
while a group of the royal soldiers following him with naked weapons with an intention to
MAN501 Page 2 of 14

kill the man. He referred to a man who was watching this man hiding inside the bush.
Soldiers asked this man about the person to whom they were searching. Kant raised a
hypothetical question about the answer, should the person lie because he can save a life, or he
should tell the truth because telling a lie is against the moral ethics (Plante, 2011). The ethical
status of a lie can be decided on many factors associated with the question. The first question
is connected with the status of the person who is hiding, if he is not guilty then he should be
saved with the help of a lie and it is ethically correct (Hanson, 2014). If this person is guilty,
then he should be handed over to the soldiers, because soldiers are doing a right job. Another
condition also applies. This person might be guilty but the soldiers may be trigger happy
about killing him. He might have deserved a softer punishment. The moral predicament
attached to a lie can be judged on the circumstances under which a person is speaking a lie
(S.V.Nayak, 2017). Another term to explain this situation can be the consequence behind the
truth or the lie. The primary theories say that truth is white and lie is black, however, the
consequences of the truth or a lie can bring them in a grey area (Edwords, 2018). Later on,
the same consequences can change the complexion of the guilt pangs or feel good factors
attached to the truth or the false statement that a person is making.
Famous essayist Sir Francis Bacon in his essay “The Truth” wrote that absolute truth is pure
gold but we cannot make ornaments out of pure gold, we need to mix the copper in the form
of a lie to make it work (Minkov, 2010).
My personal stance in the above-mentioned case is dependent on the consequences that my
colleague is going to face. Suppose, if he is getting a penalty because of the lie that he spoke
then, I will not entertain his request. The consequence is not strong enough where we should
compromise on the ethics. If my colleague wants me to tell a lie because he wants to save the
money that he presented as a bill then again I will not support him because this is a case of
dishonesty. It will also make me a partner in the crime. However, if I will discover that due to
MAN501 Page 3 of 14

the strict policies of the company his job is at stake than certainly, I have a strong reason to
support him and in this case, my moral conscience will allow me to speak in his favor, even if
it is a lie.
Before fixing a moral predicament of any good or bad act we should see it from different
angles. Let's forget about the ethics for a while, even the judiciary follows the same principle
in many cases. For instance, they have two terms called "legally guilty." and “factually guilty
(Bergman, 2015) .” A person is not guilty of the crime unless you can prove legally on him.
This legality comes from the legal systems where they allow a lie to prevail for the time
being. In the current case my colleague is also facing the same situation; factually he is guilty
of the dishonesty and a breach of trust of an organization. It is also a case of the misuse of
power. Let's see it under a different light before we fix a moral predicament connected to this
issue. The corporate rules connected to the perfect competition market clearly states that
deals should be done purely on the merits of market-based competitions. A company should
not bribe or give undue favors to another business partner (K. Ainley, 2016).
In the current case if a company allocates funds to entertain prospective clients in a setup that
can be considered as an "out of way" setup then this company is responsible for the breach of
"fair market practices." Factually my colleague is guilty if he represents a company in an "out
of the way" expensive restaurant with an intention to entertain them for a probable deal.
However, legally he is not guilty in the purview of the company. In the same fashion, in my
views, he should be saved on the merit of being "legally guilty" only.
However, the last term that we can bring into this system of decision making is “moral
integrity of a person." There are two ways to look at it since we are a part of any given
system we need to follow the morals prescribed by that system. In the current case, by
breaching the principle of perfect competition, the company is setting a bad moral
(Polowczyk, 2017). If I favor my friend by telling a lie then I am only supporting a bad moral
MAN501 Page 4 of 14

under an ethical framework forced upon me by the system. This can also be a justification to
support my colleague.
2. Solving Problems Analytically and Creatively (Chapter 3)
You are working in a lower-level managerial position in a Boise firm. Your boss stops by to visit
you one day and says "I have got this problem with my boss. She is new to the firm and seems to
be taking pleasure in turning everything upside down. She has instituted new reporting procedures,
new meeting schedules, new budgeting process, new everything! Now, I have been here for 15
years, and the old system makes sense to me. I have tried to be diplomatic by holding my peace,
but I do not see any reason to change. If you ask me, I think she is one of those libbers, out to show
her power." What will you do? How will you do it? Why?
Aspects that should be addressed/included in your answer:
Identification of possible blocks to creativity, identification of a creative analogy, bringing
back analogy to provide a creative solution or a new viewpoint.
[Your answer starts here]
Answer
In the current situation, the first thing that I will do is to go for a position analysis. This position
analysis will help me in looking at myself from an objective point of view. I am working at a
lower managerial level and reporting to my immediate boss. This reporting culture sets my limit to
choose a path of action. This position also allows me to identify two immediate blockages in the
field of the creativity. The newly appointed boss is trying to come up with a new organizational
culture. She is trying to change a few things that were present from last fifteen years. When I see
this condition from the point of view of the existing employees then I find that it is a kind of
environmental blocking which is coming into action (Macdonald, 2017).
MAN501 Page 5 of 14

Creativity flourishes in a certain type of environment. During the last one decade after the arrival
of cloud technology, we have witnessed a sea change in the daily functioning of the organizations
(Brown, 2011). The culture of hiring a change management company has also become prevalent.
The study of operational plans of these change management companies clearly gives us an idea
that they also take care of this creative environment blocking by phasing out the changes in
different small steps (Diana, 2015).
Now in the case of my immediate boss, it is a case of the internal blocking. Let's first check the
personality type of my immediate boss his reactions clearly shows that he is acting like a
A regressive person who doesn’t like change in the settings (Szobiova, 2015). Considering his
past track record and his experience in the organization we can also say that he can also be counted
as a progressive person that wants slow changes in an organization (Juo, 2017). His statement also
gives me this idea that he is not happy with the style of leadership. In the current case, the person
sitting at the helm is trying to practice an autocratic style where she is not winning the confidence
of her staffers (Hatum, 2017).
On the lines of the problem solving certain creative analogies can be introduced in the
communication protocols. The introduction of some confidence building is the first measure that
can be taken in this direction (David Magellan Horth, 2017).
The statement where my boss says "she changed everything upside down" is an indication that the
team is not aware of the fact that why the administration is making such type of changes in the
working routine and reporting culture. In another statement my boss said that he tried to be
diplomatic, this also shows a communication barrier between the team. After this analysis, we can
identify three major problems.
1. An internal, as well as environmental creative block, is present and this block is not
allowing the change to flourish.
MAN501 Page 6 of 14

2. Communications barriers are present on all the levels, employees are not able to express
their displeasure with the issues. It is the same with the senior management staff. They are
not able to ascertain the purpose of the change and the calculations of the planning
department behind the exercise.
3. The third and most important thing is connected to the leadership style and the projection
of the personality of a leader. The team is not having high regards for the leaders.
In order to start the problem-solving exercise, we need to first understand the difference between
planning and operational planning (Franz, 2012). The planning done by the top-notch sets the
goals for the organization, operation planning, on the other hand, tells us about some practical and
necessary steps that should be taken during the course of the implementation of the main plan or
the big plan.
In the current problem, a list of confidence-building measures should be implemented with an
intention to introduce certain creative analogies and make it a smooth and fruitful exercise of the
change management. When we have a look at the conflict management tools then we find that a
collaborative approach to solving the problem is the best approach.
Creative Analogy 1: Let’s be on the same page
In order to achieve this status of being on the same page, the top brass should come up with
communication sessions where they should talk about the new goals and the plans of the
organization. Bringing all on the same page is the first step in the direction of the collaboration of a
team.
Creative Analogy 2: Everyone is an agent of change
It is simple human psychology, we see ourselves as a part of a group. If an individual is getting
this feeling that he is the only person who is feeling the heat of the changes then it will bring an
internal conflict in him. This internal conflict may result in an internal creative block as it is
MAN501 Page 7 of 14

happening in the case of my immediate boss. The projection that he is an agent of a big change
will enable him to think more freely (Diana, 2015).
The introduction of these creative analogies will help in resolving the issue. As we can see it in the
statement of my immediate boss where he said that he doesn’t find a reason to entertain this
change, his opinion about the new leader that she is misusing her power is only a half-baked
opinion which has its roots in the presence of various communication barriers.
3. Managing Conflict (Chapter 7)
Your office neighbor talks very loudly on the phone. It is very hard for you not to be disturbed in
your work. You have talked to her about it in the past but it keeps going on. You are sitting in your
office. It is happening once more and you are quite irritated about it. You have decided to confront
this person now. What will you do? How will you do it? Why?
Aspects that should be addressed/included in your answer:
Use of recognizable conflict resolution approach, explanation of why this approach is
appropriate, identification and explanation of reasonable alternative
[Your answer starts here]
In the current case, we can see that it is an issue focused conflict that I am sharing with my
colleague (Jiang, 2009). The facts of the case also give me an idea that even after two formal
interventions she is not ready to learn her lessons. In my views, this issue can be addressed by
injecting some humor into the problem (Bannink, 2010). She is talking loud is a trivial issue and
no organizational or professional goals are at stake (Proksoh, 2016). The theories of the conflict
management can also treat it as a people based conflict. However, it is a not a people based
conflict because rest of the attributes of that person are fine (Roger Fisher, 2012). Talking loud is
the only issue that should be taken in an account here.
MAN501 Page 8 of 14

While developing a conflict management strategy, I would like to focus on two steps on an
immediate basis. First I will try to adopt an empathetic listening stance. This stance will help me in
clearing my perception of that girl (Eunson, 2012). The empathetic stance will also help me in
understating the core reason for the problem. For instance, here we can immediately think of two
reasons. The first reason can be connected with the device that she is using for the purpose of the
talking. It might have some technical problems that might force her to talk louder, the second
reason may be connected to her healing abilities, she might be someone with hearing problems
and this can force her to talk a little louder.
The technique of empathetic listening is the best technique to understand the core of the issue
when we are handing a conflict that is not professional in nature and stakes are not present in the
equation (Raines, 2012). After the identification of the problem, I will try to develop an
agreement that can work for all. It means that I can tell her to walk in the smoking area when she
needs to talk loud.
Sometimes a single conflict may have certain tangents attached to them. For instance let's assume
that she is working in a loan recovery department, in this case, it is a professional hazard for her to
talk a little louder.
By injecting an empathy and humor in the communication I can move ahead in the direction of a
win-win situation for all (Suzanne Mccorkle, 2017). Compromise is another word that has the
power to resolve a conflict. In the present case with the help of apt communication protocol, I can
tell her to speak a little slowly on all the possible occasions. Under a compromise driven solution, I
will also increase my tolerance levels to the noise on some given occasions when she is talking
under the spur of the moment. Compromise mostly leads us to some unattractive outcomes
(William K. Roche, 2014). However, in the current case, I am opting for an outcome which is
less unattractive in nature.
MAN501 Page 9 of 14

4. Leading Positive Change (Chapter 10)
You are in charge of a large sausage manufacturing company. Up until now, everything has
been running smoothly, but you believe it is time for a change. You have been reading about
empowerment and teamwork, and you think that if you can reorganize the employees into
self-directed teams, your sausage company has a chance of becoming the most profitable
sausage company in the United States. Your management philosophy is that any profits the
company makes should be shared with the employees. Employees are concerned, however,
because they think that any change may be accompanied by downsizing and layoffs. What
will you do? How will you do it? Why?
Aspects that should be addressed/included in your answer:
Establishing a climate of positivity, creating readiness for change, articulating a positive
vision, identifying and explaining actions to be taken.
[Your answer starts here]
There is a difference between a leader and a manager. Leaders plan, they create a path and set
vision statements. Managers, on the other hand, help the teammates to face day to day
difficulties by introducing supplementary operation plans to fill in certain gaps (Cameron,
2012). In the current case while wearing the hat of a positive leader we can identify one
problem and opportunity prima facie. The notes of the case study say that people in the
organization are not ready to change the working patterns because they feel that a change in
the functioning of an organization may bring in some deficit in the profits or it may decrease
their need in the system of the manufacturing (Gorden, 2017). As a result, they may receive
layoff notices. This thought process also tells us that there is reluctance towards the change.
MAN501 Page 10 of 14

In order to convert this reluctance into readiness, as a positive leader, one should come up
with a communication where the organization should express its vision of sharing the profit
with the employees (Cameron, 2013). The primary aim of this change exercise is to procure
certain teams that can work on their own and earn more profit for the organization. The
creation of a vision of abundance is the next step in the direction of the goal-realization
(Lewis, 2011).
As a planner or the positive leader, the exercise of the forecasting is the next step. In the
process of the forecasting, a positive leader should set small goals for the team and promote
them to have small wins (Michel, 2015). This exercise will help them in articulating a vision
of the abundance. We can learn it from the example of the Google. The success story of the
Google is an outcome of the thousands of small teams working as a separate entity and
achieving small goals to contribute in a big picture (Cramer, 2014). They are not sharing big
organization concerns they are setting their own operational plans and abiding by the
directives set by the Google in the terms of the procurement of the goods and profits (Gorden,
The Power of a Positive Team, 2018).
It was impossible for Google to set goals and values for such a big quantum of operations,
instead of hiring managers they relied on a universal message. This message is known as their
organizational vision document (Gordon, 2011). In order to facilitate a guideline for the
action plans and operation plans, they also come up with a universal mission statement.
As a positive leader, an individual should work in the direction to become an enabler of the
team.
Setting up a positive sentiment in the organization is another issue that every positive leader
has to handle. In the current case, we can see that people were not ready for a change, on a
hypothetical line let's think that people are ready for the change. Now what, what should be
MAN501 Page 11 of 14

the next step of this organization in the direction of sustainable attainment of the goals. In
general, a steady vision document is the best bet. We can understand it with the help of the
case of Ruslan Kogan. He came up with a new vision statement where he said that
“implementation is the new research.” His vision statement changed the fortune of his
company. He refused to follow the culture of beta testing or the test launch of the products.
It emerged as a breakthrough in a market where the product lifecycles were shrinking
drastically (Brown, 2011).
It is an example of articulating a vision for the abundance. As a positive leader Ruslan Kogan
gave a full authority to his team where they can experiment and learn their lessons on the
basis of a trial and error. It can be termed as an extreme case because Ruslan’s team was
working in a retail market where they were having this luxury of experimenting with various
products and every day was a new day (David Magellan Horth, 2017). However, in the case
of the present organization, we can introduce another vision document under the heading of
fostering sustainability with the help of an additional input into the main vision. As a positive
leader one can also take a leaf from the book of Ruslan Kogan, where he converted small
wins into big wins by promoting a culture of the experimentation in the organization.
As a positive leader, one should never forget that it is a consistent process of change which is
going on in the current organization (Eunson, 2012). It is true that teams are working under a
self-motivation regime. ; However, they need the backup and support of a big organization all
the time. This supports them in the process of the sustenance of their business ideas and the
operational plans to meet small goals that can contribute to the big picture.
MAN501 Page 12 of 14