Perhaps all supervisors should take a course in conflict management. Or perhaps better still, all employees, both supervisors and subordinates, should study conflict management. Anyone who has worked, knows that the workplace is filled with issues and disagreements pertaining to these. Even a straightforward task of assigning professional people to work different shifts can produce a lot of conflict as the next case study suggests. The purpose of this activity is to apply correctly the key concepts, principles, and suggestions from Chapter 12 to the case study.
Read the following case study and the instructions that follow it.
"A few years ago, my position at work changed, and I suddenly became responsible for the nursing and ancillary staff on the unit. I had worked with some of these nurses as equals, but now I was playing a supervisory role; suddenly, my friends were now my subordinates. Deciding how to deal with the various conflicts was quite challenging at first. One of my greatest challenges was trying to make the monthly work schedule.
The problem was that everyone wanted specific time off, which would sometimes mean that most of the staff would request to be off on a particular day. I think that some of my former colleagues thought that they should be treated differently and get whatever they wanted because they were my friends. Since we were already short workers, it was impossible to give everyone what they wanted, and as such, it was up to me to decide how it was going to be done in a way that would ensure we had enough people to provide quality patient care, while at the same time not alienate my colleagues. I decided to set up a pattern of rotation in which everyone was treated equally and fairly, but that has resulted in a lot of complaints for personal reasons."
This case study is adapted from the original version in Cahn, D., & Abigail, R.A. (2014), Managing conflict through communication (5th Edition).
For this discussion, please engage in the following:
Read the case study
Jot down what concepts you read that might apply to this scenario
How does a supervisor assign duties at work in a way that keeps conflict to a minimum?
How does one manage conflict in the workplace?
Are the principles the same at work as at home or are there important differences between home and workplace conflict? Why or why not?
Define what the concept(s) is that fits this case.
State what behaviors you see happening that substantiate why you chose the concepts you have identified.
Write a 250-300 word post where you put together #2 and #3; this post should be in narrative form.
Include references to the textbook in your post; use the APA style guide.
Make sure to proofread for grammar.