Problem
Maria: Hey, Vicki. I was wondering where you put that file for the Spring Conference next week.
Vicki: Which one? You give me a lot of files.
Maria: The really big blue one with our logo on the front.
Vicki: That's the one you said you'd follow up on. I just assumed you did.
Maria: No, I remember very distinctly from our debriefing session that you said you wanted to do it because you had worked with Ed on last year's conference. We all took different assignments, and that's the one you took.
Vicki: I definitely took a lot of assignments, but the Spring Conference folder wasn't one of them.
Maria: Okay . . . I guess what we really need to do is not figure out who lost it, but where the file is now.
Vicki: Who "lost" it? It was never mine, so how could I lose it? I'm sick of always being blamed for everything that goes wrong around here. If everyone would just sit still for a minute, maybe all this stuff wouldn't fall through the cracks.
Maria: Wait a second. I wasn't blaming you for anything! I just really need to find the folder. I'm wondering where it is, and I need to write the follow-up evaluations.
Vicki: Well, I don't have it. (Vicki returns to completing her timesheet on the computer).
(Maria retreats to her office and doesn't say what's really on her mind. She's trying not to get too angry. She meets with another colleague later that afternoon and asks the colleague what his thoughts are about Vicki as their support staff.)
i. Should Vicki and Maria just drop the conflict and not discuss it at all?
ii. What advice would you give to Vicki and Maria?