Conflict Case Study

Scenario

You are a department manager in a mid-sized company that provides technology support services.  You have ten employees who are required to maintain a high level of technical expertise and deliver excellent customer service.  One of your employees, who has been with the company for two years, is performing at a substandard level and you have received numerous complaints from customers and coworkers.  In addition, this employee has displayed confrontational behavior which has created a hostile environment.  You must now meet with this employee and deliver an ultimatum regarding the need for immediate improvement or dismissal.

Conflict Resolution Techniques
For this case study I draw upon personal experience as both a Lead and a Supervisor at different companies, as well as knowledge I have gained through academic study. It is challenging to deliver bad news, reject a request, or deliver an ultimatum. In this case study, the circumstances presented are advanced, more escalated, with a prior history of confrontational behavior and disharmony in the given environment. Given that both customers and coworkers have complained about the individual, there is also likely going to be expectations and/or heightened visibility to the corrective action. In other words, did management do something about the situation and did the individual pay heed?

In this advanced scenario, it is important to be clear in delivering the message, to give it gravity, because in actuality there is a job on the line. This is not to say that opening the meeting with an indirect approach/neutral conversation is off limits. In meeting this person, privately, I would make sure to read their body language, tone, mood, etc., as quickly as I could to ensure the best approach for the conversation. Conceivably, a simple “How is it going?” may, in and of itself, be the open door the individual wanted or needed, unleashing an emotional torrent; Anticipating this reaction would require (on my part) calm, listening, sympathetic, and respectful behavior. It is possible in this case, that the individual expected this conversation and has a pre-disposition toward the interaction. This person may believe that they have been wronged, and/or they are not being understood. These points are part of the reason it is important to listen with earnestness, giving them a chance to voice their views.

Ultimately the conversation must be steered by me to the ultimatum, but I would not use that word, rather, I would use the word “choice”. I would back this choice up with the facts, that complaints have been received by both customers and coworkers and steer attention toward their importance to and in the company, their rights to their feelings and opinions.

I would wrap the conversation with a positive note regarding the individuals two years of service and that there is an obvious good history to be noted and appreciated, that a standard or above standard level of technical and professional performance is attainable.

Roebuck, D. (2006). Improving Business Communication Skills, Fourth Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Eletronic Interconnectedness

In week two of my Communication capstone class (COM480), we are analyzing media technologies and the more I think about this subject and read the examples of my peers, the more I have to really sit back and think about how much communication has evolved in my lifetime.

I hear the voice of Robert's past (yes, I'm speaking in the third person) making off-handed comments about the frantic speed of technology, but it truly boggles my mind to take stock of how much adapting has really happened in a few decades, and those changes seem to have swept over us in exponential fashion. Our electronic interconnectedness is such that I want to use the joke "Oh, that was sooo five minutes ago!" more and more. Pathetic, right? And yet, our attention span and capacity for prolonged, deep thought, does seem threatened.

My media technology examples this week covered the following four examples:

Reality Television:

Although this is not a new concept, the current popular form has evolved and realized incredible amounts of popularity. Regardless of one’s view of how scripted or not scripted the program, the premise is to put everyday people in heightened dramatic or humorous situations, sometimes with a goal or prize at stake.

“Winners” and other contestants can go on to become quite famous, which appeals to the average, non-famous audience. Depending on the show, audience members are easily from four years to elderly senior age, due largely in part to the variety of topics found in the shows, and the variety of people, races, and ages of show participants.


Some shows encourage cell phone participation for voting which has added an interactive element and also an additional revenue stream.

iPhone FaceTime:

Does anyone remember the old Sci Fi movies where people talked to each other real-time, with video? Well, iPhone did not do it first but they sure have made it handy- within the palm of your hand, in fact- something truly mobile. Again, intended for the widest possible audience, anyone who can communicate would be the intended audience. I would like to specifically call out the advantage of this kind of technology to the hard-of-hearing and deaf community.

Online File Sharing and Storage:

Computer users want to be able to share files across distances, sometimes bigger than what can be sent in email, like video or large audio recordings. They also sometimes want a central repository where all their different media devices/computers can access; especially should one of those devices fail them or not be available. Being able to sync to this information in such a way has spawned a number of different like services and I can attest to one personally that I just started using, called Dropbox, where my fellow band members and I can listen to 3 hour long rehearsal recordings very easily- large files that would otherwise need to be burned unto disk and physically distributed and the like.

Streaming Media:

For example, Netflix, serving more than 20 million members (for anyone who enjoys movies or TV shows) in the United States and Canada (Nasdaq: NFLX), an internet subscription, now with instant streaming to, and interfacing with, a wide array of media devices (over 200).

Oh Humble Beginnings

I knew one day I'd join the ranks of the bloggers and I'm happy for this prompting- may it morph into something of consequence, or at least amusement.

These tests are temporary and I'm sure I will delete them but perhaps someone will get a chuckle from the pics here in week one.

Spidey Cat awaits the villain in 137, ready to strike!

More everyday superheros.

As a musician, this one speaks to me.

And now, for the real deal- a few pictures of my wife and I from a trip to Europe last December.The Christmas markets, the architecture, the history- it's great to finally be a world-traveler.

Thanks for stopping by! Please add a question or comment if you are so inclined.