Exam Content
Workplace conflicts are troublesome and can cause negative effects on an organization’s productivity. Conflicts can lead to unpleasant work environments for employees if they are not resolved effectively.
Imagine you are a leader for your community’s or state’s parks and recreation department/agency. Another leader in your organization advised that one of your employees had a conflict with one of their employees. You must present your ideas for how to resolve the conflict to the other leader so you both can determine the best course of action. Once you have identified the best resolution, you will create a memorandum to recommend a policy change to the director of the agency.
Read the following conflict scenario:
Raul and Peter were working together on a project to help develop a list of venues for the youth softball teams to practice and play. They had a strict budget and were given a short timeline for the completion of the list so it could be made available to the teams. Since they were on a tight timeline, Raul and Peter decided to divide up the venues to contact.
Peter contacted venues on his list very quickly and Raul finished his task shortly after. They submitted their combined lists and met their deadline; however, it was discovered there were a few venues that came in above the budgeted cost. Peter had forgotten to check the costs when he booked the venues, and now alternative venues were required to replace them. This resulted in Raul having to stay late and work extra hours to ensure the work was done correctly since Peter had already left for the day. This left him feeling resentful toward Peter. The next day, Raul told Peter that he would never work on a project with him again because he is lazy and doesn’t do thorough work. Peter apologized for the mistake, but Raul was unwilling to listen and continued insulting Peter further, to the point where another employee nearby stepped in and asked him to stop.
As a leader, you must determine the best way to resolve the conflict. You must also identify a change or addition to policy that would help avoid future disputes like this one.
Write a 700- to 1,050-word memorandum to your agency director to propose the change or addition to policy. In your memorandum be sure to:
Describe the gap in the current policy regarding conflict resolution.
Explain the need for a change or addition to the policy.
Recommend a resolution for the two employees in the conflict scenario.
Propose a specific change or addition to policy that will help deter future disputes.
Cite a minimum of 3 scholarly sources to support your ideas.
