Do not be fooled by the title of this assignment, you are not going to be asked to go create conflict and reflect on it – that could cause problems. Rather, in this assignment you will have the opportunity to apply each of the reactions to a conflict you read about.
First, the case:
Jemisha Price started her career with Health Service Incorporated (HSI) eight years ago. She was hired by HSI after graduating top of her class at Central Christian College of Kansas. She started as a case worker, but quickly moved up in the organization. She is well liked by the other employees in the company and customers. She is organized and supportive of her patients, which has helped her move to a management position. All was going well for Jemisha. That is until she started dating Antoine.
Jemisha and Antoine met at a company event and quickly developed a strong relationship. Eventually they began dating and that is when things started going badly.
Unknown to Jemisha was that Antoine had once been engaged to one of Jemisha’s supervisors, but had broken off the relationship.
The supervisor was devastated and has made it her personal mission to make life miserable for Anotoine (who works in another division of HSI).
Jemisha’s supervisor began going out of her way to make sure Jemisha was unhappy, as a way to get back at Antoine. She would give Jemisha the worst assignment and always made negative comments about Jemisha’s work. As a supervisor, this woman fought against any advancement for Jemisha and began to undermine her reputation.
Jemisha was understandably frustrated, especially since she had no personal issue with the supervisor. Prior to dating Antoine, Jemisha and the supervisor got along fine. However, things have gotten so bad that something must be done.
Reflecting on the case and what you have learned about conflict, apply each of the conflict reaction styles (below) to the situation and determine the negative and positive attributes of each. The reactions include:
Withdrawal
Win at All Costs
Negotiation
Cooperative Problem Solving
Third-Party Intervention
In conclusion, which do you think would be the best way to handle the issue? Support your insight by using references from your text or other source.
