HURD 702 Introduction to Conflict Resolution 2020 SPRING WEEK 4 Mid-Term Instructions: This is an independent assigned test. I am looking for your thoughts, and actions in the face of workplace conflict. Read the mock mediation scenarios beginning on pg. 175 in the Weinstein text - (Scenario 1- George and - Tina and Scenario 2 - Frank and Bill). Think about the approach you would have to take as the mediator in the situation and answer the following essay questions presented below. Be thorough and descriptive in your responses. Remember, building critical thinking skills is a key skill in resolving conflict. All assignments are to be typed and sent electronically to djayesharley@gmail.com no later than 12:00 pm Tuesday, February 18, 2020. Bring a printed (hard-copy) to class for discussion and evaluation. Scenario Questions 1. What appears to be the primary conflict from each party’s perspective? Describe the issues and validity of each. (50pts) 2. Based on the conflict management styles presented in the text, identify the likely position each party has taken in this scenario. (50pts) 3. Describe how you would use mediation process presented by Weinstein and identify if there are any threats that may present a challenge as the mediator. (50pts) 4. Describe your role as the mediator and what your approach would be to help the two parties resolve the issue amicably. What are your recommendations? (50pts) 1 Scenario 1- George and Tina 1. What appears to be the primary conflict from each party’s perspective? Describe the issues and validity of each. (50pts) 2. Based on the conflict management styles presented in the text, identify the likely position each party has taken in this scenario. (50pts) 3. Describe how you would use mediation process presented by Weinstein and identify if there are any threats that may present a challenge as the mediator. (50pts) 4. Describe your role as the mediator and what your approach would be to help the two parties resolve the issue amicably. What are your recommendations? (50pts) 2 Scenario 2 - Frank and Bill 1. What appears to be the primary conflict from each party’s perspective? Describe the issues and validity of each. (50pts) 2. Based on the conflict management styles presented in the text, identify the likely position each party has taken in this scenario. (50pts) 3. Describe how you would use mediation process presented by Weinstein and identify if there are any threats that may present a challenge as the mediator. (50pts) 4. Describe your role as the mediator and what your approach would be to help the two parties resolve the issue amicably. What are your recommendations? (50pts) Name: _________________________________ Grade:______________________ 3 HURD 702 Introduction to Conflict Resolution 2020 SPRING WEEK 4 Mid-Term Instructions: This is an independent assigned test. I am looking for your thoughts, and actions in the face of workplace conflict. Read the mock mediation scenarios beginning on pg. 175 in the Weinstein text - (Scenario 1- George and - Tina and Scenario 2 - Frank and Bill). Think about the approach you would have to take as the mediator in the situation and answer the following essay questions presented below. Be thorough and descriptive in your responses. Remember, building critical thinking skills is a key skill in resolving conflict. All assignments are to be typed and sent electronically to djayesharley@gmail.com no later than 12:00 pm Tuesday, February 18, 2020. Bring a printed (hard-copy) to class for discussion and evaluation. Scenario Questions 1. What appears to be the primary conflict from each party’s perspective? Describe the issues and validity of each. (50pts) 2. Based on the conflict management styles presented in the text, identify the likely position each party has taken in this scenario. (50pts) 3. Describe how you would use mediation process presented by Weinstein and identify if there are any threats that may present a challenge as the mediator. (50pts) 4. Describe your role as the mediator and what your approach would be to help the two parties resolve the issue amicably. What are your recommendations? (50pts) 1 Scenario 1- George and Tina 1. What appears to be the primary conflict from each party’s perspective? Describe the issues and validity of each. (50pts) 2. Based on the conflict management styles presented in the text, identify the likely position each party has taken in this scenario. (50pts) 3. Describe how you would use mediation process presented by Weinstein and identify if there are any threats that may present a challenge as the mediator. (50pts) 4. Describe your role as the mediator and what your approach would be to help the two parties resolve the issue amicably. What are your recommendations? (50pts) 2 Scenario 2 - Frank and Bill 1. What appears to be the primary conflict from each party’s perspective? Describe the issues and validity of each. (50pts) 2. Based on the conflict management styles presented in the text, identify the likely position each party has taken in this scenario. (50pts) 3. Describe how you would use mediation process presented by Weinstein and identify if there are any threats that may present a challenge as the mediator. (50pts) 4. Describe your role as the mediator and what your approach would be to help the two parties resolve the issue amicably. What are your recommendations? (50pts) Name: _________________________________ Grade:______________________ 3 wein03.qxd 10/10/00 Page 170 Exercises Copyright © 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. All rights reserved. 170 11:39 AM Weinstein, R. J. (2000). Mediation in the workplace : A guide for training, practice and administration. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from widener-ebooks on 2020-02-16 16:15:53. wein03.qxd 10/10/00 11:39 AM Page 171 Part Three Mock Mediations Copyright © 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Mock Mediations The following scenarios are to be used for practice mediation. It is essential that any new mediator practice several times before attempting the real thing. It may also be useful for a new mediator to experience the role of participant. These role-play mediations can be repeated with the participants switching roles. Different people will bring very different characters to each role, making the experience of each interaction unique. Mock mediation should be performed as if it were a genuine mediation. Nevertheless it is appropriate, and often very useful, for the players to give each other feedback and advice during the process. Having a nonparticipant watch and critique is also a valuable exercise. The ideal training scenario is to employ an experienced mediator to critique the process, evaluate technique, and offer suggestions. INSTRUCTIONS 1. These mock mediations require at least three players: the mediator and two participants, the parties. 2. Each mock mediation contains both “public” and “private” information. Both parties must read the pages labeled public information; the mediator can choose whether or not to read it. This is the information that will be shared during the participant opening remarks. Weinstein, R. J. (2000). Mediation in the workplace : A guide for training, practice and administration. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from widener-ebooks on 2020-02-16 16:15:53. wein03.qxd 10/10/00 172 11:39 AM Page 172 Exercises 3. Only the person playing the particular role (for instance, Tina) may read the private information for that character. The mediator may not read any of the private information. This is information that will be shared during caucusing. Copyright © 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. All rights reserved. 4. The people playing the parties should feel free to embellish these stories, as long as the scenario remains realistic. The gender of each role can be changed whenever necessary. Weinstein, R. J. (2000). Mediation in the workplace : A guide for training, practice and administration. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from widener-ebooks on 2020-02-16 16:15:53. wein03.qxd 10/10/00 11:39 AM Page 173 Sally and Bob Copyright © 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. All rights reserved. SALLY AND BOB: PUBLIC INFORMATION Sally and Bob both work for a public service agency. The agency is large and has offices around the state. Each office has a manager who supervises around ten employees. Sally is the manager and Bob is a social service worker who works directly with clients. Sally does mostly administrative work, although she occasionally works with clients. At the job site Sally is the direct supervisor and her staff addresses most issues with her. However, Sally does have two supervisors above her who regularly request work updates. Sally’s staff is not really aware of how often she talks with her supervisors and how much they know. Sally is basically a fair boss, but she is more of an administrator than a “people person” and often has trouble communicating with her staff. Sally has a B.A. in Accounting and Office Management and has been working at the agency for fifteen years. Bob is a very caring and sensitive person who started working at the agency six months ago. He was hired because he has a Masters Degree in Social Work (MSW) and an excellent reputation for working with clients. Being a people person, he loves to talk and this often includes office gossip. None of Bob’s coworkers have graduate degrees but all have been at the agency much longer than Bob. When Bob started work, the feelings in the office were mixed. Although they were glad to have such an educated person around, they were worried about their own job security and a little resentful of the extra money Bob would make. There are several conflicts going on here. First of all, Bob recently stormed into Sally’s office and said: “I am so tired of being the only one who actually helps clients around here, I need a serious raise if you want to keep me.” Sally was taken aback and slightly overwhelmed. It is true that her agency does not pay MSW workers as well as some other agencies, but Bob does make more money that any other social service worker in the office. Sally does not like conflict to begin with, and to make matters worse she knew several other workers could hear Bob yelling his demands. Her response to Bob was: “I can’t talk to you now—come back later.” Bob then stormed out. Sally has been avoiding Bob for several weeks and in the meantime Bob has been “mentioning” this conversation all around the office. Bob then files for mediation. SALLY: PRIVATE INFORMATION Several minutes after Bob stormed out of the office, the workers who overheard the yelling came in to see Sally. They were mad. They couldn’t believe Weinstein, R. J. (2000). Mediation in the workplace : A guide for training, practice and administration. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from widener-ebooks on 2020-02-16 16:15:53. wein03.qxd 10/10/00 11:39 AM Page 174 174 Exercises what an arrogant jerk Bob was. “Who does he think he is; we have been here ten times longer than that know-it-all.” Again Sally avoided the confrontation by listening but giving no response. Bob never knew this happened. On the other hand, Bob actually does perform superior work and Sally is getting tremendous pressure from her bosses to hire only MSW workers and then keep them. There actually may be money for a raise for Bob, but he is such a big mouth that everyone will find out about it. Sally dreads the anger and hostility by her workers when they find out. To add to this mess her bosses have been hinting that “getting rid of ” non-MSW workers may be good for the organization since the state gives more grant money for MSWs. None of Sally’s workers know this. The other problem is that her bosses have been giving Sally a hard time for her tendency to avoid conflict with her staff. She regularly neglects to do performance evaluations and Bob’s is past due. In her evaluation of Bob she must tell him that he is an excellent social service worker, but she also must reprimand him for his terrible interpersonal skills at the office. Bob has no idea about this. Copyright © 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. All rights reserved. BOB: PRIVATE INFORMATION The day that Bob stormed into Sally’s office he had just been offered a job at another agency for much more money. No one at the office even thought he was looking for a new job. However, unfortunately for Bob, the next day he found out that the funding was denied and he didn’t have the job after all. He was quite nervous about what he had done; he knew it was a bad move and regretted it now. That is why he has been avoiding Sally. On the other hand, he knows he is a great social service worker and does feel he deserves more money. He could always look for a better job. He felt very tense at the office, Sally never gave him any feedback, and he resented that he still had not been given a performance evaluation. His way of dealing with Sally was to hint at things to his coworkers. He was just trying to “feel things out.” After all, Sally never talked to him and he felt the resentment of his coworkers like a knife. He was under a lot of stress and was the new guy everyone hated, and so he just exploded. Bob would really like to work things out—he likes the job and his clients—but feels over his head with the other pressures. If he can’t get a raise, he really may look for another job. Weinstein, R. J. (2000). Mediation in the workplace : A guide for training, practice and administration. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from widener-ebooks on 2020-02-16 16:15:53. wein03.qxd 10/10/00 11:39 AM Page 175 George and Tina Copyright © 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. All rights reserved. GEORGE AND TINA: PUBLIC INFORMATION George and Tina work for a medium-size company that George started twenty-five years ago and built from the ground up. George is the president and very proud of his business; it is his whole life. He is also very protective and thinks of the company as his “baby,” a phrase he often uses at meetings. George has the attitude that working for his “baby” is an honor and a privilege. He comes from the “old school,” where a worker is a worker and a boss is a boss. That is not to say he doesn’t reward his employees; the pay is good and the benefits are great. He expects total commitment from his workers and in return he offers job security for life. He prides himself on being in control and in charge. He is like the father of his company. Tina is George’s personal secretary. She has been working for him for five years. Tina is a top-notch secretary, and the perfect employee for George. To begin with, she never calls him by his first name. She is quiet and subservient; she does what she is told and does it well. From the outside everything appears great. The only problem is that George has a tendency to use language that is slightly old-fashioned. He calls Tina “honey” and “sweetheart.” Tina has tolerated this. But lately George has been requiring Tina to stay late at the office and she has noticed that he touches her a lot. Although she has said nothing, Tina is upset and also a little scared. The grievance policy at the company has always been very simple. If you have a complaint, present it to George and he will make an executive decision. However, several months ago, for no apparent reason, George implemented an in-house mediation procedure with peer mediators and complicated rules. So far no one has dared to use it. It has come as a tremendous surprise to everyone, but all of a sudden Tina has filed a grievance against George. Everyone knows that George is absolute about rules, and the plan has compliance rules that assure no retaliation, so no one fears that they will lose their jobs. But this is a new experience for everyone. GEORGE: PRIVATE INFORMATION George has been under a great deal of pressure lately. The company is doing very well financially, but this increase in business has made George’s workload unbearable. His familiar style of being the “do everything” boss isn’t working anymore. His employees are becoming more independent, but this is hard for George to take. His usual response to employee autonomy is to become more authoritarian, more bossy. He is also used to hiring and Weinstein, R. J. (2000). Mediation in the workplace : A guide for training, practice and administration. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from widener-ebooks on 2020-02-16 16:15:53. wein03.qxd 10/10/00 11:39 AM Page 176 176 Exercises firing whom he wants, when he wants. Recently two of his former workers filed lawsuits against him and his company. One was for sex discrimination and one was for wrongful termination. The mediation policy was his lawyer’s suggestion, a new young lawyer with modern ideas. However, with all the problems in the company George was receptive and genuinely intends to give mediation a try. The grievance Tina filed against him came as a complete shock. He always thought of Tina as a good worker, and a “good girl.” He is not so much angry as scared. His wife recently left him, claiming he was overbearing and tried to “own” her. He simply thought he was acting like a husband was supposed to. He has to admit (but only to himself) that he is lonely and does find Tina attractive. Maybe he was hoping something would happen, but he never meant to hurt her. He doesn’t want another lawsuit, and he also doesn’t want to lose Tina as a secretary. His lawyer told him that if Tina files a lawsuit she could win a great deal of money and damage the company reputation. On the other hand, he is the boss and will not tolerate employee insubordination; what he says goes. Copyright © 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. All rights reserved. TINA: PRIVATE INFORMATION It took more courage than Tina ever thought she had to file her grievance and she is terrified. She likes her job and most of the time she likes George, but she feels threatened and humiliated when he makes advances and calls her “honey.” She has known all along that he wasn’t supposed to do those things, but never had the guts to stand up to him. Workers don’t stand up to George. Her courage came from having a friend at another company who filed a sexual harassment suit against her boss and won $250,000. It was not just the money that motivated her, she also learned a great deal about her rights. But the money was tempting too. When Tina got this job right out of school she was led to believe she could work there for the rest of her life, and that is just what she wanted. She thought she could tolerate George’s little remarks, but now the situation is out of control. The other problem for her is that there are no other jobs in the area that pay as well and she cannot afford to take a pay cut. Also, she needs her medical benefits; she has a chronic medical problem and even with her good benefits she barely makes ends meet. No one at work knows about her health problems. Although she cannot afford to lose her job, she has already decided that she will stand up to George and not let him intimidate her. If she has to, she will sue him in court. Weinstein, R. J. (2000). Mediation in the workplace : A guide for training, practice and administration. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from widener-ebooks on 2020-02-16 16:15:53. wein03.qxd 10/10/00 11:39 AM Page 177 Frank and Bill Copyright © 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. All rights reserved. FRANK AND BILL: PUBLIC INFORMATION Frank and Bill are real estate agents at a successful real estate firm. The firm is a franchise operated by Bill’s mother and owned by a large corporate enterprise. Several of Bill’s family members also work at the firm. Although agents share listings of properties and occasionally show each other’s houses, they are paid on commission. Recently, a large company has closed in town and many people have moved away. There has been a dramatic increase of houses on the market and a decrease in sales. Competition in the office has become somewhat fierce, although no one discusses it publicly. Everyone has been working harder lately and there is a palatable stress in the office. Bill is a competent salesman and committed to the overall success of the firm. His style is easygoing and low pressure, but he does have a temper that flairs when he suspects questionable ethical practices. He has been in the business for many years and has seen quite a few agents use underhanded selling techniques. Bill knows from experience that a slump in the market is a time when agents tend to take desperate risks; he is not shy about reminding his colleagues of this. His philosophy, which he frequently states publicly, is: “A man with honor and a mission will always ride out the rough seas of life.” Frank is a much more aggressive salesman than Bill. He spends a great deal of time with his clients socializing to forward his career. He has the best sales record in the firm and makes the most money of any salesman. Frank is ambitious and would like to own his own firm one day. He knows he has no chance of owning this firm because it will stay in Bill’s family. He is not particularly concerned with the firm’s reputation, although he is concerned with his own. He has a five-year plan to save enough money for his own business, but the slump in the market is putting quite a crimp in his plans. Recently, Frank has sold two houses to buyers who were originally Bill’s clients. “Stealing clients” is not only against firm policy, but considered a “sin” in the office. Occasionally agents “trade” or “share” clients and split the commission. In this case Frank met the clients while socializing at the country club. He didn’t know they were Bill’s clients first, but, then again, he didn’t ask. Bill discussed the conflict with Frank, who was apologetic. But Bill could not dismiss the issue and began to grow more and more angry. He started to discuss the issue with his family members in the firm privately, who all agreed that Frank must be “plotting to rip off more houses.” Bill went to his mother and insisted that she fire Frank. She refused because Frank brings in the most money for the firm, and she also knows about Bill’s tendency to get morally Weinstein, R. J. (2000). Mediation in the workplace : A guide for training, practice and administration. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from widener-ebooks on 2020-02-16 16:15:53. wein03.qxd 10/10/00 11:39 AM Page 178 178 Exercises outraged at little things. She suspects that Frank is probably not the most honorable agent, but, in this market, she is willing to live with it. Unfortunately, the office is getting quite tense, with a division between the family members and the other employees at the firm. Bill’s mother has decided to call in a mediator from the corporation that owns the firm to help resolve the dispute. Copyright © 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. All rights reserved. FRANK: PRIVATE INFORMATION There is more going on behind the scenes then Frank has let on. Frank has recently taken out a bank loan because of some private matters that no one at the firm knows about. He has been unable to make the monthly payments because of the slow sales. If his credit rating is ruined, he will never get a loan to open his own firm in the next few years. Although he didn’t actually know that those questionable house sales were to Bill’s clients, he suspected they might be and intentionally did not look at the files. To make matters worse, he was recently approached by the owner of the country club who is planning to sell many properties in the near future. The country club owner offered to let Frank personally represent all his properties if Frank gives him a percentage of the commission. This sort of kickback is illegal in the state and Frank could lose his real estate license and his job, or worse. On the other hand, it would solve all his financial problems. He has not accepted the offer—yet. Frank has also been secretly approached by Bill’s mother. She is pleased with his selling style and his number of sales. She let him know that his sales are carrying the firm right now and she would hate to lose him. He was flattered by the compliment, but when he asked for a larger commission, she said that it could not be done right now. She did say that if he stuck around, there was a very good chance for “advancement” in the firm. Frank is not sure exactly what that means. BILL: PRIVATE INFORMATION Bill is having more troubles at work than anyone knows. His mother and he have never gotten along very well. She pressured him into joining the firm and since then she has pressured him to change his selling style. The only thing that makes selling real estate bearable for him is the easygoing style and the many afternoons he takes off to play golf. Although he is concerned about the reputation of the firm, his obsession with ethics has a lot to do with keeping the firm selling style low-pressure, which will keep his mother off his back. Right now the rest of his family supports him, but he worries that, with sales so slow, they will begin to side with his mother and insist on high-pressure selling. Weinstein, R. J. (2000). Mediation in the workplace : A guide for training, practice and administration. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from widener-ebooks on 2020-02-16 16:15:53. wein03.qxd 10/10/00 11:39 AM Mock Mediations Page 179 179 Copyright © 2000. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. All rights reserved. His problems with Frank started long before the client “stealing” incident. He knows his mother likes Frank’s style and he fears that Frank will influence the rest of the family, especially now that he is keeping the firm afloat. He also has a secret that no one knows. In private, he is relieved that his mother is so fond of Frank. He has been wanting to quit the firm for years but hasn’t had the courage. Part of him is trying to build enough tension in the office so that his mother will fire him. Of course he can’t tell Frank that his ethical outrage is mostly for show, to keep his family on his side. The truth is, his biggest fear is that Frank will quit and Bill will be stuck in the firm forever. He feels like he is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Weinstein, R. J. (2000). Mediation in the workplace : A guide for training, practice and administration. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com Created from widener-ebooks on 2020-02-16 16:15:53.
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