Required Material
Start off with this tutorial that will give you an overview of the main principles of conflict management and negotiation:
Conflict and negotiation. (2014). Pearson Learning Solutions. New York, NY.
The following two readings are especially important for the Case Assignment so go through these chapters carefully:
Sims, R. (2002). Chapter 10 Conflict and negotiation at work. Managing Organizational Behavior. Greenwood Press Westport, CT [Ebrary]
Kumar, N. (2009). Chapter 18: Conflict. Organizational Behaviour: A New Look: Concept, Theory and Cases. Himalaya Publishing House,
Mumbai [2009]POWER AND CONFLICT
Case Assignment
For this case study, look at a fictional case of a manager caught between a rock and hard place. Nick Cunningham is a manager at
Synergon, a high powered company involved in purchasing poorly managed companies and then restructuring them to become more profitable.
However, Synergon has now purchased Beauchamp, Becker, and Company which is a well-managed and highly profitable company.
Nick is in an awkward position because he is in charge of managing this merger, but he also knows that the success of the merger is
dependent on Beauchamp’s managing director and other top leaders remaining in their positions and continuing their solid work.
However, Nick’s bosses are not known for taking a conciliatory approach towards companies they purchase and usually force major changes
on any company that they acquire. Predictably, Nick is faced with a threat of retirement by Beauchamp’s managing director Julian
Mansfield due to Synergon’s strict policies and approach.
Before beginning the Case Assignment, make sure you have thoroughly reviewed the tutorial and textbook readings from the background
materials.
Pay special attention to readings on causes of conflict, types of conflict, and conflict management styles. For this assignment you
will need to apply concepts from the background materials to this fictional case.
Once you have finished reviewing the background materials, take a look at this following article and think about how the concepts from
the background materials apply to this fictional case:
Cliffe, S. (1999). Can This Merger Be Saved? Harvard Business Review, 77(1), 28-44. [EbscoHost]
Then write a four to five page paper addressing the following questions:
APA Format
1. Do you think this conflict that Nick Cunningham faces is functional or dysfunctional? Explain your reasoning, and cite Sims (2002)
or Kumar (2009) in your answer.
2. What is the source of this conflict? Use the terminology from the Pearson tutorial, Sims (2002), or Kumar (2009) in your answer.
For example, is this conflict a result of relationship/interpersonal issues? Or from tasks/roles? Other?
3. Of the five styles of conflict management discussed in Chapter 1 of Raines (2013) which one do you think would be the best approach
for Nick Cunningham to take?
4. What other advice would you give Nick Cunningham based on the concepts discussed in Sims (2002) or Kumar (2009)?
Assignment Expectations
Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all steps listed in the instructions.
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions, don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background
materials.
Make sure to cite readings from the background materials page. Rely primarily on the required background readings as your sources of
information.
Include both a bibliography and in-text citations
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR PROMOTIONAL DISCOUNT DISPLAYED ON THE WEBSITE AND GET A DISCOUNT FOR YOUR PAPER NOW!