Your CEO completely trusts your judgment. He is asking you to advise him on an important and sensitive decision he must make, and he is counting on your wise advice. In the next week, he will present a plan to the Board of Director’s explaining why the company should or should not agree to acquiesce to the union’s demands in order to avoid a strike by the rank-and-file. The CEO has also been supportive of your company’s best interests and seeks for you to develop promising new products at an affordable manufacturing cost. Your CEO is perplexed. On the one hand, if your company agrees to this union’s demands it runs the risk of forfeiting its control and a portion of its profits. On the other hand, the opportunity to market promising products at an affordable cost could be adversely affected by a strike of the rank-and-file.

What would you advise your CEO to do? How would you advise him to present this decision to the Board of Directors?

What are the greatest potential positive and negative consequences of your proposal?

How will you avoid the continuation of incompatible goals between management and employees?

Which interpersonal conflict handling style will you utilize? Explain.