As a supervisor, you may find yourself competing for resources in your organization. Securing the resources (funding, equipment, staff, etc.) you require to achieve your teams goals may involve conflict and workplace politics. Politicking can have a negative connotation, such as spreading rumors or withholding information, but it also entails trying to influence the distribution of advantages within an organization. In order for your team to succeed, you may need to play politics. The key point to remember is to utilize workplace politics in an ethical manner! Instructions for accessing the self assessments: You will find the Personal Inventory Assessment in our MyManagementLab online course. To access our MyManagementLab online course for the first time, you need to register and log in. The instructions for registering and logging in are found under "Next Steps" in the Orientation. Whenever you want to use MyManagementLab after that, you just need to log in. You can do both from the same starting point at MyLab/Mastering. Log into MyManagementLab using the link provided in this assessment and follow these instructions to access the video(s) required for the discussion:

Check Personal Inventory Assessment under Media and click on Find Now.

Locate and complete the self assessment(s) required for the assignment. Save your results for future reference.

Your discussion will have two parts. First, you will complete two self-assessments to assess how effectively you use influence and to identify your preferred conflict-handling style. The results of all two self-assessments should provide you with significant food for thought. Second, you will apply what you have learned from the self-assessments and the chapter material to reflect on your ability to be political and manage conflict.

Self-Evaluation

Complete the following self-assessments from the Personal Inventory Assessment in our MyManagementLab online course:

Strategies for Handling Conflict

Using Influencing Strategies

Discuss your results for all three self-assessments by responding to the following questions:

Drawing from your Strategies for Handling Conflict self-assessment results, which of the five conflict handling strategies (forcing, accommodating, compromising, avoiding, collaborating) are you most likely to utilize? Which strategy are you least likely to use? Do you think your preferred conflict handling strategies will be the most effective in the workplace? Explain your reasoning. (3 pts.)

Did your Strategies for Handling Conflict self-assessment results indicate you had a low, normal, or high versatility for managing conflict? Which of the five conflict handling strategies do you think you could use more often to increase your versatility? When would it be most appropriate to utilize those strategies? (3 pts.)

Drawing from your Using Influencing Strategies self-assessment results, what were your scores for using Retribution, Reciprocity, and Reason? When do you think it would be most effective for you to use each of these strategies? (3 pts.)

Reflection

Consider a recent conflict you faced. (Note: Select a workplace conflict if possible). Reflect on this conflict by responding to the following prompts:

Briefly describe the conflict. Of the three sources of conflict discussed in the module, which one best exemplifies the cause of the conflict you faced? (3 pts.)

Which of the five conflict resolution techniques discussed in the chapter did you utilize to address the conflict? Was this choice effective? Why or why not? Drawing from the module material, what could you have done differently to more effectively manage the conflict? (3 pts.)

Did politics play a role in this conflict? Why or why not? How could you have avoided or resolved this conflict by using politics in a positive manner? (3 pts.)