Conflict and Agreement in the Development Team

While it would be perfect if all the groups could work together easily to improve student outcomes, there is little doubt some substantive conflicts will arise. Each group has its own interests, and, in some cases, these are directly opposed to one another.

School district representatives want to ensure that the new jobs will be unionized and operate consistently with current school board policies. They are very concerned that if Woodson assumes too dominant a role, the school board will not control the operations of the new system. The complexity of the school system has led to the development of a highly complex bureaucratic structure over time. Administrators want to make sure their policies and procedures will still hold for teachers in these programs, even outside the regular school day. They also worry that jobs going into the new system will take funding from other school district jobs.

Woodson, founded by entrepreneur Theodore Woodson around 1910, still bears the hallmarks of its founder's way of doing business. Woodson emphasized efficiency and experimentation in everything he did. Many of the foundation's charities have won awards for minimizing costs while still providing excellent services. Their focus on using hard data to measure performance for all their initiatives is inconsistent with the school district culture.

Finally, the NCPIE is driven by a mission to increase parental control. The organization believes that when communities can drive their own educational methods, students and parents can achieve success together. The organization is strongly committed to celebrating the diversity and inclusion of those from various backgrounds. Its members are most interested in how changes are made, ensuring that everyone can weigh in.

Some demographic diversity issues complicate the team's situation. Most of the students served by the Washington, DC, school district are Black, along with large populations of Hispanics. The NCPIE makeup generally matches the demographic diversity of the areas served by the public schools. The Woodson Foundation, based in northern Virginia, is predominantly staffed by White professionals. There is some concern that this new group that will be so involved in this major change in educational administration does not understand the demographic concerns of the community. The leadership of the new program will have to be able to present a compelling message for generating enthusiasm for the program across diverse stakeholder groups.

Although the groups differ in important ways, it is also worth considering what they have in common. All are interested in meeting the needs of students. All would like to increase student learning. The school system does benefit from anything that increases student test scores. The Woodson Foundation and NCPIE are united in their desire to see more parents engaged in the system.

Question:

1) The development team:

b. To what extent do you expect conflict in the team? Why - what does this conflict result from? Explain which type(s) of conflict you expect. Finally, advise the development team about conflict resolution: Include TWO components/strategies on how to best handle/manage conflict in this case