Matt and Peter are the employees of a reputed company. The company management decided to increase the work space in the office, so the management introduced open office system. There are no boundaries between the employees and the employees can interact freely and work efficiently.

Mattand Peter were not happy with the new arrangement. Peter keeps his desk clean so that he can work effectively. On the other hand, Matt likes to keep all his stuffs on his desk make it look shabby. As a result, conflict started between Matt and Peter. This worsened their relationship in the office and led to an open conflict.

What could Peter and Matt’s manager do to help them resolving their conflict?

The case suggests that there is research to support the notion that avoiding conflict stifles creativity. Is there such research and do you agree?

How can Matt and Peter develop an active problem-solving discussion to resolve this conflict? what could effectively be changed and what is probably going to just remain a problem?