The questions are the same for both Red Cow Grill and Avocado Computers:

1. What are the salient situational factors?

2. What is the most appropriate conflict management strategy?

You will find that Table 7.2 and Table 7.3 are helpful for this assignment. Table 7.2 will help you understand the conflict management strategies and Table 7.3 will help determine factors that should be taken into consideration when choosing a conflict management strategy. Answer the questions as thoroughly as you can.

The Red Cow Grill During an extended holiday overseas, you have decided to take your family to a local restaurant, to celebrate your son's birthday. You are a single parent, so getting home from work in time to prepare a nice dinner is very difficult. Knowing that local regulations require restaurants to provide separate nonsmoking areas, you ask the hostess to seat you in the nonsmoking section because your daughter, Shauna, is allergic to tobacco smoke. On your way to your seat, you notice that the restaurant seems crowded for a Monday night. After you and your children are seated and have placed your orders, your conversation turns to family plans for the approaching holiday. Interspersed in the general conversation is a light banter with your son about whether or not he is too old to wear "the crown" during dinner-a family tradition on birthdays. Suddenly, you become aware that your daughter is sneezing and her eyes are beginning to water. You look around and notice a lively group of businesspeople seated at the table behind you; they are all smoking. Your impression is that they are celebrating some type of special occasion. Looking back at Shauna, you realize that something has to be done quickly. You ask your son to escort Shauna outside while you rush to the front of the restaurant and find the hostess. Discussion Questions 7.4. What are the salient situational factors? 7.5. What is the most appropriate conflict management strategy?7: Negotiating and Resolving Conflict Avocado Computers When the head of Avocado Computers ran into operational problems at his production facility, he hired you away from a competitor. It meant a significant increase in pay and the opportunity to manage a stateoftheart production facility. What's more, there were very few other female production managers in Silicon Valley. Now you've been on the job a year, and it's been exciting to see your staff start working together as a team to solve problems, improve quality, and finally get the plant up to capacity. In general, Bill, the owner, has also been a plus. He is energetic, fair, and a proven industry leader. You feel fortunate to be in a coveted position, in a \"star\" firm, in a growth industry. However, there is one distraction that bugs you. Bill is a real stickler about cleanliness, order, and appearance. He wants the robots all painted the same color, the components within the computer laid out perfectly on a grid, the workers wearing clean smocks, and the floor \"clean enough to eat off.\" You are troubled by this compulsion. \"Sure,\" you think, \"it might impress potential corporate clients when they tour the production facility, but is it really that important? After all, Who's ever going to look for symmetrical design inside their computer? Why should customers care about the color of the robot that built their computers? And who, for Pete's sake, would ever want to have a picnic in a factory?\" Today is your first yearly performance appraisal interview with Bill. In preparation for the meeting, he has sent you a memo outlining \"Areas of Strength\" and \"Areas of Concern.\" You look with pride at the number of items listed in the first column. It's obvious that Bill likes your work. But you are a bit miffed at the single item of concern: \"Needs to maintain a cleaner facility, including employee appearance.\" You mull over this \"demerir\" in your mind, wrestling with how to respond in your interview. {El} Table 7.3 Matching the Conflict Management Approach with the Situation ' Situational Factors Conict Management Approach Issue Importance Relationship Importance Relative Power Time Constraints 7: Negotiating and Resolving Conflict Approach Objective Point of View Supporting Rationale Likely Outcome Forcing Get your \"1 know what's right. It is better to risk causing a You feel vindicated, but way. Don't question my few hard feelings than to the other party feels judgment or abandon an issue you are defeated and possibly authority.\" committed to. humiliated. Avoiding Avoid \"I'm neutral on that Disagreements are inherently Interpersonal problems having to issue.\" \"Let me think bad because they create don't get resolved, deal with about it.\" \"That's tension. causing long-term someone else's frustration that conflict. problem.\" manifests in a variety of ways. Compromising Reach an \"Let's search for a Prolonged conicts distract Participants become solution we can both people from their work and conditioned to seek agreement quickly. live with, so we can engender bitter feelings. expedient, rather than get on with our effective, solutions. work. \" Nlaintaining harmonious The other person is Accommodating Don't upset I'I-Iow can I help you relationships should be our likely to take advantage the other feel good about this person. encounter?\" \"My top priority. of you. position isn't so important that it is worth risking bad feelings between us.\" Collaborating Solve the \"This is my position. The positions of both parties The problem is most problem What is yours?\" \"I'm are equally important (though likely to be resolved. together. committed to nding not necessarily equally valid). Also, both parties are the best possible Equal emphasis should be committed to the solution.\" \"What do placed on the quality of the solution and satisfied the facts suggest?\" outcome and the fairness of that they have been the decision-making process. treated fairly. A H