Triumphant Leadership?

Airiel manages a team of 19 people in an in-store bakery. One of the key challenges

or Ariel's job is to ensure his team produces the right products to meet demands at key times.

His usual management approach is to allow the team to take responsibility for achieving the

desired results. In this way, the team not only buys into the activity, but also develops new

skills.

For example, when the bakery expanded its product range, Airiel needed to think of a

way to ensure that all the products would be on the shelves by 8:00 a.m. However, rather than

enforcing a solution, Airiel turned to his team for ideas. He asked them to generate as many

ideas as they could to solve this issue. The team managed to solve the problem by agreeing to

split break times, so that productivity could be maintained. Airiel's approach produced a

positive outcome and increased the team's motivation.

On the other hand, Sarah is a talented sales representative. She is quick to close sales

deals, but she has a habit of answering the telephone in an unprofessional manner. Sometimes

when she has no idea what a customer wants, instead of trying to remain patient and

professional by saying, 'let me look into it for you and get back to you' she would simply

reply, 'I don't know'. This clearly demonstrates her lack of interest and unwillingness to help,

which make many customers frustrated and angry.

Sarah's boss is aware of this behaviour, but he is waiting for her year-end perform

review to tell her where she is going wrong. Unfortunately, this means that Sarah will

continue putting potential customers of. Meanwhile, as Sarah's boss waits to provide her with

feedback, the rate of customer complaints has increased and this has tarnished the image of

the organization as a whole.

Identify and analyze the sources of conflict depicted in the case study. Discuss how these resources of conflict contribute to the breakdown of communication and relationships within the workplace. Evaluate the impact of the conflict on team dynamics productivity and organizational outcomes. Suggest strategies for effectively managing and resolving conflicts in a bakery setting.