Assignment 3 Assess Team Conflict

Team conflicts derive from a variety of reasons; however, recognizing and remedying the problems are necessary for an effective leader. For this task, you will apply the leadership skills necessary to assist a diverse group or team successfully resolve a conflict. Select from one of the following common workplace conflict scenarios as the basis for your assignment analysis.

Scenario 1

An employee complains to the department manager that when co-workers chat on break in an unfamiliar language, it makes him uncomfortable. Instead of this employee keeping his opinions to himself, he frequently  berates and mocks the language of his co-workers in front of others,  stating loudly that it is “un-American” for them to speak their native language in public.  How should the department manager resolve this situation in a manner to prevent it from escalating?  How can the manager create a work environment that is respectful and open to cultural understanding and empathy?

Scenario 2

An employee complains to the department manager that a fellow employee wears odd-looking “costumes” to work and eats strange-smelling foods during lunch. Even after the department manager has spoken with the complaining employee to encourage empathy, this employee now giggles when the fellow employee arrives to work; and during lunch, this employee makes loud, rude remarks about the smell of the food as the fellow employee’s prepares to eat in the employee breakroom. What should the department manager do to resolve the hostile work environment that now exists?  What steps should the manager take to improve cultural understanding and empathy? Should any efforts be made to implement anti-bias training for all employees?

Scenario 3

A newly-hired department manager recently decided to have one of the department’s entire floor of cubicle spaces restructured to ensure more openness and to improve working relationships among the individual teams, which reflect multiple generations.  After 2 weeks of occupying the new spaces, several employees are complaining about the type of artwork some of their co-workers have chosen to “decorate” their cubicle spaces. They complain that the artwork is too visible and extremely offensive. Some of the art that they’re describing includes images of the cross, while others include skeletons and skulls. Their constant complaints are now affecting employee morale and lowering productivity among multiple teams.

How does this manager effectively resolve this dilemma in a manner where multiple generations can learn to work well with each other, while also respecting each other’s differences? How does the employer for this organization seek to diffuse negative, implicit biases and microaggressions often targeted toward individuals of different age groups? What steps should this newly-hired manager have implemented before deciding to restructure the cubicle spaces?

In your discussion of how to resolve the conflict, you will need to provide the following information:

Brief overview and explanation of the type of group or team
Describe the team members
Explain the conflict
Suggest strategies to resolve the conflict.
Your analysis must demonstrate a clear application to Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development, as well as appropriate leadership skills.

You may present your assignment as either a podcast or paper.

4-5 pages with a minimum of three outside scholarly sources

Your assignment should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards where appropriate. Be sure to adhere to the Northcentral University’s Academic Integrity Policy