ASIA PACIFIC INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

IN COLLABORATION WITH

STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY UK

BA (Hons) in Business Management

Individual Assignment

Module Code & Title

BLB10022-3ERMC

Prepared By

Dinal Madushan Appuhamy CB004424

HF1431BM

Date of Submission

30thMay 2014

Instructor

Dr. Mahesha Samarathunga

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of

Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Business Management

Word Count: 2189

Abstract

In the modern business arena, a major position is given to the term, conflict management where

every world renounced organizations such as multinationals and large scale business

organizations have taken steps to establish their own conflict management procedures and

policies. Further Pammer and Killian (2003), state in their book, “Handbook of conflict

management” that, to establish a sound and effective working environment in a modern business

organization, being thorough about conflict management styles is crucial.

This report is about how the conflict situation included in a case study in Harvard business

review by Maruca (1998) can be managed by using the developed theories of conflict

management and the key findings of this report can be illustrated as follows:

Virtual organizations need proper planning and management when compared with

traditional organizations and if it is correctly done, many advantages can be achieved.

All working groups can’t be considered as teams and teams are most effective and

productive way of getting the work done in organizations.

The dominating behavior of Penny was the major cause for the conflict to arise and

among the three models explained, Rizzo and Carroll’s model was considered as the best

approach for conflict management.

If Craig had followed an integrating style and both Allison and Penny had followed a

compromising style, this conflict would have been managed.

Table Of Contents

Introduction....................................................................................................................................................5

Section 01.......................................................................................................................................................6

1.1 Virtual Organizations.........................................................................................................................6

1.2 Virtual organizations versus Traditional organizations......................................................................6

1.3 Case Analysis.....................................................................................................................................7

Section 02.......................................................................................................................................................8

2.1 Groups versus Teams.........................................................................................................................8

2.2 Case analysis......................................................................................................................................9

Section 03.....................................................................................................................................................10

3.1 What conditions caused conflict?....................................................................................................10

3.2 What options were available to resolve the conflict?......................................................................11

3.2.1 Evaluation of De Bono’s Model (1985).....................................................................................12

3.2.2 Evaluation of Rizzo and Carroll Model (1986)...........................................................................13

3.2.3 Evaluation of Khun and Poole’s theory on conflict resolution (2000).......................................14

3.3 Can the rift between Allison and Penny be mended?......................................................................15

Section 04.....................................................................................................................................................15

Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................18

Reference List..............................................................................................................................................19

Appendix......................................................................................................................................................20

List of Tables

Table 1: Virtual organizations versus Traditional organizations..................................................................7Table 2: Groups versus Teams.....................................................................................................................8Table 3: Evaluation of Rizzo and Carroll’s Model.......................................................................................14Table 4: Evaluation of Rahim’s model of conflict management.................................................................16Table 5: Situations where conflict managing styles are appropriate and inappropriate...........................17Table 6: Conditions creating conflict situations.........................................................................................20Table 7: Evidence table..............................................................................................................................23

List of Figures

Figure 1: ABC Conflict Triangle..................................................................................................................11Figure 2: Conflict management Styles.......................................................................................................15

Introduction

The report analyze and discuss about a case study taken from Harvard Business Review

regarding a conflict situation occurred in an offsite team in a virtual organization and the key

aims of this report are as follows.

1. Critically analyze whether new virtual organizations need more thoughtful planning and

attentive management than traditional work places do.

2. Discuss the statement, “Not all working groups are team” by Katzenbach and Smith

(1993), considering evidence from the case study.

3. Analyze and discuss the major causes and conditions which led to the conflict by giving

evidence from the case study.

4. Critically evaluate the options that were available to resolve the conflict by considering

conflict management concepts and give an opinion whether the rift between Allison and

Penny could be mended.

5. Critically understand what is meant by conflict management styles and discuss the

importance of it when determining conflict outcomes.

In order to meet the following aims, the report is structured in the following manner where aim

one is discussed in section one and the aim number two is dealt in section two. The next two

aims are analyzed in section three and the final aim is dealt in section four. In order to prepare

this case analysis, some of the key text books related to employee relations and some of the

leading articles from ACASS and CIPD were utilized.

Section 01

1.1 Virtual Organizations According to Harvard Business School (2000), virtual organizations can be defined as the

organizations that are using internet based virtual workspaces for their communication and

business purposes and these organizations have been formed by a temporary or permanent

collection of geographically dispersed individuals, groups or departments where it has made

possible for the businesses to eliminate the geographical boundaries of traditional organizations.

Currently, most of the world renowned business organizations are applying this new business

trend in their businesses and Hewlett- Packard is such a company that is using this trend

effectively where their whole operations process is likened through a virtual workspace.

When considering about the organizational structure of a virtual organization, it can illustrated

from two different viewpoints. When analyzing it from an authority point of view, one can

clearly identify that the structure is non-hierarchical and decentralized and when it is analyzed

from a communication standpoint, it is clear that the structure is somewhat hierarchical and

centralized (Ahuja and Carley, 2006).

1.2 Virtual organizations versus Traditional organizationsAccording to Heneman and Greenberger (2002), when comparing virtual organizations with

traditional workplaces, both of these have their own benefits and pitfalls and these differences

can be demonstrated through a table as follows.

Organizational Attribute Virtual Organization Traditional Organization

Streamlined Priority is given to outsourcing the work beyond the core line of the business

All the work is done inside of the business

Flexible Able to shift focus and change way of working to meet market and consumer needs

Decision making structure and highly specialized roles make shifts in work slow and difficult

Communication Free flowing without regard to level or role in organization. Electronic media such as E-mail, intranet and instant messaging are modes of communication.

Occurs through schedule meetings in conference rooms, from leaders to employees. Formal hierarchical memos are the mode of communication.

Management of work

and workers

Blurred lines between personal and work time. Deadlines driven by customer needs. Variety of work status from part time to telecommunicating, off site, etc.

Hierarchical structure of managers and employees reporting to managers. Formal working hours. Workers are fulltime regular and may have unionized organization to work.

Information Constantly shared by many Held by a few. Distributed formally.

Table 1: Virtual organizations versus Traditional organizations

Source: Heneman and Greenberger (2002)

Hemingway and Breu (2003), states that most of the modern day organizations are seeking to

establish virtual workspaces in their organizations by considering the advantages and benefits

that can be obtained such as cost effectiveness and flexibility.

1.3 Case Analysis When going through the case study, “How do you manage an off-site team?” by Maruca (1998),

one can sense that virtual organizations need proper planning and attentive management when

compared with traditional organizations. There are number of key reasons for this. The first

cause for this can be identified as the company lacking a proper structure for delegating power

and designations. When going through Allison’s e-mail which is in paragraph C3, it can be

clearly understood that Allison and Penny had an issue for the designation of team leader in the

Pnobscott campaign team and it has been one of the reasons for the conflict between them.

Metso & Kutvonen (2005), states that management theories and techniques can’t be changed or

ignored even in modern virtual organizations. As delegation of authority is considered as one of

the key concepts in business management, it is crucial to follow that concept.

The next key reason for the cause can be identified as manager’s lack of knowledge and inability

to lead an off-site team using effective communication skills. When referring the case study,

Craig, head of the business to business division states in paragraph B3, that he had no issue

earlier when all the employees were working beneath one roof under his supervision and all

these conflicts were arise after forming off-site teams. This clearly shows his inability to deal

with off-site teams. Malhotra et al. (2007), states that, to manage an off-site team, a manager

should be able to establish and maintain trust through the use of communication technology

within the team members, manage virtual work-life cycle and monitor team progress using

technology. Craig was unable to do any of these effectively and that was the reason for the

conflict to occur.

By considering the above facts, it can be concluded that virtual organizations need more

effective planning and attentive management when compared with traditional organizations and

if it is done effectively, virtual organizations world bring more beneficial factors compared with

traditional work places.

Section 02

2.1 Groups versus TeamsAccording to Katzenbach and Smith (1993), the difference among groups and teams can be

illustrated through a table as follows.

Groups Teams

Strong clearly focused leader Shared leadership roles

Individual accountability Individual and mutual accountability

purpose is the same as the

organizational mission

Specific team purpose that the team itself

delivers

Runs efficient meetings Encourages open-ended discussion

Measures its effectiveness indirectly

by its influence on others

Measures performance directly by

assessing collective work products

Table 2: Groups versus Teams

Source: Katzenbach and Smith, (1993)

As illustrated in the above table, one can clearly understand that the two terms, a group and a

team have their own characteristics and differences and Katzenbach and Smith (1993), further

states in their article, “The Discipline of Teams”, that working groups can be employed in an

organization if it doesn’t demand effective joint work products, but if the company needs to be

more productive and increase the performance, it is crucial to employee an effective team to get

the work done.

2.2 Case analysis As stated by Katzenbach and Smith (1993), an effective team should comprise of five key

characteristics and it can clearly jot down as follows. (1) A meaningful common purpose that the

team has helped safe (2) Specific performance goals that flow from the common purpose (3) A

mix of complementary skills (4) A strong commitment to how the work gets done and (5)

Mutual accountability. When going through the case study of Maruca (1998), it can be clearly

recognized that the Pnobscott team is lacking some of the characteristics mentioned above.

Paragraph C4 clearly shows that the Pnobscott team members are not working to achieve the

common goals of the team, but they are working to defend themselves, where Allison says that

she would not be able to deliver the service for the client on time as she has to spend time on

defending herself from Penny in front of the client. So it is clear, that the Pnobscott team has no

commitment towards getting the work done and achievement of common goals of the team.

When reading paragraph A3 of the case study, it is evident that the team also lacked a proper mix

of complementary skills and it can be proved by Penny’s disability to have proper

communication with the team members. As stated by Katzenbach and Smith (1993), to be an

effective team, all the team members should be equipped with problem-solving and decision-

making and interpersonal skills. But the Pnobscott team members are lacking all these three

skills.

The Pnobscott team has also ignored the key characteristic that every team should have which is

the mutual accountability among the team members as specified by Katzenbach and Smith

(1993). As stated in the case study in paragraph A2, Penny disagreeing with Allison regarding

the schedule just in front of the client clearly conveys that this team has no mutual accountability

among the team mates. Harrison et al. (2002), further states in his article, if there isn’t proper

understanding among the team members, that team would probably fail and it will also bring

many drawbacks to the organization.

When considering the above facts, it can be proved that the statement “Not all working groups

are team” by Katzenbach and Smith (1993), has become true and if an organization needs to

form a successful and effective team, first the organization should consider the key

characteristics stated by Katzenbach and Smith (1993) and then the key factor that should be

reflected is whether the team members have mutual understanding among each other.

Section 03

3.1 What conditions caused conflict? As stated by De Bono (1985), conflict situations arise because of two major reasons which can

be illustrated as disagreement within people and people are concerned with fear, force, fairness

and funds. When going through the case study of Maruca (1998), it can be clearly understood

that some of the reasons mentioned above have directly affected to cause the conflict situation

between Allison and Penny. In paragraph A2, it clearly shows that one of the key causes for the

clash between Allison and Penny was the disagreement among them regarding the schedule.

When further reading the case study, it is evident that the perception of fear and fairness

discussed by De Bono (1985), has affected the conflict to arise. Evidence for this can be

provided from paragraph C4, where Allison says that she has to spend 90% of her time to defend

herself from Penny in front of the client where it clearly demonstrates the perception of fear. In

paragraph C6, perception of fairness is undoubtedly seen where Craig meets Penny alone already

knowing that there is a conflict situation between Allison and Penny.

Filley (1975) has also discussed nine major conditions which create conflicts and it is

demonstrated in the Table 01 in the Appendix.

Another way to identify the causes

for conflict situations is the

ACB model introduced by

Galtung (2009). The ABC model is

illustrated in figure 01 given below.

Figure 1: ABC Conflict Triangle

Source: Galtung (2009)

According to Galtung (2009), all the three attributes, conflict, attitudes and behaviors are

connected as shown in the figure above. The interconnection between these attributes can be

clearly seen in the conflict situation of Allison and Penny. When going through paragraph C4 of

the case study, it is evident that Allison’s perception was to defend herself from Penny in front of

the client and because of that attitude she informed Craig about the situation and this can be

identified as her behavioral pattern to face the conflict. When considering Penny, she had an

attitude that Penny’s performance was not enough and her behavior is somewhat different than

Allison, where she contradicted Allison just in front of the client as said in Allison’s e-mail in

paragraph A2. When considering the above scenarios, it is evident that both attitudes and

behaviors are causes to create a conflict.

3.2 What options were available to resolve the conflict?The author has taken into consideration, three main theories related to conflict resolution which

are De Bono’s model, Rizzo and Carroll model and Khun and Poole’s theory and using these

theories the author has been able to demonstrate the options which were available to resolve the

disagreement between Allison and Penny.

3.2.1 Evaluation of De Bono’s Model (1985)De Bono (1985), in his conflict resolution model states that when two groups or individuals face

a conflict situation, they can react in four ways and it can be jot down as fight, negotiate,

problem solving and design. This model can be related to the case study of Maruca (1998) as

follows.

Allowing the two parties to fight is the first approach of conflict resolution introduced by

De Bono (1985). When considering the facts from the case study, it can be clearly

evaluated that this approach is not worth while in this kind of conflict situation and it can

be used if the situation has driven to worse scenario such as courtroom situation.

Negotiation is the next approach. According to De bono (1985), this kind of an approach

can be used in the starting age of a conflict situation. If Craig influenced on the situation

at the very first he received the first e-mail from Allison, this approach would have been

successful, but at the moment it is very difficult to resolve this conflict through

negotiation.

The next approach introduced is problem solving where it identifies the root cause of the

conflict situation, removes it and take actions to make it normal. But as stated by De

Bono (1985), it is difficult and sometimes impossible to get the situation back to normal.

Craig would have used this approach to solve the conflict, but it is doubtful that the

situation will become normal because of reasons such as past conflicts and

misunderstandings between Allison and Penny as mentioned in paragraph B4.

As the final approach, De Bono (1985) has stated that, designing a strategy to make the

conflict situation normal will be more effective than the above approaches. If Craig has

used this approach, he would have been able to resolve the problem easily, but when

reading the case study, it can be understood that Craig lacks creativity to design a strategy

to resolve the conflict as he a traditional thinker who imagines that misunderstandings

among women are natural and ignores the conflict situation as mentioned in paragraph

B5.

3.2.2 Evaluation of Rizzo and Carroll Model (1986)Tosi et al. (1986), suggests that there are three main techniques that can be used to manage

conflicts and these techniques are illustrated in the table given below.

Approach Evidence from the case study

01. Style

Suggests that different conflict management

behavioral styles (competition, collaboration,

compromise, avoidance or accommodation)

can be encouraged to resolve the conflict.

According to the case study in Paragraph

B5, it can be seen that Craig has followed an

avoidance style by ignoring the conflict. He

should be encouraged to follow a

compromising style towards the situation.

According to paragraph A2 and C2, Penny

has followed a competitive behavioral style

on Allison and she should follow an

accommodative style to resolve the

situation.

As seen in paragraph B4 Allison has

followed an accommodative style where she

declined Penny’s offer to write a letter to the

client regarding the miscommunication

behavior. But she would have been

encouraged to follow a compromising

behavioral style.

02. Improving organizational practices

This means improvement of organizational

practices such as;

improvement policies, procedures and rules

altering communications

changing reward systems;

can be used to resolve conflict situations.

The best practice that would have been done

by Craig was to improve the offsite team

communication system by providing better

intranet chat rooms and training the team

members.

03. Special role and structure

According to Rizzo and Carroll (1986), a

manager has to;

 initiate structural changes needed

shoulder liaison functions, and

act as an integrator to resolve conflicts.

As mentioned in the case study, Craig has

been unable to do his job as the line

manager where he fails to appoint

designations among the staff members (see

paragraph C3) and ultimately fails to resolve

the conflict.

Table 3: Evaluation of Rizzo and Carroll’s Model

Source: Author’s work based on Tosi et al. (1986)

3.2.3 Evaluation of Khun and Poole’s theory on conflict resolution (2000) According to Khun and Poole (2000), management of conflict is categorized into two sections as

distributive and integrative. When considering distributive approaches, mostly conflicts are

considered as results of fixed amount of positive outcomes where one side ends up winning and

the other losing; and integrative model see conflict as a chance to integrate the needs and

concerns of both groups and make the best outcome possible (Mukhtar, 2012).

According to this theory, if distributive approach is being followed, both Allison and Penny will

have to share the conflict responsibility and at the end, one party would win and other party will

have to give up. If integrative approach is being used, the best thing to do is to identify the root

course of the conflict and take actions to manage the conflict. As the line manager, Craig would

have involved in managing the conflict as said in the integrative approach.

According to author’s view, among the theories discussed, Rizzo and Carroll’s model is the best

approach for conflict management because this model includes all the criteria needed to

effectively manage a conflict situation.

3.3 Can the rift between Allison and Penny be mended? As stated by Rahim (2002), conflicts can be either resolved or managed and according to him,

conflict resolution means reducing or eliminating the conflict and conflict management suggests,

managing the conflict while minimizing the negative outcomes. When going through the case

study of Maruca (1998), it can be clearly seen that the rift between Allison and Penny has gone

too far and now it is very difficult to resolve the conflict. The best thing that should be done is to

use correct and effective conflict management techniques to manage the argument. According to

author’s view, Craig should be more aware with these techniques and if he does so, he would be

able to manage the rift among Allison and Penny and reduce the negative outcomes.

Section 04

According to Rahim (2002), five main conflict management styles can be identified as illustrated

in the figure given below. Rahim (2002) has introduced this model by developing the conflict

resolution theory of Thomas and Kilman (1976).

Figure 2: Conflict management Styles

Source: Rahim (2002)

Conflict Management Styles Description1. Integrating style

High concern for self and others

This style involves openness, exchange of information, looking for alternatives to reach effective solutions.

This is the best style that can be used for management of any conflict situation.

If Craig had followed this style, he would have managed the conflict effectively.

2. Obliging style Low concern for self and high

concern for others

Associated with attempting to play down the differences and emphasizing commonalities to satisfy the concern of the other party.

As reflected in paragraph A3, Allison is following a kind of obliging style.

It is inappropriate because Allison knows that she is not wrong and Penny bears the whole responsibility of the conflict.

3. Dominating style High concern for self and low

concern for others

This style is identified with win or loses orientation or with forcing behavior to win one's position.

Penney’s behavior is more towards this style when considering paragraphs A2 and C2 where she threatens Allison about her performance review and bonus.

4. Avoiding style Low concern for self and

others

Associated with withdrawal, buck-passing, or sidestepping situations.

Craig’s behavioral style is mostly equal to avoiding style where it clearly illustrates in paragraph B4 and B5 which shows Craig ignoring the conflict situation just imagining it is natural among women.

5. Compromising style Intermediate in concern for

others and self

Involves give and take whereby both parties give up sometimes making a mutually acceptable decision.

This is the conflict management style that Allison and Penny would have followed to manage the conflict between them.

Rahim (2002) has developed these five conflict management styles by considering the two

variables, concern for others and concern for self. The table below illustrates how the case study

of Maruda (2002) in HBR, can be dealt with the following conflict management styles.

Table 4: Evaluation of Rahim’s model of conflict management

Source: Author’s work based on Rahim (2002)

According to Rahim (2002), if the proper conflict management style is applied in the conflict

scenario, one could easily manage the conflict while minimizing the negative outcomes to the

victims as well as to the organization. To illustrate this link between the adoption of the correct

conflict handling style and the final outcome Rahim (2002), has developed a table showing

appropriate and inappropriate situations where each management style can be utilized.

Conflict style Situations where

appropriate

Situations where

inappropriate

Integrating Issues are complex

One party alone cannot

solve the problem

Time is available for

problem solving

Task or problem is simple

Immediate decision is

required

Other parties are unconcerned about the outcome

Obliging You believe that you may

be wrong

Issue is more important to

the other party

Issue is important to you

You believe that you are

right

The other party is wrong or

unethical

Dominating Issue is trivial

Quick decision is needed

Issue is important to you

Issue is complex

Issue is not important to you

Avoiding Issue is trivial

Cool off period is needed

Issue is important to you

Prompt attention is needed

Compromising Goals of parties are

mutually exclusive

Parties are equally powerful

Temporary solution to a

complex situation is needed

One party is more powerful

Problem is complex enough,

need problem solving

approach

Table 5: Situations where conflict managing styles are appropriate and inappropriate

Source: Rahim (2002)

When going through the above table, it is clearly seen that each conflict management style can

be used in different kind of scenarios and if it is correctly applied considering appropriateness, it

will be easy to resolve conflicts. When reading the case study of Maruca (1998), it can be clearly

seen that the major cause for the conflict to become more serious is the mishandling of

appropriate conflict management styles. According to author’s view, if Craig had followed an

integrating style and both Allison and Penny had followed a compromising style, this conflict

would have been managed.

Conclusion

The key aims of this report was to analyze whether virtual organizations need more planning and

management when compared with traditional organizations, analyze the variations between

working groups and teams, discuss the causes and conditions leading to conflicts, evaluate the

options available to resolve the conflicts and finally understand the term conflict management

styles and importance of it when determining conflict outcomes.

In section one, it was investigated that virtual organizations need proper planning and

management when compared with traditional organizations and if it is correctly done, many

advantages can be achieved. In section two, it is proved through theory and case analysis that all

working groups can’t be considered as teams and teams are most effective and productive way of

getting the work done in organizations. Further more in section three, it was investigated, that the

dominating behavior of Penny was the major cause for the conflict to arise and among the three

models explained, Rizzo and Carroll’s model was considered as the best approach for conflict

management. Finally in section four, Rahim’s model of conflict management styles was deeply

analyzed and concluded that, if Craig had followed an integrating style and both Allison and

Penny had followed a compromising style, this conflict would have been managed.

Reference List

Ahuja, M. & Carley, K. (2006). Network structure in virtual organizations. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.

De Bono, E. (1985). Conflicts: A Better Way to Resolve Them. London: Harrap.

Filley, A.C. (1975). Interpersonal Conflict Resolution. Glenview IL: Scott, Foresman.

Galtung, J. (2009) Theories of conflict: Definitions, dimensions, negations, formations. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.transcend.org/files [Accessed 25 May 2014]

Harrison, D., Price, K., Gavin, J. and Florey, A. (2002). Time, teams, and task performance: Changing effects of surface-and deep-level diversity on group functioning. Academy of management journal, 45(5), pp.1029--1045.

Harvard Business Publishing. (2000). Organizational behavior: Harvard Management Communication letter. Volume 3

Hemingway, C. & Breu, K. (2003). From traditional to virtual organisation: implications for work unit boundaries.. pp. 778--787.

Heneman, R. & Greenberger, D. (2002). Human resource management in virtual organizations. 1st Ed. Greenwich, Conn.: Information Age Pub.

Katzenbach, J. and Smith, D. (1993). The discipline of teams. Harvard Business Review, 83(7), p.162

Kuhn, T., & Poole, M. S. (2000). Do conflict management styles affect group decision making? Human Communication Research, 26, 558-590.

Malhotra, A., Majchrzak, A. & Rosen, B. (2007). Leading virtual teams. The Academy of Management Perspectives. 21 (1). pp. 60--70.

Maruca, R. (1998). How do you manage an off-site team?. Harvard Business Review. 76 (4). pp. 22--30.

Metso, J. & Kutvonen, L. (2005). Managing virtual organizations with contracts.

Mukhtar, U. (2012). Identification of frequent use of Conflict Management Styles in Pakistan Academia, Banking & Industrial Sector.

Pammer, W. and Killian, J. (2003). Handbook of conflict management. 1st ed. New York: Marcel Dekker.

Rahim. M. A., (2002). Toward a new theory of managing organizational conflict. The international journal of conflict management Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 206-235

Thomas, K.W., & Kilman, R.H. (1976). Conflict Mode Instrument. Tuxedo, New York

Tosi, H.L., Rizzo, J.R., & Carroll, S.J. (1986). Organizational Behavior. New York,

Appendix

Appendix 01

Conditions initiating conflict

situations

Evidence from the case study

1. Ambiguous jurisdictions Occurs when the designations and work

boundaries of two individuals are not specified.

Clearly seen in paragraph C3 where a formal

leader of the Pnobscott team is not assigned by

Craig.

2. Communication barriers Occurs when communication barriers cause

misunderstanding and argument.

Clearly expressed in paragraph B3 that Craig

has found it difficult to manage the offsite team

because of communication problems.

3. Behavioral regulation This means the whole team gets negatively

affected because of one person’s bad behavior.

Evident when going through paragraph C4

where it said by Allison that the whole team is

unable to deliver work on time because of

Penny’s behavior.

4. Unresolved prior conflicts This means conflicts which remain unsettled

over time create anxiety and stress, which can

further intensify existing conflicts.

It is stated by Craig in paragraph B4 that

Allison and Penny had some bad history and

this has also been a cause for the current

conflict.

Table 6: Conditions creating conflict situations

Source: Author’s work based on Filley (1975)

Question No.

Related theories and models

Evidence from the case

Does the evidence support the theory model

Additional reading done

Additional comments

01 See Paragraph C3

Show how ambiguous jurisdictions affects conflict situations

Refer book “Managing virtual organizations with contracts” by Metso & Kutvonen (2005)

See Paragraph B3

Shows Craig’s inability to manage an offsite team.

See article “Leading virtual teams” by Malhotra et al. (2007)

02 Characteristics of a team

See Paragraph C4

According to the theory, strong commitment towards how to get the work done and achievement of the common goals is ignored by the Pnobscott team.

See article “The discipline of teams” by Katzenbach and Smith (1993) and “Time, team and task performance changing effects of surface and deep level diversity on group functioning” by Harrison et al. (2002)

Pnobscott team can not considered as a successful team when considering the evidencesSee Paragraph

A3 Pnobscott team members are

lacking problem solving, decision making and interpersonal skills.

See paragraph A2

The key characteristic, mutual understanding is ignored by the team members.

03 What conditions cause conflicts according to De Bone (1985) and Filley (1975)

See Paragraph A2

Disagreement among people (Allison and Penny) has caused the conflict.

Refer book “Conflicts: A Better Way to Resolve Them” by De Bono (1985)

See Paragraph C4

Perception of fear discussed by De Bono (1985) is clearly seen in Allison where she says she has to spend time defending herself from Penny.

Refer book “Conflicts: A Better Way to Resolve Them” by De Bono (1985)

See Paragraph C6

Perception of fairness is clearly seen where Craig, the line manager meets Penny alone which an unfair situation to Allison.

Refer book “Conflicts: A Better Way to Resolve Them” by De Bono (1985)

ABC model See paragraph A2, C4 and C6

Clearly shows how attitudes and behaviors of people cause conflicts according to Galung (2009).

Refer article “Theories of Conflict” by Galtung (2009)

De Bono’s conflict resolution model

See paragraph B4 and B5

According to De Bono (1985), the best approach is designing a conflict resolution method and Craig has failed to achieve it.

Refer book “Conflicts: A Better Way to Resolve Them” by De Bono (1985)

Rizzo and Carroll’s conflict management model

See paragraph A2, C2 B4 and C3

It explains three main approaches that can be used to manage conflicts.

Refer book “Organizational Behaviour” by Rizzo and Carroll (1986)

04 Rahim’s model See paragraphs A3, A2, C2, B4 and B5

It clearly demonstrates what conflict management styles were followed by Craig, Allison and Penny and further states what styles they would have followed to manage the conflict.

Refer article “Toward a theory of managing organizational conflict” by Rahim (2002)

Table 7: Evidence table