Week 8 Assignment - OLB-7001 v1 - Signature Assignment Analyze a Case - Heather Cappiello 9.17.2023

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Signature Assignment: Analyze a Case, 1 Signature Assignment: Analyze a Case Heather M. Herr Cappiello OLB07001 v1: Conflict Resolution and Mediation Dr. Liske September 17, 2023

Signature Assignment: Analyze a Case, 2 “Conflict originates in clashing opinions, interests, or values or in annoyance with another party” (Coleman, P.T., 2014). Through then entirety of this course, mediation tactics and ways to address conflict have been presented. This final assignment will culminate in the learning presented to dive deeper into the Office Sharing case and answer a series of questions in developing a path for the case. What factors lead to this being an appropriate case for mediation? The biggest factor of this case being one for mediation is the he said/she said portion. Even though each participant went to upper management and HR regarding their concerns, there is no real proof or smoking gun to prove that Marueen or Elwood purposely behaved in a way that was in violation of a company policy. Both parties are guilty of behavior that is considered unbecoming, but it is a situation that needs to be handled by an unbiased party because the company could be seen as biased if one party is punished and the other is not. A secondary factor is that both Maureen and Elwood’s behavior is affecting the rest of the team’s morale. Since neither party can come to a resolution amongst themselves, mediation seems to be the clear choice to get to a resolution without having to involve the entire office in the process. What is the conflict about? The conflict is about two coworkers who each have a different perception of the other. Instead of talking to each other about their differences and trying to come to a mutual resolution that satisfies them both, they instead assumed that each other was the problem and continued to perpetuate issues. Maureen and Elwood both would rather complain about each other to HR and management then try to help one another. What are the positions of each party to the conflict?

Signature Assignment: Analyze a Case, 3 Maureen feels that Elwood purposely does things to irritate her and impede her work performance (adjusting the thermostat, deleting her emails, etc.). Elwood feels that Maureen gets special treatment because of her behavior and tenure with the company. Simply stated, he feels that he is more qualified than she is for the roles they both hold and he feels that he should not have to deal with her. They are both wanting each other to be moved out of the office space, which is not going to happen based on the information provided due to the fact that its is the policy of the company. Who are the parties to the conflict? The immediate parties to the conflict are Maureen and Elwood, the direct participants who are behaving aggressively toward each other. However, the bigger the aggression gets, the more people become involved. HR and upper management have already been involved because they were notified by both Maureen and Elwood of each other’s behavior, but the office has also been drug in to this mess because it has been affecting the morale of the entire team. How has the conflict progressed? The conflict has progressed to the point where the company has no other option to attempt mediation. Both Maureen and Elwood’s behavior is getting to the point where they either try mediation or they may both very well lose their positions with the company. Neither Maureen or Elwood are slowing down their egregious behavior toward one another, and that behavior simply cannot continue. “Poorly handled organizational conflict is commonplace, and is costly in both economic and human terms” (Gilin Oore, D., Leiter, M.P., & LeBlanc, D.E., 2015). What type of mediation would be most appropriate?

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Signature Assignment: Analyze a Case, 4 “Ware are all faced with conflict situations in many aspects of our lives, whether in our personal life, in the workplace, or with just about anyone we meet” (Furlong, G.T., 2014). The best mediation for this case, in my opinion, would be a guided uniparty process where the mediator is going to be used as a coach to continue guiding each participant in utilizing skills to help resolve their conflict. “This kind of conflict coaching could be provided on an ongoing basis to the disgruntled employee, adapting to the conflict as it unfolds, until such time as the conflict reached a satisfactory resolution” (Hansen, T., 2012). Who needs to participate in the mediation, and how would you involve/approach each of them? Both Maureen and Elwood need to participate in the mediation, but not at the same time at this point. Involving them together will create greater resentment and cause a potentially explosive situation. Each needs to be approached individually and have the situation explained to them as well as get each of their sides of the story. Company HR needs to be kept in the loop of the mediation ,but not necessarily be an active participant. This situation needs to be as controlled as possible with no perception of favoritism from either of the conflicting parties. What, if any, are the cultural, ethnic, gender, or other issues: and how will each affect your decisions regarding the entry phase of mediation? There is definitely a gender issue here with Maureen being female and Elwood being male. There is a twenty year age difference between Maureen and Elwood as well as a very different career background. Maureen has moved up through the company based on her experience and being taught new roles whereas Elwood is a military veteran with a university education. Each participant has a very different personality and a very different outlook on office environments,

Signature Assignment: Analyze a Case, 5 which will also have to be addressed. Each of these factors will have to be taken into consideration in the mediation process so that one party does not feel that the other is being treated differently. The differences here are the underlying causes of the issues that Maureen and Elwood are having. How would you conduct the first three phases of mediation and establish trust, rapport, and credibility among parties to the conflict? The best way, as stated above, to start this mediation is to keep both parties separate at the beginning. Information gathering needs to be done in a comfortable setting for both parties so that the mediation can truly be successful and get to the root of the actual issue(s) at hand. This allow the mediator to gain the trust and credibility that will be needed when both parties will have to eventually come together to meet. Gaining that trust from both parties will lead them to lean on the mediator instead of the instant want to attack each other. What arena, physical arrangements and procedures would you choose and why? I would choose a very neutral meeting place for the mediation as meeting in the office environment has the potential to bring up emotions in both participants that will not be conducive to the success of this mediation. As far as procedures go, each party will need to have the ability to speak, uninterrupted, and given the opportunity to vocalize their concerns. Each participant will get equal time to speak, but will not have the ability to interrupt or contest until it is their respective turn. This will save not only in time, but it will teach each participant that each of their time as well as their opinions, are equally valued. That is the biggest takeaway the participants need at this point.

Signature Assignment: Analyze a Case, 6 What might be some substantive, procedural and psychological issues related to the parties-and how might you deal with them? What strategies might you employ to address the above mentioned issues if your assessment is correct and they emerge during mediation? There are several underlying issues here: For Elwood, 1. Favoritism in allowing Maureen to arrive late to work, but making exceptions to that policy because she makes up the time by working late and on weekends. 2. Elwood feeling that Maureen did not “earn” her place in her role and that he is more qualified than she is. 3. Elwood feeling that he does not go to work to make friends, but Maureen’s consideration of her coworkers is attention seeking. 4. Elwood feeling that Maureen is inconsiderate of his feelings For Maureen, 1. Feeling that Elwood is out to get her 2. Feeling that making her workspace more comfortable allows her to perform her role better. 3. Maureen feels that having him fired is more productive than finding a solution to the issue. I would deal with each of these issues through constructive conversation. There is obviously a disconnect somewhere in their communication that is leading them to behave negatively toward one another. If the root of that issue can come to light, a path forward can be created to where

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Signature Assignment: Analyze a Case, 7 both parties are happy and may continue to have a better working relationship. Boundaries will have to be created so that the temptation to treat each other badly does not take over the end goal of reaching a better working solution. What conditions must be present for a win-win outcome to occur- and what do you foresee as a potential win-win for the disputants in this case? First and foremost, a willingness to work out the issues will have to be present for an win-win situation to occur. Communication and truthfulness will also need to be present. I foresee a win-win being both participants coming to a compromise on how to better share their working space (the both will have to understand that sharing the space is non-negotiable). It could be something as simple as rearranging the space to where both parties are able to work comfortably or each party gets to keep one really valuable component, but eliminate one too so that fairness is kept. “The interdisciplinary nature of CR encourages helping professionals to work together and learn from one another” (Barsky, A., 2014). How might psychological closure be important in redefining the relationship and supporting a lasting agreement? What actions might be necessary to bring this closure about? Psychological closure is very important in redefining their relationship because this entire issue is about perception. In workplace cases, perception is reality to each person and the issues will continue to compound on themselves if they are not resolved. An apology on the side of both parties and an appreciation for each other’s backgrounds may be a great way to attain closure. Neither party was interested initially to underand the other’s point of view; they simply focused on their own feelings and perceptions of the situation. Learning to

Signature Assignment: Analyze a Case, 8 understand, and respect another’s view will go a long way in achieving some kind of success in this situation. Will it solve it completely? Probably not, but at least both parties have created a sense of understanding that they did not have previously. Who are the parties that might threaten a good agreement-and how can those threats be addressed or neutralized during the mediation process? The parties that might threaten the agreement are other coworkers and the management team at the company that Elwood and Maureen work for. Letting them both execute what they have learned through mediation and treating it as a confidential event, will help them to work through it in a more efficient way. If word has spread throughout the office via any means, the two will feel violated and will cause their initial problems to explode back to the original reason they were sent to mediation. Both Elwood and Maureen will have to agree to keep their mediation efforts to themselves and not share how things are going between them until the process can run its coursed and they are both comfortable speaking about it. It will have to be a mutual decision, that way they can again build mutual trust. In week 1, you were asked what you needed in this course. Did you get what you needed? Why or why not? I definitely got what I needed. I wanted to build my conflict resolution skills and I definitely feel like this course has taught me how to better do just that. I actually would like to do some further research as conflict will always exist at all levels in our lives and if we can bring good outcomes to all parties involved, who want that outcome, I feel like we owe it to those people to help them.

Signature Assignment: Analyze a Case, 9 References Barsky, A. (2014). Conflict resolution for the helping professions. Oxford University Press, Incorporated. Coleman, P. T., Deutsch, M., & Marcus, E. C. (Eds.). (2014). The handbook of conflict resolution : Theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Furlong, G. T. (2010). The conflict resolution toolbox : Models and maps for analyzing, diagnosing, and resolving conflict. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Gilin Oore, D., Leiter, M. P., & LeBlanc, D. E. (2015). Individual and organizational factors promoting successful responses to workplace conflict. Canadian Psychology / Psychologie Canadienne, 56(3), 301–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000032 Hansen, T. (2012). The generalist approach to conflict resolution : A guidebook. Lexington Books/Fortress Academic.

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Week 8 Assignment - OLB-7001 v1 - Signature Assignment Analyze a Case - Heather Cappiello 9.17.2023

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