Managing Conflict and Workplace Relationships - Case Study Example

McDonald's is among the world’s largest fast-food chains. The corporation boasts of serving over 68 million customers daily in their over 35,000 stores located in 119 countries around the world. The company was established back in the year 1948 and has undergone tremendous growth by franchising some of its stores (Gilbert, 2009). However, over the years, the company has been facing some problems that have affected its operations. Conflict within the organization is one of such issues that can affect a corporation both negatively and positively.

This paper will look at conflict within Mcdonald's by discussing both positive and negative conflict and the causes of conflict within Mcdonald's.           Conflict can turn out to be either positive or negative depending on how it is managed. Conflict is part of our everyday life but conflict can turn out to be functional or negative depending on how the people involved in the conflict handle the conflict Van (Gramberg, 2005). Positive conflict           This type of conflict is beneficial to McDonald's due to the fact that it supports the corporation’s goals.

It helps to improve performance within the corporation by finding solutions to problems and listening to one another (Collins, & O'Rourke, 2009). A good example of a positive conflict within Mcdonald's is competition. This conflict can occur when sales agents within McDonald's compete to become the top salesperson. The winner will feel motivated to work harder and the losers will feel even more motivated to become the best. This type of competition is beneficial to the organization as it helps the organization make more sales.

Negative conflict           These types of conflicts bring disagreements and disputes that affect the corporation’s performance. Such type of conflict causes rifts within various sections of the company (Van Gramberg, 2005). A good example of negative conflict within Mcdonald's is when an employee verbally, sexually, or physically harasses another employee. This will bring bad blood between the employees and they will be unwilling to work together.

This will affect their performance as well as the general performance of the organization. Causes of conflict           Organizational conflict can be caused by managerial expectations. This occurs when an employee is unable to meet the expectations of his or her manager. Communication breakdown is another cause of workplace conflict (Collins, & O'Rourke, 2009). This occurs when one department within Mcdonald's fails or is late in responding to information from another department.

Misunderstanding information also causes workplace conflict. When a person within an organization misunderstands information, this can cause conflict within the organization. Conflict may also arise when no one is willing to take responsibility for a mistake (Collins, & O'Rourke, 2009). This may cause frustration within the corporation and trigger conflicts.