Conflict of Two Professionals Working in Auto Safety Products - Essay Example

Case Study by Business Challenge The situation described in this case study seems to be typical for the world of engineering when there is a need to combine attractiveness of design with utility. In the center of the conflict two professionals working in Auto Safety Products a company that sells seats, belts and children seats: Mike Garcia and Jill Hendrickson. Mike is one of the oldest workers of the company who dedicated more than twenty years of his life to manufacturing of the seats. Jill is a recent graduate who works as a mechanical engineer in the company. The conflict appeared when the company came to conclusion that it has to improve communication and cooperation between two different departments: manufacturing and design. Auto Safety Products even introduced a separate method called “concurrent engineering” which presupposed that Mike and Jill discussed the whole procedure of every item. The company was aiming to design a special toddler`s seat which provoked discussion between Mike and Jill. From the perspective of Mike, a representative of manufacturing departments, the ideas of designers remind “pies in the sky”. On the other hand, Jill, a representative of designer`s department insists that design is the most important part and that it must dictate manufacture. Problem Analysis Apart from the fact that the people representing different aspects of production insist on different things as more important, the conflict obviously has certain predispositions taken by the parties of the conflict. Mike and Jill are of different age and thus Mike obviously regards Jill as too fresh and inexperienced to perceive her equally. Compared to Mike Jill has just started working in Auto Safety Products so her professionalism and knowledge were not tested and Moreover, his general attitude to designers as of the people who need a dose of reality shows that he is far from making conflict less tense. He is absolutely sure that truth is on his side because he underlines utility and practical approach and his rival is not competent enough to make some valuable suggestions. Jill on her side is eager to prove everyone her determination and expertise that is why she is ready to work even harder to make her position strong. She notices that Mike does not perceive her as a person to collaborate to because she is a woman which is not typical to this business. In order to show that feminine side is not what Mike should pay attention to she doesn`t try to accommodate the conflict and find some compromise which is considered to be typical women`s behavior, on the contrary she wants to prove Mike that he has a decent rival and she is ready to fight for her views. So to sum up it is possible to say that the conflict is fuelled fueled by difference in age, experience, and inability of parties to perceive each other equally. Theory & Problem Solution The conflict of the interest I this case is evident apart from pushing their own views on the manufacture of the product these both employees want to save their faces and respect. So apart from interpersonal conflict which means a clash of personalities there is obvious intergroup conflict. Designers want the product to be attractive and modern while for manufactures practical side is more important. Dealing with interpersonal conflict is easier because as long as opponents understand that they are on the same side and they are bot equally important they will put back their disagreements to work over their major problem. It is possible to suggest several methods of dealing with this conflict. First, Mike and Jill can try to resolve the conflict on their own. Most probably their mutual work will result in avoidance of the conflict itself but it is not the method that I would recommend them to use. What they need to do is to discuss their personal stereotypes openly and understand that they should perceive each other as workers and as professionals not as people of different age and gender. Taking into account stubborn personality and age of Mike it is more likely that Jill initiated this conversation. Discussing their stereotypes would make the atmosphere in the team less tense and will make all the other members more involved. This is feminist`s approach to the conflict resolution, it presupposes a dialogue based on emotional exchange and experience discussion. This method may seem simple and naïve but I guess it will be very effective in this situation because Mike and Jill will be able to release their emotions and see each other in a new light. This approach could be very helpful because personal tension created by stereotypes must be overcome before real matters are discussed. However, Jill needs a lot of tact and tranquility to conduct this conversation right that is why this is the least probable scenario. The next possibility is the involvement of the third party into this situation. Actually it is the management of the company failed to implement concurrent engineering technique in operation though it assigned a special supervisor of the situation. That is why the involvement of the third party was performed but the supervisor should act more effectively. It would be right to go one step back and teach the employees the essence of the concurrent engineering . When management of the company initiates some innovative method of cooperation it has to dedicate enough time to explaining it precisely, answering all the question of employees and training the staff. As the conflict is associated with personal issues the involvement of the third party is inevitable. Adam was right to interview Mark and Jill separately about their troubles and it is most effective that he took a position of mediator in the conflict. This role presupposes facilitating of the conflict without making concrete decisions and judging who wrong ad who is right is because it is not the point of this dispute. In the production of toddler`s seat both manufacture and design are equally important that is why it is crucial to direct Mike`s and Jill`s attention to collaboration and to discussing each modification of the product piece by piece. After all these brought to action it is most reasonable to employ the technique of bargaining for the solution of the conflict. As in the case of Auto Safety Products the parties of the conflict do not share some limited amount of resources but rather try to reach joint coherent resolution bargaining is the most justified strategy. It requires from both parties the settlement of the rules to which both parties would stick. These rules can be suggested by Adam who performs the role of a third party. So Mike ad Jill will understand that if they are capable of setting the rules they will also be capable of bargaining with each other effectively. Bargaining is used to gain a competitive advantage over the opponent ad it most effective in intergroup conflicts. Moreover, we see that Mike and Jill are the representatives of the departments so their bargaining will be exemplary for the rest of the team. Mutual concession with no loss in quality and appearance of the toddler`s seat is what is needed for the company because the result is the most desirable. Integrative bargaining could give the most fruitful results in this conflict as the parties would try to maximize their gains with the help of the other part. Creative solutions of the old problems is what is expected from concurrent engineering because it is said in the case study that the company was trying to produce this seat for a long time and failed before. So creative and innovative solutions are compulsory in this conflict. Read More