Conflict Resolution UNIT 3 - CHALLENGE 3
After talking with Cody, Kaitlin met with the whole staff to discuss their issues with the schedule at We Know Beans. "I understand you want more flexibility," she explained, "but with all the variability in everyone's schedules, making a weekly schedule just takes too long. Does anyone have any suggestions for how we can resolve this issue?" Haleigh said, "Well, this isn't a suggestion, but it's another piece of the problem you need to know about. On the new schedule, you have me working on Saturday mornings. I've had to trade that shift since I'm Jewish and I keep the Sabbath. I'm not supposed to work Saturday until sundown. Whatever we decide on, there has to be a way that I don't work Saturdays." Kaitlin made note of that, and let Haleigh know that respecting her religious needs was very important. Haleigh's interests were based on her values, which Kaitlin knew meant that her needs weren't negotiable. Select another example of an interest that is based on values.
"As a vegan, I believe that it's immoral to consume animal products, so I won't put meat on the menu at my restaurant."
At the second staff meeting, Kaitlin was ready: she had a giant marker and a big piece of paper taped to the wall. To start the meeting, she asked her employees if any of them had a proposal for a new scheduling system. All 10 employees put their hands up. Kaitlin said, "Well, I'm glad to see so much enthusiasm! Let's get all these options on the table." Before she could start writing, however, Cody piped up. "I tried putting together a weekly schedule and failed, so we shouldn't put that on the board." "You know, maybe just hearing what we've all thought about will help us find a new idea in this meeting. So to save time, let's not criticize anyone's idea until we have all the ideas explained." "I've got an idea," said Gustavo from the back of the group. "How about doing a biweekly schedule for every two weeks?" After that, ideas came in from all sides. As the sheet of paper started to fill up, Mason said, "Can we organize these ideas a little? I can't tell which ones are keepers and which ones we should ignore." "I really like Gustavo's idea," said Haleigh. Generating options and evaluating options are two separate processes. Select the statement that is an example of generating options.
"How about doing a biweekly schedule for every two weeks?"
During the week between staff meetings, employees at We Know Beans developed a proposal to make a weekly schedule themselves so that Kaitlin would not have to spend time scheduling. All staff members gave their schedule requests to Haleigh and Cody, and allowed the two of them to make a sample schedule to show Kaitlin that they could take on the task. They had almost completed the schedule when they realized that no one on the staff was available to work Saturday morning. Cody said, "My parents are in town this weekend, so I really can't put myself in for that shift." "Well, I keep Shabbat, so I can't work that day either," replied Haleigh. "Do you think we could ask Kaitlin to cover that day herself?" "I don't think she'd want to, especially if her concern is working less time on schedule-related issues. And after doing the schedule ourselves, I can see why. Scheduling can be such a long process! I hope someone has a better idea than ours." By noting that Kaitlin's interests and the employees interests are equally important, Cody is using win-win thinking. Select one important aspect of win-win thinking.
Sharing joint responsibility to solve the problem
During the staff meeting, Kaitlin heard from just about all of her employees about their concerns with the semester-long schedule. The very last person to speak was Mason, who everyone knew was something of a hothead. Right away, it was clear that he was angry. Mason said, "I really can't believe you thought this kind of schedule could work for students. You've had mostly students working for you for years. Haven't you been paying attention when people talk about how busy they are and how hard it can be to find ways to work while people are in school? It's frustrating to think that you don't hear your staff or care that they have things to do outside of the shop." As he spoke, his voice got louder and his gestures bigger. By the end of his speech, he was practically shouting. Though Kaitlin felt angry, hurt, and defensive after Mason's commentary, she got control of herself before she replied. Using her experience in conflict resolution, she decided to refocus the conversation on the issues at hand instead of making it personal. Which of the following would be an effective response for Kaitlin to give Mason in order focus their conversation on the problem rather than the people involved?
"Having a schedule that works for everyone is my top priority, so let's work together to come up with some options."
Most of the 10 employees at the coffee shop We Know Beans were local college students who worked part-time, which made creating the weekly schedule a headache for Kaitlin, the manager. One day, Kaitlin put up a note telling her employees that she would make a single schedule at the start of each semester. Workers' hours and shifts would only change when a new semester started. A week later, Cody, one of the employees, spoke with Kaitlin about the new policy. "About half of us are getting ready to quit over this, Kaitlin," he said. "This new schedule is a huge problem. I can't get to the extra study sessions for my hardest class because of it. We're missing school events, professors' office hours, and advisor meetings. We're even having to work when our families visit. You have to go back to a weekly schedule!" Kaitlin was both surprised and a little upset; she couldn't think of what to say. Fortunately, she'd learned conflict resolution in business school, so she quickly thought back to what she'd learned. I'm supposed to use active listening in this situation, which means summarizing, paraphrasing, and reflecting. Select the response that demonstrates reflecting.
"I can see that you feel really frustrated."
After Kaitlin made sure she really understood the complaint Cody was presenting her with, she thought about the situation. She felt like she couldn't win. "I understand a weekly schedule is nicer for all of you," Kaitlin finally said, "but it just takes too much time out of my schedule to make it." "Well, you expect us to work hard," Cody retorted, "so why can't you? We put in way more effort than you do!" Kaitlin felt her face get hot. How could he think she didn't work hard? Again, she thought back to her training in conflict resolution to help figure out what to say next. Instead of blowing up, she carefully replied, "Cody, when you suggest that I don't work hard for my staff, it makes me really angry because I do more around here than you can imagine. It hurts a lot to hear you say that." Kaitlin knew that using an I-statement like this was less likely to escalate the situation than a you-statement. Hopefully, she thought, Cody recognizes that, too. Which of the following responses effectively rephrases Cody's you-statement as an I-statement?
"When you say that the schedule takes too much time to prepare, it makes us feel unappreciated because we all do things here that take a lot of our time."
After the coffee shop staff meeting, Mason approached his friend and co-worker, Cody, and asked to speak with him privately. "I feel badly about attacking Kaitlin like that," Mason confided. "I didn't want to say this in front of everyone, but the reason I've been getting upset about the schedule is that I've been sick lately, and my doctor wants to run a lot of tests to see if I have a condition that runs in my family. Depending on how the tests come out, I might have to base all of my schedule around doctor's visits, and I won't have a lot of time or ability to plan ahead. I need Kaitlin to understand that, but I don't want everyone to know I might be really sick. I know everyone probably just thinks I'm kind of hotheaded, but I'm actually just really scared and trying to keep this all private." Cody replied, "I understand. And I won't tell anyone. But you might have to tell Kaitlin so that she can factor that in to everyone's schedule ideas. Otherwise she might decide on a solution that won't work for you." Mason agreed, so he scheduled a meeting with Kaitlin. As soon as he started talking, she realized that this needed to be a formal private meeting, where Mason could be certain that everything would be kept confidential. By the time they were finished talking, they both felt a lot better. Formal private meetings are important for keeping information confidential. Which of the following circumstances also indicates the need for a formal private meeting?
A boss is mediating a dispute between a manager and an entry-level employee. The boss knows that one of the problems the manager has is based on company information that only management knows.
Cody apologized to Kaitlin for saying that she did not work hard to support her staff at We Know Beans. Kaitlin replied, "It's okay. I can understand where you're coming from— I've had lots of students work for me over the years, so I'm used to occasional conflict. But here's the problem from my perspective: making a new schedule each week takes too long, so it's costing the store money. I need people to plan ahead based on when their classes are, or else I can't get everything else done." Cody said, "But a semester schedule keeps people from doing things that aren't set way in advance. We can plan for our class times at the start of the semester, but very little else. Most stuff doesn't get scheduled that far in advance! If we don't go back to the weekly schedule, people can't work here and do well in school." Kaitlin replied, "I get that there may be things you need to do that you can't plan on at the beginning of a semester. But when I have to account for all of that week by week to make a weekly schedule, I don't have enough time to do all the other things I need to do. We all want to have the time we need to do the things we have to do. If there was a way I could have that time and keep the flexibility for the staff, I'd be happy to do it." Cody and Kaitlin were both explaining their interests and positions in this situation. Identify the interest that Cody and Kaitlin share.
Ensuring enough flexibility for the staff
By the end of the meeting, the coffee shop employees had come up with five options: Kaitlin could work shifts that staff need to miss because of unscheduled events. Kaitlin could make a biweekly schedule. Kaitlin could teach staff members how to draft a schedule and only review the schedule each week. Staff could work longer shifts but fewer of them. Staff could start a phone tree to make it easier to trade shifts if a scheduling conflict occurred. Finally, Cody stood up and said, "I know that we all want everyone to get as many needs met as possible, and it's clear that none of these solutions are perfect. But I also know that the most important thing for all of us is to feel like we're working together. So I say we combine options 2 and 5." "You're right," said Haleigh. "I liked options 2 and 5 best, and it seems like Kaitlin likes options 1 and 4 the least. So this seems like a good solution." There was a spontaneous cheer as everyone agreed. Kaitlin wrote down their plan and posted it by the scheduling board. Looking around the room, she felt proud and touched that all of her employees had worked so hard to solve this problem. In order to come to a satisfactory solution, it's usually necessary to generate, prioritize options, and interlink options. Select the true statement about interlinking options.
Interlinking options can demonstrate the collaborative relationship between the parties.
After Mason's blowup, everyone seemed a little unsure what to do next. After a tense moment, Haleigh said, "Guys, I don't know if this problem can be solved." "Yeah," Mason said. "Kaitlin wants a semester-long schedule and the rest of us want a weekly schedule. Obviously, we can't do both, and somebody is going to be unhappy. If Kaitlin gets her way, we can't get ours." "I understand that you guys don't think that a semester-long schedule works," said Kaitlin. "And I think you hear me when I say that a weekly schedule just takes too long for me to make up each week. Why don't we meet again next week, and everyone can bring their ideas or suggestions about how we can handle scheduling differently? I trust that at least one of us can find a way to make a more flexible schedule system that doesn't require me to spend a lot of time managing it. Deal?" "We'd all really like that," Cody said, shooting a frustrated glance at Mason. "No matter what anyone says, this is a great job and we'd all like to keep it." The staff agreed to come up with ideas and meet the next week. Some members of the group are engaging in win-win thinking, some in zero-sum thinking, and some believe that the group is at an impasse. Select the group members who are engaged in win-win thinking.
Kaitlin and Cody