C3 - OFFICE SPACE. Management Case Study Assignment

C3-OFFICE SPACE
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C3-OFFICE SPACE
This essay demonstrates conflict in a Web programming department and indicates how the team leader can utilize various approaches to address the issue. Conflict is normal and natural in the workplace (Wall, Tran and Soejatminah, 2017). It is not always a bad thing, but ignoring it can lower the morale of workers, increase absenteeism and decrease productivity. In this case, the conflict is because some of the programmers are uncomfortable with the allocated space in the new office.
Martin’s choice of the office is causing tensions in the office and adversely affecting the performance of the employees. In the old office, the programmers used to work together, but now they are separated from each other by the cubicles. Bradley and Sanjay seclude themselves from the rest of the programmers. Bradley feels that Martin does not value him like the other programmers yet he is the senior most in the team. Although Sanjay is happy with the window, he feels that both Rosa and Kris are distracting him. The two keep on talking to each other loudly which affects his productivity. Rosa and Kris keep on ignoring Sanjay even during the weekly staff meetings.
The conflict in the organization is a relational conflict. A relational conflict occurs where individuals disagree over their understanding of goals and tasks (Thakore, 2013). The individuals differ over the decisions they should make. In the workplace, relational conflicts take place where employees have different perceptions of their goals and different perceptions of their goals. The relational conflict in this care is a conflict of interests. The team members have different interests which make it challenging for them to agree on the issue at hand. For example, Martin allocated Bradley the larger cubicle without windows because he felt Bradley needed a larger space due to the more computer equipment he has.
However, Bradley felt that he deserved to choose where to sit because he has worked in the company for a more extended period than the other programmers. The content dimension of the conflict is the lack of communication between Martin and the programmers. Martin fails to communicate the reason for allocating the programmers the specific places which cause Bradley and Sanjay to feel bad about their spaces. Both Bradley and Sanjay present compelling reasons for their dissatisfaction which need to be addressed.
The Fisher and Ury’s principled method indicates that individuals tend to be personally involved in the problem and they may perceive any resistance to their position as a personal attack (Sebenius, 2013). In this conflict, the programmers become personally involved in the issue which makes it challenging to have a clear view of the substance of the underlying problems. Separating the people from the underlying issues will make it possible to address the problem without damaging personal matters. Doing th...