Worked example 1

Marketing and production clash over a product launch date. Marketing wants early release for a trade fair; production says quality testing needs six more weeks. Tension is rising and emails have become personal. Analyse sources of conflict and recommend a resolution approach.

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Sources: Intergroup conflict — incompatible goals (speed vs quality), scarce resources (shared budget/time), possible role ambiguity over who has final sign-off.

Functional potential: Task conflict about testing standards can improve the launch if managed — but relationship conflict (personal emails) is dysfunctional.

Thomas-Kilmann: Collaborating fits — both assertiveness (each dept has valid stakes) and cooperativeness (shared company outcome). Explore integrative solution: limited fair release at trade fair with beta units while full launch follows testing.

Avoid: Competing (CEO picks marketing) leaves resentment; Avoiding lets damage spread.

Process: Mediation by neutral project manager; clear role definition for launch authority.

Evaluation: Collaboration takes time — under extreme deadline compromising (split delay) may be necessary. Link to Tuckman storming (4.3.1) — conflict is normal if teams move to norming afterward.

Worked example 2

A factory's day and night shifts are in conflict over machine maintenance, leading to increased downtime. The day shift produces 1,000 units/hour and the night shift 800 units/hour. Due to poor handovers, the factory loses an average of 2 hours of production time per 24-hour cycle. The profit per unit is $5. Additionally, two skilled operators resigned last quarter due to the stressful environment, costing $15,000 each to replace (a quarter is 13 weeks). Calculate the total weekly financial cost of this unresolved conflict, assuming a 5-day work week.

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1. Identify Sources of Conflict:

Intergroup Conflict: Between the day and night shifts.
Task Interdependence: The quality of one shift's work directly affects the other.
Poor Communication: Ineffective handovers and blame-shifting.
This is dysfunctional conflict as it directly harms productivity and morale.

2. Calculate Weekly Financial Cost:

Step 1: Calculate Daily Lost Production Units

Assume the 2 hours of downtime are split, with 1 hour affecting the day shift's potential output and 1 hour affecting the night shift's.
Day shift loss: 1 hour × 1,000 units/hour = 1,000 units
Night shift loss: 1 hour × 800 units/hour = 800 units
Total daily lost units = 1,000 + 800 = 1,800 units

Step 2: Calculate Daily Lost Profit from Production

Formula: Lost Units × Profit per Unit
Calculation: 1,800 units × $5/unit = $9,000 per day

Step 3: Calculate Weekly Lost Profit from Production

Formula: Daily Lost Profit × Workdays per Week
Calculation: $9,000/day × 5 days/week = $45,000 per week

Step 4: Calculate Weekly Cost of Employee Turnover

Total turnover cost: 2 employees × $15,000/employee = $30,000
Weekly cost (amortised over the quarter): $30,000 / 13 weeks ≈ $2,307.69 per week

Step 5: Calculate Total Weekly Cost

Formula: Weekly Production Loss + Weekly Turnover Cost
Calculation: $45,000 +$ 2,307.69 = $47,307.69$

Final Answer: The total estimated weekly financial cost of the conflict is ** $47,307.69**.$

3. Recommended Resolution:

Strategy: Implement a superordinate goal. For example, a shared weekly bonus for both shifts if machine uptime exceeds 98%. This forces cooperation.
Process: Use mediation with a neutral plant manager to help the shifts create a new, standardised handover checklist. This improves communication and clarifies roles.
Thomas-Kilmann Mode: This approach moves the teams from a Competing/Avoiding stance to a Collaborating one, seeking a win-win solution.

Conflict at work — practice questions

Worked example 1

Worked example 2