Case study topic 4 (Week 10): Conflict (Robbins et al, 2017: Chapter 13) Please note that in addition to the prescribed textbook, groups are expected to draw on at least three peer-reviewed academic research articles published since 2010 to support their presentation analysis; presentations should not simply duplicate lecture slides. Elaine is an administrator at a boutique law firm, and has been employed full-time for the past five years. Elaine is an experienced assistant, is highly motivated, and has always received exemplary performance evaluations. Six months ago, Elaine needed to scale back her hours, and a second administrator was hired to fill in for the days Elaine could not work. Under this arrangement, Elaine worked three days per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and Jerry, the new administrator, worked three days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday). Jerry and Elaine have the same job title, perform the same job, and are required to communicate with one another throughout the week to ensure their tasks are performed. Everything worked well for the first few months, but after a while Elaine noticed that Jerry was putting more energy into completing the more interesting tasks, and failing to complete the more mandatory and mundane tasks, leaving them for Elaine to complete instead. Elaine began writing instructions to Jerry on post-it notes, asking Jerry to complete certain tasks. However, the tasks were still not being completed, leaving Elaine feeling frustrated. Elaine spoke to her direct manager, George, about the issue but was told it would be better if Elaine and Jerry sorted it out between them. One Wednesday, Elaine complained to Jerry that she was sick of being left to deal with the extra work that Jerry was not completing. A week later, Jerry complained to the HR Director (Kramer) that Elaine has been rude and unhelpful to Jerry from the very first day. Now, Jerry and Elaine are angry with one another and are refusing to communicate. What forms and types of conflict are discussed in this case study? Using examples drawn from the case study, explain the process model and discuss the effectiveness of the five techniques for handling conflict. Questions for peer evaluation topic: a) What forms and types of conflict were explained most clearly and correctly by the group? Which were not explained clearly or correctly by the group? (20%) _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ b) What differences in the various stages of the conflict process model were explained clearly and correctly by the group? What differences in the case study were not covered by the group? (20%) _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ c) In what way did the example/s presented by the group demonstrate most clearly the conflict process model and the effectiveness of the five techniques for handling conflict? (60%) _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________