Conflict Management Mini Case Studies

Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

Student Name : Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

ICBS Student ID : K21MG080
Batch :8
Module : Managing People in Digital Organisations
(MBAIB 11002)
Subject : Case Studies

1
 Conflict Management Mini Case Studies
Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

Scenario 1
You are the sales manager for a technology supplier.
Your market comprises small to medium-sized businesses in a large metropolitan city.
Your organization is moderately successful, but there is a large market out there that you
are not aggressively targeting. When the company hires a new president, it quickly
becomes clear that he isn’t content with “status quo” performance – he wants to see an
increase in sales, and you need to deliver. You believe that the key obstacle is the
company’s credit policy, which is very restrictive. New customers have to complete a
lengthy credit application, the credit manager only approves low-risk clients, and the terms
are much more stringent than your main competitors’. Your sales team regularly complains
that it loses customers due to the company’s poor reputation for extending credit, and you
think that relaxing the credit terms and conditions will open up your client base
significantly. You discuss your observations with the new president. He wants you to work
with the credit manager to create a program that is attractive to customers while protecting
the company from high credit risks. The president isn’t prepared to take sides, so you need
to come up with a solution together.
Question 1 : What are your underlying needs and concerns?
Question 2 : How are they congruent and incongruent with the credit manager’s? What
common ground can you find?
Question 3 : How would you approach the situation? Do you have a solution to suggest?
Suggest your part of the dialogue.

2
 Conflict Management Mini Case Studies
Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

My responses
Question 1 : What are your underlying needs and concerns?
Being the sales manager of the Company, it will be my responsibility to achieve the target
sales desired by the President and the Company in the current and coming years. With the
opportunity to widen the business in the potential market, I am in a view that it is vital that
the Company’s credit policy should be smoothened, that would bring on new potential
customers.
As described in the scenario, it is quite clear that the Company is not on the verge of
attracting new customers because of the following reasons:
Concerns Solutions
Restrictive credit policy A lose, but a very skeptic credit policy to boost new potential
customers should be implemented.
Lengthy credit A smooth and customer friendly credit application process
application should be implemented that would keep the credit customers
satisfied.
Only low risk-clients The Company must consider other qualitative factors when
being approved approving, to make sure the Company does not lose out on
potential customers who could benefit long term.
Better credit policies by An attractive but a skeptical full-scope credit policy with
competitors qualitative factors being included should be implemented to
attract more potential customers that would ultimately boost
sales.

Due to the above-mentioned factors, the Company is missing out on grabbing the potential
customers out there in the market which would compromise the growth of the Company.
To support a change in the credit strategy, the Company has to parallelly evaluate
competitors’ credit policy. In addition, the customers are always willing to go with hassle-
free credit appraisal, therefore the company must involve the legal department as well to
develop a credit policy that is more attractive, convenient, and smooth, but at the end with
less risk. However, when the credit policy does not work out, the Company should
implement a control that would mitigate any risk that would arise due to the weakness in
the credit policy. When trying to implement or suggest the change in credit policy, the
conflict with the credit manager that would arise is also another factor that would be taken
into consideration. We both should work together to implement a sound credit policy that
ultimately helps the long-term policies of the Company.

3
 Conflict Management Mini Case Studies
Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

Question 2 : How are they congruent and incongruent with the credit manager’s?
What common ground can you find?
Mostly every organization experiences a certain level of conflict between the credit and
sales teams. This mainly happens due to many reasons out of which, the most important
reason is, that the goals of each department are different. The goal of mine, as a Sales
Manager, is to increase the sales of the Company when the goal of the credit manager is
dealing with low-risk of debts.
However, the goal of the credit manager is not all about minimizing the debt failures, but
it’s also about developing trust relationships with the customers so that the Company
outcomes are successfully achieved.
With the above matters being said, me as an experienced sales manager in the same
organization, we both can agree unto common grounds for the betterment of the company.
My interests such as increasing the sales, expanding the business are in congruent with the
credit manager’s policies whereas, smoothening and loosening of the credit process, to
implement a less restrictive credit policy are contradictory. This contradictory situation can
be further analyzed in the model “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni
as shown below.

4
 Conflict Management Mini Case Studies
Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

1) Absence of trust : The credit manager has implemented a strict credit policy is mainly
due to the less trust the manager has one the sales department would be unable to collect
the debts from the customers. When the credit manager has less trust on the sales manager,
he would rush to decisions on deciding strict credit policies to certain customers without
the consent of myself as the sales manager.
Suggestion : Me being the sales manager and the credit manager should improve the
trust relationship we both have one each other’s department and build a strong
relationship. We could help build trust relationships by arranging cross-trainings, shared
events or experience which would result in building healthy connections. This helps the
team work together better.
2) Fear of conflict : A lack of trust between myself the credit manager, would lead to
conflicts such as disagreement in credit approvals in certain customers which would lead
to losing of important customers. These conflicts mainly arise when the certain department
heads only focus on their own department rather than the Company as a whole.

Suggestion : Instead of limiting our focus on our own departments, we should discuss
on to decide a better credit policy for the Company as a whole and support the bigger
purpose of the Company. For example, if a customer is not worth it for a credit term of the
Company, me as the sales manager and the credit manager should create a program that
will help to bring the customer to the Company, but in a way that is less riskier to the
Company.

3) Lack of Commitment : When the sales department and the credit department tries to avoid
conflicts due to the fear of conflicts arising between them, it results in a lack of commitment
from both parties.

Suggestion : As the sales manager, I and the credit manager should come together and
have a discussion on the disagreements that leads to the conflict of not deciding on a
smooth credit policy.

4) Avoidance of accountability: If I as the sales manager try to avoid the accountability of

the failures in debt collection, the credit manager tends to implement a stricter credit policy
for the trade customers to mitigate his risk of debt failures.

Suggestion : As a sales manager, I need to start taking up responsibility and

accountability for any debt failures by the trade customers. To avoid such instances, I will
have to start calling up customers frequently to make their payments. This will help the
credit manager a little comfort in loosening the credit policy.
5
 Conflict Management Mini Case Studies
Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

5) Inattention to results : When me, being the sales manager and the credit manager
lacks focus and clear collective objective i.e., to boost the sales and enter the wider market,
we will be distracted and only focus only on our own department goals.

Suggestion : We both must collectively analyze and predict the customer reactions and
trends because of the change in credit policy of the Company and finally design a policy
that attracts more potential customers to the Company.

So, in conclusion, the sales manager and the credit manager should focus on building a
credit policy that best suits the Company’s goals and objectives rather than the individual
departments. This eventually attracts more customers and boosts sales that would satisfy
the goals of the new President and the Company.

Question 3 : How would you approach the situation? Do you have a solution to
suggest? Suggest your part of the dialogue.

According to this scenario, it’s quite clear that there is an obvious conflict exists between
the sales manager and the credit manager. To achieve the common goal of the organization,
which is to bring on new potential customers from the wider market, both the sales manager
and credit manager need to work collectively.

I suggest it is well suited to follow the Conflict Management Model by Thomas-Kilmann

to resolve this conflict, which is as follows.

6
 Conflict Management Mini Case Studies
Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

When talking about each technique to resolve the conflict;

(i) Avoiding will lead to no benefit to either to the sales manager to increase the sales
or to the credit manager for a skeptic credit policy.

(ii) Accommodating will lead to a stricter credit policy which doesn’t suit the sales
manager’s expectations.

(iii) Competing will increase the risk of defaults of the debts due to increase in high-
risk customers resulted by loosened credit policy.

(iv) Compromising will increase the risk of debt defaults and reduction of sales if both
the sales manager and the credit manager compromise each department’s goal.

(v) Collaborating seems very suitable to the current context of the Company and the
scenario. Both parties can collectively decide on a program that will help bring
on the customer, but at less risk.

Following actions can meet the goals of both the sales manager and the credit
manager:

 Sales department being held accountable when they bring on new customers and
when they default on payments.

 Sales team needs to be educated on the risk of the debt default that could affect the
going concern of the Company.

 We should introduce a smoother credit application process that requires submitting

only relevant information.

 It should demand securities from the new customers when issuing credit terms for
new customers that the Company has no experience with.

 A control of mutual accountability must be introduced for the sales and credit
department.

7
Conflict Management Mini Case Studies
Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

We can also take the following actions for the win-win scenario of both the
departments by improving the trust between each department.

 Team-building by creating a connection with various events and

experiences that could establish a healthy relationship with both the
departments to increase trust amongst each other.
 Cross-department training should be arranged among both the
departments. When one department experiences the other’s responsibilities
and duties, the department’s heads and staff will also understand the others’
decisions and reasonings.
 A common goal should be focused on by both the sales manager and the
credit manager, which is to boost sales with a less-risk credit policy, which
should be agreed upon at a higher level.
 Incentives and packages that well support the bigger cause of the Company
need to be introduced. Sales team’s bonuses kick in when the customers settle
their dues and the credit manager’s bonuses kick in when the sales have
increased.

8
 Conflict Management Mini Case Studies
Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

Scenario 2
You are the manager of an auditing team in a large, international accounting firm.
You have been asked to set up a new team in France. However, your relationship with your
colleague Chen is tense. He has always been more senior than you, but you were promoted
over him and asked to set up this new team. You believe that you received the promotion
because of your experience of working with international clients. Chen’s perspective is
rather different. He thinks you were promoted because the company wants more women in
senior positions. He has been openly hostile since you started your new role, and he tries
hard to make you feel like an outsider. Since your promotion, you’ve received several
complaints about Chen from other team members. Instead of taking on a mentoring and
leadership role appropriate to his knowledge and experience, he’s been bossing people
around. After you return from France, you assign Chen to work with a small firm in a
remote location that has notoriously difficult records to audit.
You know that senior auditors are usually given choice assignments, but you’re short
staffed and you need an experienced team member on the case… and it’ll be nice to have
a break from Chen. You hear a knock at the door and Chen bursts in. “Where do you think
you’re coming from? You’re not going to get away with undermining my status by giving
me the worst assignments. I’ve been sent out of the office more than my fair share the past
few months, and I’m sick of it. Since your promotion, you’ve been doing everything you
can to disrespect me and keep me, your ‘rival,’ out of the office, so you can claim all the
glory for yourself. All this is a ‘power play’ and you’re not going to win. You don’t even
deserve the promotion you got. It’s just because you’re a woman that you’re sitting in the
boss’s seat and I’m not. I’m not going to tolerate this kind of treatment anymore.” Chen
demands that you change his assignment immediately and apologize for the way you’ve
been treating him. He’s also going to make a formal complaint to head office, and he’s
prepared to resign if there isn’t any improvement immediately.
Question 1 : What are your motivations, interests and responsibilities in this conflict?
Question 2 : What are Chen’s motivations, interests and responsibilities?
Question 3 : What approach do you recommend using, and how will you reach a
solution? Do you have a solution to suggest?

9
 Conflict Management Mini Case Studies
Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

My Responses
Question 1 : What are your motivations, interests and responsibilities in this
conflict?

As the newly promoted manager, my motivation in this conflict is that this is a novel
experience of such conflict that I have never faced before. So, the experience of trying to
resolve this conflict with a win-win situation and winning the trust of the senior
management will be my motivation.
As a manager who was entrusted by the management and was recently promoted prior to
my senior, it is my responsibility to safeguard the trust they have enjoined upon me, by
resolving this conflict with no problems to either Chen, myself, or the firm.
My interest in this conflict is that Chen needs to be told, and he needs to realize his
weakness and change himself and start taking up suitable mentoring and leadership roles
appropriate to his knowledge and experience for the progress of his career.

Question 2 : What are Chen’s motivations, interests and responsibilities?

Chen’s motivation is a negative motivation driven by the guilt due to a junior of him being
promoted before himself. His motivation is to create a conflict and change his assignment
from the one which is currently assigned to him.
Chen’s interest is to confront the newly appointed manager and trouble the progress of
her. This interest is driven by his jealousy as his junior and a lady has been promoted as a
manager before him.
Chen’s responsibility is to understand the reality that he has been appointed to an
assignment due to the newly appointed manager having less staff to cope with in all his
audit portfolio. He should change himself and start taking up suitable mentoring and
leadership roles appropriate to his knowledge and experience for the progress of his career.

10
 Conflict Management Mini Case Studies
Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

Question 3: What approach do you recommend using, and how will you reach a
solution? Do you have a solution to suggest?
This conflict must be analysed deeper and solved using the Conflict Management Model
of Thomas-Kilmann which is portrayed in the below diagram.

When analyzing the current scenario with the five major conflict management styles:
(i) Avoiding results in Chen creating this conflict into bigger mess.

(ii) Accommodating will motivate Chen to continue starting conflict in the future as
well.

(iii) Compromising is the current suggested style to resolve the conflict, but it might
result in Chen continuing his same attitude towards the newly appointed manage
and treating his subordinates the same way he has been treating recently.

(iv) Competing sounds quite suitable as well, to resolve in this current scenario, but due
to the high assertiveness state of mood of Chen, it will lead a bigger conflict in the
organization when trying to resolve this conflict Competing

(v) Collaborating should be followed when solving this conflict. Both should have a
calm discussion on the current conflict and come up with a win-win situation.

11
Conflict Management Mini Case Studies
Akmaldheen Liyaudheen

Solution

 I should discuss with Chen in a more respectful manner and be a supportive

manager for his career, and his growth in the firm, irrespective of his behaviour
towards me.

 Give him tough assignments in terms of knowledge and complexity and give him
room to grow his skills and knowledge.

 Whenever Chen performs well in his audits, It would encourage him, if I share
positive feedbacks on his works.

 Be transparency and explain him about the lack of staff for the audit portfolio to be
covered.

With the above honest and transparent discussions with Chen, I believe he will
realise the truth behind the series of events, and eventually work on the assignment
I had allocated him to.

12