Case Study:
Robert, a director and union member, has requested an 8% raise for his work unit. His request is based on recent finance reports showing that his department has substantially contributed to a 15% profit increase for the organisation. He feels that his team should be compensated for the hard work and long hours they have put in over the last few years to achieve this outcome.
Kay knows the value of Robert’s team and readily acknowledges their achievements. However, she knows that the company has plans to expand and diversify. This new project will use up the majority of the profit increase for at least the next five years. She is willing to sit down with Robert and talk about how his team can get involved in the new project. There could be new job opportunities, some overseas assignments, and possible promotions to various leadership positions within the new project. Kay has flagged this with Robert; however, he is adamant that his team needs to be compensated with a monetary increase. He went as far as threatening to get the union involved if his request is unsuccessful.
1. Conflict-handling styles (Accommodating/ Avoiding/ Competing)
Competing (Robert)
The conflict-handling style that Robert use in this instance is the competing style of approach in business communications. From the case study above, we can tell that Robert cares about the team and wants an 8% increment of salary for them because of their hard work and devotion in work resulting in a 15% profit increase for the organisation. Furthermore, when Kay, the finance manager, acknowledged his achievements and approached him to negotiate about this issue, Robert was adamant about it and is not keen on communicating with Kay. Instead, Robert went on as far as threatening to get the union involved in this situation if his request was not approved.
From this, we can see that Robert is applying the competitive negotiation style in this case study. The “I Win- You Lose” situation is one of the competitive negotiation traits that you can identify from this situation.
2. Distributive or Integrative (Bargaining approach)
Integrative (Kay)
Based on the back story provided, we can infer that Kay was using the integrative bargain approach. In this instance, Robert approached Kay asking for a pay increment for him and his team. Kay acknowledges Robert’s team efforts and the achievements of the company. Kay shares the company plan about expanding and investing the 15% profit increase into the company’s diversity and hoping Robert would understand her stance. Kay flagged out many potential advantages about it and will be involving Robert and his team in this expansion that will provide possible promotions resulting in a raise in pay. Kay is trying to attempt a win-win outcome for both parties.
3. Aspect of interpersonal communication is contributing to the poor working environment
In this instance, we can deduce that Robert displays poor listening skills. As seen, Kay has tried her very best to understand where Robert is coming from and he is trying his best fighting for the benefit for him and his team. However, Robert neglects the options and compromises that Kay has to offer and was being adamant about the 8% raise for him and his team and was not listening. Robert did not stand by Kay’s point of view of trying to attempt a win-win situation for both parties but threaten to bring the issue to the union. Therefore, this has contributed to the poor working environment.
4. Hall’s context model (High and Low context culture)
Low context culture (Robert)
From the scenario and reference of Hall’s context model, we can conclude that Robert displays the behaviour of a low-context culture. Robert has portrayed himself as a demanding person and is being very explicit about what he wants. He was being sensitive and detailed about the 8% raise for him and his team. He did not leave any room for negotiation and was being adamant about it and even wanted to make the situation more complicated by bringing the union in.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this case study has shown its side and the importance of negotiations. Conflicts are inevitable and will happen to us positively and negatively. The way we handle the conflict would allow others to determine and define how we are as a person. In this case, we can look at Robert and Kay, even if this situation has come to an agreement it would still be awkward between them. It would affect them in a way or two as it goes on in the long run.
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Hi Wan Xuan,
Great post and a very clear explanation of the conflict-handling style. I too agree with you that Robert only considered his own needs and did not listen or work together with Kay to reach a Win-Win situation. Which he even resorted to issuing threats if his demand is not fulfilled. Leaving Kya in a difficult spot, Robert is cutting off all his potential future relationship with Kay. This further shows me that how important it is for us to not only speak but also listen to what others have to say to maintain effective communication, This really shows that active listening is very important to have in a working environment for better cooperation and relationship with our co-worker.
Overall it is a great and insightful post! great work!
Cheers!
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Hi Wan Xuan, this is Hong Wei.
You did a great job of organizing your content clearly with an Introduction, body, and conclusion. The majority of your image and gif are informative for your readers. It is commendable of you to have a detailed explanation of the conflict-handling style and for bargaining.
There is a couple of conducive feedback I have for you. For your bargaining approach section, you might want to add-on for how Robert portrays himself; For example, is Robert adopting an integrative or distributive bargaining approach and how can you determine. Since this is a detailed blog, I suggest that you could organize each paragraph in a grid layout and add a unique and contrasting color. In my opinion, this will further beautify your blog post. Moreover, it will be more significant to your readers that they are in a new paragraph or section of your blog.
In conclusion, I enjoyed reading your blog content. Take pride and continue to soar high in your works.
Best Regards,
MagicMan Hong Wei
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Hi Wan Xuan, good job on your blog post. It was an interesting read and I really enjoyed it. You managed to deliver your points across pretty clearly. The presentation of your blog post is pretty clean and slick making it easy for your readers to pick up on the points you are trying to put forth. I do agree with you that conflicts are inevitable and the way we handle it would determine and define our relationships with other people. The importance of proper negotiation skills cannot be overstated as it plays an important role in our lives. My suggestion to you would be to elaborate more on how Robert’s conflict-handling style affected his organization causing them to experience a loss in this circumstance. Overall an enjoyable read that makes me look forward to your next post.
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Hello Wan Xuan!
Read through your case study analysis blog post and we do have similar thoughts. I totally agree with you that Robert was adopting the competing style approach and based on the Hall’s Context Model, his behaviour is considered as low-context culture. Although it is not wrong to ask for an increment, but he should find a better approach to it.
Loved how you have included photos related to the concept at the start of each section, which is essential for your readers to understand a bit more before moving on.
Overall, it is a very informative blog post! Good job!
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Hey WanXuan!! Great job on incorporating diagrams to help further illustrate your explanation of the conflict-handling style. I definitely agree with you that Robert is using the competing style of approach due to his adamant attitude. I believe that there a better way to ask for an increment instead of threatening Kay as she has already explained to Robert why she was unable to adhere to his requests and has already laid out alternative benefits for him. One suggestion I can provide is maybe further elaborate on how will Robert’s attitude affect the company in a bigger picture. It is important for everyone to be ingrained with communication and negotiation skills when we are young so that as we develop it as a habit as we grow . Overall one of the best blog post I have read so far! Impressive work!
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Hi Wan Xuan!! Yet another interesting read and I agree with your stand that Robert is displaying a competing style in handling the conflict which is also known as the shark style. He is very demanding and aggressive in his stand and also threaten to go to the union when Kay who was patient and understanding to the situation and gave him a very good counter offer. An essential skill which was listening was missing from Robert’s point of view which was brought up in your post. The importance of negotiation is that both parties have learn to listen to each other and practice give and take as it will not affect their relationship negatively. What I would like to suggest is that maybe you could elaborate more on how Robert’s conflict handling style would have affected the people around him. In a nutshell, I loved the images and gifs used in your post as it really caught my attention! Look forward to your next post! Cheers!
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Hi Wan Xuan! Good read on the blog regarding the Case study analysis, good photos starting each section allow me and other readers understand the portion better. Such as the photograph comparing both the bargaining approaches. I do agree that Kay was showing signs of an integrative approach as she bothered to sit down with Robert to acknowledge him and his team’s achievement and even showing him the advantages of expanding the business. I also agree that Robert was not listening which contributed to a bad working environment as during negotiation both parties should try to listen come to an agreement however Robert did not give Kay did not care about the solution Kay was giving and was adamant about the pay rise instead. Overall it was a good read!
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Hi Wanxuan, great job on the post. I have read through your previous blog posts and I must say you have improved significantly in your writing styles, structures and the illustrations that you have used to explain your point of view better. I agree with your point on Robert having a very competing style. He only focused on his team’s increment and is not seeing the big picture where there could be a development growth for the company. I also agree that he belongs to the low context culture based on how he portrayed himself. I think we both agree that Robert really have to learn how to listen to others and learn more from Kay in order to have a more healthy working relationship. I enjoyed the post!
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