Page 170 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Appendix A 159

Chapter 14 Conflict management

Exercise 14.1 Conflict management with the help of a mediator
Divide the total group into subgroups of four people. The exercise is a role play about
conflict management with the help of a mediator. Three people are participating as
student, teacher and mediator (head of department) respectively. The fourth person is the
observer. To see differences in conflict management behaviour the exercise can be
repeated after the first round.

Description of the situation
Teacher Simone Stewart has given student Louis Lowe a grade below pass level for his
work on a practical on communication skills. If Stewart sticks to her decision Lowe will
not fulfil the requirements for going on an internship. The consequence for Lowe will be
that he will lose the next semester. Stewart supports her point of view by focusing on the
minimal effort that Lowe has shown over the last semester. The interview report was all
right, but the application letters and the other reports were barely passable. Lowe has
never volunteered to participate in any role play. As an observer he didn’t really do that
well either. His observations were always vague. ‘Oh, it was OK for me’ was his general
feedback. Besides that he was twice absent due to illness. To discuss this conflict Simone
and Louis have agreed to invite Chris Clarke, the head of department.

Role of teacher Simone Stewart

Student Louis Lowe is the type of a student you cannot really figure out. He tries to get
by with the minimum possible effort. During the training sessions he is hardly motivated.
He always comes in moaning and groaning, prefers to keep his coat on during the entire
class and looks around as if he really does not have a clue why he should be doing this.
Sometimes he laughs along companionably. Besides the fact that his written work is
barely passable, he has twice been absent. He said he was ill, but it’s hard to believe that.
Furthermore you have your doubts about whether he really participated in the interview
project or whether his project partner did all the work. Because of all these reasons you
have given him an unsatisfactory grade for his participation. However, Louis has not
agreed with this. You have both decided to involve Chris Clarke, the head of department.
You think that an example should be set with Louis and you are not about to make any
concessions.

Role of student Louis Lowe
It really is not going too well with your studies. You can barely keep up with the pace.
You still have lots of things to do in the evening, while many of your classmates are
going out or have part-time jobs. You therefore view the training in communication skills
as a waste of time. During that time you could be doing more important work for your
other projects, which require a lot of studying. You have twice called in sick, because you
could not get your work done any other way. However, you have done two makeup