Bonus Paper on Conflict Management

Bob Smith

Course No: GMGT 2070
Section A02
Professor Janet Smith
Date: July 25, 2015

An increasing issue among many employees in the working environment today, organizational conflict can be visible anywhere. We seek to assess the article presented by the author on its issues among colleagues in the workplace, linking theoretical models and hypotheses to the situation presented, as well as conflict resolution methods to be implemented. The article begins with a brief introduction of a French banker named Philippe, who accepts a management position at an investment bank in London, in which he believed this employment opportunity would allow for him to expand his network by gaining valuable international work experience and skills (Corkindale, 2007). However, after more then a year on the job, Philippe and his co-workers began engaging in inter-organizational conflicts, where he found it difficult to adjust into his new role in a foreign country. Although Philippe believed he has been acting in a consistent and fair manner, formal complaints from other members of his team began to arise, accusing Philippe of inconsistent management styles, and favoring certain team members over others (Corkindale, 2007). Philippe agreed to receive coaching on his management techniques, however he felt that the bank had not properly trained him for his role within the organization, in which he states that the banks focus has been on profit making, rather than on organizational co-existence by developing teams, ultimately leading to the banks self creation of an organizational culture that is destined for conflict (Corkindale, 2007). Conflict can be defined as a process that arises when one party perceives that another party negatively affects something that the first party cares about (Langton, Robbins, Judge, 2014, p.208). The