CHAPTER 7
DON’T DRAW A LINE IN THE
SAND!
I don’t know exactly where ideas come from, but when I’m working well, ideas just
appear. I’ve heard other people say similar things—so it’s one of the ways I know there’s
help and guidance out there. It’s just a matter of figuring out how to receive the ideas or
information that are waiting to be heard.
—Jim Henson
Copyright © 2015. Career Press. All rights reserved.
It’s time for performance appraisals and salary decisions. Ron, the manager, comes to talk
to Celine, the HR director, about one of his employees, Megan, whom he describes as an
outstanding performer. Ron proposes giving her a 7-percent increase because she’s a “hard
worker.” Celine responds that the salary increase budget is 3 percent this year and that if he
exceeds that for one employee, he’ll have to take it away from someone else, assuming he
wants to give everyone a 3-percent increase. Ron proposes that Celine meet him halfway, split
the difference, and give Megan a 5-percent increase, thinking to himself that if Celine agrees,
that’s more than the 4.5 percent he originally was going to propose. He sits back in the chair
thinking that he’s done a good job negotiating this deal.
Was what Ron doing negotiating, or was he merely bargaining from a position? Was he
solving the issue of recognizing his outstanding performer? In their book, Getting to Yes, Roger
Fisher and William Ury present a four-step process for negotiating issues:
“Separate the people from the problem.
Focus on interests, not positions.
Create options.
Insist on using objective criteria.”1
When you’re in a conflict, you’re problem solving. You’re identifying, addressing, and
resolving issues just as you are in a negotiation. The same four-step process applies. The
people issues involved in conflict and problem solving have been explored in earlier chapters.
We’re going to take a look at the rest of the steps in the process in this chapter.
Focus on Interests, Not Positions
A position is a stand we take in an argument, negotiation, or conflict. It is what we demand
from the other person(s). Interests are what we really want: our needs, desires, and concerns.
When positions become the focus of the conflict, the problem can get covered up along with
any useful solution.
Consider the following:
Mitchell, Barbara, and Cornelia Gamlem. The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook : A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager, Team Leader, HR Professional, or Anyone Who
Wants to Resolve Disputes and Increase Productivity, Career Press, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/snhu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4722739.
Created from snhu-ebooks on 2019-01-20 17:03:26.
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Dale’s boss makes the following statement to him: “This is not the type of work I’m used to
seeing from you. Maybe the project needs to be assigned to someone else.”2 Dale’s boss is
obviously not pleased, but what is his true interest? Does he really want to take the project
from Dale, or is that the position he is taking? Isn’t what he needs Dale to do—his interest—is
to improve his work?
Lenora is feeling a great deal of pressure now that her daughter is in grade school and
becoming more involved in activities. Lenora’s husband travels frequently for his job, leaving
her with the primary responsibility of getting their daughter to and from child care before and
after school. She enjoys her job and the company she works for, but she’s considering leaving
and looking for part-time work. That’s the position she’s leaning toward, but her underlying
interest is to have more flexibility and strike a good work-life balance.
Lixin is a Web developer whose performance has been good, but she needs more growth
opportunity. She is placed onto a new project that gives her the chance to develop new skills
necessary to advance. Brad, her supervisor, has received feedback from Arne, the project
leader, about Lixin’s interaction with the new client. Arne indicated that Lixin’s communication
skills are poor and that she doesn’t come to meetings prepared to discuss items on the agenda.
He’s hinting that he wants her off the project because she’s a poor reflection on the team. Brad
is adamant that he wants Lixin to stay. From past experience, he knows she’s always prepared
and has no trouble communicating.
In any conflict, think about what your interest is and then separate your position from your
interest. In other words, don’t draw a line in the sand! Be able to articulate your interest or
interests to yourself and to the others involved, and to explain why it’s important to you. Be
excited about your interests and make them come alive. When you discuss them with the others,
be specific and give good information. Making your interests come alive will increase the
likelihood that the other side will agree that your interests are important. It will help to move
the discussion away from positions.
Trying to determine and articulate your interests to yourself is often the first battle you have
in a conflict. This may be a good time for you to go to the balcony. In negotiations, the balcony
is often used as a metaphor for a detached state of mind where you can see a scene clearly
from afar. It’s a place of perspective, calm, and clarity.3 Going to the balcony is a technique
often used when you need to take time out, for example, when you’re in a heated argument.
Remember Victor from Chapter 4. He wanted to take a break, cool off, and have some time to
reflect. The balcony can also be a place you go to in order to prepare before you even enter a
discussion or bring up an issue that could lead to conflict. It gives you the opportunity to assess
and evaluate the situation objectively, just like an outside party might do.
When you give yourself the time to reflect on your interests, you also want to be thinking
about the interests of the other side. In Chapter 2 we discussed learning more about the other
person so we can better understand their story.
Chapter 2: Why Can’t Everyone Be Like Me?
If you take the time to look at the situation from their perspective, to stand in their shoes, it
Mitchell, Barbara, and Cornelia Gamlem. The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook : A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager, Team Leader, HR Professional, or Anyone Who
Wants to Resolve Disputes and Increase Productivity, Career Press, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/snhu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4722739.
Created from snhu-ebooks on 2019-01-20 17:03:26.
will give you the opportunity to contemplate what they really want; that is, their interests.
Think about the position they’ve taken and then ask yourself why they might be making this
demand. What might it be that they really want? Underlying your interests and their interests
are both individuals’ needs and values. If you can gain a mutual understanding of those
interests, a better understanding of each other’s story, you can begin to make informed
decisions and be better equipped to create options to resolve the conflict.
Remember Jack and Kate from Chapter 2? They were part of a team that develops
products. Jack will promise anything to make the client happy and Kate is most
concerned with product excellence. They usually argue from their positions:
relationships vs. quality. Beyond their positions, their shared interest is customer
satisfaction.
When Brad sits down to talk with Lixin to discuss the feedback he received from Arne, he
learns that she’s upset, but not surprised at the feedback. She recognizes that the assignment is a
stretch for her and it’s the first time she’s had the opportunity to interact directly with a client.
However, she’s receiving little guidance from Arne and often hears about client meetings at the
last minute, giving her no time to prepare. That’s why she’s communicating so poorly, and she
knows it’s a bad reflection on the team and the project. She’s frustrated that she’s not being
given the visibility or level of technical responsibility she expected. She can’t work with Arne
and wants to be reassigned.
Brad quickly realizes that there are a number of issues involved in this situation. He has to
separate them and then determine what everyone may want. Both he and Lixin are interested in
developing her technical skills—one mutual interest. Brad, Lixin, and Arne all want the project
to be a success—another mutual interest. However, Brad is not certain if Arne has a more
primary interest, namely using this assignment to advance his own career. If that’s the case,
he’ll have to deal with that issue separately. Isolating the issues and the interests associated
with each will help Brad address these conflicts.
Copyright © 2015. Career Press. All rights reserved.
Appendix: Position vs. Interest—An Exercise
Let’s go back and see how Ron and Celine are doing. As Ron sits back smugly in his chair,
Celine is thinking that there are budget constraints and published guidelines for managers to
adhere to in making salary decisions. She wants to be fair to everyone—that’s her interest. Ron
has already made it clear that he wants to give Megan a much larger raise and not take money
away from other employees in order to do so—that’s his position. Celine can’t help but
wonder why. What’s the underlying reason that he’s taking this stance? “Ron,” she says, “I
know that you want to be fair to everyone; so do I. If I agreed to let every manager do what
you’re proposing, it would bankrupt us. I know Megan’s a hard worker, but so are your other
employees. What’s really going on?” Ron confesses he’s concerned that Megan may be looking
for another job and he doesn’t want to lose her. She’s got very strong skills, takes the lead on
tackling tough tasks, and gets along so well with everyone. Now Ron and Celine are on the
Mitchell, Barbara, and Cornelia Gamlem. The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook : A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager, Team Leader, HR Professional, or Anyone Who
Wants to Resolve Disputes and Increase Productivity, Career Press, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/snhu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4722739.
Created from snhu-ebooks on 2019-01-20 17:03:26.
same page—their mutual interests are employee recognition and retention. Realizing that
neither wants to lose Megan, they are ready to move to the next step: creating options for
mutual gain.
Create Options
Copyright © 2015. Career Press. All rights reserved.
Ron may have thought he was “negotiating” with Celine when he suggested that she meet
him halfway in determining the raise to give Megan. However, problem solving is not meeting
someone halfway, nor is it making an either/or proposition.
When the people involved in a conflict stay locked in their positions, they tend to think that
there are only two solutions to the problem: the one that’s good for them and the one that’s
good for the other person. This stifles any creative thinking. If you take the approach that Ron
did, splitting the difference, people are then encouraged to ask for more than they really want
and can make unreasonable demands. In fact, that’s exactly what Ron did. He really wanted to
give Megan a 4.5-percent increase, but he started by asking for a 7-percent increase.
Problem solving involves finding creative solutions that satisfy all identified interests—
mutual or otherwise—of all the parties. When you move the discussion away from positions
and start exploring interests, as Celine did, you recognize that there is a mutual problem (not
his, not hers), and your collective focus should be solving that problem. Knowing that there
was a risk of losing a valued employee, Celine and Ron were able to propose several options
that would recognize Megan’s contributions:
Celine suggested giving Megan a combination salary increase of 3 percent and an
additional bonus of 2 percent. Because the bonus was a one-time event, it wouldn’t
escalate her salary beyond the standard.
Ron suggested that he could send her to a conference to represent the organization. This
would recognize her hard work.
A new project was being awarded to the company and Ron could assign Megan to it,
which would give her more visibility.
As Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander write, invent possibilities by
asking yourself: “What assumption am I making,/That I’m not aware I’m
making,/That gives me what I see?” And when you have an answer, ask yourself:
“What might I now invent,/That I haven’t yet invented,/That would give me other
choices?”4
When Jack and Kate stopped bickering and recognized that their shared interest was
customer satisfaction, they were better able to focus on the client. They had to determine the
client’s interest. Jack believed that the client wanted the product customized or tailored to its
needs. Kate pointed out that if they did this, it would result in a substantial cut in the company’s
profits and Jack’s commission. She saw two options which she discussed with Jack:
If the client wants a customized design, are they willing to pay a higher price for the
Mitchell, Barbara, and Cornelia Gamlem. The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook : A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager, Team Leader, HR Professional, or Anyone Who
Wants to Resolve Disputes and Increase Productivity, Career Press, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/snhu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4722739.
Created from snhu-ebooks on 2019-01-20 17:03:26.
Copyright © 2015. Career Press. All rights reserved.
additional costs associated with tailoring the product to their specific needs?
Would the customer be willing to explore a solution using off-the-shelf components that
would give them a customized product for their needs without incurring the significant
cost increase?
Too often problem solving is done in an unfocused way. Emotions take over or solutions
are offered before interests are clearly identified. Remember the discussions in Chapter 4
about having effective conversations and getting and giving good information?
Celine and Kate both took the opportunity to go to the balcony and cleared their heads to
gain the perspective they needed to see options from an unbiased viewpoint. When Celine did
it and started presenting options to Ron, it sparked his creativity. Her focus brought him into
focus. Whether she realized it or not, Celine started a brainstorming session with Ron.
Brainstorming is an excellent technique to use to create options and engage in imaginative
thinking. In brainstorming, anything goes and any idea is acceptable. For brainstorming to be
successful the people involved must agree on the problem to be addressed; multiple problems
or interests may require separate brainstorming sessions. Everyone has to agree to the
following guidelines:
1. Any and all ideas are encouraged, no matter how unconventional or wild they may
appear. The objective is to generate as many ideas as possible.
2. No idea is criticized or evaluated during the process. This is the Golden Rule of
brainstorming. Evaluating the ideas comes later.
3. All ideas that are offered are written down. Nothing is discounted or ignored.
After the brainstorming session, useful ideas can be highlighted and discussed. This can
occur in another meeting.
Brad met with both Lixin and Arne separately. Confident that the issue they had in common
was client satisfaction, he then brought them together for a brainstorming session. He reviewed
the guidelines for the session and asked them to each state the problem as they saw it. They
were all in agreement that they wanted to ensure the project’s success and deliver a quality
solution to the client. Here are some of the ideas that they generated:
More frequent team meetings to provide status updates and briefings regarding
information Arne had received from his daily meetings with the client.
Daily e-mail updates from Arne to the team.
Bi-weekly meetings between Lixin and Arne to discuss technical details and feedback.
Weekly meetings between Brad and Arne regarding team performance and individual
member performance.
Coaching sessions between Brad and Arne to develop his people management skills.
Allow Lixin to attend client meetings with Arne so she can have firsthand information
and better understand the client’s needs.
Meetings between Lixin and Arne prior to client presentations so he can critique her
reports and provide feedback.
Assign Lixin to work with another team member in a peer-to-peer mentoring
Mitchell, Barbara, and Cornelia Gamlem. The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook : A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager, Team Leader, HR Professional, or Anyone Who
Wants to Resolve Disputes and Increase Productivity, Career Press, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/snhu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4722739.
Created from snhu-ebooks on 2019-01-20 17:03:26.
arrangement.
Brad is pleased that so many good ideas were generated. Just as he had hoped, there were
several options that could work rather than opposing options and points of view. He asks that
they all break for a few hours and come back in the afternoon so they can begin evaluating the
ideas and come up with some good alternatives. He knows that there are other interests he’ll
have to work on with Lixin and Arne independently, but this brainstorming session has been a
real breakthrough.
Objective Criteria
The last step in the process of coming up with a solution to the problem or conflict is to
identify objective criteria against which options and/or potential solutions can be evaluated.
Objective criteria are independent of each person’s will, and are practical, relevant, and
legitimate. How do you develop and use objective criteria? Think in advance about fair
standards and fair procedures. Fair standards are based on things such as market value,
precedent, professional standards, scientific judgment, or equal treatment.5 Safety or quality
standards are examples of fair and independent standards. Objective criteria can also include
precedent, efficiency, and costs.
Copyright © 2015. Career Press. All rights reserved.
Ivan calls HR about Vanessa who’s been missing time at work. She’s been coming in
late and leaving early to visit with her grandmother, who’s in the hospital. Although
she didn’t raise her, Vanessa is very close to her grandmother, who needs emotional
support right now. Ivan wants to submit the paperwork to put Vanessa on a family
medical leave. Perry, the HR manager, explains that the situation doesn’t meet the
standards in the law. Whereas family medical leave is available to care for a spouse,
parent, or child but generally not a grandmother (fair standard), the organization
could arrange for a 30-day personal leave if Vanessa wanted to consider it (creative
option).
Meanwhile, Perry is addressing Jackie’s concern. Jackie protested providing forms
completed by her doctor to HR in order to be considered for a family medical leave,
Perry had to explain to her that the process was in place to ensure her right to take
the job-protected leave (fair procedure).
Objective criteria should appeal and relate to shared interests and shared standards.
Shared interests can be common interests of the larger community, such as the company or the
industry in which the company operates, as well as the mutual interests of the individuals
involved in the conflict. Objective criteria can be based on shared standards or values, such as
equality, fairness, integrity, or quality.6 Remember the discussions in Chapter 2 about culture
and cultural variables. Most importantly, the criteria must be fair and reasonable, and often
there are many relevant criteria. For that reason, you should research in advance which might
best apply, show why those criteria more favorable to you are more relevant, and show why
Mitchell, Barbara, and Cornelia Gamlem. The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook : A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager, Team Leader, HR Professional, or Anyone Who
Wants to Resolve Disputes and Increase Productivity, Career Press, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/snhu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4722739.
Created from snhu-ebooks on 2019-01-20 17:03:26.
Copyright © 2015. Career Press. All rights reserved.
those less favorable to you are less relevant.7
Consider the following examples in which fair and reasonable standards were applied:
A small consulting firm had a re-occurring project with a client. Every year when it came
time to do the work, the client would complain about the price, which was always the same,
and ask for a discount. The president of the consulting firm had to remind the client that the
price they were being charged was the same price that other clients with the same size project
were charged. If they gave this client a discount, it would not be fair to all the others.
Raphael had worked hard on a paper presenting the findings from research he had done for
a new program his organization was about to implement. He was going to present the paper at
an industry conference. He was approached by Sheila, a vice president in his organization,
who asked him if she could present the paper on behalf of the company and be named as a
contributing author, even though she was not part of the research team, nor had any involvement
with the program. His mind raced through a multiple of possible responses, but he knew he did
not want to compromise his values. He responded, “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
Organizations develop policies and procedures to establish objective criteria for handling
a wide range of management issues, such as how people are hired, paid, or promoted, which
travel expenses are allowable, and how to procure outside goods and services, just to name a
few. Through policies and practices, organizations can set a framework for treating people
with respect and fairness. Many times policies represent the organization’s response to the
external environment, such as laws and regulations, and can offer a degree of legal protection
to the employer and employee alike. Policies should reflect the culture and values of the
organization, set and communicate expectations, and assure consistency in the way people are
treated.8
When Lenora comes rushing into the office late one morning, her stress is at a high level.
Her daughter was especially cranky this morning and they were late leaving the house. Her
boss, Angela, can’t help but notice her tension and comes to see what the problem is. Lenora
confesses she needs more balance in her life and is looking for part-time work. Angela is
concerned and they begin to talk through options. The company is going to start a pilot
telecommuting program in just a few weeks and Angela thinks that Lenora would be a good
candidate because she meets the criteria for the program. The nature of her job is fairly
independent, and she can connect virtually with others in the office. Lenora is self-motivated,
has good time management skills, is familiar with the work and the company, and is a valued
eorgamployee.9 Although she can’t guarantee that this will be a permanent solution, Angela
encourages Lenora to seriously consider this. They need employees like Lenora to make the
program a success. Lenora quickly realizes that she’s fortunate to work in a job and in an
industry where flexibility can be offered.
Lela had decided to strike out on her own and do freelance work. When she received
a call from her former boss asking if she’d be available for a project, Lela jumped at
the opportunity. He offered to pay her the same hourly amount that he’d pay to an
employment agency that might provide a contractor. Lela’s hourly rate was about 35
Mitchell, Barbara, and Cornelia Gamlem. The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook : A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager, Team Leader, HR Professional, or Anyone Who
Wants to Resolve Disputes and Increase Productivity, Career Press, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/snhu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4722739.
Created from snhu-ebooks on 2019-01-20 17:03:26.
percent higher. She reminded him that, as she’d worked for the firm before and was
familiar with their processes, she could get the work done in half the time that
another contractor would take. She pointed out that she’d be the more cost-effective
option for him. It didn’t take him long to agree.
Salary decisions, like the situation between Celine and Ron, should always be based on
objective criteria. Savvy organizations benchmark their pay practices against external
standards, especially those in their industries. They conduct salary surveys to see what other
similar organizations are paying for similar jobs. In determining salary increases, a matrix is
often used that considers an employee’s pay in relation to the job’s pay grade and the
employee’s performance rating. This was the standard to which Celine was holding Ron
accountable. She was also considering what other employees in Ron’s department with the
similar experience and performance history were making and how much of an increase they’d
receive. She wanted to make sure that all of the salary increases were fair and consistent.
Drawing a line in the sand and arguing from one side of the line or the other will not
resolve a conflict; it will only exacerbate the situation. Resolving conflict means that you have
to be tough on the problem, but soft on the people. The people involved have to move off of
their positions and identify and satisfy all the interests. Creative alternatives and solutions
based on the interest need to be devised and the final agreement must be fair, reasonable, and
objective.
Copyright © 2015. Career Press. All rights reserved.
Essential Tips
Focus on the problem and not the people involved in the conflict. Stand in the other
people’s shoes and look at the problem from their perspective. Strive to maintain good
relationships.
Interests help you see the real problem. Identify all of the interests of all of the parties to
the conflict.
Go to the balcony to see things from a different perspective. It will help you to gain
clarity.
Imagine that anything is possible. It will help you to invent the most creative options.
Some of the best solutions have come from wild ideas.
After a brainstorming session, take some time before you evaluate the ideas.
Use objective criteria to evaluate those ideas. If you do so, it is more likely that the
solutions will be good for and fair to both sides.
Mitchell, Barbara, and Cornelia Gamlem. The Essential Workplace Conflict Handbook : A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager, Team Leader, HR Professional, or Anyone Who
Wants to Resolve Disputes and Increase Productivity, Career Press, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/snhu-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4722739.
Created from snhu-ebooks on 2019-01-20 17:03:26.
For the exclusive use of D. Shaw, 2019.
S
w
908C06
THE GARDEN DEPOT
Karin Koopmans wrote this case under the supervision of Professor Elizabeth M. A. Grasby solely to provide material for class
discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may
have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality.
Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its written permission. Reproduction of
this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to
reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Management Services, c/o Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of
Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail cases@ivey.uwo.ca.
Copyright © 2007, Ivey Management Services
Version: (A) 2008-01-30
―I can’t take this anymore! When is Derek going to start doing his job?‖ exclaimed Janice Bowman, after
hanging up the phone. It was an early June morning in 2007 when Bowman, office manager at the Garden
Depot (The Depot), had again dealt with a very irate customer. The phone call was one of many that
Bowman had taken during the past four months concerning the lack of communication between Derek
Sinclair, the Barrie, Ontario, store’s landscaping manager, and his customers. This call was the last straw
for Bowman, compounding her anxiety about numerous labor and organizational problems she had
witnessed in the landscaping division. Bowman knew that extensive changes needed to be made if she
were to do her job effectively while, at the same time, managing to avoid involvement in the landscaping
division’s problems.
THE GARDEN DEPOT
The Depot originated in 1985 as a small, family-owned floral company in Barrie, Ontario. As sales and
profits grew, the company began carrying a larger variety of floral, gardening and lawn-care products. In
1992, The Depot launched a lawn maintenance department to capitalize on the growing desires of
customers to have professionals take care of their lawns. Responding again to customer demand, The
Depot created a landscaping division in 1998, offering complete custom landscaping packages, waterfalls
and sprinkler systems. By 2007, The Depot operated a successful 12,000-square-foot retail store, a lawn
maintenance division and a landscaping division (see Exhibit 1 for an organizational chart).
Due to the nature of the gardening business, The Depot’s sales fluctuated with seasonal demands. It was
always a challenge to recruit and retain qualified staff, and management was often forced to downsize staff
during the winter months. During peak summer months, 80 per cent of The Depot’s employees were
students who would leave at the end of the summer to return to school in September. There was no formal
performance appraisal system at The Depot, nor any defined job responsibilities. The Depot’s owners
relied on department managers to deal with any labor issues.
This document is authorized for use only by Dawn Shaw in WCM-610 Intro to Org Conflict 18TW2 taught by SNHU INSTRUCTOR, Southern New Hampshire University from Sep 2018 to Mar
2019.
For the exclusive use of D. Shaw, 2019.
Page 2
9B08C006
JANICE BOWMAN
Janice Bowman began her career in the gardening industry in 1992, working as a general manager for one
of Garden Depot’s competitors. After 13 years of service, personal differences with management forced
Bowman to leave the company. Upon hearing of her availability, The Depot approached Bowman with an
offer in June 2005, which she accepted, to join the company immediately. Although there was no
particular opening for her, management was confident that The Depot could benefit from her 13 years of
operational knowledge in the industry. In her first few months, Bowman was asked to organize the
computer inventory system and develop a material ordering system. After the first few months, Bowman
began to work on other small projects within every division of the company, sharing her knowledge
wherever it was needed.
Bowman described herself as a dedicated worker who was happy to help co-workers whenever they
needed help. She was never one to say ―that’s not my job,‖ and she could often be seen cleaning shelves
on the retail floor. She took great pride in her job and wanted to ensure all areas of the business were
running smoothly. She described herself as highly customer-oriented and would go out of her way to
ensure customers had a positive experience with The Depot.
In March 2006, Bowman’s manager, Dave Sampson, suggested they sit down informally and discuss her
performance to date. The informal appraisal was highly positive; however, Sampson had noted that Janice
was involved in too many areas of the business, and this level of involvement was not sustainable. They
decided to loosely define her job title as ―office manager,‖ which included tasks such as inventory
management, computer system management and logistics.
Although Bowman often worked seven days a week without complaint, she was growing increasingly
frustrated with how The Depot’s landscaping division was run. Since her job relied on information
provided by this division, she deemed it her responsibility to try to solve many of the division’s issues.
She knew that if no action were taken, she would spend more hours trying to fix the division’s mistakes
and more hours taking customer complaints.
THE LANDSCAPING DIVISION
The landscaping division was responsible for designing and installing custom landscaping, including rock
walls, gardens, waterfalls and sprinkler systems. The division employed 12 landscapers, 11 of whom were
part-time summer staff. The department managed to complete approximately 50 landscaping jobs each
year, which were fewer than what was demanded, resulting in many jobs being pushed back to the
following spring if they could not be completed in the fall.
In January 2007, the manager of the landscaping division left the company to pursue other opportunities.
In a move that was viewed as questionable by many full-time employees, The Depot’s owner hired his 35year-old son-in-law, Derek Sinclair, as the new manager of the division. Many staff worried that The
Depot’s owner was doing his son-in-law a favor by hiring him, given that he appeared unqualified for the
position. Bowman noted some immediate problems with Sinclair’s integration into his position and with
his management capabilities.
This document is authorized for use only by Dawn Shaw in WCM-610 Intro to Org Conflict 18TW2 taught by SNHU INSTRUCTOR, Southern New Hampshire University from Sep 2018 to Mar
2019.
For the exclusive use of D. Shaw, 2019.
Page 3
9B08C006
MURRAY KING, PRESIDENT
Murray and Glenda King started the Garden Depot in 1985 based on their shared love of gardening. The
husband-and-wife team had been equally involved in growing the business until 2004, when Glenda
retired. Murray King was a ―hands-off‖ manager who trusted his division managers to run their respective
divisions appropriately. King worked at The Depot five days a week, spending most of his time in his
office. Bowman’s interaction with King had been limited to asking him questions when she needed
clarification. On more than one occasion, King would claim to know nothing about what Bowman was
asking, leading her to believe he was quite removed from many of the day-to-day activities in the business.
Bowman had observed that King spent endless hours crunching performance metrics in his office, but very
little time was spent on planning the company’s strategic direction. Bowman chose not to involve King in
any of the issues she was having with the landscaping division since he appeared to be far removed from
its operations. In fact, King had commented on more than one occasion that Sinclair was doing a superb
job and he was happy with Sinclair’s performance to date. Bowman noted that Sinclair had a strong
rapport with King and would often be in King’s office chatting casually; in fact, if Sinclair had any
concerns or problems, he took them directly to King for discussion.
DAVE SAMPSON, GENERAL MANAGER
Dave Sampson joined The Depot as its general manager in 2002 and was responsible for ensuring the
overall financial health of the company. Sampson had a good relationship with all division managers and
was well respected by all employees. Sampson spent most of his time in the retail side of the business,
wherein he managed the retail staff, ensured the store looked presentable and kept an eye on sales levels
and profitability. Despite this concentration, King had commented that Sampson was responsible for the
operating efficiency of both the landscaping and maintenance divisions.
Sampson gave his subordinates a lot of autonomy to run their own divisions and intervened only when
problems became too burdensome for managers to solve. Sampson was receptive and approachable; thus,
many employees approached him for help. Sampson and Bowman were good friends and they often spent
time discussing the company’s problems and how they might solve these problems.
DEREK SINCLAIR, LANDSCAPING MANAGER
Derek Sinclair joined The Depot as landscaping manager in late January 2007. Sinclair’s previous work
experience included being a dispatcher at a local towing company, where he claimed to learn skills such as
paying attention to details and strong customer orientation. Beyond these skills, Sinclair had no prior
experience in the retail, construction or landscaping environments, and he had no previous management
experience. As a manager at The Depot, Sinclair’s responsibilities covered four key categories:
organizing and deploying landscapers to job sites, dealing with customers and responding to customer
concerns, invoicing completed landscaping jobs and traveling to clients’ homes to quote1 jobs.
1
Quoting involved meeting the customers at their homes to discuss their landscaping goals and providing these customers
with a cost estimate of the job.
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EARLY PROBLEMS
Within a few weeks, Bowman noticed many of Sinclair’s limitations in his role. First, because he lacked
any experience in landscaping, Sinclair was unable to answer specific customer questions when they
called, which often led him to avoid answering the phones altogether. Bowman also noted that many jobs
were not priced according to the cost of the materials being used; she suspected that Sinclair was not
accurately quoting jobs since he was unsure which materials would have to be used. Whenever Bowman
approached Sinclair’s desk, she noticed numerous incomplete invoices scattered over it, some with dates
many weeks old. This meant that clients were not getting billed for landscaping work that had been
completed. Bowman sympathized with Sinclair, so she had approached him at the end of February to offer
help with the invoicing responsibilities. Sinclair appeared relieved and was happy that Bowman had come
to his aid.
By the end of March, Bowman had taken over the majority of Sinclair’s invoicing duties, in addition to her
own job responsibilities. While her initial offer was to help alleviate some of Sinclair’s load, Bowman
soon found that Sinclair was sending her every single invoice and was not completing any of the work
himself. After four weeks, Bowman had become frustrated. She had spent four Saturdays catching up on
the invoicing, while noting that Sinclair had not worked a single weekend since his employment with The
Depot.
Bowman approached Sampson about the situation:
Dave, I feel like I’m being used. It has become clear that I am doing all of Derek’s work
on top of my own. I am simply running out of time to get everything done. I’m spending
all my weekends here to catch up on his work!
Sampson agreed that this was not Bowman’s responsibility, so he approached Sinclair and told him that he
would need to find a way to manage the invoicing on his own. Bowman felt relieved that Sinclair would
be reclaiming this work, and she could return to concentrating on her primary inventory management
responsibilities; however, it wasn’t long until continuing problems in the landscaping department
resurfaced.
INVENTORY CONCERNS
Job Slips
Bowman was solely responsible for ensuring that parts and supplies arrived in a timely fashion and were in
ample supply when required by the landscaping division. Stock-outs were costly to the company since it
could hold up a client’s job for numerous days until additional supplies could be ordered. In order to
account properly for the flow of goods, the landscaping division was responsible for forwarding customer
invoices and job slips to Bowman. A job slip was a list of all supplies and materials used at a job site in
order to accurately charge clients for the material cost of their landscaping (see Exhibit 2 for a sample job
slip.) Bowman would then take the supplies used on each job out of the computerized inventory system
and reorder supplies if necessary. She also ensured that payments were received from customers. Not long
after Sinclair had resumed his invoicing responsibilities, Bowman began to note that the customers’
invoices were still grossly underpriced on the job slips, since the listed materials were not the actual
materials used on the job.
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Bowman was also struggling to keep track of the materials that had been used on each customer’s job. She
was constantly receiving job slips that were clearly missing materials that would have had to be used,
given the nature of the job being invoiced. For example, if a customer had received a sprinkler system for
a 1,000-square-foot yard, a minimum of six sprinkler heads would have had to be used. Bowman would
receive a job slip listing three sprinkler heads and hardly any plumbing supplies. She assumed that the
landscaping staff was either too lazy to account for each and every material item used or they didn’t know
what parts they were using and could not describe them on job slips. To alleviate this problem, Bowman
prepared detailed binders with pictures and product codes for all materials used on a job site and gave a
binder to each of the 12 landscapers. Despite all of these efforts, Bowman still noticed inconsistencies on
the job slips and was forced to track down the landscapers to clarify which materials had been used.
Bowman finally decided to approach Sinclair about the issue.
Bowman: ―Derek, you need to go over each job slip with staff and ensure that they are complete. I’ve
found many parts missing off these slips, and I don’t trust that customers are getting billed accordingly. I
simply can’t spend time chasing every worker around to make sure the job slips are correct. I suspect we
are losing a lot of money on these jobs.‖
Sinclair: ―Is it really a big deal? A dollar here and there isn’t going to affect the company. The parts used
on these jobs are not expensive.‖
Bowman: ―Well, I suspect that we are talking about more than a few dollars. Even so, if I can’t keep track
of how many parts we have in inventory, I’ll never know when to reorder them. It’s too costly to run out
of parts.‖
Sinclair: ―All right, Janice. I will make a stronger effort to review the slips and keep the inventory on
track. If it takes me reviewing each and every one at the end of the day, I’ll do it.‖
Although Sinclair’s promise sounded sincere, Bowman noted that when the landscapers returned to The
Depot at 6 p.m. after completing their jobs, Sinclair had already left for the day and the job slips were not
reviewed.
John Campbell
When walking by Sinclair’s desk, Bowman was surprised to see John Campbell, a part-time student
landscaper, at the computer entering new invoices. Campbell explained that Sinclair had told him that he
was now responsible for invoicing duties and that he was not sure how to do them. Bowman could not
believe that Sinclair had shifted this responsibility to someone with no invoicing experience, and she
suddenly realized that the past weeks’ invoices were most likely not accurate. Bowman told Campbell not
to hesitate to ask her if he had any questions. In the four weeks that passed, Campbell never approached
Bowman with any questions, so she believed she had no choice but to fix the invoices herself. Though
displeased with this arrangement, Bowman chose not to complain to anyone, and she continued to fix
invoices on her own.
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OTHER CONCERNS
Sinclair’s Leadership
Bowman knew she was not the only one questioning Sinclair’s ability. Bowman’s son, Marcus, had
recently joined the landscaping staff on a part-time basis and had daily interaction with Sinclair. With 12
years of previous experience in the garden industry, Marcus knew all aspects of landscape planning and
building. After one month working under Sinclair’s leadership, Marcus commented:
I’ve never seen a landscaping department run so poorly. Derek is completely useless at all
aspects of his job. He has no time-management skills or concept of how to schedule
landscaping jobs in a time-effective manner. He lacks a customer focus and often avoids
taking customer calls. Everything Derek does is reactive, always waiting for customer
complaints rather than taking action to provide good service. I’m sick of showing up at
customers’ houses and getting yelled at for Derek’s incompetence.
Bowman wondered whether other staff members felt the same way. She was concerned about the impact
Sinclair’s leadership may be having on staff morale.
Customer Complaints
Bowman was getting increasingly anxious about the large number of customer complaints she was
receiving. When a customer called the store looking for a specific person, they could either leave a
voicemail for the requested person if he or she was not available, or they would be given the opportunity to
speak with someone else. Bowman was well known and well liked by many of The Depot’s regular
customers and, thus, was often asked for on the phone by name. Unfortunately, the majority of the calls
Bowman was taking lately were customer complaints about how Sinclair had not returned his calls or how
their invoices were not similar to the quote provided by Sinclair. Bowman often sympathized with
customers, commenting:
It’s just not fair to the customers. All they want are updates on when they can expect their
landscaping job to be completed, and Derek doesn’t bother to call them back. It really
doesn’t take a lot of effort to keep customers happy — it’s all about communication. I
find myself promising customers that I will personally follow up with them after speaking
with Derek, which only adds to my workload. I’m tired of getting yelled at for
circumstances not under my control, and I feel guilty working for a company that treats
customers so poorly.
Bowman was unsure whether she should approach Sinclair about these concerns and, if she did, whether
she could trust that he would change.
Staff Problems
Bowman’s concerns about the landscaping division and Sinclair’s management style were exacerbated by
the strange behavior of one of the landscapers, Jayme Strong. Jayme joined The Depot’s staff as a fulltime landscaper in April 2007. He had two years’ previous experience with another landscaping company,
and he appeared to get along well with the other staff. Strong was expected to work approximately eight
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2019.
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9B08C006
hours a day, five days per week. When Bowman received the employee time cards,2 she noticed that
Strong’s assigned jobs took longer than comparable jobs on other employees’ timecards (see Exhibit 3 for
a sample time card.)
One day, Bowman was speaking with a long-time customer, Mr. Gladwell, who had purchased some rocks
and garden supplies to create his own landscaped garden. At numerous points in the conversation, Mr.
Gladwell mentioned how Strong had arranged the flowerbeds and installed things so beautifully.
Knowing that the customer had not paid for any installation services from The Depot lately, Bowman
approached Sinclair:
Bowman: ―Derek, I just had an odd conversation with Mr. Gladwell, who mentioned that Jayme had
installed some of his flowerbeds. Didn’t he only purchase materials from us?‖
Sinclair: ―Oh yes … Well, Jayme just did some of the install for him while he was in the area. It’s not a
big deal really. We made enough money off of selling him the materials anyways. Who cares?‖
Bowman simply shrugged and walked away, appalled that Sinclair would let Strong do volunteer work on
company time. She wondered whether Strong had masked this work at Mr. Gladwell’s in his time cards by
extending his reported time on other jobs. She was concerned that other customers may have been
overcharged for hours that Strong was not actually working there. Furthermore, was Strong charging Mr.
Gladwell for his work and keeping the money himself?
Bowman began to think Strong was not only dishonest recording his time cards but also potentially
stealing goods from the company. In early April, right around the time Strong joined the staff, Bowman
was baffled when a sprinkler system, which was in stock according to the computerized inventory, was
nowhere to be found. A few weeks later, The Depot’s bookkeeper approached Bowman with an
interesting story. She mentioned that friends of hers had a new state-of-the-art sprinkler system installed,
which they gushed was a ―bargain deal.‖ They mentioned that they bought the system from a young man
named ―Jayme‖ who had also been kind enough to install it for them at a very cheap rate. Bowman
thought this was very suspicious but she had no proof to confirm what she thought to be true — that Strong
was working on personal jobs on company time and stealing supplies to do them.
Bowman had mentioned these odd occurrences to Sinclair, but he never expressed as much concern as
Bowman. Although Bowman knew that Sinclair was Strong’s boss, Sinclair appeared to have no desire to
discipline Strong in any way or to further investigate these mysterious situations. Bowman was finding it
difficult to ignore behavior that could have devastating effects on the company’s financial position and
reputation.
THE FINAL STRAW
After hanging up with yet another irate customer, Bowman was exasperated. This was not the first
complaint she had to deal with concerning Sinclair and his refusal to return customers’ calls or to keep
them informed about the progress of their landscaping job. In Bowman’s view, the landscaping division
was completely disorganized, and she was not confident that Sinclair was interested in keeping things
under control. Bowman feared that soon customers would be going elsewhere and the longevity of
company would be in question. She knew something would have to change if she was going to continue
working at The Depot, but she did not know where to start.
2
Employees were required to fill out time cards. The time cards detailed which jobs they worked on and for how long.
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2019.
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9B08C006
Exhibit 1
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
Owner /President
Murray King
General Manager
Dave Sampson
Retail
Division
Lawn
Maintenance
Division
Landscaping
Division
Manager
Sue Jenkins
Manager
Jim Chambers
Manager
Derek Sinclair
Retail staff
(6)
Laborers
(3)
Landscapers (12)
including
Jayme Strong
Administration
Office
Bookkeeper
Nancy Coss
Office Manager
Janice Bowman
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2019.
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Exhibit 2
SAMPLE JOB SLIP
Customer Name: M. Jones
Flowers/Shrubbery
Quantity/Description
Job #: 006
Rock/Stone
Date Job Completed: April 16, 2007
Plumbing/Fittings
Misc.
2
Potted Gardenias
____
5
Elbow fittings
4
8
Rose buds
____
6
Bronze Sprinklers
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
____
10
____
11
4
A+ 4lb Soil
____
Total
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2019.
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Exhibit 3
SAMPLE TIME SHEET
Employee Name: K. Roberts
Employee #: 002
Time period: April 1/07 – April 7/07
Date
Customer Name (hrs)
Mon 01
Simpson (4), Cobb (2), Gyll (2)
6
Tues 02
Sanders (3), Walsh (2), Cobb (2), Leighton (1)
8
Wed 03
Gyll (2), Warner (1), Walsh (3), Cobb (2)
8
Thurs 04
Leighton (5), Simpson (2)
7
Fri 05
Warner (4), Gyll (1), Simpson (3)
8
Sat 06
Day Off
Sun 07
Day off
Weekly Total Hours
Hours
37
X K. Roberts
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