Assignment Prompt: Part 1 Complete Case Incident 2, Questions 14-11, 14-12, and

Assignment

Prompt: Part 1 Complete Case Incident 2, Questions 14-11, 14-12, and 14-13 in the textbook. Your responses should be submitted in a minimum 300-word essay.

Part 2 Complete Case Incident 2, Questions 15-12, 15-13, and 15-14 in the textbook. Your responses should be submitted inn a minimum 300- word essay.

Requirement: minimum 375 words; APA compliant

Case Incident 14- 11,12,13

Disorderly Conduct

The sound of Matt and Peter’s arguing is familiar to everyone in the office by now. To make the best use of space and ensure a free flow of discussion and ideas, the founder of Markay Design decided to do something about the office layout. He decided to convert the one-floor office of the company to an open plan with no walls between workers. The goal of such a layout is to eliminate boundaries and enhance creativity. But for Matt and Peter, the new arrangement creates a growing sense of tension.

The argument boils down to the question of workspace order and organization. Peter prefers to keep his desk completely clean and clear, and he keeps a stack of cleaning wipes in a drawer to eliminate any dust or dirt. On the other hand, Matt likes to keep all his work visible on his desk, so sketches, plans, magazines, and photos are scattered everywhere, alongside boxes of crackers and coffee cups. Peter finds it hard to concentrate when he sees Matt’s piles of materials everywhere. At the same time, Matt feels he can be more creative and free-flowing when he is not forced to clean and organize constantly. Many of Matt and Peter’s coworkers wish they would just let the issue drop. Peter and Matt enjoyed a good working relationship in the past, with Peter’s attention to detail and thorough planning serving to rein in some of Matt’s wild inspirations. But of late, their collaborations have been derailed in disputes.

Everyone knows it is not productive to engage in conflicts over every minor irritant in the workplace. However, altogether avoiding conflict can be equally harmful. An emerging body of research has examined so-called conflict cultures in organizations. The findings suggest having a culture that actively avoids and suppresses conflicts is associated with lower levels of creativity. Cultures that push conflict underground but fail in reducing the underlying tensions can become passive-aggressive. These cultures become marked by underhanded behavior against other coworkers.

Ultimately, finding a way through the clutter dispute will probably be an ongoing process to find a balance between perspectives. Both Matt and Peter worry that their usually positive work relationship will be too contentious to bear if they cannot find a solution. That would be a real mess.

Questions

14-11. Describe some of the factors that led this situation to become an open conflict.

14-12. Do you think this is an issue worth generating conflict over? What are the potential costs and benefits of Matt and Peter having an open discussion of the issues?

14-13. How can Matt and Peter develop an active problem-solving discussion to resolve this conflict? What could effectively be changed, and what is probably?

Case Incident 15-12,13,14

Turbulence on United Airlines

The beginning of 2017 was not good for United Airlines. Several incidents involving United Airlines personnel enforcing a variety of rules, regulations, and protocols in employees’ interactions with customers caused international outcry. The first incident involved two teenagers who were wearing leggings for their flight from Minneapolis to Denver. They were stopped by the gate agent and not allowed to board for violating the United Airlines travel perk program. These travel perk passes hinge on a requirement for users of the passes to dress themselves so that the airline is presented in a favorable light. United defended its decision via Twitter: “Leggings are not inappropriate attire except in the case of someone traveling as a pass rider.” Comedian Seth Rogan tweeted, “We here at @United are just trying to police the attire of the daughters of our employees! That’s all! Cool, right?”

A second, more severe incident occurred when David Dao, a doctor who needed to see his patients the following morning, was aboard a Louisville-bound flight from Chicago in April. Four United employees needed to get to Louisville at the last minute, and it was announced that four people needed to give up their seats or else the flight would be canceled. Attendants called the Chicago Department of Aviation after no one complied. The agents approached Dao and forcibly removed him from the plane. (United policy allowed for the involuntary removal of passengers from flights.) During the process, Dao suffered a broken nose and concussion after his head smashed into an armrest. Dao later filed a lawsuit against United for its actions.

A third incident in Houston involved a soon-to-be-married couple, Michael and Amber, headed to Costa Rica for their wedding. When they entered the plane, they noticed a man sleeping in the row where their seats were assigned. Instead of disturbing him, they found some seats three rows up and sat there instead. They were soon asked by an attendant to return to their seats, and they complied. A U.S. marshall approached them soon after and ejected them from the plane. According to United statements, the couple “repeatedly” tried to sit in upgraded seats and would not follow the instructions of the attendants and crew members, and, as such, they were within their power to eject the passengers.

These incidents suggest that, starting with the structure as created by the CEO, United employees do not have much latitude or flexibility when dealing with day-to-day policy breaches. Taking cost-minimization and efficiency-boosting strategies to the extreme may also have had an effect given that the focus drifted from the customer and toward rule following. Many attribute this inflexibility to the strict, rule-following bureaucracy created by United managers. In this bureaucracy, their eighty-five thousand employees may be reluctant to deviate from the rules—intracompany historical precedent suggests that many employees face termination if they break the rules.

Questions

15-12. How do you think United Airlines should have handled this string of incidents? Do you think that United Airlines was within its power to have removed these people from the flights? Why or why not?

15-13. What are the pros and cons of having a bureaucratic organizational structure for an airline? Do you think the pros and cons are justified for United Airlines and that they should keep the structure they have? Why or why not?

15-14. What do you think United Airlines should do in the future? Do you have any suggestions for enhancements or improvements to the United Airlines organizational structure? Would you consider restructuring? Why or why not?1