ABC Corporation Case Study

ABC Corporation Case Study

Case Study Overview

The ABC Corporation case study reviews a conflict arising from communication issues in the organizations. The main stakeholders in the conflict include Thomas, Kareem, an ER representative, ABC Corporation’s management, and Kareem’s attorney. One of the facts leading up to the interpersonal conflict in the case study is the lack of clear expectations. One of the main facts leading to the conflict in the case study is the lack of clear expectations. In the case study, Thomas does not set clear expectations because he does not instill in his staff the idea that providing excellent customer service is essential to the organization’s success. Lack of clear expectations can make it hard for employees to determine whether their performance meets the required standard, leading to tension between employees and managers based on performance-related complaints.

The second fact is absenteeism. According to Raja & Gupta (2019), absenteeism includes being away from work without prior notice. Kareem was often missing from his workstation and did not notify anyone when he was leaving, leading to a drop in the number of calls he made. The company was also experiencing poor communication and a lack of feedback. For instance, Kareem did not receive any input from Thomas about his performance before he was terminated. Gallimore (2022) argues that lack of feedback is a leading cause of miscommunication in the workplace. For example, Kareem considered Janet’s comments positive feedback even though they were just compliments because there was no official feedback from the management team. Thomas also denied Kareem a chance to explain why he was missing from his workstation most of the time before breaking the news about his termination, which is why Kareem was disengaged from the conversation and opted to walk away. According to Green (2013), conversations about performance with disengaged employees are likely to be painful. Therefore, it is vital for managers engaging in such conversations to demonstrate empathy and effectively manage conflicts that may arise from the conversations.

Conflict management includes using various conflict management styles. According to Chinyere (2018), conflict management styles focus on making the conflict less complicated to address. Poor conflict management can create interpersonal conflict, as the ABC Corporation case study demonstrates. For instance, Kareem avoided the conversation about his termination because he was shocked by Thomas’s decision to terminate him. Avoidance is a conflict management style that includes low concern for self and others and accepting a lose-win outcome (Tabassi et al., 2017). Some individuals prefer shutting down or lashing out during conversations because of embarrassment, anger, fear, and defensiveness (Carmichael, 2017). Therefore, it is essential to understand a person’s personality to effectively handle a difficult conversation. According to Mitchell (2013), determining the impact of personality patterns on interactions helps eliminate barriers that could hinder effective communication. The barriers may include disengagement and withholding information.

Conflict Analysis

Stakeholder’s Self Perception

According to Gourinat (2020), self-perception is the image people hold about themselves, their traits, and their judgments about them. Self-perception can influence a conflict if a person perceives themselves contrary to how others perceive them. For example, in the ABC Corporation’s case study, Kareem’s self–perception influenced the conflict by making him conclude that Thomas’s decision was unfair since he perceived himself as a productive employee who was doing a good job, but Thomas perceived him as an unproductive employee who was unable to meet performance standards. Consequently, Thomas perceived himself as a great manager with no patience for underperformers, so he decided to fire Kareem before talking to him about his poor performance, leading to interpersonal conflict.

Communication Practices

The main communication practices used in the ABC Corporation scenario include using concise language, one-way communication, and face-to-face communication. For instance, Thomas ensured that his message when informing Kareem that he was being fired was concise by informing him that he was being fired because he was leaving the workstation many times during the day and his performance did not meet the organization’s expectations. Being concise impacted the conflict by making it hard for Kareem to give feedback about Thomas’s decision because it was clear that the decision was final. Thomas also used face-to-face communication and asked Janet to witness his conversation with Kareem about firing him because she was his supervisor. Using face-to-face communication and adding a third party to the conversation may have made Kareem feel humiliated, thus creating a conflict between him and Thomas.

De-escalate Conflict

Changing the communication practices makes it easier for employees and leaders to engage in a meaningful conversation where they both express their opinions about the issue. For example, by informing Kareem that he was being fired and the reasons for firing him through Janet, his supervisor would have given him a chance to respond and defend his actions because he was relating well with Janet, thus preventing the conflict between him and Thomas. Allowing Kareem to express himself by asking questions about his performance would also de-escalate the conflict. For example, Thomas could have first asked Kareem why the number of calls he was receiving was dropping before concluding that it was related to his prayer schedules and explained to him how his absenteeism affected his performance before informing him that he was being fired.

References

Carmichael, S. (2017, May 2). Difficult conversations: 9 common mistakes. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2010/10/difficult-conversations-9-common-mistakes

Chinyere, A. N. (2018). Conflict Management Styles: Historical Evolution, Perspectives and Rationalisation. Arabian Group of Journals, 7(1), 26. https://doi.org/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339663743_Conflict_Management_Styles_Historical_Evolution_Perspectives_And_Rationa Lisation

Gallimore, D. (2022, November 10). 7 causes of miscommunication in the workplace and how to avoid them. Outsource Accelerator. https://www.outsourceaccelerator.com/articles/causes-of-miscommunication/

Gourinat, J.-B. (2020). Self-knowledge, self-perception, and perception of one’s body in stoicism. Self-Knowledge in Ancient Philosophy, 187–209. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198786061.003.0009

Green, M. E. (2013). Painless performance conversations: A practical approach to critical day-to-day workplace discussions.

Mitchell, S. (2013). Driving workplace performance through high-quality conversations. Strategic HR Review, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1108/shr-08-2013-0084

Raja, H., & Gupta, R. (2019). The Impact of Employee Absenteeism on Organizational Productivity with Special Reference to Service Sector. International Journal of Research in Humanities, Arts and Literature, 7(4), 581. https://doi.org/chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://oaji.net/articl es/2019/488-1558087237.pdf

Tabassi, A. A., Bryde, D. J., Abdullah, A., & Argyropoulou, M. (2017). The conflict management style of team leaders in the multi-cultural work environment in the construction industry. Procedia Computer Science, 121, 41–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/

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ABC Corporation Case Study

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