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SELF-ASSESSMENT 13.5 CAREER READINESS
What Is Your Conflict-Management Style?
This Self-Assessment determines students’ conflict-management style based on current or former
employment experiences.
STUDENT QUESTIONS
1. Were you surprised by the results? Why or why not? Explain.
2. Were the scores for your primary and backup conflict-handling styles relatively similar, or was
there a large gap? What does this imply? Discuss.
3. Is your conflict-handling style one that can be used in many different conflict scenarios?
4. What things might you say during an interview to demonstrate that you possess the ability to
manage conflict?
SUPPLEMENTAL ACTIVITY
Students should be put into five groups based on their scores on their conflict-handling style.
Students who scored highly on each conflict-handling style should be grouped together.
Students should discuss their assigned conflict-handling style. What are the advantages and
disadvantages of each conflict-handling style? Are there specific situations where your assigned
conflict-handling style would work best? Worst?
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Return.
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GROUP EXERCISES
GROUP EXERCISE #1: IDENTIFYING TASK AND MAINTENANCE ROLES WITHIN GROUPS
Objectives
● To enhance understanding of task and maintenance roles.
● To examine how task and maintenance roles influence group effectiveness.
Introduction
Group effectiveness is a function of the extent to which group members display a variety of task
and maintenance roles. The overall purpose of this exercise is to enhance your students’
understanding of task and maintenance roles within groups.
Instructions
1. Prepare a role assignment for the six students who will be participating in this exercise. On
note cards or small pieces of paper, write one task or maintenance role for each of the six
2. Conduct a short lecture on task and maintenance roles, and explain their overall purpose.
Task roles: getting the work done—a task role, or task-oriented role, consists of behavior that
concentrates on getting the team’s tasks done.
3. Arrange six chairs in a circle in front of the classroom and ask the class for six volunteers to
work on a short group project. Have the volunteers come up front and take a seat in the
4. Give each role player a few seconds to study their role, and then read the group’s assignment
to the entire class. The group’s assignment is as follows:
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5. Tell the rest of the class that you want them to try to identify which group members are
exhibiting which of the task and maintenance roles. Encourage them to consult a list of these
roles while the group is working on its task.
7. Begin to process the exercise by asking the class to discuss which group members were
exhibiting which task and maintenance roles. Record the class’s observations about each
individual on the board. Next, inform the class of each of the volunteer’s specific role
assignments.
Questions for Discussion
1. To what extent was there agreement about who was providing task and maintenance
roles? What does this level of agreement indicate about group dynamics?
2. Ask students to evaluate the effectiveness of this group. Why was the group effective or
ineffective?
3. Were individual group members effective in executing their designated roles? Be sure to
4. Are task and maintenance roles equally important? Explain.
5. What should group members do if they are working in a group that is not effectively
enacting the various task and maintenance roles?
Return.
Task and Maintenance Roles
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Task Roles
Description
Initiator
Suggests new goals or ideas
Information seeker/giver
Clarifies key issues
Opinion seeker/giver
Clarifies pertinent values
Elaborator
Promotes greater understanding through
examples or exploration of implications
Coordinator
Pulls together ideas and suggestions
Orienter
Keeps group headed toward its stated goal
Evaluator
Tests group’s accomplishments with various
criteria such as logic and practicality
Energizer
Prods group to move along or to accomplish
more
Procedural technician
Performs routine duties
Recorder
Performs a “group memory” function by
documenting discussion and outcomes
Maintenance Roles
Description
Encourager
Fosters group solidarity by accepting and
praising various points of view
Harmonizer
Mediates conflict through reconciliation or
humor
Compromiser
Helps resolve conflict by meeting others
halfway
Gatekeeper
Encourages all group members to participate
Standard setter
Evaluates the quality of group processes
Commentator
Records and comments on group
processes/dynamics
Follower
Serves as a passive audience
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GROUP EXERCISE #2: EMPATHY: THE MISUNDERSTOOD SKILL
Objective
• To present and practice a three-step approach for being empathetic.
Introduction
In the classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch says to his daughter Scout: “If you can
learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really
understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his
skin and walk around in it.”1
This exercise asks students to determine how well they can walk in someone else’s shoes, to see
something from someone else’s perspective. This skill is known as empathy. Merriam–Webster’s
dictionary defines empathy as: “the feeling that you understand and share another person’s
experiences and emotions: the ability to share someone else’s feelings.”2
Instructions
1. Present the following information about empathy and the three-step approach to being
empathetic:
Empathy: The Misunderstood Skill
● When a person becomes defensive, we need a tactic or skill to diffuse the emotional response
and translate the conversation to a problem-solving focus. This skill is empathy.
● Empathy is recognizing and labeling another person’s feelings and thoughts.
The Differences Between Sympathy, Empathy, and Apathy
● Sympathy: sameness of feeling; a feeling of approval of, or agreement with, an idea. “You
poor thing, I know just how you feel; I had my report rejected, too.”
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The Three-Step Process of Using Empathy to Influence Behavior
1) Label the emotion: You seem annoyed about…
3) Create a transition sentence: You seem annoyed about your efforts going unnoticed.
What steps can you take to publicize your work?
2. Use the following scenario to practice the three-step approach to empathy. Read the scenario,
and ask students to write an empathetic response.
Practice Scenario
“Why are you giving me such a hard time about being five minutes late for our team meeting?
Give me a break! You know that I have responsibilities at home, and it is hard for me to get here
on time. I’m 40, and I have a wife and two small sons at home. Do you have to deal with sick
kids? Do you have to arrange an emergency babysitter so you can get to class on time? Do you
have to fight traffic to get here after working a full day? You would be much more understanding
if you weren’t just a kid with no responsibility other than going to classes.”
Assume you are the team leader.
Sample answer:
“It seems like you are overwhelmed with all the activities and responsibilities on your plate. I
also sense that you are angry about my pointing out that you were late for our scheduled
meeting.” (These two sentences represent step 1, label the emotion, and step 2, restate the
content.) “Why don’t we all talk about your role on this team and how we can help you to
accomplish your team tasks on a timely basis?” (This is the transition sentence.)
3. Break the class into groups, and distribute the scenarios listed below to each one. Ask each
student to write an empathetic response using the three-step process for each scenario. Once
done, ask students to share and critique each other’s answers.
● Assume you are answering as the teaching assistant and a student enters your office and
● Assume you are a professor, and a student’s phone goes off in class: You have a class
policy that says all cell phones must be turned off. During class today, Maria’s cell phone
● Assume you are answering as an academic advisor: “I am trying so hard and everything I
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4. Feedback and coaching: Pair up the students, and have them critique each person’s
responses. Reconvene as a class.
Questions for Discussion
1. Did you find it hard to provide empathetic responses? Why or why not?
2. What step was the most difficult?
3. When would you most likely use the skill of empathy?
The answer is anytime one encounters conflict and emotional responses from others.
4. Can one make a mistake when using empathy?
The answer is yes. One might mislabel the emotion and use poor transitional statements.
Does this mean that empathy is a risky technique? No. We find that this technique is
Source: A. Johnson & A. Kinicki, Group and Video Resource Manual: An Instructor’s Guide to
an Active Classroom (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2006), pp. 155-157.
Tips for large classes:
The groups may need to be larger, which means you may need to allot more time for Step 3. If
you are short on time, consider only discussing questions 1 and 2 at the end of the activity.
Return.
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GROUP EXERCISE #3: WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED CONFLICT-HANDLING STYLE?
Objective
● To give students a chance to apply and evaluate the effectiveness of five different conflict–
handling styles.
Introduction
Conflict occurs when one party perceives its interests are being opposed or set back by another
party. Certain situations produce more conflict than others. Knowing the antecedents of conflict
can help individuals to anticipate and resolve conflict. Everyone deals with conflict differently.
There are five conflict-handling styles, or techniques, that a person can use for handling
disagreements with individuals: avoiding— “maybe the problem will go away”; accommodating
— “let’s do it your way”; forcing— “we have to do it my way”; compromising— “let’s split the
difference”; and problem solving— “let’s cooperate to reach a win-win solution that benefits
both of us.” This activity revolves around a scenario and how people react to it.
Instructions
1. Students should remain at their desks.
2. Read or copy and distribute the following scenario, and then proceed to step 3.
You decide to throw a party and invite all of your friends; many of these friends don’t know
one another very well. You are confident this is going to be a good party. Once the party
3. Have each student briefly write what he or she would do in this situation as the host of the
party.
5. Reconvene as a class, and discuss the following questions.
Questions for Discussion
1. What was the group’s preferred solution? What type of conflict-handling style does it
represent?
2. Generate a response for this situation based on using each of the five core conflict-
handling styles. Which solution do you think would be most effective? Explain your
rationale.
3. Which conflict-handling style(s) would be the worst for this situation? Why?
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4. What is your biggest take-away about conflict from this exercise? Explain.
Source: A. Johnson & A. Kinicki, Group and Video Resource Manual: An Instructor’s Guide to
an Active Classroom (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2006), pp. 370, 372.
Tips for online classes:
Students can be placed in online groups and the scenario can be posted to a discussion board.
Each student can individually respond and state what he/she would do in this situation. Then, the
group can discuss as a whole. After the groups have discussed, instructor can create a larger
Return.
CAN BE
USED
ONLINE
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CAREER CORNER GROUP EXERCISE
CAREER CORNER GROUP EXERCISE: EFFECTIVE LISTENING
Learning Objective
• Students will become a more effective collaborator by improving their active listening
skills.
Introduction
Effective collaboration requires good listening skills. Improving one’s listening skills thus
represents one key way to improve the career readiness competency of collaboration. This
exercise focuses on developing the competency of teamwork/collaboration by focusing on
listening skills.
Instructions
The primary purpose of this exercise is to improve students’ active listening skills. The
suggested scenario for this activity is a vacation destination; however other scenarios can be
used.
• Speaker: Vacation destination attributes; Receivers: Suggest Destination
1. Start the activity off with a listening game. A suggested listening game is included below.
• Effective Listening Games by Diane WindingLand
2. Put students into groups of 4. Randomly assign one student as the “speaker” and the others as
listeners. For 3 minutes have the speaker describe where they would like to go on spring
break (vacation) without mentioning a specific location. For example, rather than saying “I
want to go to Hawaii,” the speaker might say “I would like a place that is warm, has surfing,
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3. Have each group reflect on what skills the speaker and the listener used to improve the
4. Ask one or two groups to summarize their takeaways from this exercise.
5. Facilitate class discussion by using the following questions:
• When listening, what was your focus? The words? The feeling? The body language?
• Did you engage in any non-verbal communication, for example, nodding encouragingly
as the speaker explained his preferences?
• Did you reflect on what the speaker said before coming up with your conclusions, or
were you thinking about destinations while the speaker was talking?
• Going forward, what skills or traits will you utilize in order to be a more effective
listener?
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UBER CONTINUING CASE
Chapter 13: Groups and Teams
This part of the Uber continuing case focuses on Chapter 13 and covers principles related to
groups and teams. This continuing case’s real-world application of management knowledge and
skills is designed to help you develop critical-thinking ability and realize the practical power of
sound managerial skills for solving problems in your job and career.
The case includes five multiple-choice questions and two essay-based questions. The essay-
based questions can also be used in-class to spur discussion:
1. Using Tuckman’s five-stage model of team development and information provided in the
case, explain three challenges that a leadership team working in a new city for Uber
would have to work through. Also identify which member of the leadership team is
responsible for leading each effort.
2. Imagine you are a General Manager of a leadership team in one of the cities
in which Uber operates. You and the Community Manager disagree on the best way to
message Uber’s new rideshare partnership, although the Community Manager feels more
strongly about his idea than you do about yours. Which conflict-handling style would
work best to empower the Community Manager in this situation, and why?
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MANAGER’S HOT SEAT
GROUPS AND TEAMS—DIAGNOSIS: DYSFUNCTION
I. Introduction
White Flint General Hospital has seen a surge in delays admitting patients due to a lack of space.
A team of hospital employees has been assembled to address the issue and recommend changes
to the Hospital Board. The team is meeting for the first time and things do not go so well.
II. Learning Objectives
1. Demonstrate how the different stages of team development can affect team productivity.
2. Evaluate how collaboration, trust, interdependence and team composition contribute to
team effectiveness.
3. Analyze the importance of leveraging different team roles.
4. Compare functional and dysfunctional conflict.
5. Demonstrate an ideal conflict-handling style.
III. Scenario Description:
Scene Set-up: Kira, Blake, and Ramon are meeting at a cafeteria table. Sarah joins later.
Scene Location: Hospital cafeteria
Profile:
Kira Cook, Hospital Administrator
Sarah Lavinus, Hospital Doctor
Summary: The hospital administrator is meeting with a doctor, lead RN and lead technician to
discuss a surge in delays in admitting patients due to lack of space. A lot of patients have to wait
a while to be discharged by a doctor, which is causing frustration and also contributing to a lack
of space. The lead RN proposes that non-doctors have the authority to discharge patients, but that
does not sit well with the doctor. There is functional and dysfunctional conflict happening within
the group, and they do not get to any tangible results.
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IV. Discussion of Theory
• Stages of group development
• Effective teams
o Collaboration and trust are non-existent.
• Team roles
o Roles are portrayed by different individuals:
▪ Sarah = initiator
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APPLICATION-BASED ACTIVITY
There are no application-based activities for this chapter.