The Case of the Overly Assertive Employee
In this chapter, we learned about several conflict-handling intentions. Each of these intentions involved two dimension—assertiveness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns) and cooperativeness (the degree to which one party attempts to satisfy the other party’s concerns). Consider these dimensions, and then put yourself in the shoes of the manager described below.
Tom is a manager at a small copy supply firm. Their marketing team consists mainly of two employees: Janna and Kim. Kim is incredibly assertive, while Janna is incredibly cooperative. Though you are their manager, they sometimes have the discretion to negotiate with each other over who is responsible for which task in a project. You notice that Janna seems always to do the most tedious, unpleasant tasks. When you’ve asked Janna in the past if she is happy with what she contributes to projects, she meekly replies, “I don’t mind. I don’t want to make any waves.”
You sense that Janna is unhappy but also scared of a confrontation with Kim. Kim is getting more recognition and compliments from the CEO because she does high-profile work. You know this puts Janna at a disadvantage in her career. On the other hand, Kim is overly assertive. You know that if you ask her to be more cooperative, it could cause more conflict in the office.
As we learned about relationship conflict, it’s almost never beneficial. Yes, it may be unfair to Janna, but you don’t want to disrupt the team by bringing conflict into the office. You also know that conflict tends to spread in the office—if Kim and Janna are at odds with each other, it may distract people on other teams.
Questions
If Tom does nothing, is that ethical? Does he have a responsibility to Janna to make sure her concerns are addressed?
In this chapter, you learned about mediators, arbitrators, and conciliators. Is it possible for Tom to act in one of these roles? Why or why not?
If Tom does nothing in this situation, how do you think the situation between Janna and Kim will play out? Do you think there will be problems with conflict?
Have you ever been in the position of the asserter, cooperator or manager at work or at home?