Resolving conflict

Resolving conflict

Subject: Business    / General Business   
Question

Week 1 discussion

First, take a moment and introduce yourself to the class, share your current status and what you hope to obtain from the course.

Second, how would you describe your personality within a work environment? Also, knowing that not all personalities are compatible, what is something that you could do to proactively attempt to work with a colleague who has a personality that is incompatible with your own?

Week 2 discussion

Describes the idea of accountability, and being accountable is critical today more than ever. Accountability can have both a positive and negative effect on workplace relationships. Let's use this discussion as an opportunity to discuss how we can use techniques to maintain positive accountability. What techniques can you use (or currently use) to hold yourself accountable? What techniques can you use to hold others accountable for their actions? Also, how do these accountability techniques impact workplace relationships?

Week 3 discussion

We have all heard the claim that "the customer is always right." Well, maybe we should pause for a minute. Is the customer always right? Decide whether or not the customer is always right, and explain your rationale. Also, share an example of great customer service that you received directly or at least witnessed and what made it stand out?

Week 4 discussion

McClelland's Theory- believes that individuals are motivated by achievement, power, and affiliation, yet they tend to favor one over the others. After reviewing and researching the theory, discuss which one seems to motivate you the most (achievement, power, or affiliation), and explain why.

Week 5 discussion

I believe we all came across a co-worker that sends you a business-related email.The email has numerous grammar and spelling errors. His language is confusing and you are not certain what the message is stating. You bring up the issue and he responds disgruntled and angrily stating that it was only an email and you are overreacting. By utilizing the concepts from the readings for this unit, how would you appropriately respond to this situation as a professional?

Please include the name of the person or question to which you are replying in the subject line. For example, 'Tom's response to Susan's comment."

Week 6 discussion

Class, we all when through an interview at one time or another. Discuss your feeling on taking a test before you are interviewed.

Do you feel that testing is important before an interview or is testing just a waste of time. Please support your choice.

Week 7 discussion

Discuss how important is appearance at the interview. Do you believe that appearance reflects on a persons personality and work. WHY?

Week 8 discussion

1.) What is your opinion of this course? Did it meet your expectations? What suggestions can you offer for improvement of this course for future students?

2.) Choose one topic covered and discuss what you learned from the lesson and unit readings and how you will use the knowledge gained to increase your professional skills. Be specific, and discuss how the lesson will enhance your career and workplace success.

Unit Assignments

Unit IV Case Study

This assignment provides you with an opportunity to explain the dynamics of teamwork, including motivation, conflict resolution, and leadership. First, read the scenario below.

Scenario: The vice president (VP) of marketing has hired you as the leader whose first task involves implementing a new process for applying customer service within the organization. The VP shares that the purpose of this initiative is to help resolve a list of issues that are negatively infecting teamwork: (1) morale is low, (2) employees are consistently late for work while others leave early, (3) workers disagree on the daily workload, (4) there is no drive or enthusiasm, and (5) above all, two employees have complained about harassment.

Your team consists of eight employees: three are newly hired employees, five employees are male and three are female. Each employee has a diverse background. Your charge is to reach the goal of improving customer service by directing the team through the five stages of team development.

After reading the scenario, write a minimum three-page paper by using the following questions as guidelines:

1. Motivation: What is the current state of motivation for employees, and what can you do to improve their motivation?

2. Leadership: What can leadership personnel do to positively impact teamwork that eventually leads to better customer service?

3. Resolving conflict: How can the employees approach resolving conflicts with one another in order to maintain a positive teamwork dynamic?

4. Resolving conflict: How can the employees approach resolving conflicts with customers?

5. Teamwork: What types of activities would help the team progress through the five stages of team development? (See page 161 in the textbook for the stages.

Also, be sure your paper fulfills the following requirements:

· The body of the paper consists of at least three pages.

· The format of your paper follows APA style. Click here to access the CSU Citation Guide. A sample research paper that has been formatted in APA style starts on page 20 of the guide.

· Properly cite one reference (e.g., journal article) that you located from the university’s online library.

· Properly cite two references (e.g., article, webpage) that you located from reputable sources (e.g., online library or reputable webpages).

· Properly cite your textbook within the paper.

Unit V PowerPoint Presentation

This exercise involves analyzing a communication technique—presentations. On a daily basis, it is often expected that professionals be proficient with presentations. For this exercise, prepare a PowerPoint presentation that serves as your own professional code of communication. This exercise allows you to analyze communication techniques and reflect upon your own communication skills. Include at least the following within the presentation:

· Present your professional communication style.

· Present your communication strengths.

· Present your communication opportunities—how can you improve your communication skills?

· Present how you prefer to receive communication within a workplace.

· Present a professional workplace example of when a phone call might be better than an email.

· Present whether or not you believe that texting and instant messaging can be valuable in the workplace.

· Include at least three visuals (e.g., photographs, images, charts, or graphs).

· The presentation must contain at least twelve slides.

Use the key terms in the textbook to guide your presentation. For some guidance toward preparing presentations in PowerPoint, click here to access a video with helpful tips. Be sure to save all of your work in your presentation file before submitting it in Blackboard for grading.

Unit VI Assignment

This assignment provides you with an opportunity to critique interview techniques by answering a series of questions within the assignment template. Click here to access the assignment template. Be sure to answer each question, save all of your work in the template, and submit it in Blackboard for grading.

1) After answering the last question, Jason said thank you and the interview was over. Briefly describe one or more techniques that Jason could have used to improve the conclusion of his interview. Your response should be at least 75 words.

2. Danielle was interviewing for a position, and the interviewer asked for her salary requirements. As Danielle was not expecting to hear that question, she mumbled for a minute before eventually saying $40,000.00, which is low for someone with her experience. Briefly describe one or more techniques that Danielle could have used to improve her response to the salary-expectations question. Also, how does a response to the salary expectations impact salary negotiations? Your response should be at least 75 words.

3. Tanya was in an interview, and she was shocked to discover how one of the organization’s core services involves performing tasks that directly conflict with Tanya’s beliefs and principles. After discovering this information during the interview, Tanya immediately realized that she could not work for this organization. To prevent wasting time with an unnecessary interview, what type of interview-preparation technique could Tanya have used? What are the advantages of using techniques to prepare for an interview? Your response should be at least 50 words.

4. While in an interview, Tom was asked to describe his professional experience with his current and previous employers. During his descriptions, Tom occasionally included a few negative comments about his current and previous employers. How can negative comments impact a job interview? Your response should be at least 50 words.

5. According to the textbook, there is a right and wrong way to respond to yes-or-no questions during an interview. During an interview, how would you respond to the following question: Have you ever worked for a company that generates revenue through e-commerce? Your response should be at least 50 words

6. This question involves closing an interview. Near or at the end of an interview, you may be asked if you have any questions. Not responding may imply you are not interested, and a probing question about the company may imply you did not research the company. For this essay, respond to the importance of closing the interview on a positive note and share an example of a closing interview statement (your personal commercial). Your response must be at least 250 words in length.

Unit VII Assignment

This assignment involves explaining how professional etiquette can impact professional relationships and explaining how a professional can proactively approach career changes by answering the questions within the assignment template. Click here to access the assignment template. Be sure to answer each question, save all of your work in the template, and submit it in Blackboard for grading.

Unit VIII Assignment

This assignment provides you with an opportunity to complete three major items: a cover letter, a resume, and a professional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. The cover letter should be a three-paragraph memo that has been tailored to a specific job that interests you. The resume should adhere to the steps outlined in Chapter 14 (see page 206). The details within the resume must be current with all relevant and up-to-date information. The SWOT analysis should address your professional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Bullet points are acceptable for the resume and SWOT analysis; however, they must be detailed. Again, the cover letter must include three paragraphs. Also, the resume must be at least one page, and the SWOT analysis must thoroughly address each of the four parts of the analysis. Be sure to have the major items in the proper sequence: first, the cover letter; then, the resume; and finally, the SWOT analysis. Format each major item as you wish; however, be sure the details are professional and legible. Save all three within one word-processing document (e.g., Word) before submitting the file in Blackboard for grading.