Christian Steele

816020005
1 (a) Conflict observed in the given case is 'insufficient incentive scheme' and that has led to the
declined Sales performance and the salespeople thought that their achievement was not
sufficiently rewarded by the Company.

Verdadero Babes Manufacturing VBM was the leading manufacturers of baby food and suffered
slow sales in recent times not due to the non-availability of demands for its products but due to
the inadequately structured sales incentives for their salespeople.

The Northern Sales team has found the sales demand from the elderly people for their baby food
product and able to reach their sales target. The team was not ready to push hard to achieve more
in sales because they knew that their effort would not be rewarded with sufficient incentives.

The conflict observed in the case revolves around the insufficient compensation plan set out by
the Company. The Company's focus was on revenue resulted in conflicts between sales
management and the sales representatives.

Evaluation of The Conflict

After setting the sales target, it is very crucial to communicate the strategy of sales to sales
representatives because the sales demand differs from territory to territory. In the given case, the
sales demand for VBM baby food would vary from the Southern region to the Northern Region.
Linking sales teams’ performance with proper compensation and to the objectives of the
organization is very crucial aspects of the sales management.

Offering an enticing incentive will make sales professionals more excited to close more deals
with prospects. However, setting a proper compensation plan is very crucial to ensure that the
total compensation matches the budget if everyone on target.

Setting regular Sales reviews by the VBM sales management with the sales rep would encourage
the culture of accountability. As the sales are declining steadily, it is high time for the Sales
Managers to conduct Weekly Sales Reviews to monitor their sales performance and to identify
the areas of concern early.

Effects of Conflicts
Conflicts discourage involvement in discharging the duty. The non-enticing performance
incentive scheme affects team morale, job satisfaction and motivation. If the management of
VBM does not address the conflict immediately, it would affect the overall business of the VBM.

The conflict existing in VBM sales team would lead to

1. Decrease in Sale performance and discourages sales team to identify newer market segments
to boost sales.

2. The overall growth and revenue of the Company would be affected

3. The poor compensation plan reduces the power of creative thinking of the Sales team.
4. As the northern sales team is not ready to share the reason for the improvement in sales with
the Management, the Company would lose productive ideas to improve sales performance.
5. Discontentent due to non-availability of sufficient rewarding system could lead to loss of
experienced sales personnel and it would, in turn, cost more to the Company as the Company
might be required to recruit and train a new Sales team.
1 (b) Resolving the Sales conflict of VBM
1. The sales management of VBM set the sales goals, revenues, sales incentive and
compensation.

2. Reward the performance with enticing incentives

3. The Sales Managers of VBM should conduct regular weekly sales review meeting to
encourage the culture of accountability.

4. Use sales assessments and metrics to acknowledge good work ethics and outstanding
performers.

5. Ensure the Sales Target assigned is measurable, attainable and to be fixed based on the sales
potential of the Region or Territory.

2(a) Organizational politics refers to various activities associated with the use of influence tactics
to improve individual or organizational interests. Studies show that individuals with political
skills do better at acquiring more personal power than their politically naïve counterparts, as well
as managing stress and job demands.
Institutional discrimination against women can range from recruitment and selection in each
person's organization to their role assignment, training, salary, performance evaluation,
promotion, and termination. For example, if women are underrepresented in a particular
educational program or a particular work type and selection requires consideration of those
credentials or previous job experience, women are placed systematically, probably not
intentionally discriminated against. There is substantial evidence that women experience biased
performance evaluations on male-typed tasks. A meta-analysis of experimental studies shows
that women in leadership positions receive lower performance evaluations than matched men;
This is amplified when women work conservatively in a masculine or agentic fashion. Also, in
the masculine domain, women are held to a higher level of performance than men. For example,
in a study of military cadets, men and women rated their peers lower if they were women, even
though men had similar qualifications.
Also, managers have less promotion potential than women. Given the same level of competence,
managers are less likely to promote women than men. Thus, men climb faster in the
organizational hierarchy than women. Even the minimum amount of gender discrimination in
promotion decisions for a particular job or level can have large, cumulative effects given the
pyramid structure of most hierarchical organizations. Therefore, women are less promoted as a
result of discrimination by organizational decision-makers.
Principles of Power and Politics

Expert power

Expert power is derived from having knowledge or expertise in a particular field. People with
expert power perform important tasks and are therefore considered indispensable.
Possession of expert power is generally a stepping stone to other sources of power such as
legitimate power. For example, a person who holds expert power may be promoted to senior
management, giving him legitimate power. Reference power derived from interpersonal
relationship

Interpersonal power

is derived from the interpersonal relationships of a person with other people in the organization.
People hold reference power when they respect and like others. Charisma creates respectable
power because a charismatic person influences others through praise, respect, and trust for
others.

Legitimate power
Legitimate power is also known as static power. It is derived from the position that places a
person in the hierarchy of the organization.
For positional power to be used effectively, the person taking it must earn it legitimately. An
example of legitimate power is held by the CEO of the company.
All these powers make it possible for the person holding them to make changes in the
organization, promote equality, and prevent discrimination.

2(B) Resistance to change

Diversity affects organizational norms by creating a need for flexibility and growth for a broader
culture - a need that is sometimes met with resistance. Resistance forces minorities to bear the
burden of change to fit the existing culture, limiting the initial value of having a new approach in
the first place.

Wage equity
This misuse of human resources is called a glass ceiling. The glass ceiling represents an invisible
barrier for employees of minority backgrounds, which prevents them from acquiring executive
positions in corporations.
The gap between wages and education levels in men and women provides the solid consistency
that barriers to diversity exist in the workplace.

Homophily
the tendency of individuals to engage with others who are similar to them. This trend can
manifest not only in recruitment and recruitment processes within organizations but also in
informal socialization patterns of individuals within the firm. It is quite common to create
bonds for individuals of similar backgrounds or beliefs, and preferential groups use these
bonds to create settings.

Interpersonal miss-communication and conflict

Managing diversity is more than accepting differences in people. Managers have to understand
the customs and cultural biases of their subordinates and ensure that they do not violate
important cultural rules. It is the role of managers to transform existing organizational culture
into diversity and inclusion.
Communication, whether through language or cultural signals, is also a significant challenge
in the interpersonal sphere.

Zero tolerance policy

The names, calling and bullying of employees have no place in today's workplace for any reason.
Policies should be set to handle malpractice and communicate to employees that this type of
behavior will not be tolerated.
Organizations will also have to ensure that employees are feeling safe from any instances of
inappropriate behavior by colleagues by establishing a formal grievance policy, so employees
know how to report malpractice to the appropriate authority within the organization.

Sensitivity training
Employees need to be aware of cultural sensitivity to achieve harmony within a diverse
workplace. It helps employees to check and adjust their view of people from different
backgrounds.

Status of policies and procedures

Once concrete plans are ready to be implemented, documents outlining each policy should be
included in the employee handbook. The employee handbook should cover diversity in the
following sections:
• Company's policy towards diversity should be outlined in the Code of Conduct
• Non-discriminatory policy makes employees aware of the diversity
• Compensation and Benefits Policy
• Employment status and termination

Prior communication
To manage a diverse workplace, organizations need to ensure that they communicate effectively
with employees. Whenever applicable, policies, procedures, safety regulations, and other
important information must be designed to overcome language and cultural barriers by
translating content and using images and symbols.

Standard-based on baseline criteria

Set a standard of rules for all groups of employees, regardless of background. Ensure that all
employment actions, including discipline, follow this standardized criteria to ensure that every
employee is treated. Identify, and encourage employees to recognize, that one's own experience,
background, and culture is not the only value to the organization.