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The Vigilance Project: Conflict Styles

University of the People

March 3 2021

BUS 5113: Organizational Theory and Behaviour

Dr. Janice Silver

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The Vigilance Project: Conflict Styles

The Vigilance Project is a case study concerning a recently merged company that wishes

to create a database capable of tracking unintended negative side effects of drugs made by that

company (Dominick, n.d.). The case study revolves around the topic of team conflict and conflict

resolution because a lack of conflict resolution and communication skills led the company to fall

behind on its timeline to get the project done. Throughout the case study, conflicts develop

between colleagues who are located in different continents as to how to get their job completed.

This physical distance and the cultural distance between them causes rifts in their working

relationships. Additionally, supervisors and people in positions of authority within the company

occasionally lied, gave out incorrect information, or otherwise communicated and resolved

conflicts ineffectively. In the end, it was determined that understanding physical barriers, conflict

resolution strategies, and hiring excellent management personnel will help PharMed to finish

their projects on time and more efficiently in the future.

How is Distance Affecting Team Dynamics and Performance?

The case study makes clear that distance negatively impacted the company’s team

dynamics and performance. From the start of the project, poor leadership on the French side of

the team made the Americans feel as though their input was not welcomed or warranted

(Dominick, n.d.). When an employee or employees feel as though their opinion is not valued or

welcomed, they will be less likely to engage in important conversations and resolve conflicts

effectively. Although it may not have mattered how physically far the other team was because

they met online through video conferences, the physical and cultural divide led to one side

feeling undervalued. Additionally, when teams are located so far from one another, it is likely
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not a good idea to only meet via video conference once a week; two or three times a week could

have helped bridge this gap.

Sub-Team Sponsors

The idea to appoint sub-team sponsors was a good one, but the decision could have been

a lot better. Instead of really taking what the Americans on the team had to say to heart, the

senior management looked for a quick solution. The French leader in charge of the whole

project, Amrani, was problematic and honestly should have been let go or removed from his

position. It was clear from the start that Amrani did not value the input of his American

colleagues and even referred to the French team as the “core-core team” (Dominick, n.d.). At one

point, Armani was even caught in a lie about his decision to cancel a cultural awareness

workshop. As a supervisor in charge of a large scale project such as this, such a lie should not be

tolerated. Since this project was so far behind on schedule, the proper thing to do would have

been for senior management to fire or remove Amrani, appoint sub-team sponsors, but also to

look more closely at the problem and figure out other solutions for increasing communication

and conflict resolution such as reimplementing the cultural workshop.

Important Skills for Staffing Important Projects

As indicated in the previous paragraph, excellent communication and conflict resolution

skills are very important for an important project such as this. A leader’s role is extremely

important and Amrani is mostly to blame for this project’s failure to meet deadlines. If the

company selected a person with better communication and conflict resolution skills, this entire

situation would not have happened. In addition, a leader or group member for an important

project such as this should understand different cultures and how those cultures play a role in

workplace communication, as well as be open to various different ideas from different people.
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Someone who learns the skills and information offered by a Masters in Business Administration

degree would be an excellent choice for a position such as this.

Relevant Conflict Resolution Skills

Several different conflict resolution skills could have been used in this situation to make

the lives of the employees much simpler and easier. First, an appeal to the employees’

overarching values could have been used (PON Staff, 2019). Although the French and

Americans have some different cultural values, there are many shared cultural values between

the two as well. Focusing on the shared values rather than the opposing values would be valuable

to overall morale and communication. Second, engaging in relationship building dialogue would

have also been useful. The cancellation of the cultural awareness workshop was a mistake. Also,

not giving the team members enough time to get acquainted with one another at the beginning of

the project was also a mistake. Finally, interests and values can be considered differently (PON

Staff, 2019). Although it can be useful to find areas of common ground, and to acknowledge

areas of difference, at the end of the day the goals of the project are independent of all that.

Professional teams in two countries should be able to work through those differences to meet

their common, objective goals.

The Vigilance Project case study revolves around the topic of team conflict and conflict

resolution because a lack of conflict resolution and communication skills led the company to fall

behind on its timeline to get the project done. As seen in the body paragraphs above, a good

understanding of communication skills and conflict resolution would have been invaluable to

solving some of the company’s problems. Understanding physical barriers, conflict resolution

strategies, and hiring excellent management personnel will help PharMed to finish their projects

on time and more efficiently in the future.

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References

Dominick, P. G. (n.d.). The vigilance project – case overview. ​Society for Human Resource

Management​. Retrieved from ​https://web.stevens.edu/ses/documents/fileadmin/

documents/pdf/The_Vigilance_Project_Student_Workbook_Final.pdf

PON Staff. (2019, March 21). Four conflict negotiation strategies for resolving value-based

disputes. ​https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/dispute-resolution/four-negotiation

-strategies-for-resolving-values-based-disputes/