Module 6 Paper

Robert Miller
College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University
OGL 350: Diversity and Organizations
Stephanie Salazar
November 22, 2022
 The key points that I learned about conflict in organizations is that conflict can be good

and bad. Understanding what the conflict is about, or having a high emotional intelligence, will

be an advantage to dealing with the issue. One key point that I agree with is that a conflict may

be perceived at different levels by different individuals. In, “Diversity as Disagreement”, it

illustrates this, “…one person in a workgroup may perceive a high level of conflict, while

another may perceive little or no conflict.” (Jehn, K.A. & Greer, L. 2013, p.180). If you do not

recognize the conflict festering in one person, it could elevate the situation to another level. A

fault line could be created between one or more individuals, and the majority of the group,

causing lower productivity. I like how the article points out that having conflict at a moderate

level can be beneficial. A high amount of conflict can be devastating amongst a workgroup.

Hopefully a leader will recognize if the conflict is falling into the two general categories, “…

those that are performance-related and those that are morale-related.” (Jehn, K.A. & Greer, L.

2013, p.180-181). A performance-related conflict can be measured by the level of productivity

and creativity. The source of conflict can be beneficial to performance and spur creativity. On

the other hand, if the conflict is morale-related, performance and creativity will most likely drop,

and this can be measured as well. The movie, “Miracle”, is a great example of how conflict, if

handled right, can produce a gold winning performance. Having a leader, their coach, who had a

high emotional intelligence, gave him insight on how hard he could push the players.

In the organization I work for, I have witnessed a form a diversity conflict between a shift

lead and the store manager. This conflict was in the form of power diversity. I was only involved

in the situation because the shift lead turned to me to discuss, vent, about the situation. The

situation was easy for me to see. Employees were not working hard under the shift lead but while

the store manager was there, the employees worked like model employees. When the shift lead
complained about it, the manager did nothing to rectify the situation. This situation has been

happening for over a year now. Multiple shifts feel the same way and it has led to, “…feelings of

inequality and injustice.” (Jehn, K.A. & Greer, L. 2013, p.186). The store manager holds the

shifts leads accountable for store production while they she is not there and asks why the

numbers are low or things are not being done. The results of this have created fault lines between

employees and the leaders. The leads are frustrated and no longer care. Production levels have

dropped.

The concepts that the podcast, “How to Find Confidence in Conflict, with Kwame

Christian”, could have helped me and the shift leads in the negotiation with the store manager. In

this podcast, Kwame says that conflict is, “Negotiations with an attitude.”. Understanding that

the lead did not need to win every point to win the negotiation could have benefitted her

dramatically. The shift lead got very emotional and when she was venting to me, I could have

handled the advice I gave her better the way Kwame dealt with his three-year-old son.

Acknowledging the emotions that the shift lead was experiencing before the advice could have

helped in the delivery of the message. The advice that I gave the shift lead took several weeks to

get her to see, but with the negotiating tactics Kwame suggests, the time frame could have been

reduced.

The story of, “The giraffe and the Elephant” is not new to me. This is the second time I

have read the story. The “key dynamics” in this story are important. The fact that “Diversity

tension is inevitable” (Roosevelt, 1996, p.7), is one of the key points along with, “Many are

reluctant to embrace genuine diversity fully” (Roosevelt, 1996, p.7), is the second. I have

watched affirmative action within several companies I have worked for over the years. Most

companies, from my perspective, are only doing things to satisfy the legal requirements. They
have not fully embraced genuine diversity. Diversity is a fact of life, and tension is inevitable.

However, if you are prepared to fully embrace genuine diversity, great things can come from it.

In the story, the giraffe attempts to fix the problem is for the elephant to change to fit his house

instead of modifying his house to embrace their differences. Neither the elephant nor the giraffe

anticipated the issues that were being presented to them but the way we handle the differences

will dictate the outcome. This class has given me some invaluable knowledge on how to not only

deal with diversity, but fully embrace it. By keeping an open mind that we are all different is my

first step in this process. Knowing that an elephant might come into my life and embracing this

elephant with all it’s differences might be easy, but it will be beneficial to both of us.

After taking the Personal Diversity Maturity index assessment, I did not agree with some

of the answers, however, I did agree with the final assessment of my diversity maturity. My

score was an 83 and the final assessment, in my opinion, was accurate. I have thought about

diversity, and I am open to everything about it. This class has opened my eyes to my position in

life and others. I was aware that we are all different but to what extent I was lacking. What I

learned about myself from taking this assessment was that it agrees with my feelings that I am

aware of these differences but sometimes, “…unclear as to how to go about it.”. The situations

that were hard for me in this assessment was I have a different perspective than what it thinks are

the right answers. On question four, the correct answer was having the two employees that do

razzle-dazzle stuff even though there is some tension and disagreement. The readings do agree

with this assessment saying that some conflict can be good. I do agree with this part, however,

having four employees that live in the community and are involved with organizations would

give them an advantage knowing the pulse of their own community. I do understand the idea

behind having some conflict if the end results are terrific. I have dealt with these situations in my
life. I was in an executive meeting that was discussing the performance of our two chefs. One

chef was the executive chef for our fine dining restaurant and the other was at my restaurant that

had a southwest flare to it. Both chefs had attitudes as any good chef does. The chef at my

restaurant was receiving complaints about the food on a regular basis. The resort director valued

my opinion and asked me what I would do. My answer did not surprise him. I responded by

saying that Peter, who was the fine dining chef, has a major attitude, however, he puts out a

product that customers praise. The other chef puts out a product that receives complaints on a

regular basis. Both have attitudes. I can work with attitude but if my chef refuses to change, we

need to replace him. The conflict we had with the fine dining chef created a product that was

Michelin rated quality. I have been a part of conflict where it has produced terrific results but

sometimes you need the pulse of the community to make a better choice.
 References

Roosevelt, T.R. (1996). Giraffe and Elephant

Jehn, K.A. & Greer, L. (2013). Diversity as Disagreement: The Role of Group Conflict.

Christian, K. (2018, November 18). How to Find Confidence in Conflict, with Kwame Christian

[Audio blog interview by D. Stachowiak]. Retrieved February 26, 2021