Case Study: How to strengthen managerial competencies to resolve conflicts in the organization?

PART 1. A STORY FROM A CERTAIN FACTORY....

Soton (name changed) manufacturing company has been operating in Poland for more than
20 years. Although it is part of a large international corporation, it has complete independence
in organizational and personnel decisions. It is connected with the parent company only by
common marketing and international sales.
Soton produces equipment components for machines used mainly in the construction
industry. It employs about 150 people. It has relevant quality and safety certifications - both in
the area of ISO and industry standards, as well as internal corporate standards for production,
labor and management organization. Soton is based in a small town and is an important
employment center in the area.
PART 2. CHANGES HAVE COME
At some point in Soton, the positions of management representative for quality, head of the
health and safety team and supervision of part of production were combined. An outsider was
hired for this new position - a young and ambitious specialist from the chemical industry. The
team he formed (4 people) consisted mainly of newly hired specialists from outside, from
industries and specialties similar to what Soton does.
Soon something began to go wrong. Initially, there was talk of a lack of understanding and
cooperation between the quality team and the rest of the company. The team of not bad
quality specialists in their previous companies imposed certain solutions, but these did not
quite fit the specifics of Soton. They wanted to do well, and many times they were right, but
the content and form of the message alienated the recipients and caused conflicts. It seemed,
however, that somehow...
PART 3. CONFLICT ERUPTED
As the deadline for renewing several internal corporate accreditations approached, conflict
erupted with full force. Soton, instead of preparing to "defend" the quality standard, was busy
putting out communication fires, easing conflicts and internal tensions. The result was that
one person from the quality department ostentatiously left his job, and it looked like the whole
team might fall apart in a moment....
In the situation that arose, Soton's management turned for help to DEKRA Poland, which
directed its specialists from the Management Competence Training Department there.
PART 4. FIRST SOLUTION - COMMUNICATION TRAINING
After carefully analyzing the problems, conflicts and possible solutions, DEKRA specialists
suggested conducting a training course on effective communication and cooperation with the
crew for the quality team.
During the training, the quality staff learned how to communicate important expectations
related to standards openly and without tension, how to convince in a soft, cooperative style,
and what to do in a conflict situation.

1
Case Study: How to strengthen managerial competencies to resolve conflicts in the organization?

After the training, DEKRA specialists supported the transformation of newly acquired skills into
professional practice through remote consultation. The process of change for the better was
supported by several mentoring and coaching sessions for the team leader. They allowed him
to change his attitude from a strongly "imposing" one to a cooperative-consultative one.
PART 5. SECOND SOLUTION - RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS
The activities carried out began to produce results, but too slow in relation to the challenges
in the area of quality and approaching deadlines. Management then decided to use another
proposal from DEKRA experts - a relationship development workshop.
The purpose of holding the relationship development workshop was to defuse conflict
situations and create an environment conducive to understanding. The meeting was attended
by the head of the quality team and the cooperating managers of key divisions. After its
completion, the company's heads were already confident that the plan and schedule for the
renewal of certificates were not in jeopardy.
PART 6. CONCLUSION
Disagreements and conflicts happen in every organization. It depends on the maturity level of
the company and its managers whether they can be resolved quickly and effectively.
Lack of adequate psychological competence among managers can result in, among other
things, a negative atmosphere at work and severe personnel changes, a decrease in the
efficiency of tasks performed, delays in the implementation of important projects, etc.
Fortunately, effective communication with colleagues, solving problems and conflicts, and
building one's position in the organization can be learned.
"Dekra's support in the area of conflict resolution around quality issues has given us an
acceleration of the whole process and greater confidence that we are moving in the right
direction, that we will manage everything at the right time. From our first contact with Dekra's
specialists, we saw that they had the right knowledge and experience to help us in this delicate
and little-known matter of human relations psychology. It just paid off." - summed up the
training and workshops Soton's CEO.