Reference no: EM133205481 , Length: Word count: 1 Page

Assignment Task: Read the following passage and answer the corresponding questions.

You are a top manager that has been charged with resolving an escalating conflict between manufacturing and sales managers in a large company that manufactures office furniture. The company's furniture can be customized to the needs of individual customers, and it is crucial that sales provide manufacturing with accurate information about each customer's specific requirements. Over the last few months, however, manufacturing has been complaining that sales provides this information too late for it to make the most efficient use of its resources, that sales is increasingly making errors in describing each customer's special needs, and that sales demands unreasonably quick turnaround for its customers. For its part, sales is complaining about sloppy workmanship in the final product, which has led to an increased level for customer complaints, about increasing delays in delivery of the furniture, and about manufacturing's unwillingness to respond flexibly to unexpected last-minute customer requests. Problems are increasing, and in the last meeting between senior manufacturing and sales managers harsh words were spoken during a bitter exchange of charges and counter charges.

Describe each step of the conflict using the five-stage conflict process in your book. List the steps in order and provide a description of how each step plays out in the scenario above.

Which of the five negotiation strategies (e.g. competition, collaboration, avoidance, accommodation, and compromise) would best suit the present situation. Why?