Reference no: EM133096124

Mr Henricksen entered Do It Centre, a home improvement store, with a dirty, broken-down lawnmower which he had purchased some time ago.

The Service Manager, Jenna, doubted that the appropriate maintenance schedule had been kept as required under the warranty. The mower also had a severely chipped blade, probably from hitting a rock. Mr Henricksen informed that the mower had broken down completely the previous Saturday and believed that Do It Centre should either do a complete overhaul of the mower or provide a new one at no cost to him.

Mr Henricksen presented a warranty document that had expired six months ago and wanted it to be honoured anyway. He claimed that the store knew its mower would break down at a prescribed time and deliberately contrived its warranty to expire well in advance. This was a fraud, he said.

A. Explain the term 'conflict'. Give THREE (3) reasons that it may exist in an organisation.

B. What is the issue at the heart of the conflict in this case study?

C. Imagine you are Jenna and your objective is to maintain a positive relationship with Mr Henricksen.

i. Justify which of Thomas Kilman's conflict approaches you would use to resolve this situation.

ii. Apply your resolution style to the situation and explain how you would reach a positive outcome.