Section 1

Recently, I had an upcoming deadline for a regular client that I knew I was not going to meet in time. I verbally communicated this fact to my manager in the workplace, and she agreed to speak to the client regarding the deadline. The manager forgot about the conversation and was later upset with me for not completing the project in due time. I calmly reminded her of our initial verbal agreement, linked up with the client and took responsibility for the late project. I also assured my manager that I would improve on formalizing my plans and make requests through a written form in the future. Later, I completed the project and the client was very happy. We finally got to a common understanding with my manager on how to communicate in the future.

Some of the ways to cope with the above conflict are through collaboration and withdrawing.  This technique is demonstrated by the accommodating teddy bear which uses a smoothing conflict management style. Through collaboration, the manager and I could have held an open discussion and addressed the issue, explore any alternative solutions and argue about our concerns in a non-threatening manner. On the other hand, the manager would have chosen to withdraw from the conflict since she had more pressing issues to deal with. Collaborating has various advantages such as the shared responsibility of the results, leads to the solving of the actual problem and results in a win-win situation (Singer 40). Its disadvantages include that it demands maximum commitment from the parties involved to find a mutually acceptable solution, requires relatively more effort and time and it may also not be practical where a fast response is needed. The main advantage of withdrawing is that it protects more significant interests while ignoring the less significant ones. However, it may negatively affect the relationship of the involved parties especially in a situation where a single party expects the actions of another one.