HR Discussion

Question 1

Think about an interteam challenge* or conflict that you have either been part of or have observed in your organization.  Describe what the issues were and discuss what steps you would take to reduce the chances of conflict escalation between the teams if you saw this occurring in the future.

*Keep in mind that interteam challenges are those that occur between different teams, not within the same team.  For example, the accounting team wants to acquire a certain financial accounting system but the technology team says they can’t support it. Or the sales team wants to customize an order for a customer but the systems team says the customization can’t be done for the price the sales team offered.

Question 2

Is interteam conflict bad?  Or do you believe that “because conflict is both inevitable and potentially highly constructive, organizations should become conflict-positive” (Tjosvold, 2008, p. 19)?  Read the Tjosvold (2008) article (located in eReserves), then discuss whether you agree with Tjosvold’s points.