Key Employees Clash

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When Key Employees Clash Case Summary The case study by H. Irving Grousebeck describes a very delicate situation which is generally encountered in workplaces. It dwells into the situation where two senior managers are in conflict and asks the opinion from the readers for the possible practical solutions. The key players in the case are: * Matthew Sparks (CEO, Kid Spectrum Inc.) * Ellen Larson (Administrative Director, Kid Spectrum Inc.) * Ronnie Emerson (Director of Clinical Operations, Kid Spectrum Inc.) Matthew is running his company in Chicago and had acquired an in-home service for autistic children’s company in Orlando eight months back. There was a tele-con between Matthew and Ellen wherein she complains about Ronnie’s careless attitude towards the protocols followed in the company and its impact on other employees and future prospects of business. Thoughtful about Ellen’s protests, Matthew undertakes a visit to Orlando for supervision purpose and is highly disturbed to see a conflict between Ronnie and Ellen which is also openly discussed among employees. Ronnie reaches 20 minutes late for his appointment with Matthew citing reasons of a client visit. On further discussion between them, Ronnie gets worked up and blames Ellen about being too uptight and not at all considerate about “human factor”. In the end, Matthew meets Arthur Hamel (Former CEO, Kid Spectrum Inc.) and explains the situation in hope of some fruitful discussion which would help in solving the workplace problems. Diagnosis of the problem: Conflict arises from the clash of perceptions, goals, or values in a company where people care about the final result. If the management of that conflict is not effective, it can totally disrupt the entire group process. Functional conflict is at a level that enables a group to maximize its performance, and the outcomes are desirable.
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