Assignment Discussion: Conflict Management Self-Assessment
The reading by Shearouse (2011) discusses five conflict management styles. Many companies sell conflict style questionnaires for use in organizations. For the first week of this module, try your hand at a free questionnaire. Here is one that allows you to identify your own conflict management style based on five styles similar to those discussed in Shearouse (2011):
1. Report you're rating as well as your general impressions about the usefulness of this questionnaire. Were you surprised by the results? Do you think the results are accurate? Would the questionnaire be useful for your organization?
2. Try your hand at using some of the conflict management or negotiation tactics discussed in this module. This could be with a coworker or family member. If everything is peaceful these days at home or at work, you can also try negotiating for a better deal, such as calling up your credit card company to try to get a lower interest rate or calling up your cell phone carrier to get a lower monthly rate. Share the results with your classmates, and don't cause too much trouble.