COM 597 Reading Guide Questions for May 15 - Irwin Mallin, IPFW Communication

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COM 597, Summer 2007 – Reading Guide Questions for May 15

For Putnam (2001)

1. What’s the irony of ignoring conflict in the human relations tradition that she describes on p. 12? Have you seen it in your workplace?

2. What’s the irony of ignoring conflict in the bureaucratic tradition that she describes on p. 12? Have you seen it in your workplace?

3. What does it mean to frame conflicts in terms of power? In terms of rights? In terms of interests? (p. 13) On p. 14 she notes that interest-based approaches tend to be privileged in formal dispute systems. Do you think it’s always preferable to frame conflict in terms of interests, rather than in terms of power or rights? When might it not be?

4. What are the three ironies she identifies in the interest-based approach in formal dispute systems? Have you seen these in your workplace?

5. What’s her complaint about individualizing disputes on the top of p. 15? Do you agree?

6. What does she mean by hidden conflict (mid p. 15)? How does hidden conflict manifest itself where you work? What are the ironies she identifies in the study of hidden conflict (top p. 16)?

7. What does she mean by a disputing perspective (mid p. 16)? What’s her argument about the advantages of researchers taking such a perspective? Is she right?

8. What does she mean by conflict orchestration? By transformation?

9. What do you think of the process used in the grade dispute case on pages 17 and 18? How do the different ways the dispute is framed affect the possible outcomes?

10. What do you t hink of her criteria for orchestration (top p. 19)?

Go to Reading Guides | Go to Syllabus | Go to Course Schedule
Go to Assignments | Go to Irwin's Main Page | E-Mail Irwin