COM 597 Reading Guide Questions for June 5 - Irwin Mallin, IPFW Communication

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COM 597, Summer 2007 – Reading Guide Questions for June 5

For Downey (2003):

First read this Washington Post article to get context for current practices in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the workplace. Note in particular:

1. Why do bosses see ADR programs as advantageous?

2. What does Platt identify as the criteria for a good ADR program and as the pitfalls to avoid?

3. How does Kodak’s ADR program work?

4. How do the local HR manager and the CEO cited in the article respond to the ADR program?

5. What are the varying employee reactions to ADR in the article?

For Jameson (2001):

Before you read the article please read Footnote 1 on pages 189-190 to see how she defines terms.

1. p. 164: One more time: What’s the distinction among interest-, rights-, and power-based approaches to managing conflict?

2. p. 164: What do Ury, Brett and Goldberg advocate? Why?

3. top p. 165: What does previous research say about who t he most likely third parties are and their likelihood to mediate? True where you work?

4. next paragraph: What’s the unique purpose she articulates for this study?

5. pp. 166-167: What distinguishes the various strategies she identifies as interest-based from one another? Why might some people object to treating negotiation as exclusively interest-based? Do you?

6. Are the research findings about managerial interventions she discusses in the paragraph that starts on the very bottom of p. 167 consistent with your experience?

7. pp. 168-169: What distinguishes the various strategies she identifies as rights-based from one another? (It may be helpful to also use the table on p. 174 to answer this question). What dies she note about the frequency of use of these strategies? How does she distinguish these from power-based strategies?

8. pp. 169-170: What distinguishes the various strategies she identifies as power-based from one another? Again, the chart on p. 174 may be helpful.

9. mid p. 170: What’s her complaint about previous research on workplace conflict management?

10. pp. 170-172: What are her research questions? Who was her sample? Does this sample satisfy her objections to prior research?

11. p. 173: How was the study done?

12. pp. 176-181: For each of the five research questions: What did she find? Were her findings consistent with prior research? For which strategies were there significant differences between managers and non-managers? Are her findings consistent with your experience?

13. p. 183: So why is it that managers are more likely to see negotiation as available than do employees? Mediation?

14. p. 185: She notes that only 31% reported that their organization has a conflict management policy in place. Does yours? If so, what is it?

15. pp. 185-186: What are the advantages to communication training she identifies? Do you agree? (Save these for when you’re on the job market.)

16. p. 187: What are the barriers to seeking third party intervention? How can they be overcome?

17. Now go back and look at Downey again. To what extent is Kodak’s program consistent with Jameson’s findings? To what extent isn’t it?

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