Resolve the conflict before it destroys the organization

You volunteer with an organization whose executive leadership has conflicted for almost a year in deep, fairly public ways, on a variety of topics. At first, the conflict seemed to center on the types of events the organization sponsored, but, recently, some members of the leadership team have been making accusations of bias based on race, culture, social status, and religion against other leadership members, including the director. The conflict is making it difficult for anyone to continue working with the organization.

The leadership team is composed of seven members. Six of the members, including the director, are women. There are two African-American members, including the only man on the team. There is one Hispanic member. The other four members, including the director, are Caucasian.

You have successfully handled small conflicts among the volunteers and staff in the past, and now they have asked you to step in and see if you can help resolve the conflict before it destroys the organization. Leadership has already agreed to bring you in to try and help the situation, but you know you need to have a solid plan for this undertaking.

Include the following in your conflict resolution plan:

• Identify the factors that may be responsible for causing the conflict.
• Explain how the conflict is affecting the rest of the organization.
• Describe the conflict resolution style you will use in this situation.
• Explain the conflict negotiation strategies you will try.
• Based on your chosen strategies, determine the likely outcome.

To facilitate the evaluation of your plan, format your plan according to APA guidelines.

Additional Requirements

• Submit 3–4 typed, double-spaced pages, not including title and reference pages.
• Use 12-point, Times New Roman font.
• Include a title page and reference page.
• Cite at least 3 current scholarly or professional resources.

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community.

• Have you ever witnessed conflict between organizational leaders? What effect did the conflict have on morale within the organization?
• Is it possible that conflict negotiation strategies that work for an organization could also work for countries experiencing conflict?