Running Head: CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK

Case Analysis: Permission to Walk

Janeth Barocio
University of Nebraska at Kearney












CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
Introduction:
Whats it like to be caught between a brick wall and another brick wall? Which way to
go? Its always difficult when a problem arises and a solution is not clear. However conflict is
inevitable, especially when working in an organization or with a larger group of individuals. In
the following case study Dennis encounters issues at his job which lead him to making a crucial
and difficult decision. First we will look at the type of conflict Dennis faces, followed by the
decision making styles, and finally how emotion plays a role in the problem.
Section 1:
The Case Permission to Walk deals with a situation that can be all too common,
unreliability. Dennis who is looking towards a promotion sometime in his future is Head of
Telecommunication Sales Department at his company. When he attempts to create a more
personal bond and help a former employer whom left her job due to health issues, he feels great.
Dennis creates a fundraiser to help the former employee with her health issues. The fundraiser
consists of a maximum of two employees walking on what is known as the quad in order to raise
funds. As it gets closer to the big day of the fundraiser things are looking to be a great success
considering all the top executives have agreed to participate and advertisement is huge.
However, Dennis faces an issue once the plans are under way and the facility manager does not
approve of the use of the building, when initially he had a conversation with one of the directors
and they had mentioned that they saw no problems in use of the facility. The case goes on to
display the frustration that Dennis faces when he does not get a response back from the facility
director after the director stated that he would look into the approval of the facility again. Dennis
doesnt know what to do since he knows the topic is being avoided when he doesnt get a
response from the director. Dennis is faced with real troubles when he has to make an executive
CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
decision if to go against the facility director and use the Quad anyway since advertisement has
gone up, or if he should move the event and have to rearrange all the scheduling that has been
done along with advertisement. The issue with not using the Quad is that there is no personal
connection to the employees with the other facility. Not only that but the Quad is close to the
offices and accessible to mostly everyone, and it is also a much nicer area of the campus.
Section 2
Throughout the case here are three main concepts that pertain to the situation which
include intergroup conflict, decision making, and also emotion.
Conflict
When working in an organization there is no doubt that conflict will be encountered at
one moment or another, but first one must know what exactly conflict is. Conflict as described
by Katherine Miller in Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes isthe
interaction of interdependent people who perceive opposition of goals, aims, and values, and
who see the other party as potentially interfering with the realization of these goals. This
definition highlights three general characteristics that we might think of as the three Is of
conflict: incompatible goals, interdependence, and interaction. (Miller, 163) Incompatible goals
are self-explanatory and deal with the different goals that might clash with one another. In the
circumstances of Dennis, his goals were incompatible with those of the facility director. Dennis
goals were to host the fundraiser on the Quad where the facility director and director didnt
approve. They thought it was best for Dennis to host his event in another area of the building
creating incompatibility. Interdependence then results in conflict because one party depends on
another. Dennis faced no issue until he needed the facility coordinators approval for usage of the
Quad. The third I, interaction, occurs when there is an expression of incompatibility, not the
CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
mere existence of incompatibility (Miller, 162). For Dennis this involved getting approval of
the Quad by word of mouth, then being denied the use of the facility formally, and afterwards
confronting and pushing for the use of the quad but having the issue be placed aside by the
director.
In terms of conflict there are also various types, under his circumstances Dennis
encountered what is known as intergroup conflict. Intergroup conflict considers aggregates of
people within an organization (e.g., work teams, departments) as parties in the conflict. (Miller,
163) In this type of conflict the issue is within parties that are a part of the same organization.
With them both being employees, the facility director and Dennis, the conflict can be viewed as
one on one but also as coming from different departments, one being the head of
telecommunication sales and the other the facilities director.
Decision Making
After encountering the actual conflict, follows the problem with decision making. As a
new employee it is important for Dennis to determine what is the appropriate decision to make,
whether that may be going against the companies policy and executive board and hosting the
fundraiser in the Quad or changing the event that everyone was already excited about. A good
use of a decision model would be one of March and Simon who characterize the traditional
approach to decision making as an optimizing model in which decision makers are attempting to
find the single best solution to an organizational problem. They believe that it is more realistic to
look at organizational decision making as a satisficing process in which the search is not for a
single optimal solution but for a solution that will work well enough for dealing with the
situation. (Miller, 144) In this case Dennis would not necessarily rely on the fact that he should
follow company policy, but rather that the best decision might be to go ahead and host the
CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
fundraiser because it is what the public is expecting and the facility director doesnt seem to
responsibly handle company procedures. Another style of decision making to help Dennis in his
circumstances is known as Intuitive decision making (Miller, 145). This style depends on the
decision-maker accessing the relevant chunk of information and putting it to use.(Miller,145)
Intuitive decision making, although may sound like a bad choice is not necessarily negative. As
noted by Simon, Intuitive decision making is not logical, neither is it illogical. (Miller, 145)
This type of decision making relies on experiences similar to those that the individuals faces at
the moment to make his or her executive decision. Dennis could possibly rely on this type of
decision making by comparing similar situations that he has experienced with unreliable
coworkers that are above him in the hierarchal structure of his job.
Emotion
When dealing with conflict another aspect that more commonly plays out soon after is
that of emotion. One of the aspects of emotion happens to be conflicting allegiances. Because
organizations are complex systems, workers often feel many loyalties. These conflicts might
involve a distinction between whats best for the individual and whats best for the company. Or
an individual might feel conflicting loyalties to various departments or individuals in an
organization.(Miller, 204) It is safe to say then that Dennis experiences conflicting allegiances
in expressing loyalty to company policy or loyalty to his word and promises of the fundraiser as
it was supposed to occur. Other coworkers whom he mentioned the issue to might also
experience conflicting allegiances between choosing to host the fundraiser in the Quad anyway
or loyalty to their organization and the policies. This is evident when a coworker tells Dennis
The rebel in me says go ahead and do it without permission and let the chips fall where they
CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
will. Of course, the administrator in me says follow the rules. (Keyton, Zalabak 139) Its a
difficult decision to make especially when emotions of betrayal and loyalty are involved.
More importantly however, when dealing with emotion its crucial to express emotional
intelligence which Dennis did quite well. Dennis became quite aggravated and frustrated as he
dealt with the facility director not approving the Quad even after the director had mentioned that
there should be no problem with using the facility. After then questioning the director Dennis
became even more frustrated and angry with the unreliability that the director displayed in not e-
mailing Dennis back in a timely manner, or at all for that matter. Dennis through all of this
managed to keep himself calm and collected. At no point in time did Dennis display his true
aggravation which is a sign of emotional intelligence in the workplace by being able to control
his true emotions. As mentioned by Miller, Emotional intelligence involves both a clear
understanding of the emotional needs of a situation and the self-awareness and self-control
necessary for using the right emotional display to cope with the situation. (Miller, 205)
One last aspect to address as part of emotion deals with support. There are also all types
of support. Informational support involves the provision of facts and advice to help an
individual cope.(Miller, 212) This type of support is not offered to Dennis as is noted by his
coworkers comment about not knowing if to do the rebel thing or look at it from an
administrative viewpoint. Lack of informational support also involves the negligence of using
the Quad without a solid reason. Also the fact that the director didnt reply to Dennis the second
time he was asked shows that there is no informational support. The type of support that is
positively expressed however is emotional. Emotional support involves letting another person
know that they are loved and cared for. (Miller, 212) The fundraiser being hosted is evidence as
the company is striving to help a former employee with her deteriorating health. Emotional
CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
support is offered to Dennis as well through expected participation of his coworkers in the event.
Even one of the executives mentions to him, I thank you for your initiative and leadership in
this area. (Keyton, Zalabak, 139)
Section 3:
As stated by Neil H. Katz and Linda T. Flynn, organizational conflict is experienced at
all organizational levels, and results from many procedural and personnel issues. (Katz., Flynn,
397) There are however three main elements that are more likely to cause a conflict, these
include:
Powerthe capability and the means to accomplish things
Organization demandsdiffering expectations of work duties,
quality, and speed
Worthself-esteem and other emotional needs (Katz, Flynn, 398)
All three of which are present in the case with Dennis. His lack of power and the need for
use of the Quad are what caused the conflict in the first place. His worth is being placed on the
line because carrying his plans out could mean sacrificing future promotions for him.
In Dennis situation he has limited solutions to his problem. His first solution would be to
continue the event without permission from the facility director and face sanctions that could be
placed for him later. His second solution would be to oblige by the rules and change the location
for the event hoping for a decent outcome of individuals to participate.
The most promising solution in order to create a change and lead up to a reliable work
environment is to carry out his plans and take further action afterwards to ensure that company
policies are reviewed and upper management is responsibly carrying out their duties. It is quite
true what is mentioned by Brenda S. Gregory Dawes, author of Harnessing energy to overcome
CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
conflict, Confronting, or attending to an issue, is at the heart of conflict resolution. Conflict
resolution or confrontation is not consistently taught in schools or in the home. We learn issue-
resolving or problem-solving skills more often from previous experiences, by reading books, by
attending classes, or from role models. (Dawes) Therefore it is likely that many individuals
dont directly turn to conflict resolution as it is not a habit. In this case Dennis had confronted the
issue however his concerns were not heard out by the director as he never replied to Dennis after
he had indicated he would do so. The fact that the director didnt reply to Dennis showed
unreliability and uncertainty and that policies are not fully implemented to hold individuals
accountable for their responsibilities. In this case after Dennis carries on the fundraiser he should
set up a meeting with upper management to train all employees and have them educate the
organization on some sort of policy training. As mentioned in the article, Understanding Conflict
Management Systems and Strategies in the Worplace: A Pilot Study Many organizations do not
realize the benefits of conflict management training and tools or lack the resources or knowledge
to incorporate them into the processes of their organization. (Katz, Flynn, 407) With that being
said it is crucial to ensure that policies are clear and concise, whether those are strictly conflict
policies or for other matters such as decision making. Terry Bragg of Ten Ways to Deal With
Conflict clearly states Often it is the systems that are the root of conflict in organizations.
(Bragg, 37) This is not simply in the ways that systems are set up but things such as not having a
formal decision making policy either. Clear processes and rules make it easier for a group to
settle disputes...before conflict emerges, make sure everyone in the organization understands that
there is an accepted decision-making process; after conflict erupts, agreeing on a decision-
making process is difficult. (Bragg, 36) Establishing a decision-making process should be
incorporated when seeking to find common ground with upper level management for Dennis
CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
because such a process would have helped him solve the facility issue and avoided the issue
altogether. One other main issue was that Dennis continued to go back to the same individual
who was being unreliable instead of seeking higher management. If you get stuck, go to higher-
level values or criteria. Albert Einstein noted that you cannot solve a problem on the same level
that the problem was created. When you get stuck, go to a higher level and look at the bigger
picture. Appeal to the perspective of higher levels of management. (Bragg, 36) Although much
cannot be done other than going to higher level management at this point, it would seem
especially important for Dennis to take this action in relation to those who potentially have
decisions in his future promotions. Dennis could then speak also about clarifications on
responsibilities of his job, authority as well as having consequences for those not held
accountable. Inconsistencies among responsibility, authority, and accountability are major
sources of conflict in organizations.(Bragg, 36) It was unaccountability and lack of authority
that caused him issues with facility use. Overall a meeting to discuss his actions after he hosts the
event at the Quad will be necessary as well as for making clarifications on policies and
procedures, job responsibilities, accountability, and educating overall staff on the mission and
values of the company to ensure that misunderstandings are handled. It is true that you must
recognize and address misunderstandings when they occur. (Bragg, 36) It seemed that Dennis
handled his side of the situation properly as well as dealing with the emotions that were not
directly addressed. Where as this solution to continue on without permission might seem a bit
drastic and rebellious it is not necessarily always best to simply take the solution that always
seems rational. As mentioned by Blake E. Ashforth and Ronald H. Humphrey in Emotion in
the Workplace: A Reappraisal, The ascent of rationality as the dominant adminstrative
paradigm has led to what Morgan (1986) terms an overrationalized conception of
CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
organizational life. Indeed, the emphasis on rationality has become institutionalized in the forms
of norms of rationality(Thompson, 1967) such that organizations must at least publicly
conform to these norms to be perceived as legitimate. ( Ashforth, Humphrey, 102) With that
being stated it justifies Dennis decision to go on and proceed with the fundraiser because most
individuals might find it irrational to pursue the fundraiser in the Quad without formal
permission, yet Dennis had received verbal consent from the director. In seeking the right choice
Dennis does so very well as his emotions are never expressed towards the directors, like
mentioned before this plays a crucial role in emotional intelligence as it is noted in the article
The Role of Emotions in Conflict Management: The Case of Work Teams by Helena Desivilya
and Dana Yagil that conflict is an emotionally defined and driven process, and that recognizing
this fact fundamentally alters ones approach to conflict management. (Desivilya, Yagil, 57) It is
conflict that inflicts many emotions and by addressing the issue Dennis would be helping
acknowledge future mishaps as he also releases his emotions, although that is not often allowed
as part of the job. The overrationalized view of organizations, and the consequent attempts to
regulate emotion, have made it difficult to recognize the pervasiveness and utility of emotion in
organizational life and how qualities of the heart give value and meaning to qualities of the
head. (Ashforth, Humphrey, 109). Overall its evident that, all parts are interrelated when it
comes to conflict. The article Well-being in the workplace through interaction between
individual characteristics and organizational content by Gianluca Biggio and Claudio G.
Cortese the results demonstrated the correlation of factors within a work environment. The
individual characteristics identified by the participants as capable of influencing well-being in
the workplace include being positive, communication, management of difficulties and conflicts,
socio-emotional skills, and values.(Biggio, Cortese) all of which are parts that Dennis has to
CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
deal with when encountering issues with the facility use. Most importantly though, results
highlight that well-being in the workplace does not depend exclusively on external conditions in
terms of the working and organizational environment within which the individual operates.
(Biggio, Cortese) as well as that Results would be useful for developing training, workplace
counseling, and organizational development activities aimed to support small groups, leaders,
and other strategic players in the construction of the subsystems of well-being in the workplace.
(Biggio, Cortese) This is an important part of Dennis solution as new implementations need to
be made regarding policies and procedures and perhaps training would be another option as well.
Seeing that conflict plays a large role and affects other aspects in the workplace like emotions
and communication, it is crucial that Dennis doesnt just brush the issue off, especially
considering that there is a tremendous lack of communication, like mentioned the best solution
seems to go ahead and host the fundraiser.
Section 4:
Furthermore it is likely for issues to still arise although Dennis more than likely would be
capable of handling the situation. If Dennis were to play out the solution chosen by going ahead
and hosting the fundraiser on the Quad without permission; then hosting a meeting to explain his
wrong doings and demand clarity of policies, it is likely that he could have a bad image and be
reprimanded. This could be a possible short term outcome and not only that but he might cause a
tense relationship to form between himself and the facility director as well as the director due to
lack of understanding. When looking at the picture from a long term perspective his promotions
could be jeopardized because of the rebel like behavior that he has displayed under these
circumstances. The fact that Dennis confronted the situation and kept to his word about the
fundraiser however, has more to say about being an honest and loyal individual which in other
CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
terms might work to his advantage, especially because a lot of the executives seem to be glad
that he has taken initiative and plan to support the fundraiser.
Conclusion:
In conclusion the workplace is a very versatile place. Dealing with handling ones tasks,
managing employee relations as well as ones own feelings is a difficult task in itself. When
conflict arises it becomes at many times almost unbearable. One first needs to understand the
type of conflict that is being faced as well as making the right decision. Finally one must also be
able to deal with the emotions related to the conflict. Being able to make a decision and holding
to it that its the best one is never easy as in the circumstances of Dennis. However it is safe to
say that conflict allows for growth and learning and many times can lead to other conflicts that
one must learn to accept and deal with. In Dennis circumstances, the choices he had to deal with
were very limited and either way someone was going to end up upset about his final decision.
For that matter it was best for Dennis to do what seemed most correct considering he was dealing
with unreliable coworkers. Not only that but it seemed almost necessary for the restructuring of
the companies policies and procedures as well as their mission. Much conflict in the future could
easily be avoided if standards were set and clear for employees to base themselves off of. After
all we can only hope that Dennis made the correct decision and move forth.






CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
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CASE ANALYSIS: PERMISSION TO WALK
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