Read the following scenario very carefully and then answer the questions given below

Question

 Affifa works for a well-reputed university. She always wanted to be the head of the department. Finally, after lots of hard work, she managed to become the head of the Psychology department at her university.  She has achieved her vision and feels very happy with herself.  But from the day she has taken charge of the office, she is facing unexpected challenges.

Her assistants don’t complete tasks according to her expectations. She found herself most of the time behaving aggressively with juniors. Due to continuously facing such issues, she is now facing some health issues more than before like shoulder pain and more frequent cold. Now, most of the time she is thinking that she is a failure. 

A.     Affifa is facing positive stress or negative stress. How she can manage her stress?   

    

B.     Which strategy of conflict resolution will work best for Affifa and her subordinates? Justify your choice.

Answer 1

Hi, Yahya!

Based on Affifa's circumstances, she is facing an evident case of negative stress. Had she been facing positive stress, it would be in regards to an exciting new opportunity (seemingly here, her acceptance as the head of the Psychology Department. However, this stress is not motivating her nor presenting itself in a meaningful way. Due to the aggravating circumstances that Affifa is enduring, her health ends up suffering due to the build-up of stressors (irritability, aggression, assistants not complying) which signifies negative stress. Her skewed perception of being a failure stems from this production of negative stress. Therefore, A) is negative stress.

In terms of Conflict Resolution, Affifa and her subordinates would benefit greatly from Third-Party intervention. The third-party intervention allows for an uninvolved, unbiased individual to step in and mitigate any tensions that may arise upon addressing the conflicts at hand. Due to this, each individual would get equal talk time and no aggression would be present or tolerated on either side. Affifa and her subordinates may find alleviation through a third-party intervention due to it being a workplace conflict and a measure of not seeing eye-to-eye. Affifa may also consider developing accommodations for herself and others that will decrease the heightened level of stress coursing through the leadership responsibilities of the Psychology Department. Therefore, B) is a third-party intervention.

I hope this helped you with your question regarding Conflict Resolution & Mediation! I greatly enjoyed the course myself and wish you well throughout it. If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out!