MGT421

MANAGING CONFLICT AND CONFRONTATION

Syllabus

• Semester Credit Hours: Not applicable

• Course Description: Conflict is a normal, natural product of people living and working together. This course presents practical tools and roadmaps to strengthen your skills in addressing conflict effectively. At the end of this course, you will have the information you need to select from five options for handling conflict, and tools to speak non-defensively, listen actively, and handle emotion.

• Course Prerequisites/Co-requisites: There are no prerequisites for this course.

• Estimated Time to Complete Course Work: 13 hours
  • Asynchronous (Independent work): 9 hours
  • Synchronous (Chat room work): 4 hours

The overall course goals are:

• To identify the five options for handling conflict and determine the best situations to use each option.
• To identify the steps to collaboratively address conflict.
• To strengthen communication skills essential to effectively address conflict.

The topics covered in this course include:

• Module 1: The Starting Point--You
  In this module, you will review your current attitudes, beliefs, and approaches for conflict management. Other topics include: costs of unresolved conflict, causes of conflict, and a working definition of effective conflict management.
• Module 2: Options for Managing Conflict
  The five options available for managing conflict are explained. The benefits and drawbacks of each option are explored, along with when to use and when not to use each option.
• Module 3: The Collaborative Conflict Management Process
  The six steps of the collaborative conflict management process are presented. Attitudes and skills needed to effectively use this process are described. In this module, you will use a list of questions to help you apply the collaborative approach to a conflict you are currently experiencing.
• Module 4: Handling Emotions
  In this module, you will learn about hot buttons and how to defuse them. You will also learn communication skills to effectively deal with others' emotions.
• Module 5: Understanding Their Point of View
  The focus of this module is on listening skills. You will practice restating and asking questions to help you strengthen your listening skills.
• Module 6: Expressing Your Point of View Effectively
  In this module, you will practice using I-statements and neutral language so that you can clearly speak your point of view in a way that minimizes defensive reactions in your listener.

Rationale for the course: Using the skills and information you learn in this course will help you confidently and successfully address conflict, an important business and life skill.

This course is Pass-Fail. To receive a certificate for this course, you must complete all activities.

Additional Requirements: This course includes the following:

• Course Orientation session
• Readings
• Individual short-answer activities
• Individual multiple-choice activities
• Small-group chat room activities
• Whole-group chat room activities

Criteria for Success: To receive a certificate for this course, you must:

• Attend the Orientation session.
• Complete all individual activities by the dates specified in the Calendar.
• Attend and participate in all chat room sessions.

Course Materials:

• No textbooks are used in this course.
• Please review the Technical Prerequisites (see left column) to ensure that you have the needed computer hardware, software, and Internet access to complete this course.

Tentative list of dated assignments:

• See the MGT421 Schedule for a course timeline.

Here are some tips to follow which will help you to maximize in this course:

• Set aside a specific time each week to work on this course. This will help you meet the completion
• Keep in touch with me and your classmates by frequently checking your course e-mail, bulletin board, and calendar. This will help build a sense of community among us. Using the various communications tools provided in this course effectively is the same as "raising your hand" and participating in class discussions.
• Know and abide by the course timeline. If unanticipated events interfere with your ability to complete activities as scheduled, please contact your instructor by telephone or email.
• Ask for help when you need it.
• Remember that there are traditional ways for keeping in touch. Use the telephone, a fax, or make an appointment to meet with me on campus.
• Work off-line and save your assignments on your computer before submitting them electronically. You can use the saved version of your work to copy and paste to an on-line assignment or you can attach the saved file to an e-mail or bulletin board message. This will prevent a lot of frustration should your Internet connection or your system "fail".
• Be sure you check the course syllabus and other course material for instructions on how to submit assignments. In many cases your instructor will specify that you submit your assignments using a specific file format. If your instructor does not specify a particular format for text documents, it is suggested that you save your files in Rich Text Format (.rtf format). This will minimize the potential for inadvertently transmitting computer viruses.
• Be sure to install anti-virus software on your local system and check all downloaded files before opening them.