Conflict and the Secret Service

Conflict and the Secret Service

The discussion article chosen for this week is “12th military member tied to prostitution scandal,” written by Ben Feller, Jim Kuhnhenn, and Laurie Kellman of the Associated Press. The article discusses the recent scandal to sweep the White House concerning members of the Secret Service utilizing prostitution. So far twelve members of the Secret Service were caught utilizing the services of prostitutes in Columbia while scouting the area in advance of President Obama’s arrival for the Summit of Americas. The latest member of the Secret Service team to be implicated is also a member of the U.S. Army and was assigned to the White House Communications Agency. President Obama’s chief spokesman has stated that the White House Communications Agency is not filled by members chosen by the senior staff; the Agency is filled by the Army. At this time six Secret Service agents, including two supervisors, have been forced out of the Agency. The other five officers have been suspended. A comprehensive minute-by-minute timeline is being put together by the White House Staff and it is expected that more employees will lose their jobs.

The article can be linked back to course material discussing structural sources of conflict in organizations. One structural conflict can be differentiation, which can cause conflict when there is a goal incompatibility. In differentiation a common goal may be agreed upon but the means to achieving that goal can differentiate significantly. Another linkage between the article and the course material is the best styles for handling conflict. There are four means to handle conflict: 1) problem solving: working to find a mutually beneficiation solution to a conflict, 2) forcing: attempting to win a conflict at the expense of another, 3) avoiding: attempting to smooth over a conflict, 4) yielding: giving in to another side’s wishes, and 5) compromising: making concessions to some extent.

In comparing the article...