Case Study

Suggested Answers for Case Study 1

1. What’s the source of role conflict here?

There are several sources of role conflict in the case. There is conflict regarding the expectations of management and the expectation of customers regarding the “role” of the representatives.

It appears that the reward system is in conflict with the expectations of customers.

That is, to spend “time” with customers is inconsistent with the efficiency expectations of management.

2. Are there functional benefits to management from role conflict? Explain.

Any “functional” benefits that derive from the role conflict in this case would be short term.

While “efficiency may improve in the short term, the longer-term consequences of poor quality customer service would undoubtedly offset any efficiency gains.

3. Should role conflict among these telephone service employees be any greater than a typical employee who works as part of a team and has to meet the expectations of a boss as well as team members? Explain.

Because of the term “should” this is an opinion based question.

The role conflict in this case appears to put the efficiency goals of management in direct conflict with the goal of effective customer service.

4. What can Maggie do to manage this role conflict?

Maggie can attempt to make the case to management by providing an analysis of the costs vs. benefits of the perceived unrealistic expectations of management regarding efficiency of customer calls.

That is, if data exists to demonstrate that customer complaints increase due to the lack of time spent by customer service representatives, then the costs accruing to the company are greater.

In addition, Maggie could document absenteeism, turnover, and other “costs” due to the perceived conflict in order to affect some moderation in the policy.

Suggested Answers for Case Study 2

1. A lot of bosses are accused of being “poor...