Case Assignment

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Conflict on the Human Services Coordination Team Compiled by Melissa Reitmeier and Carl Maas

Summary

This case takes place in a meeting between employees of the Human Services Coordination Team (HSCT). Jerry Feldman, Director of Field Services, manages the regional offices. Arthur Harris, is director of the northeast regional office, a position he was recently promoted to. Frances Carpenter, a caseworker at the northeast regional office, has been with the unit for 1 ½ years, coming on board the same time as Author. She recently missed two staff meetings, and “blew up” at Arthur when he confronted her about her absences. Arthur has documented that Frances resists direction and fails to carry out assignments. At Author’s request, Jerry is facilitating this meeting to address concerns about Frances. Problem Statement

The management and direct practice workers view the same issues and the best way to provide services differently. Francis and Arthur view the issues from separate cultural perspectives. There are issues regarding staff training, discrimination (e.g. racial and gender), and an unclear mission. Contextual Analysis

Internal issues connected to the case include matters relative to both Arthur and Frances. To begin with, Arthur is seven years younger than Frances, yet he was promoted to a supervisory level. The promotion raises issues regarding the “glass ceiling” effect in management (Gibelman, 2003).

Another internal issue is education and experience. Arthur has a BA and one year of

graduate work in sociology; however, he has no previous supervisory experience. It is unknown whether or not he has taken any management classes. His inexperience has contributed to the difficulties with Frances. Rather than individually confronting her he attempted to use peer pressure to address her performance. Direct one-to-one verbal reprimands are associated with more effective communication regarding job expectations and performance (Weinbach, 2003).

Frances does appear to have interpersonal difficulties with everyone in the office. She frequently gets into arguments and does not follow Arthur’s supervision. Social construction theory suggests that differences in perception of events by Arthur and Frances may be a root cause of the current tension (Hutchison, 1999). Arthur and Frances have different definitions of their jobs, as well as experiences regarding community, racism, and sexism.

External issues relevant to the case are organizational, cultural, ethical, and legal. The

organization operates under bureaucratic management (Weinbach, 2003), with an emphasis on vertical hierarchy, resulting in a strict division of labor. Frances and Arthur have conflicting ideas about Frances’ job description which creates tension. Frances appears to see her job as assisting individuals to access needed and existing services. Arthur sees her job as developing and coordinating programs that proactively reach greater numbers of people. While Frances is

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ensuring immediate access to services, she may be disempowering young mothers by not providing them with important information and preventative services. In addition, Arthur perceives that the unit’s performance is a reflection of him. Hence, he attempts to micro-manage his staff, which Frances resents. Frances may also not fully understand Arthur’s job description. Regardless, Frances is skirting insubordination by skipping weekly staff meetings, verbally lashing out at Arthur, and failing to report to work.

Cultural issues also play a role in this case. Frances is tied closely to the African

American community. It affects this case because of her unwillingness to work outside of her comfort zone with members of other ethnicities. She also believes she knows the community better than Arthur. Arthur’s culture also plays a key role. Arthur is a white male in a white male dominated society who doesn’t have to contend with racism. Whites are often oblivious to their social and economic privileges that result from their racial position (McIntosh, 1988). Research indicates that differences among people and their unique qualities can improve work environments and organization effectiveness (Weinbach, 2003).

One ethical issue in the case is Jerry’s duty to provide his staff with appropriate

supervision, continuing education, and staff development. (NASW Code of Ethics, 1996). Jerry has not provided Arthur with sufficient training or supervision. While Arthur is not a social worker, it is Jerry’s responsibility to ensure that Arthur is competent in his area of practice, especially since they work in a human services setting.

There are two important legal issues the case. First, Jerry has to ensure that the team

provides equal employment opportunities (P.L. 88-352, the Civil Rights Act of 1964). It is illegal to discriminate in the workplace on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, or sex, and failure to comply can result in legal action. The agency must also comply with Public Law 102-166, Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, also known as the “Glass Ceiling Act”. This act addresses discrimination in promoting women and minorities in public agencies (Gibelman, 2003). Three Alternative Strategies

One: Jerry could train his staff, specifically supervisory training for Arthur and cultural diversity/sensitivity training for all employees. By providing the staff with needed information and skills they could better accomplish the agency’s mission. Disadvantages are the training costs, including a trainer and lost staff time.

Two: Jerry could transfer either Arthur or Frances to another region. A transfer would

immediately stop the conflict between the two co-workers. The disadvantages are that the transfer doesn’t address the job descriptions and mission, and is unfair to the transferred staff.

Third: Jerry could meet with Arthur and Frances to review and explain their job

descriptions and his expectations of them. In subsequent meetings, the team would continue resolve conflicts by clarifying the unit’s mission. The strategy’s advantage is that it aids in resolving the immediate conflict and also allows Jerry to work at clarifying their job expectations and the unit’s mission. A disadvantage of this is that it is a long term solution requiring more time and energy than a transfer or training.

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Recommendation and Evaluation Plan

Jerry should employ problem solving and a strengths perspective approach to diffuse staff

conflict and improve staff/unit performance (McMillen, Morris, Sherraden, 2004). Jerry must work with Arthur and Frances to define their job descriptions (Gambrill, 1997). They have constructed different perspectives of the work and how it should be evaluated. Once their jobs are defined, Jerry must work with the unit team to clarify the mission. As senior management, Jerry should lead this action. He is should set expectations of the unit and its staff (Allison & Kaye, 2005).

Using the strengths perspective, Jerry should train Arthur on using staff’s strengths, as

well as Author’s own strengths to become a better supervisor. Using a combination of problem solving and strengths based approaches, Jerry can resolve the current conflict and build the unit’s and staff’s capacity.

By addressing the conflict using the problem-solving and strengths based perspective,

Jerry can teach the staff conflict resolution skills and increase their work capacity. The approach addresses confusion about the unit’s mission and goals. In the longer term, further training may be necessary for Arthur to enhance supervisory skills and for the entire staff to embrace and respect cultural diversity. References Allison, M., & Kaye, J. (2005). Strategic planning for nonprofit organizations: A practical guide

and workbook (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley Press. Gambrill, E. (1997). A problem-focused model based on critical inquiry. In Social work

practice: A critical thinker’s guide (pp. 96-124). New York: Oxford University Press. Gibelman, M. (2003). Navigating human service organizations: Essential information for

thriving and surviving in agencies. Chicago: Lyceum Books, Inc. Hutchison, E. D. (1999). Dimensions of human behavior: Person and environment. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. McIntosh, P. (1995). White privilege and male privilege: A personal account of coming to see

correspondences through work in women studies. In M. Anderson & P. H. Collins (Eds.), Race, class and gender: An anthology (2nd ed.) (pp. 76-87). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

McMillen, J. C., Morris, L., & Sherraden, M. (2004). Ending social work’s grudge match: Problems versus strengths. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 85, 317-325.

National Association of Social Workers. (1996). Code of ethics. Washington, DC: Author. Weinbach, R. W. (2003). The social worker as manager: A practical guide to success. Boston:

Allyn and Bacon.