Chapter 13 Case Study 1: DISORDERLY CONDUCT The sound of Matt and Peter’s arguing is familiar to everyone in the office by now. In an effort to make the best use of space and ensure a free flow of discussion and ideas, the founder of the design studio had converted the company’s one-floor office to an open plan with no walls between workers. The goal of this layout was to eliminate boundaries and enhance creativity. But for Matt and Peter, the new arrangement created a growing tension. The argument boils down to the question of workspace order and organisation. Peter prefers to keep his desk completely clean and clear, and he keeps a stack of cleaning wipes in a drawer to eliminate any dust or dirt. Matt, on the other hand, likes to keep all his work visible on his desk so sketches, plans, magazines or photos are scattered everywhere alongside boxes of crackers and coffee cups. Peter finds it hard to concentrate when he sees Matt’s piles of materials everywhere, while Matt feels he can be more creative and free flowing when he’s not forced to clean and organise constantly. Many of Matt and Peter’s co-workers wish they’d just let the issue drop. The men enjoyed a good working relationship in the past, with Peter’s attention to detail and thorough planning serving to rein in some of Matt’s wild inspirations, but lately the tension has derailed this collaboration. Everyone knows it’s not productive to engage in conflicts over every small irritant in the workplace. However, completely avoiding conflict can be equally negative. An emerging body of research examines so-called conflict cultures in organisations. The findings suggests that cultures that actively avoid and suppress conflicts can encourage lower levels of creativity. Cultures that push conflict underground but don’t succeed in reducing the underlying tensions can become passive-aggressive, marked by underhand behaviour against other co-workers. Finding a way through the clutter dispute is likely to be an ongoing process to find a balance between perspectives. Both Matt and Peter worry that if they can’t find a solution, their usually positive work relationship will be too contentious to bear. And that would be a real mess. Summaries the main issues identified in the case study that is relevant to the topic (DISORDERLY CONDUCT) link to OB theory include reference
Chapter 13 Case Study 1: DISORDERLY CONDUCT
The sound of Matt and Peter’s arguing is familiar to everyone in the office by now.
In an effort to make the best use of space and ensure a free flow of discussion and ideas, the founder of the design studio had converted the company’s one-floor office to an open plan with no walls between workers. The goal of this layout was to eliminate boundaries and enhance creativity. But for Matt and Peter, the new arrangement created a growing tension.
The argument boils down to the question of workspace order and organisation. Peter prefers to keep his desk completely clean and clear, and he keeps a stack of cleaning wipes in a drawer to eliminate any dust or dirt. Matt, on the other hand, likes to keep all his work visible on his desk so sketches, plans, magazines or photos are scattered everywhere alongside boxes of crackers and coffee cups. Peter finds it hard to concentrate when he sees Matt’s piles of materials everywhere, while Matt feels he can be more creative and free flowing when he’s not forced to clean and organise constantly. Many of Matt and Peter’s co-workers wish they’d just let the issue drop. The men enjoyed a good working relationship in the past, with Peter’s attention to detail and thorough planning serving to rein in some of Matt’s wild inspirations, but lately the tension has derailed this collaboration.
Everyone knows it’s not productive to engage in conflicts over every small irritant in the workplace. However, completely avoiding conflict can be equally negative. An emerging body of research examines so-called conflict cultures in organisations. The findings suggests that cultures that actively avoid and suppress conflicts can encourage lower levels of creativity. Cultures that push conflict underground but don’t succeed in reducing the underlying tensions can become passive-aggressive, marked by underhand behaviour against other co-workers.
Finding a way through the clutter dispute is likely to be an ongoing process to find a balance between perspectives. Both Matt and Peter worry that if they can’t find a solution, their usually positive work relationship will be too contentious to bear. And that would be a real mess.
Summaries the main issues identified in the case study that is relevant to the topic (DISORDERLY CONDUCT) link to OB theory
include reference
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