Joan that no one had ever complained about her work or her relationship with the other office personnel until the past week. The president then addressed the manner in which Joan had dealt with the member earlier that day. She referred to the policy that the member is always right and that the employee is there to serve the needs of the member without question. Joan agreed, and she apologized for her rude behavior. She then returned to her desk; however, she spoke to no one the rest of the day. Joan left that afternoon as usual without a nice word to anyone. Improper Work Procedures Three weeks later Joan came to office as usual without saying a word to anyone. She began working on her insurance account immediately because it was due that day. In order for the statement to be posted by the computer on that day, Joan had to be finished by 11:30 A. M. But at 11:00 she still could not balance the debits and credits of her account. This posed a serious problem because of the time factor. Joan had not asked for anyone to help her; instead, she had worked over the same papers for days. At 11:20, Joan decided to change a few of the entries to balance the accounts and sent the work to the data processing agency for compiling. Joan knew that this was not going to be tolerated and that she would be caught when the accountant reviewed the information. The next day the processing agency called to inquire about the discrepancies in the data. After talking with the accountant, they talked with the president concerning this matter. That afternoon there was a meeting of the president, the vice president, the accountant, and Joan. The president told Joan about the error and asked if she knew anything about the problem. The president then showed Joan the evidence that proved that Joan had "adjusted" the figures to cover the difference that had existed. Knowing she had been caught, Joan said that she knew everyone in the office was against her. She said that she made the changes so she could get the work to the processors on time and that she was going to correct the errors as soon as she could find the problem. This defense was completely unacceptable to the officers. Joan had violated the policy of the Credit Union and tried to hide her mistakes by changing the figures to balance the account. Joan took the next several days off to give the officers time to forget about her mistakes. She had decided after discussing the situation with the president that it would be best if she took the time off. When Joan returned to work she met again with the president. However, at this meeting Joan turned in her resignation. This surprised the president because she knew Joan was not satisfied with the job but she had no idea that Joan would quit. The president later agreed that this was probably the best solution for all involved./nJoan had developed a normal working relationship with everyone in the office. She had even become a close friend of Kim, the director of marketing, winning her confidence and trust. One day in late February, the two persons discussed something very personal to Kim. This conversation concerned the private life of Kim and had nothing to do with the Credit Union or its operations. Kim did not expect this conversation to be repeated. She definitely did not expect it to be spread around the office as "office gossip." However, Joan told several people in the office of Kim's problem. Everyone realized that Kim did not want Joan to repeat the contents of the conversation; therefore, everyone began to defend Kim from the gossip. The conflict became so intense that the president was forced to call a meeting of the entire office staff so that they could clear up the misunderstanding. During the staff meeting, Kim assaulted Joan verbally for violating their trust. Joan reacted by claiming that she was not under the impression that their conversation was "top secret" and she had no idea that it would cause such a scandal. Because Joan was the newest employee, it was plain to see that everyone had sided with Kim and that no matter what Joan said, she was going to be found guilty of "office gossip." After the staff meeting, Joan, who felt as if she had just been scolded by everyone, returned to her desk and resumed working. She later went to the president's office to discuss the events of the staff meeting in private. When she returned from the office, she was even more upset than before. The president had told her that she had damaged the personal intraoffice relationship and had established an environment of distrust among the employees. Joan took the remainder of the afternoon off and left the office without speaking to anyone. Dealing with a Member About a week after the staff meeting, Joan went to work as she had done every morning since the scolding. She walked into the office, put away her purse and coat, booted up the computer and switchboard, and took her seat at her desk without speaking to anyone in the office. She had not talked with anyone in the office except to give them messages or ask them a work-related question. On this particular day, a member with a discrepancy in his insurance policy had called to clear the matter for his own personal records. The member could not understand a part of the policy that Joan had arranged for him. After trying to explain the policy to him, Joan became upset with him and slammed the receiver down on the phone base. This caused a scene in the office because Joan's desk was located in the front of the office. Joan had not only been extremely rude to a member but also caused a very disrupting scene in the office. The member to whom Joan had been rude called back and wanted to speak to the president. Joan told him that the president was not in and that she did not know when the president would return. It was later discovered that he had left a message for the president that Joan did not relay to her. Joan also knew that the president would be back at the office at 11:00 A. M. and that the president was scheduled to be gone for the next three days. Joan continued to give the irate member no cooperation until he hung up without satisfaction. That afternoon one of the tellers told the president of the earlier scene that Joan had caused and commented on how Joan had been acting toward everyone lately. The president immediately called Joan to her office. Joan sat down and began listening to the president. Midway through the conversation Joan interrupted the president and began explaining her views concerning the other office personnel. She claimed that no one had ever liked her and that she could never please anyone, including the president of the board. The president pointed out to/nThe Credit Union The Credit Union is a fast-growing financial institution that is serving the banking needs of educators and other members of the 17 counties surrounding the local university. The Credit Union, unlike other banking institutions, is completely owned by its members; therefore, the members have a large degree of control over its operations. The office personnel of the Credit Union consists of the following: a president, a vice president in charge of loans, an accountant, a marketing director, two credit officers (part-time student employees), a head teller, five regular tellers, an accounts clerk, and a receptionist. The receptionist is also in charge of handling the insurance coverage that the credit union offers to its members through a local insurance firm. She makes the insurance payments for each member through the electronic funds transfer system. The Credit Union strives to maintain a personal approach in dealing with its members. It prides itself on the friendly atmosphere of the office and the high quality of interpersonal relationships among the staff members. The personality of each employee reflects the commitment to "individual attention and personal caring for each member." By visiting the office frequently, the board of directors ensures that the ambience of the office is maintained. This keeps the employees alert and insures that they will treat the members with the respect that each member has become accustomed to expect. The board, which is made up of five elected members, meets monthly to discuss the progress of the Credit Union and any needs that should be addressed. The board has complete control over the actions of the president and any other employees or persons acting on behalf of the Credit Union. Before a person is hired, a "team spirit" is stressed to the prospective employee so that the applicant understands the "organization culture" that exists in the Credit Union. A new employee is allowed to meet the other employees and is encouraged to interact with them by asking questions and engaging in conversation. During an interview with a new employee, it is emphasized that employees work together as a team and that each employee can depend on other team members for support and assistance. Prospective employees are made to understand that they don't just perform their assigned tasks with several different employees; it is a team effort with trust and friendship as the foundation upon which is built the strong working relationship. Hiring a New Employee In October 1984 Joan Woodward applied for the position of receptionist at the Credit Union, which she had been referred to by a close friend. She had moved to the Richmond area from a large city in upstate New York. Her husband had been transferred to this area by his company. Joan and her husband had not been in Richmond, and they did not know anyone in the area. Joan applied to the Credit Union so that she would have something to do with her spare time. This was Joan's first job. She was 53 and did not have any previous employment experience or any higher educational qualification for a professional job. After the interview, Joan was hired. The president, who was in charge of all the hiring and firing, felt that Joan could learn the process required to perform the insurance billings and could answer any questions that the members might have after she was trained. Joan began working in late October and seemed to understand and enjoy her work. Breach of Confidence/nBased on the case above, please provide responses to the following items (in three separate answers): 1. Identify and describe the major and minor problems of the company as depicted in the case distinguish the type(s) of conflict and if it is interpersonal and/or organizational/team conflict. Define all terms. 2. Provide a detailed analysis of the problems you described in the first question using models and methods from Hocker, Rahim and/or other sources from class. Clearly identify what approach(es) you are using in the analysis. You can use more than one as long as it is clearly stated. 3. Provide realistic, detailed and practical recommendation(s) for alternative courses of action using solutions and ideas from class content and discussions. These should flow logically from your analysis.

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