Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Finder, Minder & Grinder: The Charges an...

Davidson, Martin N...

Case

Finder, Minder & Grinder: The Charges and Rebuttal

Davidson, Martin N.; Yemen, Gerry

OB-0841 | Published March 3, 2005 | 4 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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David Walker, a senior attorney in a busy white-shoe law practice is involved in an in-office dispute between his administrative assistant and a respected colleague. He had spent numerous hours listening to both sides tell their stories and has no answers. How was he ever going to help two people he valued greatly work out a compromise between their extremely polar positions? The case provides opportunities to explore the sources of interpersonal conflict, causes of escalation, and ways of diffusing and resolving it.

The learning objectives are to introduce students to core performance-management topics, such as equity theory and employee value; give students practice having difficult conversations in a safe environment; facilitate a discussion on workplace diversity and discrimination; allow students to wrestle with the challenges of nurturing work relationships and building trust; highlight the need to foster performance and to understand levels one, two, and three in leadership techniques; and help students understand that organizational design (OD) decisions are powerful and persuasive. They would benefit from understanding how OD shapes the way work gets done in organizations.