Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Team Conflict: The "Chatty" Accusation a...

Behfar, Kristin J....

Case

Team Conflict: The "Chatty" Accusation at the Customer Support Call Center

Behfar, Kristin J.; Yemen, Gerry; Davidson, Martin N.

OB-1046 | Published January 28, 2013 | 4 pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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This case is used in Darden's core "Leading Organizations" course and is appropriate for MBA, Executive MBA, GEMBA, and executive education programs. The manager of a baby product company's global customer support center observes friction among her staff about the only Central American employee on the team, whom the North American team members accuse of increasing their call response rate time—thus effectively lowering their pay. When conflict arises on a multicultural team, to what extent can it be attributed to cultural differences and when should a manager become involved?

Create a learning situation to illustrate the importance of identifying when challenges are unique to cross-cultural teams and when difficulties are typical across teams in general. Use concepts from an organizational behavior course to analyze difficult team situations and determine whether it is appropriate for managers to intervene.