.
Over the next month prior to the inspection, Dave's attitude dwindled and he began to be-little his fellow workers. Dave was under pressure to ensure that the office looked good for the inspection. Dave approached John, demanding that John complete his tasks immediately. John tried to assure Dave that his tasks would be taken care of prior to the date of the inspection. This was not good enough for Dave. Dave snapped at John once more demanding that he drop his daily work that was equally important and take care of the inspection preparation tasks. John was asked Dave to leave and told him that he should not treat any human being the way he was treating John. Dave began yelling at John. John walked off and headed toward the manager's office.
John has a few options for resolving this dispute with Dave.
1. Compromise: John can cool down, think about the best way to resolve it with Dave and then return and talk with Dave to resolve it. John could explain to Dave and help him understand that he (John), has other responsibilities and that it is a matter of scheduling. John could again assure Dave the tasks would be completed by a specific calendar date after which Dave could apply the pressure if John didn't meet the agreed upon deadline. .
• The positive outcome is that John and Dave will have built a better relationship. The communication will be established and resolution terms set.
• The negative outcome may be that Dave may not want to talk. If John doesn't complete the tasks by the agreed date, the dispute will resurface.
2. Collaboration: John can continue walking into the manager's office, relate the incident with his manager, and wait for the manager to resolve it. Would John be a tattle-tell and show that he was not responsible enough to handle the situation on his own? Would he simply be routing the issue through the proper channels to resolve the trouble-some Dave for the last time.
