Analysis of Workplace Conflict

The Female Bell Captain

Emma is the Bell Captain at a 5-star property. This is her first supervisor’s position and she is determined to make a success of it. Part of her job is to inspect the guest parking facility on a daily basis to ensure that the attendants park all cars correctly and that hotel procedure is being adhered to.

Her predecessor was notorious for disregarding hotel policy and procedure and consequently, many mishaps occurred (eg lost keys, scratched cars, etc) so Emma justified in taking a very hard line with her staff.

Recently, Emma has noticed that two of her porters have been making lewd and suggestive remarks within her hearing and both, at time, ignore her instructions. After one extremely unpleasant comment, she angrily confronted both men in the staff room and threatened them with disciplinary action. They both denied the accusations and told her that she was imagining things.

That afternoon Emma approached her manager and told him of her concerns. While sympathetic, he told her not to cause problems as the bell department had a huge turnover of staff last quarter and they could not afford to lose any more staff. He told her that she mustn’t be so sensitive and that if she wanted to take on what is normally a man’s job, she must toughen up.


You are to answer the following questions. Please provide full details to justify your answer.

1. Briefly, describe the players & stakeholders in the conflict.
2. Briefly, describe the stages of the conflict.
3. What examples of conflict-handling styles can be found in the scenario?
4. What conflict-handling strategy did Emma’s manager use?
5. How would you approach this situation if you were Emma?