Within any organization there will be a need to manage and resolve conflict. This need was especially prevalent with NUMMI due to the cultural and philosophical differences between Toyota and General Motors. Before we explore the details of conflict management and resolution techniques specific to NUMMI, it is important to first understand what conflict management and resolution is.
Wikipedia defines conflict management as“the process of limiting the negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_management). Conflicts are not inherently negative but can grow to be negative if not managed properly. Conflicts generally occur if there is a perceived incompatibility between …show more content…
In the case of NUMMI, the implementation of their conflict management techniques still remains a mystery even to them. The general consensus, however, was their success was largely attributed to finding a third culture that took elements from both GM and Toyota to make a cohesive, productive and efficient team environment that allowed NUMMI the successes they would enjoy for the next twenty six years. NUMMI 's implementation of conflict management was complete through the entire company and served to basically preempt any need for conflict resolution. In a sense, the conflict management techniques NUMMI used was a form of conflict prevention and reduced the need for the use of resolution techniques. To make the joint venture work, all three levels had to find common ground and establish relationships of mutual trust and respect. In order to address this, the issues of job security, fairness, trust and discipline had to be managed in such a way to be found amenable to all …show more content…
Management had to be self-disciplined in all aspects of the production model, stay the course following the fundamental production principle of quality, and to shoulder the stresses related to the production line. The mantra of the new system production model was that quality and productivity will achieve a balance (Wilms, Hardcastle & Zell, 1994). In order to maintain the highest level of quality, discipline had to be observed throughout the entire company. It took discipline to maintain a safe work environment and to ensure that each phase of assembly adhered to the highest standards. Observed discipline throughout the company directly translated to a form of conflict
Wikipedia defines conflict management as“the process of limiting the negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_management). Conflicts are not inherently negative but can grow to be negative if not managed properly. Conflicts generally occur if there is a perceived incompatibility between …show more content…
In the case of NUMMI, the implementation of their conflict management techniques still remains a mystery even to them. The general consensus, however, was their success was largely attributed to finding a third culture that took elements from both GM and Toyota to make a cohesive, productive and efficient team environment that allowed NUMMI the successes they would enjoy for the next twenty six years. NUMMI 's implementation of conflict management was complete through the entire company and served to basically preempt any need for conflict resolution. In a sense, the conflict management techniques NUMMI used was a form of conflict prevention and reduced the need for the use of resolution techniques. To make the joint venture work, all three levels had to find common ground and establish relationships of mutual trust and respect. In order to address this, the issues of job security, fairness, trust and discipline had to be managed in such a way to be found amenable to all …show more content…
Management had to be self-disciplined in all aspects of the production model, stay the course following the fundamental production principle of quality, and to shoulder the stresses related to the production line. The mantra of the new system production model was that quality and productivity will achieve a balance (Wilms, Hardcastle & Zell, 1994). In order to maintain the highest level of quality, discipline had to be observed throughout the entire company. It took discipline to maintain a safe work environment and to ensure that each phase of assembly adhered to the highest standards. Observed discipline throughout the company directly translated to a form of conflict