Survey Questions In this unit, prepare an eight-question survey related to the research question that you developed in Unit I. ( UNIT 1 WORK IS ATTACHED ) While developing your survey, consider the fo

Running Head: CONFLICT MANAGEMENT 0

Conflict Management

Student Name

Institutional Affiliation

Introduction

An organization that I have specific interest in is Nike Company. Nike Company is an international company that operates in the apparel, accessories, and sports equipment industry. Nike was founded by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight in 1964 and was initially founded as Blue Ribbon Sport Company (Yao, 2019). The company later changed its name to Nike Incorporation in 1971. The company was named after a Greek goddess of victory. Since its invention, Nike has continually grown to become one of the most successful brands in the world. The company’s headquarters are located in Beaverton, Oregon, United States.

Background Information

Nike Company engages in the manufacture, distribution and sale of athletic footwear, clothing, sports equipment and accessories. The company is one of the most successful companies in the global industry and dominates the apparel, accessories, and sports equipment industry with its 60.5% market share in the United States and 37 % market share in the international market. The company’s target market are professional athletes aged between 15-40 years (Hofmann, Gold & Curtin, 2019). Since 2012, the company has been recognized as the leading manufacturer of sports equipment. The company is very innovative and has used its innovativeness to be the industry leader in the apparel, accessories, and sports equipment industry. As of 2019, Nike employed 73,000 employees who work in various departments in the company (Yao, 2019). The human resource at Nike Company are responsible for its various operations are the most essential component of the organization.

As of 2019, the Nike’s brand is valued at 34.5 billion dollars making it one of the highly valued and successful companies internationally (Hofmann, Gold & Curtin, 2019). The company’s products are widely recognized among sports people, and have been used by popular sports people including the world’s best athlete Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya (Nike.Com). The company’s products are marketed under its brand name and also operates other successful brands including Nike+, Nike Skateboarding, and Nike Dunk (Sichol, 2019). The organizational structure at Nike Company is a regional organizational structure which is based on the company’s needs in the global market. The company’s brands are responsible for its continued success and have continually attracted different customers due to their ability to meet varying/changing customers’ demands. The company also operates retail stores under the name “Nike Town” which are also major contributors of its revenue.

Conflict Management

As a global corporation, the sales and marketing team at Nike company are among the most crucial resources in the organization. The operations of the sales and marketing department at Nike Company dictate the company’s revenue as well as its market share. Therefore, cooperation among the members of this unit goes a long way into maintaining the company’s position in the global market. When it comes to sales and marketing, the company operates this aspect as a shared objective between the company and third party agents. The company engages with retailers and wholesalers and also conducts direct sale and marketing by selling directly to consumers. The overall input of this work team contributes to the company’s profits and therefore, dealing with conflicts among the members of this work team is a major priority to the company (McKibben, 2017).

With such an arrangement, various areas are potential pools of conflict at Nike Corporation. Communication is one of these areas whereby constant communication is required between the company and its third part agents working as its sales and marketing teams. Information flow is key ensuring that the company’s market are availed with the company’s products on a timely manner. Also, a good flow of information ensures that the company is aware of the changing market trends and demands. The sales and marketing work team at Nike Company has significantly capitalized on communication channels in aim of ensuring that time communication.

Role confusion is another major source of conflict that may rage the operations of the sales and marketing team at Nike Company. Knowing who does what in the work team is key to eliminating any potential role confusion in the group. Despite numerous role sharing between the company and its third party agents, the company has clearly outlined the roles to be performed by each party of individual in the group. For example, the company ensures constant supply of its products to its wholesalers and retailers who work out their own strategies in marking and selling the products. By doing this, the company has been able to eliminate potential role confusion that may arise between the members of its sales and marketing team. Also, the elimination of role confusion creates clarity on how the company’s sales and marketing operations are undertaken which in effect improves collaboration among the members of this work team.

Suggested policy updates that could benefit teamwork and conflict management within the organization include reducing competition among the company’s third party agents who are the wholesalers and retailers. Heightened competition among these groups may undermine the collaborative efforts of the sales and marketing team as some of the members my refuse to share viable insights with regard to market changes (Distelhorst, Hainmueller, & Locke, 2017). To address this type of conflict, the organization could provide clear sales and marketing goals which will help in improving cooperation among the members.

Conclusion

Nike has continually strived to enhance the availability of its products to different markets across the globe. As a result, proper conflict management among the sales and marketing team members is key to facilitating the realization for this goal. Therefore, improving the cooperation between the members of the company’s sales and marketing team will go a long way into improving the company’s goal realization process.

References

Distelhorst, G., Hainmueller, J., & Locke, R. M. (2017). Does lean improve labor standards? Management and social performance in the Nike supply chain. Management Science, 63(3), 707-728.

Einarsen, S., Skogstad, A., Rorvik, E., Lande, A. B., & Nielsen, M. B. (2018). Climate for conflict management, exposure to workplace bullying and work engagement: a moderated mediation analysis. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(3), 549-570.

Greig, J. M., Owsiak, A. P., & Diehl, P. F. (2019). Mediation and its compatibility with other conflict management approaches. In Research Handbook on Mediating International Crises. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Hofmann, A., Gold, N., & Curtin, C. (2019). Nike, Inc: Late Arrival to the 'Athleisure-wear' Trend.

McKibben, L. (2017). Conflict management: importance and implications. British Journal of Nursing, 26(2), 100-103.

Nike Company. Retrieved from https://www.nike.com.

Sichol, L. B. (2019). From an Idea to Nike: How Marketing Made Nike a Global Success. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Yao, D. (2019). Nike inc.-footware and apparel (Doctoral dissertation).