The Team Conflict Strategies Inventory (TCSI) is designed to identify a team's preferred conflict strategy. The TCSI presents teams with 5 typical conflict scenarios. Administered in two phases, team members first predict individually how the team would handle each situation. Then, the team as a whole comes together to share their individual perceptions. The following is an example of a TCSI scenario:

Sample Item

The marketing team at Worldwide Industrial has been operating under stressful circumstances. Not only has the company acquired three companies in seven months, but also is trying to revamp its image. The corporate office has decided that Worldwide should be seen as more customer friendly. The marketing team, made up of seasoned employees who have always worked well in the past, is showing signs of strain. They cannot decide whether they should concentrate on the customer-friendly message or work on incorporating new businesses in their marketing strategy. Meetings are unproductive.

My team members would probably . . .

1. Take time out of their schedules to set priorities and plan their time accordingly.
     
2. Make sure that both the customer-friendly campaign and the integration of new businesses get equal time.
     
3. Fight it out until they decide which task to focus on.
     
4. Laugh off the disagreements, making sure no long-term damage is done to the team relationships.
      
5. Steer clear of discussing the difficulties knowing that the team has weathered all types of problems in the past and continued to work together comfortably.

  
Team Conflict Strategies Inventory by Rollin Glaser, EdD & Eileen M. Russo, PhD
© 2000 Organization Design and Development, Inc.