| Course | MGT 514 Human Relations Management |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 5 |
| Paper type | MBA reflective paper |
| Length | About 1,097 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Master of Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MGT 514 Module 5
Two Nurses, One Saturday: Interests, Identity and a Difficult Conversation About Weekend Shifts
Student Name
Master of Business Administration, Aspen University
MGT 514: Human Relations Management
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Two Nurses, One Saturday: Interests, Identity and a Difficult Conversation About Weekend Shifts
I schedule the 26 field nurses at Capital Home Health, a composite home health agency in Sacramento, California, that sends nurses to patients' homes after hospital stays and for chronic conditions. Weekend visits are the hardest to staff. Until last month, three nurses covered weekends in rotation. When one left, the remaining two, both experienced and well regarded by patients, each began insisting the other should take every other Saturday. The dispute has moved from my office to the break room, where each has complained about the other to colleagues. Last week, both told me separately that they would quit if forced to work more Saturdays. Losing either would leave weekend patients without care. This paper examines the conflict and plans how I will handle it.
Positions and Interests
Fisher et al. (2011) argued that negotiations go wrong when people bargain over positions, digging in on what they say they want. Their alternative, principled negotiation, rests on four habits: keep the relationship apart from the substance, look for the needs behind demands, generate several options that could serve both sides and settle on standards neither side controls. Interests are the needs, concerns and fears that lie behind positions, and different interests can often be met at the same time.
| First nurse | Second nurse | |
|---|---|---|
| Position | "She should take every other Saturday" | "She should take every other Saturday" |
| Stated reason | "I've done more weekends this year" | "I've been here longer" |
| Underlying interest | Shared custody: children with her on alternate weekends | Back pain after long weekend routes with many patients |
| Fear | Losing time with her children | Injury that ends her career |
| Option that meets the interest | Saturdays only on weekends without the children | Shorter weekend routes; no more than six visits |
The Three Conversations
Stone et al. (2010) argued that every difficult conversation is really three conversations. The what-happened conversation concerns facts and who is to blame. The feelings conversation concerns emotions that often go unspoken but shape everything. The identity conversation is the private question of what the dispute means for how we see ourselves. In this dispute, the what-happened conversation is about who has worked more weekends. The feelings conversation is about each nurse feeling unappreciated. The identity conversation is about each seeing herself as the one who has carried the agency. Until these are acknowledged, arguing about the count of Saturdays will go nowhere.
My Own Style
De Dreu et al. (2001) developed a measure of five conflict management strategies: yielding, compromising, forcing, problem solving and avoiding. Problem solving, seeking solutions that satisfy both parties, tends to produce the best outcomes, while avoiding lets conflicts grow. Looking honestly at the past month, I avoided. I hoped the nurses would work it out and filled Saturdays with overtime from day staff. Avoiding gave the dispute time to become personal.
What I Learned in Separate Conversations
Before planning, I spoke briefly with each nurse to listen, not to solve. The first nurse said she had worked fourteen Saturdays this year and felt that no one noticed, and that her custody schedule meant alternate weekends were the only time with her children. The second said she had covered weekends for nine years and felt her seniority was being ignored, and admitted, after a pause, that her back had been bad since a long Saturday route in June with eleven visits. Neither had told the other these things. Each assumed the other was simply unwilling.
The Cost of Leaving It
If either nurse leaves, the agency must recruit in a tight market, typically taking three months and costing about $12,000 in recruiting and orientation, while paying day nurses overtime to cover weekends. Patients who need weekend visits after hospital discharge, such as wound care and medication checks, would face gaps, and the agency's quality ratings depend on visits happening on time. The conflict is not a personal matter between two colleagues; it affects patients and the agency.
Planning the Conversations
I will meet each nurse separately first, opening with what Stone, Patton and Heen call the third story, a neutral description: "We have two nurses for weekends where we used to have three, and I want a schedule that works for both of you." I will ask about their situations and listen for interests, acknowledging feelings before facts. Then I will hold a joint meeting where I share what I heard, with their permission, and propose options built on interests.
What I Will Say First
Stone, Patton and Heen recommend beginning from a description both parties could accept. My opening to the joint meeting will be: "You both care about our weekend patients, and you've both carried a lot since we lost a nurse. I've learned that each of you has a real reason Saturdays are hard, and I'd like us to build a schedule around those reasons." This acknowledges feelings, avoids blame and points toward interests.
Options for Mutual Gain
Several options could meet both interests. The first nurse could work Saturdays only on weekends without her children, with the second covering the other weekends on shorter routes of no more than six visits. A standby pool of three day nurses, each paid a weekend premium for one Saturday a month, would cover gaps and reduce the load on both. Using an objective criterion, the agency's patient-to-nurse standard for weekend routes, makes the shorter routes a matter of policy rather than favor.
If the Joint Meeting Goes Badly
The nurses may arrive defensive, each expecting me to side with the other. I will set ground rules at the start: each speaks without interruption, we talk about the schedule rather than each other and no decision is final until both agree or I explain why I must decide. If the meeting stalls, I will pause it and meet each separately again rather than force a solution. As a last resort, I will apply the objective criterion, the route standard and a posted rotation, and explain it to both.
Preventing a Repeat
I will post the weekend rotation three months in advance and recruit a third weekend nurse, so a single departure does not restart the conflict.
Conclusion
The dispute looked like a contest over Saturdays, but Fisher, Ury and Patton's principled negotiation reveals different interests that can both be met. Stone, Patton and Heen's three conversations explain why the conflict turned personal, and De Dreu and colleagues' strategies show that my avoidance made it worse. Separate conversations, a joint meeting and a fair rotation offer a way forward.
References
De Dreu, C. K. W., Evers, A., Beersma, B., Kluwer, E. S., & Nauta, A. (2001). A theory-based measure of conflict management strategies in the workplace. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(6), 645-668. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.107
Fisher, R., Ury, W., & Patton, B. (2011). Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in (3rd ed.). Penguin.
Stone, D., Patton, B., & Heen, S. (2010). Difficult conversations: How to discuss what matters most (10th anniversary ed.). Penguin.
What the MGT 514 Module 5 instructions ask for
Conflict and difficult conversations make up Module 5 in Aspen's MGT 514. Most submissions take a real conflict, examine it with research and plan how to handle it constructively. Use the Module 5 prompt in your classroom as the guide; this example concerns one workplace dispute. Describe the conflict and the people involved fairly, giving each party's view in their own terms. Use research on negotiation and difficult conversations. Separate each party's stated positions from their underlying interests, in a table if it helps. Consider your own conflict style and how it may have shaped the dispute. Plan the conversation, including how to open it, and propose a solution or process that addresses interests. Explain how you will follow up.
How the MGT 514 Module 5 example is put together
The writer schedules 26 nurses at Capital Home Health. After a nurse left, two remaining nurses who cover weekends each demand the other take every other Saturday. Fisher, Ury and Patton's book on negotiation advises separating people from the problem, focusing on interests, inventing options for mutual gain and using objective criteria. Stone, Patton and Heen's book on difficult conversations describes the what-happened, feelings and identity conversations within each dispute. De Dreu and colleagues' Journal of Organizational Behavior article measured yielding, compromising, forcing, problem solving and avoiding. A table shows that one nurse's interest is a child custody schedule and the other's is recovering from back pain after long weekend routes. The plan holds separate conversations first, then a joint meeting to agree a rotation with shorter weekend routes and a standby pool.
Where the marks sit in the MGT 514 Module 5 rubric
A conflict paper earns its marks through an even-handed account, research applied correctly and a plan that meets underlying needs instead of cutting the difference down the middle. This example describes both nurses' views without taking sides. Fisher, Ury and Patton's distinction between positions and interests reveals options neither nurse had considered. Stone, Patton and Heen's three conversations explain why the dispute has become personal. De Dreu and colleagues' strategies help the writer recognize a tendency to avoid that let the dispute grow. The table and plan turn research into a conversation and a process, and the paper counts what the conflict would cost patients and the agency if left alone.
MGT 514 Module 5 help from the desk
Conflict papers often describe one side's view and recommend a compromise. Describe each party fairly and look for interests beneath positions. Another weakness is focusing only on the problem and ignoring feelings and identity, which research shows drive many disputes. Examine your own conflict style. Plan how to open the conversation, since first words shape what follows. Propose options that meet interests, using objective criteria where possible. Finally, set up a process that prevents the same conflict from returning. Count the costs of letting the conflict continue.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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MGT 514 Module 5 questions, answered
What does MGT 514 Module 5 usually ask for?
Aspen's MGT 514 covers conflict and difficult conversations in this module, so an MBA paper working through a real conflict with research is typical. Read your classroom prompt.
What is the difference between positions and interests?
Fisher, Ury and Patton describe positions as what people say they want and interests as the needs and concerns that lead them to want it.
What are the three conversations in a difficult conversation?
Stone, Patton and Heen describe the what-happened conversation, the feelings conversation and the identity conversation.
Where can I find a free MGT 514 Module 5 sample paper?
The example above works through a weekend scheduling conflict between two nurses using principled negotiation and research on difficult conversations.
What are the main conflict management strategies?
De Dreu and colleagues measured yielding, compromising, forcing, problem solving and avoiding.