Article Summary
Tan (2009) conducted a case study of a conflict between Mercedes Benz and China that started in the winter of 2001. The original conflict was initiated by Wuhan Wild Animals Zoo and their faulty automobile purchased from Benz. Benz refused any compensation to the zoo for airbag and tire malfunctions that resulted in fatalities. This incident created a media frenzy that resulted in the people of China rallying against the Benz company.
The author states that the isolated incident turned into nation-wide conflict. The people were unhappy about the customer relations policy that was happening in China compared to the "lemon law" policy that the U.S. upheld for Benz customers. Even with the media and complaints, the Benz company refused responsibility for the car's malfunctions, blaming the customer. The poor public relations at the Benz company in China led to the escalation in the conflict.
Integration
The conflict resolution problems that the article by Tan (2009) discusses, suggests that the incident could have been dealt with in a better way, avoiding the escalating direction it had went which is a prime example of a non productive conflict interaction or destructive conflict. The Benz company's continued avoidance of the complaints of the zoo escalated the conflict into a national problem.
In this conflict, neither party was achieving their goals because of inflexibility and poor communication and problem solving skills. Avoidance and escalation locked the Mercedes Benz company and the people of China into a locked cycle of both parties trying to win instead of some sort of resolution that both could be satisfied with. The outcome was detrimental to both parties involved, with Benz acquiring a bad customer service reputation and the zoo losing money.
Application
This case study discussed by Tan (2009) could be used by companies that are training public relations or customer service employees on conflict management. It is a good example of how a simple private issue can gain support and escalate into a bigger scale conflict when not handled efficiently and effectively.
Another application for this study involves company policies and international business. It could be used to establish multi-national policies that are carried out the same in all countries in companies that are multi-national. If policies remained constant, there would not be an issue regarding the fairness one company shows one country contrary to another.
References
Tan, J., Tan, A. (2009). Managing public relations in an emerging economy: The case of Mercedes in China. Journal of Bussiness Ethics. Vol 86, 257-266.
