Difficult Conversations as Part of Human Resource Development

Six to eight page paper, double-spaced, 12 pt. font, Times New Roman font.  Do not include your title and citations pages in your six to eight pages.  This assignment is worth 400 points.

Choose one peer-reviewed article and our textbook and include four quotes in your work, two from each source that align to support your ideas.  The quotes should not be more than a sentence or two, and not long paragraphs.

The Assignment: Consider your own work environment and put yourself in the position of being a supervisor.  Identify a problem that you may have with a fictitious employee.  State and describe the problem.  Now, with research from a peer-reviewed journal article and our textbook, and the insertion of two quotes from each, address the following areas as you problem solve your plan and approaches to having this difficult conversation. In addition you are expected to ask a supervisor or leader with whom you work how they handle difficult conversations and include this at the end of your paper.

The Use of Research in this Assignment: You are asked to identify and use two items of research in this assignment, our textbook and a peer-reviewed article of your choice.  What you choose in the form of an article is totally up to you!  It could be that you look for an article to guide you in one of the steps below such as how to ensure that the employee is participating in this difficult conversation and not just listening to you talk.  Or, it could be that your research aligns to the problem you have identified such as how to ensure that employees use professional language in work email transactions.  Think about what research you decide you need to provide information for you as you plan for this difficult conversation.*There are three articles within our course in the modules section.  You may choose one of these or find your own article.

Additional Source: Interview a supervisor or school leader where you work on the topic of “How do you handle difficult conversations?”  Include in your work at the end of your paper a summary of what you learned about this topic through this brief interview with a supervisor or leader you have chosen.  What can we learn from their work?

Include in your paper:

A description of the setting

A description of the employee in terms of responsibilities

A statement and description of the problem you have noted

A plan for how you will address the problem to include:

What you will do prior to the conversation

How and where you will conduct the meeting with the employee

What your goals are for the meeting

Points you would address with the employee

Questions you may ask the employee

How you would involve the employee as a participant in this meeting

How you will follow up and monitor the change needed

What you would do if the problem is solved and noted by you in time

What you would do if the problem is not solved and you need to take further action