Express Trucking: Executive Team Dynamics (Role Play) (C) - Observer Grid

Two executives at Express Trucking—the vice-president of legal affairs, and the vice-president of sales—were preparing for an executive team meeting. The two vice-presidents were disputing the terms of a customer contract to be signed the following day. According to the vice-president of legal affairs, the contract needed to be revised to include a standard clause regarding Express Trucking’s liability, whereas the vice-president of sales feared losing the contract if any changes were made. The company’s chief executive officer asked the two executives to resolve this dispute before the upcoming executive team meeting. How would the two executives resolve their differences?<br><br> The case involves the students in a role play to develop their competence to address typical conflicts between executive team members, by reproducing the complex environment in which executives operate. Students will be assigned the role of the vice-president of legal affairs (9B18M014); the vice-president of sales (9B18M015); or the observer (9B18M016).

This case is suited to executive-level programs, where students represent a mix of executive team members, soon-to-be executive team members, and/or consultants who have worked with executives. Students will be able to test different approaches to conflict resolution, to determine which approaches produce positive results and which are less likely to deliver positive outcomes. After completion of this case, participants will be able to<ul><li>understand how executive teams differ from non-executive teams;</li><li>diagnose the causes of the most typical executive team conflicts; and</li><li>address executive team conflicts, notably by avoiding an “either/or” mindset and instead developing their ability for “both/and” thinking.</li></ul>

• top management team, executive team, team dynamics, conflict, decision making, leadership