Matthew Ricks

March 6^th, 2016

Conflict Management Styles in the Aggie Community: Competing

At Texas A&M University, the Aggie Honor Code is a code that all aggies are supposed to live by. It states that an Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those that do. This code can become an easy conflict in the aggie community because it defines a moral guideline that should not be broken. Let’s say Alfred has a friend, Bobby, who is a student here at Texas A&M and has been doing a little bit more than just pushing the boundaries of the Aggie Honor Code. Alfred knew that that Bobby had been struggling all semester in Dr. Tarvin’s Communications 324. It was no secret that he was defiantly not the most diligent member of group 20 because he never turned in a single blog post and was no help in group projects which is why it was a huge surprise to everyone when Bobby aced his first communication 324 test after telling everyone he didn’t study. However, Alfred found the cheat sheet that used by Bobby and confronted him about it using the competing style. Alfred said straightforwardly that he was taking this issue to the aggie honor council when Bobby lashed out and threw his bag against the wall. This is an “I win, you lose” situation because this conflict could get Bobby kicked out of Texas A&M and Alfred holds all of the power. The conflict is resolved quickly and the friendship is destroyed because Bobby got kicked out of school for violating the Aggie Honor Code.