Mandy really wants to be assigned an important project, but worries that her boss will not give it to her. Her boss has expressed concern lately about Mandy's ability to complete some less-significant tasks

Mandy feels these tasks are beneath her and should have been assigned to someone else. She is upset about this but feels there is nothing she can do about it.

a. What is the best conflict mode/strategy that Mandy should adopt in this instance to persuade her boss to assign the important project to her? Is there more than one mode/strategy she should consider? Explain your answer.
What will be an ideal response?

Answer:
Mandy should probably first focus on the tasks that she considers menial but that her boss considers to be important and demonstrate that she can perform these tasks adequately. From this standpoint, she should accommodate her boss and not engage in discussion with her boss, which demonstrates for the time being a willingness to place the importance of her relationship with her boss over her interests in achieving the outcome she desires.
Once Mandy has demonstrated her ability to perform these tasks, Mandy should seek to collaborate with her boss and find ways to be assigned more meaningful tasks. Mandy will need to show how she can take on the more important project to satisfy her interests while continuing to adequately perform the menial tasks to satisfy her boss's interests.

b. With respect to each of the conflict modes/strategies you did not select, why would Mandy be less effective in persuading her boss to assign the project to her?
Answer:
Compete: Though Mandy may be tempted to assert her interests and insist that she be assigned more meaningful work, such an approach will not demonstrate appropriate concern for her boss's interests. She is not placing appropriate importance on her relationship with her boss.
Accommodate: Though Mandy may initially accommodate, she should not stay in this mode. If she did, she would continue to feel underutilized and taken advantage of when she knows that she is capable of doing more meaningful work.
Avoid: Similar to accommodate, avoiding would result in settling to endure the situation without ever letting her boss know how she feels and what more she is capable of doing.
Compromise: Compromising may be the end result of Mandy's negotiation with her boss, which may at least allow her to do more meaningful work. However, after working through these matters, she may feel that she has not fully realized the outcome she was seeking. On the other hand, if her boss is not overly interested in discussing the situation with her, a compromise solution may be the best outcome she can expect.