SCENARIO 9-1 Doors Unlimited Is a Manufacturer of Doors, Frames

SCENARIO 9-1 Doors Unlimited is a manufacturer of doors, frames and related hardware and structures for the residential and construction industry.The North Shore plant is the oldest and largest of a series of plants that Doors Unlimited operates.In many cases, they manufacture subassemblies and parts for other plants that are unable to meet a specific customer order.
Operations objectives are specifically defined for each of the two departments in this plant.However, production and marketing always seem to have some form of conflict related to issues ranging from manufacturing and design to satisfying customer orders.Communication appears to be a major problem.Frequently, the correct information and data is not provided and a state of confusion exists, creating situations where each department blames the other for problems encountered.The "it's not our problem" attitude is healthy at the North Shore plant!
Production always seems to be behind schedule or short of products needed for a shipment.Marketing somehow manages to increase order quantity and variety midway through a production run and is constantly adjusting the orders and shipping dates.These shortcuts and alterations clearly violate established procedure and policy regarding plant operation and how customers are to be served.Production, in turn, responds by altering their own schedules and attempting to force customers into receiving product ahead of schedule.
As the problems intensified, each department "dug in" to protect its turf.Eventually an agreement between the two departments was established in an attempt to resolve the problems and smooth out the operations.However, the outcome was that marketing placed even more orders that production was unable to meet.Marketing began to use pressure tactics to get production to "toe the line."
The situation was causing customers to be inconvenienced.Conflict in terms of blame, delays and lack of communication was becoming standard practice.The atmosphere was negative and the departments were blaming each other.
Charles Strong, director of operations and production at the North Shore plant, discussed with Norman, vice president of human resources for Doors Unlimited, some approaches to resolve at least some of the conflicts in order to put the plant back into effective operation.Charles noted in a recent discussion that the size and specialization of the plant and the composition of its departments have stimulated conflict.Which of the following is also a potential source of the conflict

A) where group or department members are older
B) lower turnover that does not affect group performance
C) specific direction/definition of responsibility for actions
D) interdependence of groups
E) structural conflict is not a possible issue.