Final answer:
The highest potential for conflict arises where the accounts payable and accounts receivable departments share an administrative assistant, due to the possibility of prioritization conflicts and resource allocation issues.
Step-by-step explanation:
The potential for conflict would be the highest in a situation where interdepartmental collaboration is required for a common goal but the departments have competing priorities or scarce resources. Specifically, the scenario where the accounts payable department and the accounts receivable department share a common administrative assistant is likely to lead to conflict.
These two departments have distinct and often competing functions - one managing outgoing funds and the other incoming payments. Sharing an administrative assistant could lead to disagreements over the prioritization of tasks and resource allocation. Conflicts can be exacerbated in situations involving unclear divisions of labor or overlapping responsibilities.
Moreover, during mergers and acquisitions, the duplication of departments such as accounting can lead to conflicts due to potential downsizing and the stress of cultural integration. Employees must navigate the challenge of connecting with the new combined group while facing the uncertainty of job security and changes to organizational processes.