Deck 15: Managing Conflict and Stress

Question 1

When dealing with interpersonal conflicts with hostile-aggressives,managers must resort to direct confrontation.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Third-party intervention has been found to be the least effective method of resolving conflict.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A manager who,having been blocked in some administrative pursuit,devotes his or her energy to the tasks that can easily be handled by his or her subordinates demonstrates displacement.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Discussing the problem casually and then offering solutions is one of the methods of managing interpersonal conflict with negativists.

Question 5

Conflict between employees and the organization itself is known as intergroup conflict.

Question 6

Confrontation is generally considered to be the most effective method of resolving conflict.

Question 7

Conflict that results from the organizational structure is known as intergroup conflict.

Question 8

Many organizations approach the management of conflict with the assumption that conflict is unavoidable.

Question 9

Manifest conflict begins to emerge when employees become short-tempered with one another.

Question 10

A person who rudely rejects a simple request from a subordinate after he or she has been rebuffed by the boss demonstrates negativism.

Question 11

Conflicts enable participants to get a better understanding and awareness of their opponent's functions and problems.

Question 12

An individual dissatisfied with his or her role relative to the roles of others exhibits interpersonal conflict.

Question 13

Communication-related conflicts occur when a physical or organizational barrier to effective communication exists.

Question 14

A manager's most important contribution for resolving interpersonal conflict is to enforce specific solutions immediately.

Question 15

Defense mechanisms are behaviors used to cope with frustration and anxiety.

Question 16

Alienation occurs when employees do not participate in decision making.

Question 17

Unequal departmental dependence fosters conflict.

Question 18

In a structural conflict,rewarding the individual performances of the conflicting departments reduces the conflict.

Question 19

Conflict can distort reality and debilitate the participants in the conflict situation.

Question 20

The objective of the manager is to force a resolution to the conflict.

Question 21

At the _____ stage of conflict,the basic conditions of conflict exist but have not yet been recognized.

A) perceived
B) felt
C) latent
D) manifest
E) aftermath

Question 22

Which of the following statements do organizations generally assume about management of conflict?

A) It is unavoidable.
B) It produces appropriate reactions by the persons involved.
C) It creates a polarization within an organization.
D) It is natural.
E) It occurs when people have similar goals.

Question 23

For top- and mid-level managers,a chief source of burnout is the "career plateau."

Question 24

Introducing changes suddenly reduces the amount of job-related stress experienced by employees.

Question 25

Which of the following statements is a myth regarding conflict?

A) Most conflicts can be managed.
B) Conflict can motivate change.
C) All conflicts can be resolved.
D) Conflict can help build relationships between people.
E) Conflict is a normal part of life within an organization.

Question 26

Which of the following instances best describe perceived conflict?

A) When basic conditions for conflict exist but have not yet been recognized
B) When employees become short-tempered with one another
C) When arguments or damaged feelings are no longer privately held
D) When an employee begins to complain that his or her manager does not like him or her
E) When conflict results in firings, punishments, or future difficulties

Question 27

Employees returning from a sabbatical generally report that they return with a deeper commitment to their job.

Question 28

At the _____ stage of conflict,the behavior of the participants makes the existence of the conflict apparent to others not directly involved.

A) felt
B) perceived
C) manifest
D) aftermath
E) latent

Question 29

Responses to frustration and anxiety vary and are often expressed through withdrawal behavior like _____.

A) higher absenteeism
B) aggression
C) drug abuse
D) excessive drinking
E) sabotage

Question 30

After a conflict has been ended,the _____ stage establishes new conditions that lead either to an effective cooperation or a new,more severe conflict.

A) latent conflict
B) manifest conflict
C) felt conflict
D) conflict aftermath
E) perceived conflict

Question 31

Which of the following conflicts is internal to the individual and is probably the most difficult form of conflict to analyze?

A) Political
B) Organizational
C) Intergroup
D) Interpersonal
E) Intrapersonal

Question 32

An intangible cost associated with troubled employees is damaged public image.

Question 33

Computers and advanced communications,in the form of laptops and blackberries,have tremendously reduced the level of stress for today's employees.

Question 34

The danger from workplace violence comes solely from extreme physical violence.

Question 35

Technostress can be defined as personal stress generated by reliance on technological devices.

Question 36

Employee productivity generally increases for employees who participate in fitness programs.

Question 37

Which of the following is a characteristic of conflict?

A) It can always be resolved.
B) It makes people less aware of their opponents' function.
C) It only destroys relationships between people.
D) It is a form of communication.
E) It always has destructive effects.

Question 38

It is a fact that as long as people really enjoy their work,they can work as long and hard as they want without experiencing burnout.

Question 39

At the _____ stage of conflict,employees become short-tempered with one another.

A) felt
B) latent
C) manifest
D) aftermath
E) perceived

Question 40

Workaholics are always the most efficient employees.

Question 41

Samuel is an assistant manager at Gibson Foods.After his idea for business improvement is shot down during a committee meeting,Samuel picks apart every new suggestion that comes up.Such an adjustive reaction to cope with frustration and anxiety is referred to as _____.

A) negativism
B) regression
C) conversion
D) repression
E) resignation

Question 42

Dissonance is a result of _____ conflict.

A) goal
B) vision
C) interpersonal
D) structural
E) political

Question 43

In attempting to deal with _____,employees occasionally cut themselves off from peers and support groups.

A) role conflict
B) goal conflict
C) intergroup conflict
D) structural conflict
E) intrapersonal conflict

Question 44

Mutual departmental dependence creates a potential for _____ conflict.

A) interpersonal
B) intrapersonal
C) organizational
D) structural
E) political

Question 45

_____ conflict is started purposely and is often undertaken with an elaborate battle plan.

A) Intrapersonal
B) Interpersonal
C) Organizational
D) Political
E) Intergroup

Question 46

Opposing personalities often result in _____ conflict.

A) intrapersonal
B) organizational
C) structural
D) intergroup
E) interpersonal

Question 47

Intergroup conflict is defined as a _____.

A) conflict arising from the organizational structure
B) conflict between two or more individuals with opposing personalities
C) conflict due to barriers between the drive and the goal
D) conflict that arises due to the presence of opposing personalities in individuals
E) conflict arising out of the positions individuals occupy in the organization

Question 48

_____ is generally considered to be the most effective method of resolving conflict.

A) Forcing a solution
B) Withdrawal
C) Compromising
D) Smoothing over the conflict
E) Confrontation

Question 49

_____ conflict arises when individuals become dissatisfied with their roles relative to the roles of others.

A) Intrapersonal
B) Organizational
C) Structural
D) Intergroup
E) Interpersonal

Question 50

_____ conflict usually results from the promotion of self-interests on the part of an individual or a group.

A) Interpersonal
B) Political
C) Organizational
D) Structural
E) Intergroup

Question 51

Professionals in an organizational unit who have limited opportunities for advancement often initiate conflict with other units as a result of _____.

A) role ambiguity
B) role dissatisfaction
C) goal conflict
D) goal ambiguity
E) interpersonal conflict

Question 52

When an employee asks to discuss a personal problem,the manager should look for signs of _____ conflict.

A) intrapersonal
B) political
C) organizational
D) structural
E) intergroup

Question 53

Role ambiguities lead to _____ conflicts.

A) structural
B) organizational
C) interpersonal
D) intrapersonal
E) personality

Question 54

Which of the following factors should be used in a reward system to reduce the conflict between two departments due to goal segmentation?

A) Insisting an objective criterion
B) Overemphasizing highly visible behavior
C) Encouraging a type of behavior and claiming to encourage another
D) Emphasizing morality rather than efficiency
E) Rewarding the combined efforts of both the departments

Question 55

In regression,as an adjustive reaction to frustration and anxiety,an employee _____.

A) devotes himself or herself to a pursuit with increased vigor
B) expresses emotional conflicts through disabilities or pain
C) returns to a less mature level of adjustment in the face of frustration
D) excludes from consciousness impulses and feelings that are psychologically disturbing
E) breaks psychological contact with the environment

Question 56

Cara has two exciting job offers in hand.She finds it difficult to choose between them as both the positions are equally attractive to her.Which form of goal conflict is Cara experiencing?

A) Goals with negative aspects
B) Conflicting positive goals
C) Interpersonal conflict
D) Goals with both positive and negative aspects
E) Intergroup conflict

Question 57

_____ is an adjustive reaction to frustration and anxiety that involves an employee justifying undesirable behavior by providing acceptable explanations for that behavior.

A) Displacement
B) Rationalization
C) Compensation
D) Negativism
E) Withdrawal

Question 58

Which of the following statements best describes smoothing over the conflict?

A) It refers to corporate downsizing and tightening of expenses.
B) It involves managers pretending "we are all one big happy family," and acting like the conflict does not exist.
C) It refers to actions such as firing, transferring, or having an employee quit.
D) It involves a manager, observing a conflict between two employees, stepping up and saying, "this is the way it is going to be, and that ends it."
E) It involves a manager discussing the cause of the conflict.

Question 59

Changes in policies that negatively affect employees are a source of _____ conflict.

A) interpersonal
B) political
C) organizational
D) intrapersonal
E) intergroup

Question 60

When the credit or blame for the success or failure of a particular assignment cannot be determined between two departments,_____ leads to conflict.

A) common resource dependence
B) mutual departmental dependence
C) unequal departmental dependence
D) goal segmentation
E) role ambiguity

Question 61

Which of the following statements is a myth related to burnout?

A) It is a newfangled notion that gives lazy people an excuse not to work.
B) Any work can lead to burnout.
C) Most people do not realize that burnout is occurring.
D) It usually results from a combination of work, family, social, and personal factors.
E) Even physically and psychologically strong individuals are likely to suffer from it.

Question 62

Identify the types of structural conflict.

Question 63

Outline the ground rules for constructive confrontation for resolving conflict.

Question 64

_____ occurs when work is no longer meaningful to a person.

A) Technostress
B) Acute crisis
C) Organizational conflict
D) Structural conflict
E) Burnout

Question 65

_____ is broadly defined as strategies used to minimize conflict in a diverse workplace,in both domestic and international settings.

A) Organizational agility
B) Organizational diplomacy
C) Organizational picketing
D) Organizational audit
E) Organizational chart

Question 66

_____ is defined as a personal stress generated by reliance on technological devices,a panicky feeling when they fail,a state of near-constant stimulation,or being constantly "plugged-in."

A) Information overload
B) Alienation
C) Technostress
D) Repetitive stress
E) Computer stress

Question 67

How should a manager deal with interpersonal conflict with superagreeables?

Question 68

Which of the following results in intergroup conflicts?

A) Decoupling the conflicting units by reducing their common resource dependencies
B) Increasing the interdependencies among the organizational units
C) Introducing buffer inventories
D) Giving each unit control over their own resources
E) Invoking impersonal, straightforward rules for resource allocation

Question 69

List the critical elements of employee assistance programs.

Question 70

Discuss some of the organizational guidelines for managing stress.

Question 71

Discuss four factors that inhibit implementing effective reward systems.

Question 72

Role ambiguity causes stress as the employee _____.

A) feels pressure for high achievement
B) is afraid of performing poorly
C) has responsibility for other people
D) is uncertain about what is expected in the job
E) is incompetent at a job

Question 73

_____ is the mental or physical condition that results from a perceived threat of danger and the pressure to remove it.

A) Displacement
B) Stress
C) Negativism
D) Conflict
E) Agonism

Question 74

Which of the following is an example of an employee assistance program?

A) A program that is designed to prevent illness and enhance employee well-being.
B) A system of periodic employee training addressing such issues as workplace policies and warning signs of violence.
C) A program that allows the employee to take time off, often with some pay cut, while retaining benefits.
D) A program that employs a coordinator who evaluates the employee's problem only sufficiently to make a referral to the proper clinic for diagnosis.
E) A program that attempts to include such things as periodic medical exams, stop-smoking clinics, immunizations, and so on.

Question 75

Role overload occurs when an employee _____.

A) is asked to do more than time permits
B) is afraid of performing poorly or failing
C) feels pressure for high achievement
D) does not participate in decision making
E) is uncertain about what is expected in the job

Question 76

A program that includes such things as periodic medical exams,stop-smoking clinics,education on improved dietary practices,is known as a(n)_____ program.

A) rehabilitation
B) affirmative action
C) workplace stress
D) sabbatical
E) wellness

Question 77

What are some potentially useful effects of conflict?

Question 78

Describe the elements that must be included in a violence-prevention program.

Question 79

Discuss some general myths about conflict.Also list the assumptions that organizations use for management of conflict.

Question 80

Outline the psychological process involved in fantasy and rationalization as adjustive reactions to frustration and anxiety.Provide an illustration for each.