Deck 13: Conflict and Negotiation

Question 1

Two departments in a university are engaged in a conflict because one had its budget cut. This is an example of conflict based on:

A)jurisdictional ambiguity
B)interdependence
C)authority relationships
D)common resources

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT a structural factor in causing conflict?

A)interdependence
B)status inconsistencies
C)values and ethics
D)specialization

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Conflict involves disagreement between two or more parties because of:

A)mutual interest
B)incompatible goals
C)resource dependency
D)goal congruence

Answer 3

B

Question 4

EI is defined as:

A)any situation in which incompatible goals, attitudes, emotions, or behaviors lead to disagreement or opposition between two or more parties
B)constructive agreement between two or more people
C)the positive side of emotional quality
D)the power to control one's emotions and perceive emotions in others

Question 5

Conflict that occurs between teams in an organization is referred to as:

A)intraorganizational conflict
B)interorganizational conflict
C)intergroup conflict
D)interpersonal conflict

Question 6

As a manager, your ability to diagnose conflict as good or bad is contingent upon your looking at all of the following except:

A)the issue
B)the parties involved
C)the context of the conflict
D)the presence of groupthink

Question 7

At a software company there is one person for databases, one for statistical packages, and another for expert systems. The structural cause for conflict between these individuals is:

A)sharing common resources
B)status inconsistencies
C)interdependence
D)specialization

Question 8

Conflict that occurs between two or more organizations is considered:

A)intraorganizational conflict
B)interorganizational conflict
C)intergroup conflict
D)interpersonal conflict

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a structural cause of conflict in organizations?

A)skills and abilities
B)interdependence
C)status inconsistencies
D)goal differences

Question 10

Which of the following is the best example of a where you might find an intergenerational conflict?

A)Conflict between baseball's players' union and management
B)Conflict over whether flexible employee benefit systems are needed
C)Conflict over strategic decisions
D)Conflict over work/home expectations

Question 11

All of the following are examples of negative conflict diagnostic questions except:

A)Is energy being diverted from goal achievement?
B)Is the outcome likely to be negative for the organization?
C)Are the parties hostile toward each other?
D)Do the potential losses exceed any potential benefits?

Question 12

Two machine operators disagree over the cause of an equipment breakdown. This conflict is based on differences in:

A)personalities
B)perception
C)emotions
D)needs

Question 13

Long lasting and difficult conflicts between individuals usually stem from differences in:

A)emotions
B)values
C)perceptions
D)communication styles

Question 14

Estimates show that managers spend what percent of their time dealing with conflict?

A)11%
B)21%
C)31%
D)41%

Question 15

The conflict that occurs between a company and a union during a strike is:

A)interpersonal
B)intergroup
C)interorganizational
D)intraorganizational

Question 16

According to the discussion of conflict offered in the text, conflict cannot be:

A)managed
B)prevented
C)dysfunctional
D)functional

Question 17

Conflict can be functional, or a positive force, in all of the following situations except:

A)when group and organizational cohesion is broken down
B)when it stimulates creativity out of a friendly rivalry
C)when it causes individuals or groups to better understand themselves and their contribution to the organization
D)when it motivates people to change

Question 18

One occasion in which managers should work to stimulate conflict is when:

A)there has been a tendency to over use the devil's advocate perspective
B)group members are highly cohesive
C)there is only one source of conflict
D)the group suffers from groupthink

Question 19

The power not only to control emotions but also to perceive them is termed:

A)self-awareness
B)emotional intelligence
C)disciplined empathy
D)emotional perception

Question 20

You have a problem with your computer, so you call the company that made it. They inform you that the problem is caused by software, so you call the software division and they tell you it's the hardware. This is an example of:

A)interdependent forms of structural conflict
B)goal differences
C)jurisdictional ambiguities
D)common resources

Question 21

Interventions such as improving coordination between the parties and working toward common interests are most appropriate for which type of interpersonal conflict?

A)equal versus equal relationship
B)high versus low relationship
C)high versus middle versus low
D)intergroup

Question 22

When one's values conflict with his/her job demands, this is _____ conflict.

A)interrole
B)person-role
C)intrarole
D)interpersonal

Question 23

When a person continually responds with pessimism to attempts at solving a problem, he/she is displaying:

A)identification
B)displacement
C)fixation
D)negativism

Question 24

The behavioral tendencies associated with an equal versus equal power relationship is:

A)resistance to change
B)lack of motivation
C)the tendency to compete
D)to make concessions

Question 25

A good technique for managing intrarole conflict is:

A)role analysis
B)taking a personality inventory and identifying your natural conflict resolution style
C)personality inventory identification
D)personal/organizational value clarification and identification of natural conflict resolution style

Question 26

Which of the following defense mechanisms takes the form of aggressive behavior directed at someone else who is not the source of the conflict?

A)conversion
B)identification
C)displacement
D)fixation

Question 27

When a child gets sick at school, the parent often must leave work to care for the child. This would be an example of:

A)interrole conflict
B)intrarole conflict
C)interpersonal conflict
D)person-role conflict

Question 28

As a supervisor, you are not likely to be able to solve _____ conflict of others.

A)intergroup
B)interpersonal
C)intragroup
D)intrapersonal

Question 29

Person-role conflicts typically stem from differences in _____ between the focal person and the organization or work group.

A)language
B)performance expectations
C)experience
D)values

Question 30

The tendency for an individual to make up for a bad relationship at home by spending more time at the office is considered what type of defense mechanism?

A)aggressive mechanism
B)withdrawal mechanism
C)compromise mechanism
D)cooperative mechanism

Question 31

To avoid dysfunctional conflicts in virtual teams, a manager should:

A)insure each individual has access to e-mail
B)make sure each member of the virtual team understands the emotional side of e-mail messages and keep e-mails as neutral as possible
C)insure virtual team members have team training
D)make sure their tasks fit their methods of interacting

Question 32

When an intrapersonal conflict forces us to choose between right and right, the situation is called a:

A)moral dilemma
B)defining moment
C)test of character
D)situation to avoid

Question 33

All of the following are positive consequences of intergroup conflict except:

A)we versus them
B)increased group cohesiveness
C)increased task focus
D)increased group loyalty

Question 34

Middle managers frequently are caught in a power squeeze. This conflict takes the form of:

A)equal versus equal conflict
B)high versus low conflict
C)role conflict
D)resource dependency conflict

Question 35

Suppose a manager receives counseling from her department head that she needs to socialize less with the nonmanagement employees. She also is told by her project manager that she needs to be a better team member, and that she can accomplish this by socializing more with the other nonmanagement team members. This is an example of:

A)interrole conflict
B)intrarole conflict
C)person-role conflict
D)intergroup conflict

Question 36

The conflict that develops when a role behavior clashes with individual values is called:

A)intrarole
B)interrole
C)person-role
D)interpersonal

Question 37

One of the positive sides of intrapersonal conflicts is:

A)defining moments
B)the resolution of dissonance
C)the opportunity for cooperative forms of resolutions
D)collaborative forms of resolution

Question 38

Conflict that occurs between two or more individuals would be considered:

A)interpersonal conflict
B)intrapersonal conflict
C)intergroup conflict
D)intragroup conflict

Question 39

A defense mechanism in which an individual continues dysfunctional behavior that will clearly not solve a conflict is known as:

A)negativism
B)rationalization
C)displacement
D)fixation

Question 40

The problem associated with the equal versus equal power relationship is:

A)control versus autonomy
B)role conflict
C)stress
D)suboptimization

Question 41

When two departments are in conflict but are also facing a common threat, the _____ style of conflict management is most appropriate.

A)competing
B)accommodation
C)compromising
D)collaborating

Question 42

The accommodating conflict management style is one where you are concerned that the other party's goals be met but relatively unconcerned with getting your own way. Research has shown that individuals will sometimes overestimate the importance of the relationship and focus too heavily on the overuse of accommodating at the expense of the actual outcomes. The overuse of accommodating has been shown to be more prevalent when:

A)two females are involved in the conflict
B)two males are involved in the conflict
C)one female and one male are involved in the conflict
D)none of these or there was no difference between any of the groups

Question 43

The cooperative approach to conflict management leads to:

A)win-win solutions
B)win-lose solutions
C)lose-lose solutions
D)more conflict

Question 44

Groupthink would be an occasion when a manager may want to increase conflict.

Question 45

Which of the following styles of conflict management results in both parties (persons or groups) to the dispute giving something up to reach an understanding?

A)collaborating
B)avoiding
C)accommodating
D)compromising

Question 46

Work units that are highly interdependent may be more prone to interunit conflict than two independent departments.

Question 47

A key to recognizing functional conflict is that it is often cognitive in origin.

Question 48

Disagreements over wages and working conditions between a union and an employer are usually resolved through:

A)strikes
B)changing union leaders and management personnel
C)negotiations
D)expending resources and giving everybody what they want

Question 49

Escape from conflict by daydreaming is known as:

A)flight
B)fantasy
C)conversion
D)displacement

Question 50

EI and the ability to manage conflicts appear to hold across cultures.

Question 51

In research on styles of conflict management, the _____ style was least effective.

A)avoiding
B)competing
C)compromising
D)collaborating

Question 52

A negotiation approach where each party seeks to maximize its resources is called:

A)integrative negotiation
B)distributive bargaining
C)spiral bargaining
D)collective bargaining

Question 53

An ineffective technique for dealing with conflict where a delaying action is used to buy time is referred to as:

A)secrecy
B)avoidance
C)administrative orbiting
D)nonaction

Question 54

Emotional intelligence relates positively to the ability to manage conflict.

Question 55

The key to managing conflict in a multicultural workforce is:

A)to address the power distance issue
B)the degree that a culture is more individualistic or collectivist
C)to apply the appropriate resolution strategy
D)understanding cultural differences and appreciating their value

Question 56

Two of your employees are having a disagreement over the scheduling of a production run. An appropriate way to resolve this conflict is:

A)change personnel
B)change the structure
C)expand resources
D)negotiate with the parties

Question 57

One way of classifying styles of conflict management is to examine the styles' cooperativeness and the styles':

A)assertiveness
B)accommodation
C)degree of competition
D)degree of compromise

Question 58

The mechanisms used by individuals to make the best of a conflict situation are considered:

A)aggressive mechanisms
B)cooperative mechanisms
C)compromise mechanisms
D)withdrawal mechanisms

Question 59

When contrasting American and Japanese business cultures, Americans tend to _____, whereas the Japanese prefer _____.

A)be long-term in orientation; short-term gains
B)avoid uncertainty; ambiguity
C)be individualistic; collectivism
D)accept a high or great power distance; low power distance

Question 60

Developing trust within a group can prevent the misattribution of task conflict for personal conflict.

Question 61

Diversity in skills and abilities within an organization can be quite positive and is the cause of little or no conflict.

Question 62

Match the following:
a.Person-role conflict is an example of this type of conflict.
b.Offering an alternative explanation for the actual reason for failure.
c.Rigidly focusing on an event or person to vent one's anger even though this won't solve the problem.
d.Redirecting one's grief onto someone else.
e.A defense mechanism in which a person responds with pessimism to any attempt at solving the problem.
Negativism

Question 63

Administrative orbiting is an effective conflict reduction technique.

Question 64

A win-win style that is high on both assertiveness and cooperativeness is known as compromising.

Question 65

Displacement can be a relatively aggressive defense mechanism in an interpersonal conflict situation; whereas, fixation is a very passive defense mechanism.

Question 66

Match the following:
a.Conflict that is constructive and beneficial.
b.Two or more persons, units, or organizations which are tightly interconnected.
c.An unhealthy, potentially destructive disagreement between two or more persons.
d.Two work units claiming the same job or having blurred lines of responsibility.
e.Conflict between two groups.
Intergroup conflict

Question 67

Appealing to a higher authority or a neutral third party is an effective method for resolving conflicts.

Question 68

When negotiators let emotion rather than cognition determine their actions, it is much less likely that conflict will be resolved.

Question 69

Conflict between groups can lead to increased cohesiveness within the group.

Question 70

Role ambiguity and jurisdiction ambiguity are the same except that the former refers to an individual and the latter to a group.

Question 71

The high versus middle versus low power relationship illustrates the conflict felt by middle managers.

Question 72

Match the following:
a.Conflict that is constructive and beneficial.
b.Two or more persons, units, or organizations which are tightly interconnected.
c.An unhealthy, potentially destructive disagreement between two or more persons.
d.Two work units claiming the same job or having blurred lines of responsibility.
e.Conflict between two groups.
Jurisdictional ambiguity

Question 73

Match the following:
a.Conflict that is constructive and beneficial.
b.Two or more persons, units, or organizations which are tightly interconnected.
c.An unhealthy, potentially destructive disagreement between two or more persons.
d.Two work units claiming the same job or having blurred lines of responsibility.
e.Conflict between two groups.
Interdependence

Question 74

Match the following:
a.Conflict that is constructive and beneficial.
b.Two or more persons, units, or organizations which are tightly interconnected.
c.An unhealthy, potentially destructive disagreement between two or more persons.
d.Two work units claiming the same job or having blurred lines of responsibility.
e.Conflict between two groups.
Dysfunctional conflict

Question 75

Match the following:
a.Person-role conflict is an example of this type of conflict.
b.Offering an alternative explanation for the actual reason for failure.
c.Rigidly focusing on an event or person to vent one's anger even though this won't solve the problem.
d.Redirecting one's grief onto someone else.
e.A defense mechanism in which a person responds with pessimism to any attempt at solving the problem.
Fixation

Question 76

Match the following:
a.Conflict that is constructive and beneficial.
b.Two or more persons, units, or organizations which are tightly interconnected.
c.An unhealthy, potentially destructive disagreement between two or more persons.
d.Two work units claiming the same job or having blurred lines of responsibility.
e.Conflict between two groups.
Functional conflict

Question 77

Match the following:
a.Person-role conflict is an example of this type of conflict.
b.Offering an alternative explanation for the actual reason for failure.
c.Rigidly focusing on an event or person to vent one's anger even though this won't solve the problem.
d.Redirecting one's grief onto someone else.
e.A defense mechanism in which a person responds with pessimism to any attempt at solving the problem.
Rationalization

Question 78

The major problem associated with the high versus middle versus low power relationship is suboptimization.

Question 79

In a conflict situation, you should not compromise or accommodate when you are correct; rather, you should intensify efforts to compete.

Question 80

Conversion is considered a psychological withdrawal mechanism.