Deck 13: Managing Conflict and Negotiating

Question 1

The contact hypothesis states that the more the members of different groups interact, the more intergroup conflict they will experience.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: The contact hypothesis states that the more the members of different groups inter-act, the less intergroup conflict they will experience.

Question 2

Competition for limited resources reduces organizational conflict.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: Competition for limited resources can lead to functional or dysfunctional conflict.

Question 3

Cross-cultural relationships can be built by advocating inclusive (participative) leadership.

Answer 3

True
Explanation: Cross-cultural relationships can be built by advocating inclusive (participative) leadership.

Question 4

Personality conflict occurs when the values held by an individual and those held by the organization are in disagreement.

Question 5

High levels of in-group cohesiveness usually turn a group into a smooth-running team.

Question 6

Stereotyping helps in minimizing cross-cultural conflict.

Question 7

An agreement that leaves one party feeling exploited or defeated tends to breed resentment.

Question 8

Functional conflict serves the interests of the organization.

Question 9

A day of contemplation is a part of the organization's formal disciplinary process and is a traditional suspension without pay.

Question 10

Devil's advocacy is a way of stimulating programmed conflict.

Question 11

Conflict is an aspect of organizational life that can be avoided.

Question 12

Organizations can suffer from too little conflict.

Question 13

Decision making by consensus can help managers avoid conflict.

Question 14

Programmed conflict is defined as conflict that raises different opinions regardless of the personal feelings of the managers.

Question 15

Conflict is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.

Question 16

Members of in-groups see themselves and members of other groups positively.

Question 17

The potential for cross-cultural conflict is low in organizations.

Question 18

Conflict tends to decrease as the number of hierarchical layers and specialized tasks increase.

Question 19

Workplace incivility can lead to personality conflict.

Question 20

The priority for managers faced with intergroup conflict is to identify and root out specific negative linkages among groups.

Question 21

The primary strength of the integrating style is speed.

Question 22

Integrating is the best style of handling conflicts.

Question 23

Avoiding is appropriate for difficult and worsening problems.

Question 24

The dominating style is often called smoothing.

Question 25

Membership on the peer review panel often is rotated among employees.

Question 26

A conflict triangle occurs when two people are having a problem and instead of addressing the problem directly with each other, one of them gets a third person involved.

Question 27

Third-parties involved in conflicts can detriangle by doing nothing as the participants will triangle in someone else.

Question 28

To create more triangling, one should reroute complaints by coaching the sender to find ways to constructively bring up the matter with the receiver.

Question 29

Devil's advocacy in today's organizations involves assigning someone the role of critic.

Question 30

The integrating style of handling conflict involves cooperatively identifying the problem, generating and weighing alternative solutions, and selecting a solution.

Question 31

People tend to handle negative conflict in predictable and patterned ways referred to as styles.

Question 32

The dialectic method requires less skill training than does devil's advocacy.

Question 33

Facilitation occurs when a neutral third party informally acts as a communication conduit between disputing parties.

Question 34

Both intradepartmental and interdepartmental conflict typically decrease as goal difficulty and goal clarity increase.

Question 35

Negotiation is a give-and-take decision-making process involving interdependent parties with different preferences.

Question 36

Obliging is an appropriate conflict-handling strategy when it is possible to eventually get something in return.

Question 37

An avoidance style of handling conflict leads to higher group satisfaction than does an integrating style.

Question 38

The dialectic method calls for managers to foster a structured debate of opposing viewpoints prior to making a decision.

Question 39

Arbitration does not permit voluntary participation.

Question 40

Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution that renders a decision.

Question 41

An individual's moods can influence the outcome of the negotiation process.

Question 42

Which of the following situations tend to produce either functional or dysfunctional conflict?

A)Adequate communication
B)Realistic expectations
C)Reasonable deadlines
D)Interdependent tasks
E)Clear job boundaries

Question 43

George has a habit of disrupting meetings by asking irrelevant questions and daydreaming. He does not listen to his colleagues' ideas and presentations during meetings. His colleagues are getting irritated with his behavior. This implies that George is stimulating:

A)programmed conflict.
B)devil's advocacy.
C)functional conflict.
D)workplace incivility.
E)the dialectic method.

Question 44

Integrative negotiation calls for a progressive win-win strategy.

Question 45

When a situation is characterized by _____, managers should anticipate conflict.

A)compatible value systems
B)clear job boundaries
C)independent tasks
D)organizational simplicity
E)collective decision making

Question 46

_____ is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.

A)Satisficing
B)Conflict
C)Arbitration
D)Negotiation
E)Mediation

Question 47

Which of the following is true about organizational conflict?

A)Interdependent tasks reduce conflict between employees.
B)Competition should be encouraged for limited resources in order to reduce conflict.
C)Conflict tends to increase as the number of hierarchical layers and specialized tasks increase.
D)Adequate communication between employees can generate conflict.
E)Conflict reduces an individual's capacity for empathy and intimacy with his or her opponent.

Question 48

Unethical negotiation tactics do not need to be factored into the organizational codes of conduct.

Question 49

Managers can keep from getting too deeply embroiled in conflict by refusing to get caught up in aggression-breeds-aggression spiral.

Question 50

Which of the following is true about conflict?

A)Conflict cannot be weakened.
B)Conflicts consist of only participants.
C)Sources of conflict are always real.
D)Conflicts have both participants and observers.
E)Conflict reduces an individual's capacity for empathy and intimacy with his or her opponent.

Question 51

Which of the following statements about conflict is true?

A)Conflict should be completely eliminated across all departments.
B)Conflicts should be promoted in some functions and discouraged in some others.
C)Organizations experiencing excessive conflict tend to be plagued by apathy, lack of creativity, indecision, and missed deadlines.
D)Use of technology and virtual teams could minimize organizational conflicts.
E)Organizations can suffer from too little conflict.

Question 52

Which of the following is true about organizational conflict?

A)Organizational conflict is inevitable.
B)Greater employee diversity leads to decreased organizational conflict.
C)Greater face-to-face communication leads to increased organizational conflict.
D)Increased cross-cultural interactions lead to decreasing amounts of organizational conflict.
E)Conflict can be avoided whenever possible.

Question 53

A(n) _____ is defined as a paid day off where an employee showing lack of dedication to the job is granted the opportunity to rethink his commitment to working at your company.

A)escalation of commitment day
B)day of contemplation
C)compensatory-off
D)day of formal disciplinary process
E)customary-off

Question 54

Integrative negotiation occurs when the issue is viewed as a "fixed-pie" in which one person gains at the expense of the other.

Question 55

Functional conflict:

A)usually involves verbal attacks.
B)is more likely to trigger defense mechanisms and a competitive orientation among team members.
C)serves the interests of the organization.
D)is a method of alternative dispute resolution.
E)threatens the organization's interests.

Question 56

Conflict is dysfunctional when:

A)it serves organizational interests.
B)it hinders organizational performance.
C)people concentrate on the issue rather than the people involved in the issue.
D)conflict episodes are viewed as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve the problem.
E)it can be handled with techniques such as devil's advocacy.

Question 57

Which of the following tips should be used by employees having personality conflict?

A)Take sides in someone else's personality conflict.
B)Do not let parties work things themselves out.
C)Avoid dragging co-workers into the conflict.
D)Do not attempt informal dispute resolution.
E)Avoid communicating directly with the other person to resolve the perceived conflict.

Question 58

Two supervisors, Justin and Shawn, had been given instructions to trim their group size by two people. Justin's personality tended to favor people. He was generally more sensitive to people, and was a thoughtful supervisor. Shawn was just the opposite. He was more concerned with group production, and considered people's feelings secondary to the work. Hence their approaches in trimming their teams were different. They could not see the other's point of view and hence they left the discussion thinking ill of each other. Which of the following types of conflict did Justin and Shawn experience?

A)Personality conflict
B)Functional conflict
C)Inter-group conflict
D)Cross-cultural conflict
E)Programmed conflict

Question 59

Which of the following tips should be used by managers to reduce personality conflict?

A)Take sides in someone else's personality conflict.
B)Do not let parties work things themselves out.
C)Do not attempt informal dispute resolution.
D)Avoid communicating directly with the other person to resolve the perceived conflict.
E)Investigate and document conflict.

Question 60

_____ conflict is defined as interpersonal opposition based on individual dislike or disagreement.

A)Personality
B)Distributive
C)Programmed
D)Integrative
E)Intergroup

Question 61

According to the _____ the more members of different groups interact, the less intergroup conflict they will experience.

A)contact hypothesis
B)ethnocentric theory
C)transfer theory
D)transmission hypothesis
E)diffusion theory

Question 62

A person using the _____ conflict-handling style tries to play down differences while emphasizing commonalities, even to the point of neglecting his or her own concerns to satisfy the concern of the other party.

A)integrating
B)obliging
C)dominating
D)avoiding
E)compromising

Question 63

Managers should _____ to build cross-cultural relationships.

A)be excessively competitive
B)avoid self-management
C)compromise rather than dominate
D)advocate transactional leadership
E)avoid participative leadership

Question 64

The _____ style of handling conflicts has high concern for self and low concern for others, and speed is its primary strength

A)integrating
B)obliging
C)dominating
D)avoiding
E)compromising

Question 65

The main weakness of the _____ conflict-handling style is that it's a temporary fix that fails to confront the underlying problem.

A)integrating
B)obliging
C)dominating
D)avoiding
E)compromising

Question 66

_____ is appropriate for trivial issues or when the costs of confrontation outweigh the benefits of resolving the conflict.

A)Integrating
B)Obliging
C)Dominating
D)Avoiding
E)Compromising

Question 67

Which of the following is true about in-group thinking?

A)Less cohesiveness leads to groupthink.
B)Members of in-groups view themselves as being all alike.
C)In-group members view themselves and members of other groups positively.
D)In-group members view themselves and members of other groups as morally correct.
E)In-group members exaggerate the differences between their group and other groups.

Question 68

_____ involves assigning someone the role of critic.

A)Mediation
B)Devil's advocacy
C)Dialogic process
D)Dialectic method
E)Negotiation

Question 69

The strength of the _____ conflict-handling style is its longer lasting impact because it deals with the underlying problem rather than merely with symptoms.

A)integrating
B)obliging
C)dominating
D)avoiding
E)compromising

Question 70

Which of the following is true about cross-cultural conflict?

A)Businesses conducted across cultures have fewer chances for conflict.
B)Compromising enhances cross-cultural conflicts.
C)Stereotypes in cross-cultural businesses need to be identified and enhanced.
D)The potential for cross-cultural conflict is immediate.
E)Cross-cultural conflict can be moderated by encouraging the concept of ethnocentrism.

Question 71

Gerard had come up with a new promotional idea for the latest product that his firm had created. However, his colleague Karl stole the idea and took the credit for it. This led to significant conflict between them. Karl later felt guilty for his wrong action and approached Jerry, a mutual friend, to help to settle the situation. This scenario is an example of a(n) _____.

A)dialogic process
B)conflict triangle
C)devil's advocacy
D)dialectic method
E)integrative negotiation

Question 72

_____ conflict is defined as conflict that raises different opinions regardless of the personal feelings of the managers.

A)Personality
B)Programmed
C)Cross-functional
D)Integrative
E)Distributive

Question 73

The _____ conflict-handling style is appropriate when parties have opposite goals or possess equal power. It is inappropriate when overuse would lead to inconclusive action.

A)integrating
B)obliging
C)dominating
D)avoiding
E)compromising

Question 74

Jim is head of the marketing department and must decide how to allocate a fixed amount of funds. There are two top projects that Jim believes hold the most promise. Recently, the majority of funds have been allocated to Project A, but Jim wonders if it is time to provide Project B with a larger share of the money. Jim decides to assign a particular individual, Clara, to thoroughly criticize the proposal for Project B, looking for every possible flaw. Which technique is Jim using to help him make a better decision?

A)Dialogic process
B)Devil's advocacy
C)Mediation
D)Dialectic method
E)Negotiation

Question 75

A major drawback of _____ is that "winning the debate" may overshadow the issue at hand, leading to a less than desired conclusion.

A)mediation
B)the dialectic method
C)the dialogic process
D)devil's advocacy
E)negotiation

Question 76

_____ involves staging a structured debate of opposing viewpoints prior to making a decision.

A)Mediation
B)Devil's advocacy
C)Dialogic process
D)Dialectic method
E)Negotiation

Question 77

Laura is head of Ryan Systems. She needs to allocate a fixed amount of funds into various projects. There are two top projects that Laura believes hold the most promise. She decides to arrange a structured debate for the two top proposals. Importantly, the assumptions of each proposal are identified, and a conflicting counterproposal is generated based on a different set of assumptions. Advocates of each position present and debate the merits of their proposal before Laura makes her decision. Which technique is Laura using to help her make a better decision?

A)Dialectic method
B)Devil's advocacy
C)Dialogic process
D)Mediation
E)Negotiation

Question 78

The _____ conflict-handling style is appropriate when an unpopular solution must be implemented, the issue is minor, or a deadline is looming. It is inappropriate in an open and participative climate.

A)integrating
B)obliging
C)dominating
D)avoiding
E)compromising

Question 79

A(n) _____ occurs when two people are having a problem and, instead of addressing the problem directly with each other, one of them gets a third person involved.

A)conflict triangle
B)devil's advocacy
C)dialectic method
D)dialogic process
E)integrative negotiation

Question 80

In the _____ style of handling conflict, the interested parties cooperatively identify the problem, generate and weigh alternatives, and select a solution.

A)integrating
B)obliging
C)dominating
D)avoiding
E)compromising