Deck 13: Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace

Question 1

Conflict begins whenever both parties realize that they have opposing interests.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Some team norms encourage tactics that diffuse socioemotional conflict when it first appears.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The main objective of conflict management is to reduce the level of conflict in the organization.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Two employees from different departments who are evaluated on different performance criteria and receive different reward systems are likely to experience conflict due to goal incompatibility.

Question 5

Corporate leaders should view conflict as a problem that should be minimized or eliminated.

Question 6

Constructive conflict tests the logic of arguments and encourages participants to re-examine their basic assumptions.

Question 7

Two employees with divergent goals are less likely to experience conflict

Question 8

Conflict perceptions and emotions lead to conflict sources.

Question 9

The conflict process is really a series of episodes that potentially link together into an escalation cycle.

Question 10

When people experience socioemotional conflict,they tend to increase their reliance on communication with the other party.

Question 11

Socioemotional conflict refers to conflict between individuals,whereas constructive conflict refers to conflict between departments and organizations.

Question 12

Although constructive conflict can degenerate into socioemotional conflict,it is easy to prevent this from happening.

Question 13

When conflict reduces each side's motivation to communicate,they rely more on stereotypes to reinforce their perceptions of the other side.

Question 14

Conflict is sometimes apparent by the style each side uses to resolve the conflict.

Question 15

Constructive conflict is one of the more serious forms of socioemotional conflict.

Question 16

Constructive conflict is more likely to escalation into socioemotional conflict among employees in highly cohesive teams

Question 17

Constructive conflict helps people to recognize problems,identify a variety of solutions and better understand the issues involved.

Question 18

Emotional intelligence helps employees to avoid escalating constructive conflict into socioemotional conflict.

Question 19

Conflict occurs when one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.

Question 20

Conflict begins when two parties experience manifest conflict.

Question 21

Resolving differences the opposing party through direct communication is not as comfortably applied in collectivist cultures.

Question 22

Conflict is more likely to occur when two people or departments share a resource that is strictly dictated by programmed decision rules.

Question 23

Reducing conflict by reducing differentiation should occur only after communication and understanding have improved.

Question 24

Communication problems partly explain why conflict is more likely to occur in a multicultural workforce.

Question 25

The five interpersonal conflict management styles are distinguished by their level of interdependence the other party.

Question 26

Conflict tends to escalate more with a win-lose than with a win-win orientation.

Question 27

Focusing employees on superordinate goals is particularly useful where conflict is caused by goal incompatibility and differentiation.

Question 28

Conflict may occur because the conflicting parties lack the opportunity,ability and/or motivation to communicate with each other.

Question 29

The yielding conflict management style is preferred when both parties have equal power and enough trust to share information.

Question 30

A logical strategy for minimizing conflict due to different values and beliefs is to have employees move through different departments,regions and occupations of the company throughout their careers.

Question 31

Avoiding is usually the best interpersonal conflict management style when the issue is trivial to everyone involved.

Question 32

The compromising conflict management style has the highest win-win orientation and should be applied wherever the parties seem to have mutual interests.

Question 33

Although forcing is one of five interpersonal styles of conflict management,it should never actually be used to manage conflict.

Question 34

Mergers and acquisitions tend to increase conflict due to different values and beliefs.

Question 35

Conflict is more likely to occur between two departments with pooled interdependence than reciprocal interdependence.

Question 36

Ambiguous goals are one of the main sources of conflict between baby-boomer and Generation-X employees.

Question 37

The preferred conflict management style tends to depend partly on the individual's cross-cultural values.

Question 38

Communication only reduces or minimizes conflict when it takes the form of structured meetings and dialogue sessions.

Question 39

The problem-solving conflict management style involves a high degree of assertiveness and cooperativeness.

Question 40

People from collectivist cultures tend to apply a forcing style of conflict with colleagues more than do people from individualist cultures.

Question 41

According to the bargaining zone model,the parties begin negotiations by describing their resistance point to each other.

Question 42

Negotiators share information more fully by adopting a win-lose orientation.

Question 43

In most cultures,making concessions symbolizes a negotiator's motivation to bargain in good faith.

Question 44

An important rule in negotiations is to make several major concessions early in the proceedings to communicate your willingness to resolve the conflict.

Question 45

The bargaining zone model of negotiations describes the best physical setting in which negotiations should occur.

Question 46

According to the bargaining zone model,the target point is the team's realistic goal or expectation for a final agreement.

Question 47

Buffers tend to resolve conflict by reducing the level of interdependence between the conflicting parties.

Question 48

Managers should arbitrate decisions when employees cannot resolve their differences alone.

Question 49

An important rule for effective negotiations is to avoid using persuasive communication tactics.

Question 50

Negotiation occurs whenever two or more conflicting parties try to redefine the terms of their interdependence.

Question 51

Mediation has a high level of process control but a low level of decision control.

Question 52

Increasing resources and creating more precise rules for allocation of those resources represent two ways to increase conflict.

Question 53

Negotiators tend to be more competitive and less willing to give concessions when their audience directly observes the negotiations.

Question 54

Talking circles help minimize conflict by improving communication and mutual understanding.

Question 55

Negotiators tend to be more effective when several team members are at the negotiation table listening and taking notes than when negotiators work alone.

Question 56

Research suggests that managers tend to avoid the inquisitional approach to third-party conflict resolution.

Question 57

Arbitration has a high level of process control but a low level of decision control.

Question 58

Most negotiators prefer using email,videoconferences and other forms of electronic communication when negotiating rather than meeting face-to-face.

Question 59

When negotiators get closer to their time deadline,they become less committed to resolving the conflict.

Question 60

The preference for arbitration or mediation in work disputes partly depends on cross-cultural values.

Question 61

Constructive conflict:

A) is the opposite of task-related conflict.
B) encourages employees to re-examine their basic assumptions about a problem and its possible solution.
C) is one of the dysfunctional outcomes of conflict.
D) is the most common outcome of arbitration.
E) sometimes replaces manifest conflict in the conflict process.

Question 62

In the conflict process,what immediately precedes conflict outcomes?

A) Manifest conflict
B) Conflict emotions
C) Sources of conflict
D) Conflict perceptions
E) Both conflict emotions and perceptions immediately precede conflict outcomes

Question 63

In the conflict process,what immediately follows conflict perceptions and emotions?

A) Sources of conflict
B) Manifest conflict
C) Conflict outcomes
D) Conflict management
E) Both conflict outcomes and conflict management immediately follow conflict perceptions and emotions

Question 64

Conflict management refers to interventions that:

A) try to increase the amount of conflict among employees.
B) successfully remove conflict from the organization.
C) remove manifest conflict as well as negative conflict outcomes even though the sources of conflict remain in place.
D) convince employees that conflict should be avoided.
E) alter the level and form of conflict in ways that maximize its benefits and minimize its dysfunctional consequences.

Question 65

The two main forms of conflict are:

A) manifest and hidden
B) constructive and socioemotional
C) pooled and sequential
D) problem-solving and forcing
E) superordinate and subordinate

Question 66

Which of the following best describes socioemotional conflict?

A) One party perceives that another party might oppose its interests.
B) The conflict is between two individuals rather than departments or organizations.
C) The conflict episodes are viewed as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve the problem.
D) Two people adopt a win-win rather than a win-lose orientation.
E) None of these describes socioemotional conflict.

Question 67

The conflict process begins:

A) when one party intends to interfere with the other's goals.
B) when one party does something that actually interferes with the other party's goals.
C) after the first party does something that causes the second party to take a similar hostile action.
D) when scarce resources or other conditions exist that potentially cause conflict.
E) when both parties are informed by a third party that they have a potential conflict.

Question 68

Constructive conflict is less likely to turn into socioemotional conflict when team members:

A) learn how to argue more forcefully with each other.
B) have higher emotional intelligence.
C) have high differentiation.
D) have competitive team norms.
E) use a forcing style of conflict resolution.

Question 69

Which of the following statements about organizational conflict is FALSE?

A) Job and occupational specialization tend to minimize conflict.
B) Some conflict increases organizational effectiveness.
C) In constructive conflict, the parties view the conflict as something 'out there' to resolve.
D) Decision ambiguity can increase the potential for conflict.
E) Conflict tends to increase when resources are scarce.

Question 70

According to the literature on organizational conflict,constructive conflict:

A) is a positive application of conflict in organizations.
B) is one of the most common outcomes of conflict.
C) is the only conflict management style that has high assertiveness and low cooperativeness.
D) is the main source of conflict in organizations.
E) should never be used as a conflict management strategy.

Question 71

Socioemotional conflict usually causes people to:

A) use logical analysis to resolve the conflict.
B) reduce communication and information sharing with the other party.
C) rethink their assumptions and beliefs about the issue that is the source of conflict.
D) do all of these things.
E) do none of these things.

Question 72

Emotional intelligence and team cohesiveness are two ways to:

A) minimize constructive conflict
B) engage in third-party conflict resolution
C) increase socioemotional conflict
D) minimize socioemotional conflict
E) add more cycles to the conflict escalation cycle

Question 73

Constructive conflict:

A) is the same as socioemotional conflict.
B) encourages people to think about different points of view.
C) is a source of conflict based on the physical layout of the office.
D) is the main source of groupthink and denial of external problems.
E) is none of these.

Question 74

A large computer company was well known for the frequent debate among employees regarding various issues.Employees weren't afraid to disagree with their colleagues and to clearly argue their point.Although the discussions would sometimes get loud,employees never spoke angrily at each other and the discussants would always end the meeting in friendship.This computer company has many instances of:

A) constructive conflict
B) win-lose orientation
C) avoiding conflict management style
D) socioemotional conflict
E) cooperation

Question 75

The conflict process model includes:

A) conflict outcomes.
B) sources of conflict.
C) conflict emotions.
D) conflict outcomes and conflict emotions, but not sources of conflict.
E) conflict outcomes, conflict emotions, and sources of conflict.

Question 76

Conflict is defined as:

A) any event where two parties demonstrate their dislike of each other.
B) any occasion where both parties perceive each other as a threat to achieving the other party's goals.
C) a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.
D) any event where one party acts in a way that prevents another party from achieving its goals.
E) a process in which each party tries to learn the resistance point of the other party.

Question 77

Constructive conflict exists:

A) when the conflict is viewed as a personal attack on each person in the relationship.
B) when an employee disagrees with his or her supervisor regarding what tasks should be performed as part of the job.
C) when the conflict is emotionally charged.
D) when all of these exist.
E) when none of these exists.

Question 78

The conflict escalation cycle:

A) rarely occurs in organizational settings.
B) helps employees to move from socioemotional to constructive conflict.
C) helps the conflicting parties to remove the sources of conflict.
D) includes the situation where behaviors during manifest conflict communicate the perception of conflict to the other party.
E) is all of these.

Question 79

Which of the following is NOT explicitly labeled in the conflict process model?

A) Manifest conflict
B) Conflict perceptions
C) Conflict emotions
D) Conflict sources
E) Conflict zone

Question 80

The process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party is called:

A) mediation
B) conflict
C) negotiation
D) dialogue
E) conflict management