Deck 11: Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace

Question 1

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

Answer 1

True

Question 2

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

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Constructive conflict is more likely to escalate into relationship conflict among employees in highly cohesive teams.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Moderate levels of conflict produce improved decision-making.

Question 5

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

Question 6

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

Question 7

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

Question 8

The view that conflict in organizations is bad is overly simplistic and in some cases incorrect.

Question 9

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

Question 10

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

Question 11

If conflict was eliminated, organizations would be more productive.

Question 12

Conflict begins when two parties experience manifest conflict.

Question 13

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

Question 14

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

Question 15

Most people can avoid experiencing relationship conflict if they focus on constructive debate instead.

Question 16

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

Question 17

Approximately 42% of a manager's time is spent dealing with workplace conflict.

Question 18

Conflict perceptions and emotions lead to conflict sources.

Question 19

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

Question 20

The modern perspective on conflict is that an optimal level exist which is beneficial to the organization.

Question 21

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

Question 22

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

Question 23

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

Question 24

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

Question 25

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

Question 26

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

Question 27

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

Question 28

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

Question 29

It is possible to agree on a common goal yet still experience conflict due to differentiation.

Question 30

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

Question 31

The yielding conflict management style can produce more conflict rather than resolve it.

Question 32

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

Question 33

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

Question 34

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

Question 35

Poor work ethic is one of the main sources of conflict between Baby-boomer and Generation-X employees.

Question 36

Communication and understanding interventions should be applied only after differentiation between the parties has been reduced.

Question 37

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

Question 38

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

Question 39

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

Question 40

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

Question 41

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

Question 42

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

Question 43

Negotiators tend to avoid "hardline" behaviors when they know an audience is watching them.

Question 44

Conflicts can be minimized by negotiating a collective agreement between union and management which both parties must follow.

Question 45

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

Question 46

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

Question 47

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

Question 48

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

Question 49

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

Question 50

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

Question 51

An important rule for effective negotiations is to avoid using persuasive communication tactics since this often demonstrates weakness.

Question 52

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

Question 53

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

Question 54

ADR usually begins with a meeting between employee and employer.

Question 55

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

Question 56

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

Question 57

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

Question 58

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

Question 59

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

Question 60

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

Question 61

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, different values, or other conditions exist that potentially causes conflict.
E)when both parties are informed by a third party that they have a potential conflict.

Question 62

The current perspective on organizational conflict is that:

A)conflict should be minimized.
B)conflict is the result of poor communication.
C)conflict is an inevitable result of increased technology and globalization.
D)All of the above are correct.
E)moderate levels of conflict are necessary and produce favorable outcomes.

Question 63

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)debating conflict.
C)avoiding conflict management style.
D)relationship conflict.
E)positional conflict.

Question 64

Constructive conflict:

A)should be encouraged for better decision making.
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 65

Which of the following is not explicitly included in the conflict process model?

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

Question 66

Which of these is NOT a source of conflict?

A)Cohesiveness
B)Goals
C)Values
D)Tasks
E)Resources

Question 67

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 'C' and 'D' immediately follow conflict perceptions and emotions

Question 68

Which of these is NOT a strategy identified by the conflict management experts as something that might reduce the level of relationship conflict during constructive conflict episodes?

A)Emotional intelligence
B)Supportive team norms
C)Cohesive team
D)Third-party conflict resolution
E)All of the above are strategies to reduce the level of relationship conflict during constructive conflict episodes.

Question 69

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.

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

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 72

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 73

Constructive conflict exists:

A)when the conflict is viewed as a personal attack on each person in the relationship.
B)only when an employee disagrees with his or her supervisor regarding how to construct or organize the job activities.
C)when the conflict is emotionally charged.
D)All of the above.
E)None of the above.

Question 74

Relationship 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 75

In the conflict process, what occurs immediately before conflict outcomes?

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

Question 76

Effective managers should:

A)try to increase the amount of conflict among employees.
B)successfully remove conflict from the organization, because it saps productivity.
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)encourage constructive conflict for better decision making and minimize relationship conflict.

Question 77

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 78

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 79

Constructive conflict:

A)is the same a relationship 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 both 'A' and 'D'.

Question 80

Which of the following best describes relationship 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 the above.