1B4 Chapter 5

3 drawback of ineffective communication?

- wastes time and energy -damages the morale and good will of employees and customers -reduces the effectiveness and efficiency of work performed

What does the grievance form include?

-A description of the complaint -the relevant clause for reference -description of the requested corrective action and/or compensation

Which 5 ways to classify and communicate to stakeholders are there?

-According to the amount of risk to a stakeholder -According to the level of interest on the topic -According to the degree of organization -According to their level of awareness -According to their level of satisfaction as a stakeholder

What are the five basic conflict resolution strategies?

-Avoiding -Accommodating -Forcing -Collaborating -Compromising

What are the five stages in assertive behavior?

-Describe your concern -Express your feelings -Empathize -Negotiate a change -Indicate the consequences

What are three characteristics of dysfunctional conflict?

-Dissatisfaction among the individual participants, which increases with time and eventually reduces performance. Such dissatisfaction can also have a detrimental effect on the mental and physical health of the individuals involved due to the stress of being continually unhappy an angry. -Progressively reducing the effectiveness of a group or team until the group is completely unproductive and must be dissolved. -A breakdown in communication channels and effectiveness

What are the four steps to collaborative or problem-solving bargaining?

-Each side lists concerns openly and honestly and both sides work through each concern to address it satisfactorily. -A committee or group may be established for each area of contention deploying members from both sides who have been instructed to work for a win-win resolution. -A third party mediator or facilitator may be employed to manage a process. -When agreement is reached, both sides work together through joint meeting to explain the process and results to employees and supervisors.

Who are 6 different stakeholders?

-Employees and their unions -Suppliers -Customers -Local, provincial, and federal governments and their agencies and departments -Local communities -Other groups acting in the public interest, such as environmental lobby groups

What are four characteristics of an assertive leader?

-Feelings and perceptions are expressed directly and honestly and tactfully. -Reasonable requests are made openly for other people to do things -Requests made of you by other people are accepted if they are reasonable and legitimate, but may also be refused if they are unreasonable -Assertive leaders are confident; they build self-respect in themselves and in others. They are not aggressive or overbearing and do not seek to get things done by humiliating, bullying, threatening, or intimidating others.

What are five step in conflict resolution?

-Identify the conflict handling style and strategies with which you are most comfortable. -Chose carefully which conflicts you address. Ensure that your efforts are focused where they will do the most good and least harm. -Evaluate the other participants. What are their concerns, styles, values, resources, and feelings? -Identify the source of the conflict. Address the cause, not the symptoms. -Consider your own options. This includes the different approaches and strategies that you can use, and the resources and authority at your disposal.

What are the four basic stages of the grievance process?

-Informal complaint -Written grievance -Internal dispute resolution -Arbitration

What are four advantages to the grievance process?

-It ensure's that every individual's rights are protected and that the individual is treated fairly. -It brings visibility to problems in company policy, the collective agreement, or the practices or abilities of supervisors and managers that can then be corrected. -It ensures that all problems can be aired and addressed, so that they are not suppressed and allowed to become worse. -It provides a process to resolve problem's even when everyone's best efforts at conflict resolution have failed to do so.

What are four advantages to collaborative bargaining?

-It generally produces a collective agreement which better meets the needs of both the company and the union -It results in considerably improved relationships between the two parties. -It is much easier to gain support and buy-in for the agreement that is reached. -It is likely to produce more innovative and creative solutions for problems

What are three forms of communication?

-Linear -Interactive -Transactive

What are six methods of communicating with external stakeholders?

-News release to media such as newspapers and television. -Mass distribution of information through mailings, flyers, and posters. -Face to face meetings -Report filing -Public meetings -Internet

What are 8 benefits to functional conflict?

-Problems are identified and effectively resolved. -The quality of decision making is improved because opposing viewpoints are addressed. -Participants are likely to become more creative in developing solutions -The visibility of an issue or problem is increased, so that participants and others take an interest and are willing to participate in a resolution -Acceptance of the resolution may be increased by group or individual participation -Groupthink and apathy towards group activities are overcome -Existing or developing tension between groups or individuals can be released, recognized, and resolved. -Change in the structures, processes, procedures, or norms of an organization are made possible.

What are four communication shortcuts?

-Selectivity -Assumed similarity -Sterotyping -Halo effect

Which two instances can accommodating be a useful conflict strategy?

-The consequences of the conflict are minor to you, but important to the other person. -Maintaining a relationship with the other person is more important to you than the issue at hand.

What are 7 disadvantages of the grievance process?

-The formal nature of the procedure often does not allow for mutual efforts at problem solving. Instead, one party presents its requests or demands for resolution and the other party must either comply with or deny the validity of the request. This formality can greatly limit the flexibility that would otherwise enable a satisfactory result. -A grievance may address a symptom of a problem or be an effect of someone's perception of injustice without actually addressing the problem itself. This situation is referred to as the difference between stated grievance and a real grievance. -A grievance is often an adversarial process. It tends to produce either a win-lose or lose-win outcome when win-win are desired. -By it's nature, a grievance represents a considerable escalation of a conflict with numerous additional people involved. This process produces a risk of unrelated issues being raised, or of past adversarial relationships producing an unfriendly and uncooperative atmosphere. -A grievance can be an expensive process to manage due to the number of people and amount of time involved. This problem is especially true if expenses such as legal fees are necessary. -A grievance can take a long time to resolve. Issues that could normally be resolved quickly through informal discussion may take days, weeks, or even months to work their way through a grievance procedure. -The win-lose nature of a grievance can produce frustration and anger that will impede the future relationship between the union and company, or between individual workers and supervisors. This effect can be felt for many years afterwards.

What are three instances where collaborating is the best conflict strategy?

-When all participants desire a win-win resolution and are willing to work towards it -When time is not critical because collaboration can be a time-consuming process -When the issue at hand is very important and requires the best resolution possible

Which three cases is avoiding a useful conflict strategy?

-When the conflict is inconsequential and not worth the commitment of time and energy that would be required to solve it. -When the conflict is an emotional issue and a cooling off period is needed before it can be dealt with rationally and effectively. -When the conflict is likely to disappear if it is ignored.

What are two instances where forcing is a useful conflict resolution tool?

-When the issue must be resolved quickly and decisively as in a plant emergency or an immediate risk of an injury. -When the required decision is likely to be unpopular but must be made anyway

What are three instances where compromising is the best conflict strategy?

-When the participants have neither the power to force a resolution, nor the desire to make their relationship more important that the resolution -When the issue is complicated and a temporary solution is needed -When time available for a resolution is limited

What are the two behaviors that people approach conflict with?

-assertive -cooperative

What are 5 differences that can lead to interpersonal conflict?

-cultural backgrounds -viewpoints -attitudes -values -beliefs

What are the four possible outcomes of conflict?

-lose-lose -lose-win -win-lose -win-win

Which three organization conditions can lead to interpersonal conflict?

-poorly managed communications -organizational or procedural change -inadequate or ineffective supervision

What percentage of their time do managers spend on conflict resolution?

20%

What is transactive communication?

A communication process as a transaction between two partners. For example, one person may be speaking while the other simultaneously signals understanding or agreement through nodding of the head or gesturing with the hands.

What is the halo effect?

A communication shortcut where people have the tendency to judge an individual based on only one characteristic they have observed.

What is a grievance, in the legal sense?

A disagreement between an employee or union and an employer over the interpretation, application, or administration of the collective agreement, or of relevant legislation.

What is the result of selectivity?

A quickly made assessment or feeling about another person which is based on only part of the available information.

Receiving no response from the supervisor to whom a grievance is presented within the time limit is generally interpreted to mean what?

A rejection of the grievance.

What is filtering?

A type of selectivity, where the sender transmits only those parts of a message that the receiver is likely to want to hear.

What is a grievance procedure?

A very structured series of required steps in a defined sequence with definite maximum times set out for completion of each step to resolve conflict.

What form can interpersonal conflict resolution take?

Acting as a mediator between the individuals involved in a setting that emphasizes privacy and respect for the individuals.

What is the internal dispute resolution?

Additional people are brought into the process for one final attempt at a negotiate settlement.

What are stakeholders?

Any individuals or groups that are affected by the decisions and actions of an organization.

How do intergroups conflicts often start?

As interpersonal conflicts which attract an audience, and then spread easily to co-workers who are observers and find themselves drawn to take sides.

Which communication shortcut is sometimes called the 'like me' effect?

Assumed similarity

What is the avoiding conflict strategy?

Backing away from the conflict without taking any action to deal with it. Running away, unassertive, uncooperative.

Why is grievance a very important part of labor legislation?

Because it is often the only means by which an employee can seek correction of unfair or illegal practices or gain compensation if treated unjustly.

How is linear communication often characterized?

By command and control leadership practices in which the boss gives orders and the workers do what they are told without responding.

How does a sender encode a message?

By translating it into words, inflections, body positioning, facial expression, hand movement, eye contact, and other tangible representations of what the sender thinks and feels. *The receiver then decodes the message to gain understanding of what is intended

2. Why are the shortcuts in the communication process not usually desirable?

Communication shortcuts usually involve a degree of judgement about another person, which is often incorrect and unwarranted. The result is that the shortcut becomes noise in the communication process, contributing to misunderstanding and poor communication quality.

What is a written grievance?

Grievance is presented in writing on a prescribed form by the union to the supervisor.

What is a destructive force in an organization that should be avoided at almost all costs?

Conflict

What is interpersonal conflict?

Conflict between two individuals.

What is intergroup conflict?

Conflict between workgroups, teams, or informal groups of friends in the plant.

When is linear communication most effective?

During emergency situations, where waiting for feedback before taking action is not required.

How does noise distort linear communication?

During encoding, transmission, and decoding. The message sent is quite often different from the message received.

For most interactive messages, a sender's communications are more effective when what?

Feedback is encouraged, accepted, and processed. *Same with receiving.

Studies of financial problems at major corporations have sometimes shown that their root cause is lack of __________ _________?

Functional conflict

What is the difference between functional conflict and dysfunctional conflict?

Functional results in an improvement or benefit, dysfunctional is destructive.

How is there an optimal level of conflict in an organization?

If there is too little conflict, the organization will not be able to adapt or change, or to recognize and resolve problems. If there is too much conflict, the organization will be unable to achieve anything more than to deal with the conflict itself.

How can functional conflicts become dysfunctional?

If they are unresolved and left to escalate in their severity, consequences, emotional impact, and importance.

When is linear communication least effective?

In a cooperative team working environment.

What is noise?

It denotes anything which interferes with effective communication. It can refer to literal noise, but also to more tangible interference such as misunderstanding, strong emotions, boredom, uncomfortable seating, overheated rooms, or job pressures that create stress and limit time available for communicating.

1. Briefly describe what is meant by linear , interactive, and transactive communications?

Linear communication is a process of one way communication, from sender to receiver. It is often characterized by 'command and control' leadership practices, in which the boss gives orders and the workers do what they are told without responding. Noise distorts the message during encoding, transmission, and decoding, so that the message that is sent is often quite different from the message that is received. More complex communications require an exchange of information, clarification, questions, and answers between sender and receiver. This is achieved through interactive communications. Here we can see a series of messages being encoded, transmitted, decoded and the responded to by replies that are encoded, transmitted, and decoded in the opposite direction. Although noise interferes with every step of the process, there is much more opportunity to correct errors and misunderstandings through feedback from receiver to sender. The next step in building effective communications is to work towards transactive communications with the communication process seen as a transaction between two equal partners. Here we can see continuous two-way communication in multiple channels. For example, one person may be speaking while the other simultaneously signals understanding or agreement through nodding of the head or gesturing with the hands. The end result is a shared understanding of each other and of the communicated messages that cannot be equaled by any other communication process that uses less mutual interaction.

What is interactive communication?

More complex than linear, it requires and exchange of information, clarification, questions, and answers between the sender and receiver.

How can intergroup conflict resolution happen?

More likely to be open and public through frank discussions with the groups involved.

What is the compromising conflict strategy?

Negotiating behavior that consists of partial assertiveness and partial cooperation with results that are combinations of the alternatives. during a negotiation.

What is a cooperative behavior pattern?

People are concerned for other people and for their relationships.

What is an assertive behavior pattern?

People are concerned primarily for themselves and for their own goals.

What is the accommodating conflict strategy?

Placing the needs of someone else ahead of your own, such as agreeing to their resolution when you are sure that it is not the best choice. Smoothing, appeasing, unassertive, cooperative.

What is interpersonal communication?

Refers to the transfer of ideas, meaning, and information from one person to another. *Does not mean that they agree or understand each other.

One is one symptom of interpersonal conflict?

The affected individuals feel they are threatened either by the conflict itself or by the circumstances that precipitated it.

What is the collaborating conflict strategy?

Seen in a conflict that was resolved through open, honest communication with the intent of both maintaining a good relationship and of correcting the problem. Confronting, problem-solving, assertive, cooperative.

What is the selectivity communication shortcut?

Selective perception, refers to the acceptance of some of the information and perceptions that are conveyed to us while ignoring the rest.

Which communication shortcut involves a receiver isolating parts of a message and effectively receiving only those parts?

Selectivity

What can interpersonal conflict lead to in the long term?

Sever health issues due to stress, prolonged absence from work.

What is an informal complaint?

The aggrieved employee discussed the problem informally and verbally with their supervisor, and maybe with a union rep present.

What is a zero-sum situation?

The assumption that no-one can make a gain unless it is at someone else's expense.

Functional conflict is so important to a business that an organization cannot ___________ without it?

Survive

what is a message?

The information conveyed from one person to another through verbal communications. It includes words, facts, figures, as well as emotions, perceptions and biases.

Which process usually involves a grievance committee?

The internal dispute resolution.

What is a channel?

The medium by which a message is sent. For dealing with verbal communications, the channel is composed of the sender's voice and mannerisms.

What is the grievance rate?

The number of written grievances encountered in one year per 100 employees.

3. What is stereotyping?

The process of identifying a persons characteristics with the perceived characteristic of a group that he or she is associated with. This is often incorrect in terms of the group's traits and also of the association made between the individual and a group.

What is stereotyping?

The process of identifying a persons characteristics with the perceived characteristics of a group with whom they are associated.

What is linear communication?

The simplest verbal communication, it is the process of one way communication, from sender to receiver.

Why is the grievance rate monitored?

To measure how successful they have been in maintaining good labor relations.

Which communication method is continuous, two way with multiple channels?

Transactive

What is the forcing conflict strategy?

When a supervisor uses their authority to require some action to be taken, regardless of the wishes of the other party or of the consequences of their relationship. Dominating, competing, assertive, uncooperative.

What is socializing the conflict?

When people involve more people to win an interpersonal conflict.

What is the assumed similarity communication shortcut?

When we tend to view another person as having the same goals, interests, abilities and biases as we have.

What must the written form of the grievance state very clearly?

Which clause of the agreement or legislation has been violated.

What should be the goal outcome for every participant in a conflict?

Win-Win

Can a grievance be initiate by an employer as well?

Yes

What is conflict?

a process that begins when one party perceives that the other party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect, something that the first party cares about.

All canadian labor legislation requires that collective agreements include a description of the ____________ procedure in use?

grievance

What is a substitute for grievance arbitration?

peer review panels.

What is arbitration?

the settlement of a dispute by a neutral party. Usually, a three person arbitration committee is appointed. One union, one company, one more agreed upon by both.

What conflict outcomes are referred to as zero-sum?

win-lose lose-win