OB ch. 10 - conflict

69. Arbitration has a _________ level of control over the final outcome and a ______ level of control over the process. A. high; low B. high; high C. low; high D. low; low E. moderate; low

A. high; low Feedback: Arbitrators have high control over the final decision but low control over the process. Executives engage in this strategy by following previously agreed rules of due process, listening to arguments from the disputing employees, and making a binding decision.

70. Which of type of third-party intervention approaches do managers usually adopt? A. inquisitional B. competitive C. mediation-based D. arbitration-based E. abstainer

A. inquisitional Feedback: Research suggests that people in positions of authority (such as managers) usually adopt an inquisitional approach whereby they dominate the intervention process as well as make a binding decision.

46. The problem-solving interpersonal style of conflict has A. high assertiveness and low cooperativeness. B. high assertiveness and high cooperativeness. C. low assertiveness and high cooperativeness. D. low assertiveness and low cooperativeness. E. medium assertiveness and medium cooperativeness.

B. high assertiveness and high cooperativeness. Feedback: Problem solving is associated with high degree of assertiveness and high degree of cooperativeness.

Which of the following statements is TRUE of relationship conflicts? A) Team norms usually discourage tactics that diffuse relationship conflict when it first appears. B) It is ideal to use humor to maintain positive group emotions in teams with low relationship conflict. C) It is also known as constructive conflict. D) It usually allows for logical and rational debates over different aspects of an issue.

??? B) It is ideal to use humor to maintain positive group emotions in teams with low relationship conflict.

64. What is the major function of integrators in an organization? A. reducing interdependence B. clarifying rules and procedures C. increasing resources D. reducing differentiation E. improving understanding

A. reducing interdependence Feedback: Integrators are employees who coordinate the activities of differentiated work units toward the completion of a common task. Organizations can reduce employee interdependence by using integrators.

Which of the following statements is TRUE about the bargaining zone model of negotiations? Question options: A) It includes a target point, which is the team's realistic goal or expectation for a final agreement. B) It usually begins by setting the resistance points, followed by making the initial offer. C) It usually implies that both the parties attempt to reach the initial offer point set by the other party. D) In win‒lose situations, both the target and resistance point are revealed to the other party.

A) It includes a target point, which is the team's realistic goal or expectation for a final agreement. The target point is your realistic goal or expectation for a final agreement. This position must consider alternative strategies to achieve those objectives, and test underlying assumptions about the situation. Negotiators who set high, specific target points usually obtain better outcomes than those with low or vague target points.

Which of the following is a positive consequence of workplace conflict? Question options: A) It makes for better decision making by reexamining assumptions. B) It results in effective utilization of resources. C) It increases team performance. D) It reduces organizational politics.

A) It makes for better decision making by reexamining assumptions. A positive consequence of workplace conflicts is that they probe and test each other's way of thinking to better understand the underlying issues that need to be addressed. This discussion and debate tests the logic of arguments and encourages participants to reexamine their basic assumptions about the problem and its possible solution. It prevents individuals and teams from making inferior decisions and potentially helps them develop more sound and creative solutions.

For everyday disputes between two employees, managers should use ________ as a third-party intervention. A) inquisition B) retaliation C) arbitration D) mediation

A) inquisition For everyday disagreements between two employees, the mediation approach is usually best because it gives employees more responsibility for resolving their own disputes. With this approach, mediators have high control over the intervention process. In fact, their main purpose is to manage the process and context of interaction between the disputing parties.

Fun Incorporated, a major gaming software company, is experiencing a conflict between the young Internet-savvy employees who design the games and the older, less computer-literate executives who run the company. The company has hired team leaders who could work with the executives and who are also highly computer-literate. By hiring these team leaders as liaisons between the executives and employees, Fun Incorporated will Question options: A) reduce conflict by reducing task interdependence. B) increase conflict by increasing task interdependence. C) increase conflict between developers and executives by reducing communication. D) reduce conflict by clarifying rules and procedures.

A) reduce conflict by reducing task interdependence. Here, Fun Incorporated is trying to introduce a buffer between the employees and the executives. This would help reduce the employee dependence on executives and would result in reduced conflict.

45. Which of the following behaviors might start the conflict process? A. an action that lacks diplomacy B. a shared understanding C. clear communication of the process D. appropriate comment E. updated personnel policies

A. an action that lacks diplomacy Feedback: It doesn't take much to start this conflict cycle—just an inappropriate comment, a misunderstanding, or an action that lacks diplomacy. These behaviors cause the other party to perceive that conflict exists. Even if the first party did not intend to demonstrate conflict, the second party's response may create that perception.

43. Mikayla is quick to respond to any comment, especially if she feels that it is an attack on a coworker's performance. She can even seem arrogant. This often fuels the conflict due to A. communication problems. B. scarce resources. C. ambiguity. D. goal incompatibility. E. differentiation.

A. communication problems. Feedback: Some people lack the necessary skills to communicate in a diplomatic, nonconfrontational manner. When one party communicates its disagreement arrogantly, opponents are more likely to heighten their perception of the conflict. This may lead opponents to reciprocate with a similar response, which further escalates the conflict.

31. According to the literature, which organizational conflict is a positive application of conflict in organizations? A. constructive conflict B. optimal conflict C. relationship conflict D. optimal conflict E. process conflict

A. constructive conflict Feedback: Task conflict (also called constructive conflict) occurs when people focus their discussion around the issue (i.e., the "task") while showing respect for people with other points of view. This type of conflict debates the various alternatives and arguments so they can be clarified, redesigned, and tested for logical soundness. The focus is on the assumptions and logical foundation of the ideas presented, not on the characteristics of the people who presented them. In other words, task conflict keeps the debate focused on the issue and avoids any attention to the competence or power of the participants. Research indicates that task conflict tends to produce better decision making.

50. Which of the following conflict management styles may be necessary when it is apparent that the other party will take advantage of information sharing and other cooperative strategies? A. forcing B. yielding C. avoiding D. problem-solving E. compromising

A. forcing Feedback: The forcing style of conflict resolution is usually inappropriate. However, forcing may be necessary when you know you are correct (for example, if the other party's position is unethical or is based on obviously flawed logic), the dispute requires a quick solution, or the other party would take advantage of a more cooperative conflict handling style.

67. Which of the following third-party conflict resolution strategies is characterized by high decision control and high process control? A. inquisition B. arbitration C. mediation D. imposition E. compromise

A. inquisition Feedback: Inquisitors have high decision control because they choose the form of conflict resolution. They also have high process control because they choose which information to examine and how to examine it, and they generally decide how the conflict resolution process will be handled.

41. Jerry works at the bread factory. He is responsible for taking the dough and putting it through the processor, which cuts the dough into loaf size balls. Tonight, the dough makers are being really slow and do not seem concerned about the rest of the process. This scenario is at risk for conflict due to A. interdependence. B. goal incompatibility. C. scarce resources. D. ambiguous rules. E. communication problems.

A. interdependence. Feedback: The risk of conflict increases with the level of interdependence. Employees usually have the lowest risk of conflict when working with others in a pooled interdependence relationship. Pooled interdependence occurs where individuals operate independently, except for reliance on a common resource or authority. The potential for conflict is higher in sequential interdependence work relationships, such as an assembly line. The highest risk of conflict tends to occur in reciprocal interdependence situations. With reciprocal interdependence, employees have high mutual dependence on each other as well as higher centrality. Consequently, relationships with reciprocal interdependence have the strongest and most immediate risk of interfering with each other's objectives.

80. The effectiveness of negotiating depends to some extent on the environment in which the negotiations occur. Three key situational factors are A. location, physical setting, and audience. B. implementation, mediation, and buffering. C. location, desire, and power. D. physical setting, gender, and location. E. culture, gender, and environment.

A. location, physical setting, and audience. Feedback: The effectiveness of negotiating depends to some extent on the environment in which the negotiations occur. Three key situational factors are location, physical setting, and audience.

34. Which of the following precedes conflict outcomes in the conflict process? A. manifest conflict B. conflict emotions C. conflict beliefs D. conflict perceptions E. conflict sources

A. manifest conflict Feedback: Manifest conflict precedes conflict outcomes in the conflict process.

19. Which of the following is a major advantage of having moderate levels of organizational conflicts? A. more responsiveness to changing business environment B. reduced attrition in the organization C. reduced stress and job dissatisfaction among employees D. increased information sharing E. less wastage of time because of reduced communication among employees

A. more responsiveness to changing business environment Feedback: An apparent benefit of moderate conflict is that it prevents organizations from stagnating and becoming nonresponsive to their external environment. Through conflict, employees continuously question current practices and become more sensitive to dissatisfaction from stakeholders.

16. Conflict is ultimately based on A. people's perceptions. B. actual intentions. C. organizational structure. D. technical competence. E. skills and abilities of individuals.

A. people's perceptions. Feedback: Conflict is ultimately based on perceptions. It exists whenever one party believes that another might obstruct its efforts, whether the other party actually intends to do so.

76. A BATNA A. represents the estimated cost of walking away from the relationship. B. is a form of "exploding offer." C. is a term representing one party's target point. D. is the difference between your resistance point and your opponent's resistance point. E. is an abbreviation for the steps in effective negotiation.

A. represents the estimated cost of walking away from the relationship. Feedback: BATNA (best alternative to a negotiated agreement) represents the estimated cost of walking away from the relationship.

82. Giving more concessions and even _____ the negotiation process altogether (accepting the salary offered when hired) are ways that women try to maintain good relations. A. yielding B. forcing C. avoiding D. compromising E. refusing

A. yielding Feedback: When it comes to negotiation, women tend to have poorer economic outcomes than do men. Women tend to set lower personal target points and are more likely to accept offers just above their resistance points. Men set high target points and push to get a deal as close to their target point as possible. Women are also less likely than men to use alternatives to improve their outcomes. One explanation for these differences is that women give higher priority than men to interpersonal relations in the exchange. This is consistent with why there are gender differences in conflict handling styles, discussed earlier in this chapter. Giving more concessions and even avoiding the negotiation process altogether (accepting the salary offered when hired) are ways that women try to maintain good relations. This is also consistent with evidence that women have a stronger dislike of negotiation activities.

66. Which of the following is a third-party conflict resolution strategy with low process control and high decision control? A. inquisition B. arbitration C. mediation D. imposition E. compromise

B. arbitration Feedback: Arbitrators have high control over the final decision but low control over the process.

55. The _____ style is often ineffective because it doesn't resolve the conflict and may increase the other party's frustration. A. problem-solving B. avoidance C. forcing D. yielding E. compromising

B. avoidance Feedback: The conflict avoidance style is often ineffective because it doesn't resolve the conflict and may increase the other party's frustration. However, avoiding may be the best strategy where conflict has become emotionally charged or where conflict resolution would cost more than its benefits.

In the negotiation process, a key objective of ________ is to establish and maintain trust. Question options: A) managing time B) building the relationship C) managing concessions D) gathering information

B) building the relationship A key objective of building the relationship is to build and maintain trust, which is important in all negotiations. One approach is to discover common backgrounds and interests, such as places you have lived, favorite hobbies and sports teams, and so forth. First impressions are also important.

Which of the following factors leads to relationship conflicts in teams? Question options: A) homogeneous workforce B) low levels of communication C) low levels of interdependence D) abundant resources

B) low levels of communication Conflict often occurs due to the lack of opportunity, ability, or motivation to communicate effectively. A low level of communication would lead to conflicts in teams.

The bargaining zone model states that A) the physical space around the negotiations affects the negotiation outcome. B) the negotiation process moves each party along a continuum in opposite directions with an area of potential overlap. C) negotiators must try to move the other party from a win‒lose orientation toward a win‒win orientation. D) the best negotiations occur in a neutral territory.

B) the negotiation process moves each party along a continuum in opposite directions with an area of potential overlap.

20. _____ is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party. A. Perception B. Conflict C. Resistance D. Parity E. Distraction

B. Conflict Feedback: Conflict is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party. It may occur when one party obstructs another's goals in some way, or just from one party's perception that the other party is going to do so.

________ are employees who coordinate the activities of work units toward the completion of a shared task or project. Question options: A) Inquisitors B) Integrators C) Mediators D) Arbitrators

B. Integrators are employees who coordinate the activities of work units toward the completion of a shared task or project. Integrators reduce the amount of direct interaction required among diverse work units.

60. Female managers are more likely than male managers to use the _____ style. A. problem-solving B. avoiding C. forcing D. yielding E. compromising

B. avoiding Feedback: Female managers are more likely than male managers to use the avoiding style, whereas female non-management employees use the avoiding style only slightly more than male nonmanagement employees. Women in management and nonmanagement roles are only slightly more likely than men to use problem solving, compromising, and yielding.

75. Initial offer points, target points, and resistance points represent three elements in the A. conflict process model. B. bargaining zone model. C. types of third-party conflict resolution. D. sources of conflict. E. conflict escalation cycle.

B. bargaining zone model. Feedback: People negotiate more successfully when they carefully think through their three key positions in the bargaining zone model, namely, initial, target, and resistance.

53. People usually gravitate toward one or two conflict-handling styles that match their A. education. B. cultural values. C. peers. D. desires. E. emotions.

B. cultural values. Feedback: People usually gravitate toward one or two conflict-handling styles that match their personality, personal and cultural values, and past experience.

37. Which of the following sources of conflict is typically associated with mergers and acquisitions, where everyone wants the company to succeed, but they fight over the "right way" to do things because of their unique experiences in the separate companies? A. task interdependence B. differentiation C. goal incompatibility D. scarce resources E. disintermediation

B. differentiation Feedback: When two companies are brought together as in mergers and acquisitions, the employees of each of the organizations have unique experiences in the separate companies. Differentiation is most apparent in such a situation.

72. When employees from different parts of the organization work together on important projects, then A. communication is decreased. B. differentiation is reduced. C. superordinate goals are completed. D. buffers are created. E. independence is encouraged.

B. differentiation is reduced. Feedback: One way to reduce differentiation is to rotate key staff to different departments or regions throughout their career. This career development process develops common experiences around the entire company rather than within different areas. Another way to reduce differentiation is to have employees from different parts of the organization work together on important (and hopefully successful) projects. These projects become a common ground for otherwise diverse employee groups. A third strategy is to build and maintain a strong organizational culture. Employees have shared values and assumptions in a company with a strong culture.

Scenario A NewTel is a telephone company with a policy of filling positions internally through promotions, rather than hiring from outside. Until recently, the company had a strong engineering focus and tended to promote people into senior executive positions from the engineering areas. Consequently, almost all of the company's 14 senior executives joined the company over 20 years ago in junior engineering positions. There is increasing pressure on NewTel to become more marketing-and serviceoriented. As a result, four people were hired last year from consumer products and retail firms to fill new senior executive positions in marketing and service management. The external hires were necessary because current employees were not sufficiently qualified. Now there are signs of tension among senior executives, particularly during budget deliberations where there is limited discretionary spending on new corporate activities. The four new hires have been frustrated in their attempts to have the company put more money into marketing and customer services instead of technology investment, and they blame the senior executives for being hard-headed. The conflict episodes are viewed by both sides as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve the problem. 86. NewTel had to hire outside the company because it was felt that the internal employees lacked the skills needed. Many of the new employees were younger, which compounded the conflict due to A. goal incompatibility. B. differentiation. C. scarce resources. D. ambiguity. E. interdependence.

B. differentiation. Feedback: Another source of conflict is differentiation—differences among people and work units regarding their training, values, beliefs, and experiences. Differentiation can be distinguished from goal incompatibility; two people or departments may agree on a common goal (serving customers better) but have different beliefs about how to achieve that goal (e.g., standardize employee behavior versus give employees autonomy in customer interactions). Differentiation is usually a factor in intergenerational conflict. Younger and older employees have different needs, different expectations, and different workplace practices, which sometimes produces conflicting preferences and actions.

24. Constructive conflict A. is the opposite of task-related conflict and often involves verbal attacks. B. encourages employees to re-examine their basic assumptions about a problem and its possible solutions. C. is apparent when the conflict is explained in terms of interpersonal incompatibilities. D. is more likely to trigger defense mechanisms and a competitive orientation among team members. E. sometimes replaces manifest conflict in the conflict escalation process.

B. encourages employees to re-examine their basic assumptions about a problem and its possible solutions. Feedback: Constructive conflict occurs when people focus their discussion around the issue while showing respect for people with other points of view. This is a positive application of conflicts. It helps participants to reexamine their assumptions and beliefs without triggering the drive to defend and its associated negative emotions and ego defense-mechanism behaviors.

Scenario C Fun, Incorporated, a major gaming software company, is experiencing conflict between the young Internet-savvy employees who design the games and the older, less computer-literate executives who run the company. The company has hired team leaders who could work with the executives and who are also highly computer literate. 90. One suggestion the team leaders have is to create smaller work units where the younger programmers and the older executives work on a project together. By doing so, the team leaders were being A. buffers. B. integrators. C. task masters. D. mediators. E. arbitrators.

B. integrators. Feedback: Integrators are employees who coordinate the activities of work units toward the completion of a shared task or project. For example, an individual might be responsible for coordinating the efforts of the research, production, advertising, and marketing departments in launching a new product line. Integrators reduce the amount of direct interaction required among diverse work units. Instead, work units communicate with each other indirectly through the integrator. Integrators rarely have direct authority over the departments they integrate, so they must rely on referent power and persuasion to manage conflict and accomplish the work.

65. Third-party dispute resolution activities are classified in terms of their A. arbitrariness and firmness. B. level of process control and level of decision control. C. assertiveness and cooperativeness. D. differentiation and interdependence. E. consequences for the organization.

B. level of process control and level of decision control. Feedback: There are generally three types of third-party dispute resolution activities: arbitration, inquisition, and mediation. These activities can be classified by their level of control over the process and control over the decision.

35. Which of the following immediately follows conflict perceptions and emotions in the conflict process? A. sources of conflict B. manifest conflict C. conflict outcomes D. conflict management E. conflict beliefs

B. manifest conflict Feedback: Manifest conflict immediately follows conflict perceptions and emotions in the conflict process.

78. When negotiators have an audience watching their progress in the negotiations, the negotiator A. is more likely to give in to the other party's demands. B. pays more attention to saving face. C. feels and acts the same as if no one were viewing the negotiation. D. tends to be more willing to make concessions to the other party. E. tends to feel more cooperative and is more willing to make concessions to the other party.

B. pays more attention to saving face. Feedback: Negotiators tend to act differently when their audience observes the negotiation or has detailed information about the process, compared with situations in which the audience sees only the end results. With their audience watching, negotiators also have more interest in saving face.

27. Relationship conflict usually causes people to A. use logical analysis in organizational decision making. 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. stay away from organizational politics and related activities. E. concentrate on the issue rather than the people involved in the issue.

B. reduce communication and information sharing with the other party. Feedback: The verbal attacks during relationship conflicts reduce the motivation to communicate or share information, making it more difficult for the parties to discover common ground and ultimately resolve the conflict.

62. Direct communication minimizes conflict by A. reducing task interdependence. B. reducing reliance on stereotypes about the other party. C. creating organizational buffers. D. reducing the differentiation in the work force. E. increasing the available resources.

B. reducing reliance on stereotypes about the other party. Feedback: We rely less on stereotypes to understand someone as we have more meaningful interaction with that person. Hence, dysfunctional conflicts can be resolved by giving the conflicting parties more opportunities to communicate and understand each other.

32. Within a highly cohesive team, _____ is(are) suppressed when conflict occurs. A. mediation B. relationship conflicts C. team norms D. emotional intelligence E. emotional stability

B. relationship conflicts Feedback: Relationship conflict is suppressed when the conflict occurs within a highly cohesive team. The longer people work together, get to know each other, and develop mutual trust, the more latitude they give to each other to show emotions without being personally offended.

71. One of the oldest recommendations for resolving conflict is to refocus the parties' attention around _____ goals and away from the conflicting subordinate goals. A. subordinate B. superordinate C. objective D. subjective E. achievable

B. superordinate Feedback: One of the oldest recommendations for resolving conflict is to refocus the parties' attention around superordinate goals and away from the conflicting subordinate goals. Superordinate goals are goals that the conflicting employees or departments value and whose attainment requires the joint resources and effort of those parties. These goals are called superordinate because they are higher-order aspirations, such as the organization's strategic objectives, rather than objectives specific to the individual or work unit. Research indicates that the most effective executive teams frame their decisions as superordinate goals that rise above each executive's departmental or divisional goals. Similarly, effective leaders reduce conflict through an inspirational vision that unifies employees and makes them less preoccupied with their subordinate goal differences.

79. Which negotiation process moves each party along a continuum in opposite directions with an area of potential overlap? A. the initial offer point B. the bargaining zone C. the target point D. the resistance zone E. managing concessions

B. the bargaining zone Feedback: The bargaining zone model states that the negotiation process moves each party along a continuum in opposite directions with an area of potential overlap.

Scenario B As a manager for XYZ Company, you are assigned to resolve a conflict between two departments of your organization, Department A and Department B. Both parties have equal power. Both the parties are under time pressure to resolve the conflict. You also realize that the parties lack trust/openness for problem solving. 88. If instead of equal power, Department A had considerably more power than Department B, what would Department B's best conflict resolution style be? A. forcing B. yielding C. avoiding D. compromising E. problem-solving

B. yielding Feedback: Yielding is best used when one party has substantially more power than the other.

52. José and Ron were disagreeing over who should take the holiday shift. Although José didn't really want to work that holiday, because Ron was very adamant that he have that holiday off, José agreed to take the shift. Because the issue was less important to José compared to Ron's feelings about the issue, the conflict was resolved by José A. forcing the issue. B. yielding to Ron. C. compromising. D. avoiding. E. using problem-solving skills.

B. yielding to Ron. Feedback: Yielding involves giving in completely to the other side's wishes, or at least cooperating with little or no attention to your own interests. This style involves making unilateral concessions and unconditional promises, as well as offering help with no expectation of reciprocal help.

77. ___________ is the cornerstone of effective value creation. A. Power B. Trust C. Information D. Communication E. Resistance

C. Information Feedback: Information is the cornerstone of effective value creation.

22. Who remarked that the "friction" of conflict should be put to use rather than treated as an unwanted consequence of differences? A. John Dewey B. Max Weber C. Mary Parker Follett D. Henri Fayol E. Elton Mayo

C. Mary Parker Follett Feedback: Mary Parker Follett remarked that the "friction" of conflict should be put to use rather than treated as an unwanted consequence of differences.

29. What is the relationship between emotional intelligence and relationship conflicts? A. Emotional intelligence is unrelated to relationship conflicts. B. Emotional intelligence tends to increase the likelihood of relationship conflicts. C. Relationship conflict is less likely to occur if emotional intelligence is high. D. With emotional intelligence, conflicts tend to stay relationship-based. E. With emotional intelligence, the conversion of relationship conflicts to constructive conflicts is slow.

C. Relationship conflict is less likely to occur if emotional intelligence is high. Feedback: Relationship conflict is less likely to occur, or is less likely to escalate, when team members have high levels of emotional intelligence.

26. 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. The conflict is between two departments rather than individuals in the organization.

C. The conflict episodes are viewed as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve the problem. Feedback: Relationship conflict involves personal attack on each other's credibility, intelligence, and competence. These actions are more likely to trigger defense mechanisms and a competitive orientation.

58. Some research suggests that people from high collectivism cultures—where group goals are valued more than individual goals—are motivated to maintain harmonious relations and, consequently, are more likely than those from low collectivism cultures to manage disagreements through _____ or problem solving. A. yielding B. forcing C. avoiding D. compromising E. assertiveness

C. avoiding Feedback: Some research suggests that people from high collectivism cultures—where group goals are valued more than individual goals—are motivated to maintain harmonious relations and, consequently, are more likely than those from low collectivism cultures to manage disagreements through avoidance or problem solving.

73. Any mechanism that loosens the coupling between two or more people or work units is called a(n) A. mediation. B. integration. C. buffer. D. moderator. E. arbitration.

C. buffer. Feedback: A buffer is any mechanism that loosens the coupling between two or more people or work units. This decoupling reduces the potential for conflict because the buffer reduces the effect of one party on the other. Building up inventories between people in an assembly line would be a buffer, for example, because each employee is less dependent in the short term on the previous person along that line.

51. You are assigned to resolve a conflict between two departments of an organization. Both parties have equal power. Both parties are under time pressure to resolve the conflict. You also realize that the parties lack trust/openness for problem solving. You are actively searching for a middle ground between the interests of the two parties. Which of the following conflict resolution styles would you use in this situation? A. forcing B. yielding C. compromising D. avoiding E. problem-solving

C. compromising Feedback: Compromising is looking for a position in which your losses are offset by equally valued gains. It is suitable when both parties are equally powerful and when an urgent solution is needed. It involves actively searching for a middle ground between the interests of the two parties.

59. Men are more likely than women to use the _____ style, whether as managers or nonmanagement employees. A. problem-solving B. avoidance C. forcing D. yielding E. compromising

C. forcing Feedback: Men and women rely on different conflict-handling styles to some degree. The clearest difference is that men are more likely than women to use the forcing style, whether as managers or nonmanagement employees.

56. Samir knows he is correct and needs a quick resolution to the conflict. He needs to use the _____ style. A. problem-solving B. avoidance C. forcing D. yielding E. compromising

C. forcing Feedback: The forcing style is usually inappropriate because it frequently generates relationship conflict more quickly or intensely than other conflict-handling styles. However, forcing may be necessary when you know you are correct (e.g., the other party's position is unethical or based on obviously flawed logic), the dispute requires a quick solution, or the other party would take advantage of a more cooperative conflict-handling style.

68. Which third-party conflict resolution strategy manages the process and context of interaction between the disputing parties but does not impose a solution on the parties? A. inquisition B. arbitration C. mediation D. legislation E. imposition

C. mediation Feedback: The main purpose of mediation is to manage the process and context of interaction between the disputing parties. However, the parties make the final decision about how to resolve their differences. Thus, mediators have little or no control over the conflict resolution decision.

44. Conflict outcomes can be positive or negative. Which of the following would be seen as a negative outcome? A. team cohesion B. better decisions C. more politics D. more coordination E. higher performance

C. more politics Feedback: Negative outcomes include: • Lower performance • More stress/turnover • Less coordination • More politics • Less team cohesion •

39. The potential for conflict between two employees would be highest under conditions of _____ interdependence. A. pooled B. total C. reciprocal D. anticipatory E. sequential

C. reciprocal Feedback: The highest risk of conflict tends to occur in reciprocal interdependence situations. With reciprocal interdependence, employees are highly dependent on each other and, consequently, have a higher probability of interfering with each other's work and personal goals.

23. According to the emerging view on organizational conflict, the two types of conflict are A. task conflict and constructive conflict. B. task conflict and optimal conflict. C. task conflict and relationship conflict. D. relationship conflict and optimal conflict. E. relationship conflict and process conflict.

C. task conflict and relationship conflict. Feedback: An emerging school of thought is that there are two types of conflict with opposing consequences: task conflict and relationship conflict.

81. The physical distance between the parties and formality of the setting can influence their orientation toward each other and the disputed issues. So can the seating arrangements. People who sit face-to-face are more likely to develop a(n) _____ orientation toward the conflict situation. A. buffered B. win-win C. win-lose D. mediated E. integrated

C. win-lose Feedback: The physical distance between the parties and formality of the setting can influence their orientation toward each other and the disputed issues. So can the seating arrangements. People who sit face-to-face are more likely to develop a win-lose orientation toward the conflict situation. In contrast, some negotiation groups deliberately intersperse participants around the table to convey a win-win orientation. Others arrange the seating so that both parties face a whiteboard, reflecting the notion that both parties face the same problem or issue.

Which of the following is a feature of relationship conflict? Question options: A) One party perceives that another party is trying to find a solution to a common problem. B) The conflict is between two individuals rather than departments or organizations. C) Two people adopt a win‒win rather than a win‒lose orientation. D) The conflict episodes are viewed as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve the problem.

D) The conflict episodes are viewed as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve the problem. Relationship conflict focuses on interpersonal differences between or among the adversaries. This type of conflict occurs when someone tries to dismiss an idea by questioning the competence of the people who introduce or support that idea.

In the negotiation process, a key objective of ________ is to discover in the other party and communicate your own relative importance of each issue being negotiated. A) building the relationship B) managing time C) gathering information D) managing concessions

D) managing concessions A key objective of concessions is to discover in the other party and communicate your own relative importance of each issue being negotiated. This occurs by presenting multi-issue concessions rather than just one element at a time.

42. _____ breed(s) conflict. A. Communication problems B. Scarce resources C. Interdependence D. Ambiguity E. Differentiation

D. Ambiguity Feedback: Ambiguous rules—or the complete lack of rules—breed conflict. This occurs because uncertainty increases the risk that one party intends to interfere with the other party's goals.

17. Which of the following is an advantage of having moderate levels of organizational conflicts? A. It helps reduce organizational politics. B. It boosts employee motivation. C. It promotes organizational cohesion. D. It energizes people to evaluate alternatives. E. It reduces distorted perceptions and stereotypes.

D. It energizes people to evaluate alternatives. Feedback: A moderate level of conflict sparks debate, which energizes people to evaluate alternatives more thoroughly by testing the logic of arguments and reexamining basic assumptions about the decision maker's preferences.

57. _____ behaviors may give the other side unrealistically high expectations, thereby motivating them to seek more from you in the future. A. Problem-solving B. Avoidance C. Forcing D. Yielding E. Compromising

D. Yielding Feedback: The yielding style may be appropriate when the other party has substantially more power, the issue is not as important to you as to the other party, and you aren't confident that your position has superior logical or ethical justification. On the other hand, yielding behaviors may give the other side unrealistically high expectations, thereby motivating them to seek more from you in the future. In the long run, yielding may produce more conflict, rather than resolve it.

49. You have resolved a conflict with another department by offsetting your losses by equally valued gains. Which of the following conflict handling styles was used here? A. forcing B. yielding C. avoiding D. compromising E. problem-solving

D. compromising Feedback: Compromising is looking for a position in which your losses are offset by equally valued gains. It involves matching the other party's concessions, making conditional promises or threats, and actively searching for a middle ground between the interests of the two parties.

Scenario B As a manager for XYZ Company, you are assigned to resolve a conflict between two departments of your organization, Department A and Department B. Both parties have equal power. Both the parties are under time pressure to resolve the conflict. You also realize that the parties lack trust/openness for problem solving. 87. Which conflict resolution style would you use in this situation? A. forcing B. yielding C. avoiding D. compromising E. problem-solving

D. compromising Feedback: Compromising is looking for a position in which your losses are offset by equally valued gains. It is suitable when both parties have equal power and when an urgent solution is needed.

40. When two people agree on a goal but have different beliefs about how to achieve the goal, they are experiencing A. ambiguity. B. pooled task interdependence. C. technical incompetence of the production team. D. differentiation. E. goal incompatibility.

D. differentiation. Feedback: Differentiation can be distinguished from goal incompatibility; two people or departments may agree on a common goal (serving customers better) but have different beliefs about how to achieve that goal (e.g., standardize employee behavior versus give employees autonomy in customer interactions).

33. Research has found that teams with low relationship conflict use _____ to maintain positive group emotions. A. openness B. kudos C. disagreement D. humor E. limited emotions

D. humor Feedback: Team norms also encourage tactics that diffuse relationship conflict when it first appears. For instance, research has found that teams with low relationship conflict use humor to maintain positive group emotions, which offsets negative feelings team members might develop toward some coworkers during debate.

21. Which of the following are negative consequences of conflict? A. more responsive to changing environment B. stronger team cohesion C. questioning of assumptions D. increased organizational politics E. better decision making

D. increased organizational politics Feedback: Although the "conflict-is-bad" perspective is now considered too simplistic, conflict can indeed have negative consequences under some circumstances (see Exhibit 11.1). Conflict has been criticized for reducing employee performance by consuming otherwise productive time. For instance, almost one-third of the 5,000 employees surveyed across nine countries reported that they are frequently or always dealing with workplace conflict.

Scenario D Employees at Charlotte International have been frustrated with the management on just about everything. The conflict episodes are viewed by both sides as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve problems. Both sides have decided to seek third-party dispute resolution. Management prefers a third-party intervention that has high process and decision control while employees prefer a high level of process control and no decision control. 91. Management at Charlotte International appears to prefer which of the following types of third-party intervention? A. arbitrator B. competitor C. mediator D. inquisitor E. abstainer

D. inquisitor Feedback: Inquisitors have high decision control because they choose the form of conflict resolution. They also have high process control because they choose which information to examine and how to examine it, and they generally decide how the conflict resolution process will be handled.

25. Based on the characteristics of constructive conflicts, which of the following would help a manager create constructive conflicts during a debate? A. support the weaker members during the debate B. explain conflict in terms of interpersonal incompatibilities C. support the stronger members during the debate D. keep the debate focused on the issue E. maintain competitive orientation in the debate

D. keep the debate focused on the issue Feedback: Keeping the debate focused on the issue helps participants to reexamine their assumptions and beliefs without triggering the drive to defend and its associated negative emotions and ego defense mechanism behaviors. This would keep the conflicts constructive.

54. Problem solving assumes there are opportunities for A. power plays. B. increasing the other party's frustration. C. release of time pressure. D. mutual gains. E. win-win alternatives.

D. mutual gains. Feedback: Problem solving assumes there are opportunities for mutual gains, such as when the conflict is complex with multiple elements. If the conflict is simple and perfectly opposing (each party wants more of a single fixed pie), then this style will waste time and increase frustration. The problem-solving approach also takes more time and requires a fairly high degree of trust, because there is a risk that the other party will take advantage of the information you have openly shared. The problem-solving style can be stressful and difficult when people experience strong feelings of conflict, likely because these negative emotions undermine trust in the other party.

30. When team norms encourage _____, team members learn to appreciate honest dialogue without personally reacting to any emotional display during the disagreements. A. conscientiousness B. introversion C. neuroticism D. openness E. agreeableness

D. openness Feedback: When team norms encourage openness, team members learn to appreciate honest dialogue without personally reacting to any emotional display during the disagreements.

Scenario A NewTel is a telephone company with a policy of filling positions internally through promotions, rather than hiring from outside. Until recently, the company had a strong engineering focus and tended to promote people into senior executive positions from the engineering areas. Consequently, almost all of the company's 14 senior executives joined the company over 20 years ago in junior engineering positions. There is increasing pressure on NewTel to become more marketing-and serviceoriented. As a result, four people were hired last year from consumer products and retail firms to fill new senior executive positions in marketing and service management. The external hires were necessary because current employees were not sufficiently qualified. Now there are signs of tension among senior executives, particularly during budget deliberations where there is limited discretionary spending on new corporate activities. The four new hires have been frustrated in their attempts to have the company put more money into marketing and customer services instead of technology investment, and they blame the senior executives for being hard-headed. The conflict episodes are viewed by both sides as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve the problem. 85. The marketing executives and the other executives operate independently. However, they share the resources and money in the organization. This kind of interdependence is referred to as ______ interdependence. A. total B. sequential C. orderly D. pooled E. reciprocal

D. pooled Feedback: Pooled interdependence occurs where individuals operate independently except for reliance on a common resource or authority.

47. Which of the following interpersonal conflict management styles represents a purely win-win orientation? A. forcing B. yielding C. avoiding D. problem solving E. compromising

D. problem solving Feedback: Problem solving tries to find a solution that is beneficial for both parties. This is known as the win-win orientation because people using this style believe the resources at stake are expandable rather than fixed if the parties work together to find a creative solution.

Scenario A NewTel is a telephone company with a policy of filling positions internally through promotions, rather than hiring from outside. Until recently, the company had a strong engineering focus and tended to promote people into senior executive positions from the engineering areas. Consequently, almost all of the company's 14 senior executives joined the company over 20 years ago in junior engineering positions. There is increasing pressure on NewTel to become more marketing-and serviceoriented. As a result, four people were hired last year from consumer products and retail firms to fill new senior executive positions in marketing and service management. The external hires were necessary because current employees were not sufficiently qualified. Now there are signs of tension among senior executives, particularly during budget deliberations where there is limited discretionary spending on new corporate activities. The four new hires have been frustrated in their attempts to have the company put more money into marketing and customer services instead of technology investment, and they blame the senior executives for being hard-headed. The conflict episodes are viewed by both sides as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve the problem. 83. The conflict at NewTel appears to be ______ conflict. A. constructive B. legitimate C. task-related D. relationship E. cooperation

D. relationship Feedback: Relationship conflict focuses on the other party as the source of conflict. This type of conflict is apparent when the conflict is explained in terms of interpersonal incompatibilities or "personality clashes" rather than legitimate differences of opinion regarding tasks or decisions.

38. Situations with both _______________ produce the highest risk of conflict. A. ambiguous rules and low task interdependence B. precise rules and resource scarcity C. plentiful resources and high goal compatibility D. scarce resources and high task interdependence E. strict rules and high task interdependence

D. scarce resources and high task interdependence Feedback: Both scarce resources and the high interdependence cause high degree of conflict increase the risk of organizational conflicts. Hence, the presence of both these conditions together maximizes organizational conflict.

61. Compared to men, women pay more attention to the relationship between the parties, so their preferred style tries to protect the relationship. This is apparent in less forcing, more avoiding, and slightly more use of compromising and A. problem-solving. B. avoiding. C. forcing. D. yielding. E. cooperating.

D. yielding. Feedback: Except for the male preference for forcing, gender differences in conflict handling style are relatively small, but they have a logical foundation. Compared to men, women pay more attention to the relationship between the parties, so their preferred style tries to protect the relationship. This is apparent in less forcing, more avoiding, and slightly more use of compromising and yielding.

48. Which of the following conflict management styles is associated with low cooperativeness and low assertiveness? A. forcing B. inquisition C. compromising D. arbitration E. avoiding

E. avoiding Feedback: Avoiding tries to smooth over or avoid conflict situations altogether. It represents a low concern for both self and the other party. It is characterized by low degrees of cooperativeness and assertiveness.

Scenario A NewTel is a telephone company with a policy of filling positions internally through promotions, rather than hiring from outside. Until recently, the company had a strong engineering focus and tended to promote people into senior executive positions from the engineering areas. Consequently, almost all of the company's 14 senior executives joined the company over 20 years ago in junior engineering positions. There is increasing pressure on NewTel to become more marketing-and serviceoriented. As a result, four people were hired last year from consumer products and retail firms to fill new senior executive positions in marketing and service management. The external hires were necessary because current employees were not sufficiently qualified. Now there are signs of tension among senior executives, particularly during budget deliberations where there is limited discretionary spending on new corporate activities. The four new hires have been frustrated in their attempts to have the company put more money into marketing and customer services instead of technology investment, and they blame the senior executives for being hard-headed. The conflict episodes are viewed by both sides as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve the problem. 84. The four new hires have been attempting to have the company put more money into marketing and customer services instead of technology investment. This is mainly an example of conflict due to A. role ambiguity. B. lack of communication. C. sequential task interdependence. D. overt behaviors. E. goal incompatibility.

E. goal incompatibility. Feedback: Goal incompatibility occurs when the goals of one person or department seem to interfere with another person's or department's goals. Here, the goals of the conflicting groups are different.

36. Salespeople at Widget Co. complain that they lose sales bonuses when the production department is out of stock of a particular item. This sometimes causes customers to buy elsewhere rather than wait for the next production run. Meanwhile, production employees complain that salespeople don't appreciate the need to minimize inventory costs, for which production staff is rewarded. This instance is an example of conflict due to A. ambiguity. B. technical incompetence of the production team. C. pooled task interdependence. D. differentiation. E. goal incompatibility.

E. goal incompatibility. Feedback: Goal incompatibility occurs when the goals of one person or department seem to interfere with another person's or department's goals.

Scenario D Employees at Charlotte International have been frustrated with the management on just about everything. The conflict episodes are viewed by both sides as personal attacks rather than attempts to resolve problems. Both sides have decided to seek third-party dispute resolution. Management prefers a third-party intervention that has high process and decision control while employees prefer a high level of process control and no decision control. 92. Employees at Charlotte International prefer which of the following types of third-party intervention? A. inquisitor B. competitor C. arbitrator D. abstainer E. mediator

E. mediator Feedback: The main purpose of mediation is to manage the process and context of interaction between the disputing parties. Thus mediators have little or no control over the conflict resolution decision. They have control over the process.

28. Effective managers should A. increase the amount of conflict among employees. B. remove all forms of 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 to engage in relationship conflict rather than the other forms of conflict. E. minimize the relationship conflicts that exist in the organization.

E. minimize the relationship conflicts that exist in the organization. Feedback: Constructive conflicts are useful to organizations and relationship conflicts are harmful. So, managers should encourage constructive conflicts and minimize relationship conflicts.

18. The "optimal conflict" perspective on organizational conflict is that A. conflict should be minimized across all departments. B. conflicts could be promoted in some functions and discouraged in some others. C. conflict is an inevitable result of increased technology and globalization. D. use of technology and virtual teams could minimize organizational conflicts. E. moderate levels of conflict are necessary and produce favorable outcomes.

E. moderate levels of conflict are necessary and produce favorable outcomes. Feedback: According to the "optimal conflict" perspective, organizations are most effective when employees experience some level of conflict but become less effective with high levels of conflict.

74. In a purely win-lose situation, the bargaining zone states that: A. the parties usually apply a collaborative approach to resolving their differences. B. one should begin negotiations by describing the resistance point for each item on the agenda. C. the two parties rarely know each other's initial point. D. parties tend to move from their target point to their initial point very quickly. E. neither the target nor the resistance point is revealed to the other party.

E. neither the target nor the resistance point is revealed to the other party. Feedback: In a purely win-lose situation, the bargaining zone states that neither the target nor the resistance point is revealed to the other party. However, people try to discover the other side's resistance point because this knowledge helps them determine how much they can gain without breaking off negotiations.

Scenario C Fun, Incorporated, a major gaming software company, is experiencing conflict between the young Internet-savvy employees who design the games and the older, less computer-literate executives who run the company. The company has hired team leaders who could work with the executives and who are also highly computer literate. 89. By hiring these team leaders as liaisons between the executives and employees, the company will A. increase conflict between developers and executives by reducing communication. B. reduce conflict by clarifying rules and procedures. C. increase conflict by increasing task interdependence. D. reduce conflict by creating superordinate goals. E. reduce conflict by reducing task interdependence.

E. reduce conflict by reducing task interdependence. Feedback: Here, the company is trying to introduce a buffer between the employees and the executives. This would reduce the employee dependence on executives and, hence, would result in reduced conflict.

63. Increasing inventories between sequential work units tends to reduce potential conflict by A. reducing resource scarcity. B. reducing differentiation. C. increasing the required level of communication between employees in sequential units. D. reducing ambiguity in resource allocation. E. reducing task interdependence.

E. reducing task interdependence. Feedback: Buffers such as inventories between people in an assembly line would reduce the employee interdependence because each employee is less dependent in the short term on the previous person along that line. This could reduce the chance of conflicts.