Deck 11: Conflict in Organizations

Question 1

Which of the following statements is false about conflict in organizations?

A) Conflict includes interactions in which one party opposes another party.
B) Parties involved in conflict often perceive incompatible goals.
C) Parties involved in conflict are not interdependent with each other.
D) Conflict includes one party trying to prevent another party from reaching goals.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following statements is true about conflict management?

A) Conflict is necessary for organizational growth and survival.
B) Managers should not encourage conflict in organizations.
C) Conflict management is a manager's major responsibility.
D) Each answer is true.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following statements is false about conflict in organizations?

A) Conflict is dysfunctional when it is so low that a group is less effective than it could be in reaching its goals.
B) Conflict is dysfunctional when it is higher than required by a group to reach its goals.
C) Conflict that is functional in one group can be dysfunctional in another group.
D) The assessment of whether conflict is functional or dysfunctional is made from the perspective of individuals in organizations.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following results is most likely when conflict in a group is dysfunctionally low?

A) The conflict can become the focus of management's attention.
B) The group does not encourage new ideas or different viewpoints.
C) Trust in the group is reduced.
D) People involved in the conflict might distort information.

Question 5

Which of the following is not a potential dysfunction of conflict?

A) Withholding or distorting information.
B) Lower performance within interdependent groups.
C) Increased trust among group members.
D) Increased management attention to the conflict.

Question 6

All the following are functional results of conflict except

A) Generation of ideas.
B) Groupthink.
C) Creative problem solutions.
D) Reduced stagnation in the group.

Question 7

Which of the following types of conflict is most likely created by an organization's design?

A) Intraorganizational.
B) Interpersonal.
C) Intrapersonal.
D) Intragroup.

Question 8

A marketing department knows that customers demand variety in what they buy. The production department knows that variety leads to short, inefficient production runs. This scenario will likely lead to

A) Intrapersonal conflict.
B) Intragroup conflict.
C) Intergroup conflict.
D) Interpersonal conflict.

Question 9

An employee who perceives that she is treated inequitably (unfairly) in her workgroup likely experiences which of the following types of conflict?

A) Intrapersonal conflict.
B) Intragroup conflict.
C) Intergroup conflict.
D) Interpersonal conflict.

Question 10

A dispute between managers and shop floor workers over safety rules in an organization is an example of

A) Horizontal intraorganizational conflict.
B) Intragroup conflict.
C) Interorganizational conflict.
D) Vertical intraorganizational conflict.

Question 11

Which of the following is least likely to lead to intrapersonal conflict?

A) A feeling of cognitive dissonance.
B) A disagreement with a coworker.
C) A perception of negative inequity.
D) An observation of unethical behavior.

Question 12

Which of the following situations has the least potential for interorganizational conflict?

A) A hostile takeover.
B) Competition in the same market.
C) Dependence between an organization and a supplier.
D) Dependence between an organization and a distributor.

Question 13

Which of the following parts of the conflict episode model includes oral, written, or physically aggressive behavior?

A) Felt conflict.
B) Perceived conflict.
C) Latent conflict.
D) Manifest conflict.

Question 14

If the conflict episode is settled to the satisfaction of all parties, the conflict aftermath is free of

A) Felt conflict.
B) Perceived conflict.
C) Latent conflict.
D) Manifest conflict.

Question 15

If one employee in a conflict episode personalizes the conflict and loses sight of the underlying issues, the employee experiences

A) Felt conflict.
B) Perceived conflict.
C) Latent conflict.
D) Manifest conflict.

Question 16

People can block mild forms of conflict by suppressing their awareness of the conflict. These people would not experience

A) Felt conflict.
B) Perceived conflict.
C) Latent conflict.
D) Manifest conflict.

Question 17

Which of the following is the correct sequence in a conflict episode?

A) Latent conflict, perceived conflict, conflict aftermath.
B) Felt conflict, latent conflict, manifest conflict, conflict reduction.
C) Latent conflict, felt conflict, manifest conflict, conflict aftermath.
D) Manifest conflict, latent conflict, conflict aftermath.

Question 18

Conflict reduction occurs between which of the following two parts of a conflict episode?

A) Latent conflict and manifest conflict
B) manifest conflict and conflict aftermath
C) felt conflict and conflict aftermath
D) perceived conflict and manifest conflict

Question 19

Two workers who argue over the order of their lunch breaks are experiencing

A) Felt conflict.
B) Latent conflict.
C) Perceived conflict.
D) Manifest conflict.

Question 20

Two university professors are in conflict over who will teach a certain course next semester. One professor does not trust the other to solve the issue fairly and focuses on what the other does, not the issue of the course. This latter professor is likely experiencing

A) Felt conflict.
B) Latent conflict.
C) Perceived conflict.
D) Manifest conflict.

Question 21

Which of the following statements is false?

A) If latent conflict factors are present, conflict must be perceived by the parties.
B) Latent conflict does not necessarily lead to manifest conflict.
C) Some conflict episodes happen without felt conflict.
D) If the conflict episode is settled satisfactorily, the conflict aftermath may have no latent conflict.

Question 22

A situation in which there are 100 students enrolled in an introductory computer science course, but there are only 50 computers available for their use, is likely a situation of

A) Manifest conflict.
B) Felt conflict.
C) Perceived conflict.
D) Latent conflict.

Question 23

A situation in which a student enrolled in an introductory computer science course notices that there are more students than computers is likely experiencing

A) Manifest conflict.
B) Felt conflict.
C) Perceived conflict.
D) Latent conflict.

Question 24

Students doing their computer science homework begin to argue with each other over how long students should use the machines in the computer laboratory. These students are experiencing

A) Manifest conflict.
B) Felt conflict.
C) Perceived conflict.
D) Latent conflict.

Question 25

Which of the following dimensions defines a conflict frame?

A) Cooperate-win.
B) Emotional-intellectual.
C) Relationship-task.
D) Each answer lists a dimension that defines a conflict frame.

Question 26

A person who wants to win a conflict and who cares more about her position than the position of the other person has a high ______________ conflict orientation.

A) Compromise.
B) Collaboration.
C) Dominance.
D) Avoidance.

Question 27

The conflict orientation where each party splits the difference, getting only part of what each party wants is

A) Compromise.
B) Avoidance.
C) Collaborative.
D) Accommodative.

Question 28

The conflict orientation that tries to fully satisfy the interests of all parties is

A) Compromise.
B) Avoidance.
C) Collaborative.
D) Accommodative.

Question 29

A person with low conflict tolerance likely has which of the following conflict orientations?

A) Compromise
B) Avoidance
C) Collaborative
D) Accommodative

Question 30

The conflict orientation in which one party gives in to the other is

A) Compromise.
B) Avoidance.
C) Collaborative.
D) Accommodative.

Question 31

Which of the following conflict orientations leaves a conflict aftermath with almost no latent conflict?

A) Collaborative.
B) Accommodative.
C) Compromise.
D) Dominance.

Question 32

The most time-consuming conflict orientation is

A) Avoiding.
B) Accommodative.
C) Compromise.
D) Collaborative.

Question 33

Manager Broulliard wants resources for new office chairs for her subordinates. Manager Smith also wants resources from the same limited pool for one of his projects. Broulliard decides to let Smith have the money for his project without argument. Broulliard is using which conflict orientation?

A) Compromise
B) Collaborative
C) Dominance
D) Accommodative

Question 34

Professors Shaw and Johnson both want to teach two sections of organizational behavior next year. However, the dean has told them that only two sections will be offered. The professors decide that Shaw and Johnson will each teach one section of organizational behavior. This conflict orientation is

A) Compromise.
B) Collaborative.
C) Avoidance.
D) Accommodative.

Question 35

Tahirih and Larry are both in line to have the newly vacated office with a window. Larry decides to let Tahirih have the window office because he often leaves the office on sales calls and his office environment is not that important to him. Larry is using which conflict orientation?

A) Compromise
B) Collaborative
C) Avoidance
D) Dominance

Question 36

The conflict orientation that might work best when quick action is required, and the conflict surrounds the choice of unpopular alternatives, is

A) Collaborative.
B) Dominance.
C) Avoiding.
D) Compromise.

Question 37

Which of the following conflict orientations leaves well-defined aftermaths that can result in latent conflict?

A) Avoidance.
B) Dominance.
C) Accommodative.
D) Each answer lists a conflict orientation that will leave a well-defined aftermath.

Question 38

Which of the following conflict orientations yields the most positive long-term benefits for organizations?

A) Collaborative.
B) Avoidance.
C) Compromise.
D) Accommodative.

Question 39

The conflict orientation that is probably the most emotionally charged is

A) Avoidance.
B) Dominance.
C) Accommodative.
D) Collaborative.

Question 40

Which of the following is a latent conflict in organizations?

A) Scarce resources.
B) Cohesive groups.
C) Communication barriers.
D) Each answer lists a latent conflict.

Question 41

Which of the following statements is false about latent conflict?

A) Conflict can develop when cohesive groups interact with each other.
B) High interdependence among people can decrease latent conflict.
C) Ambiguous jurisdictions can be a source of conflict.
D) Reward systems that encourage incompatible behaviors can create conflict.

Question 42

Which of the following statements is false about conflict management?

A) Innovative products or services require a higher level of desired conflict than more routine products or services.
B) Organizations in stable environments will have higher levels of desired conflict than organizations in turbulent environments.
C) A manager's conflict tolerance will affect the desired levels of conflict in a workgroup.
D) Desired conflict levels can vary from one group to another and for the same group over time.

Question 43

Which of the following is a symptom of dysfunctionally low conflict?

A) Low trust in a work unit.
B) Deliberate distortion of information.
C) High levels of tension during interpersonal interaction.
D) Repression of controversial information.

Question 44

Which of the following is a symptom of dysfunctionally high conflict?

A) Denial of interpersonal differences.
B) Repression of controversial information.
C) Sabotage against the products of the organization.
D) Prohibiting disagreement about legitimate issues.

Question 45

Which of the following is a win-win approach to conflict reduction?

A) Avoidance
B) Compromise
C) Smoothing
D) Integration

Question 46

Which of the following is not a lose-lose approach to conflict reduction?

A) Superordinate goal
B) Avoidance
C) Smoothing
D) Compromise

Question 47

Which of the following is a win-lose approach to conflict reduction?

A) Superordinate goal
B) Smoothing
C) Compromise
D) Authoritative command

Question 48

All the following are win-win approaches to conflict reduction except

A) Superordinate goal.
B) Integration.
C) Compromise.
D) Problem solving.

Question 49

If two different departments at Coca-Cola are in conflict, executive-level management might try to focus all employees' attention on beating Pepsi's market share. This is an example of which approach to conflict reduction?

A) Compromise.
B) Superordinate goal.
C) Smoothing.
D) Integration.

Question 50

Which of the following does not increase conflict in organizations?

A) Organizational culture.
B) Devil's advocate.
C) Integration.
D) Heterogeneous groups.

Question 51

The method of increasing conflict where a person has the role of deliberately criticizing a position is called

A) Heterogeneous groups.
B) Smoothing.
C) Devil's advocate.
D) Integration.

Question 52

Which of the following countries places a positive value on conflict?

A) United States.
B) Greece.
C) China.
D) Portugal.

Question 53

Which of the following statements is not true about conflict in an international context?

A) Cultures that emphasize cooperation likely negatively value conflict.
B) Different conflict levels are functional in different cultural contexts.
C) Cultures that emphasize competition likely negatively value conflict.
D) Cooperative cultures expect little conflict during intergroup interactions.

Question 54

Ethical issues in conflict in organizations can arise in which of the following areas?

A) Stress effects of conflict levels well above a person's conflict tolerance level are an ethical issue.
B) A manager increases a group's conflict potential using indirect methods such as heterogeneous group membership.
C) Intrapersonal conflict occurs from observing behavior a person believes is unethical.
D) All answers are ethical issues in organizational conflict.

Question 55

Conflict often involves interdependence between two or more people.

Question 56

Your text's perspective on conflict viewed it as essential to an organization's survival.

Question 57

Conflict in organizations is opposition, incompatible behaviors, or antagonistic interaction.

Question 58

Conflict is bad for an organization and should be removed.

Question 59

Conflict management includes increasing and decreasing conflict. It is a basic management responsibility.

Question 60

Dysfunctional conflict blocks an organization or group from reaching its goals.

Question 61

Dysfunctionally high conflict can produce excessive levels of tension, anxiety, and stress.

Question 62

When there is dysfunctionally low conflict, the group does not encourage new ideas.

Question 63

Dysfunctionally low conflict can reduce trust, leading to antagonistic interactions.

Question 64

Intragroup conflict is likely highest during later stages of group development after roles are clearly identified.

Question 65

Intergroup conflict and intraorganizational conflict have their roots in the design of the organization.

Question 66

Cognitive dissonance is a reaction to interpersonal conflict.

Question 67

Competition between organizations is one form of interorganizational conflict.

Question 68

Observing behavior in an organization that is in conflict with one's values can lead to intrapersonal conflict.

Question 69

Perceived conflict is the moment when the parties to a conflict episode realize they are in conflict.

Question 70

If there is latent conflict, conflict must be perceived.

Question 71

Felt conflict occurs in every conflict episode.

Question 72

Felt conflict can lead to perceived conflict in a conflict episode.

Question 73

Manifest conflict is the observed conflict behavior between the parties to a conflict episode.

Question 74

Managers must fully discover sources of latent conflict and remove them from the conflict aftermath to prevent another conflict episode over the same issues.

Question 75

Conflict frames act as perceptual filters in a conflict episode. They let a person remove some information or emphasize other information during an episode.

Question 76

A relationship emphasis conflict frame focuses on material aspects of an episode, such as a budget.

Question 77

An emotional emphasis conflict frame focuses on feelings in the episode (felt conflict).

Question 78

A party with a winning emphasis conflict frame wants to maximize personal gain.

Question 79

A person's conflict orientation can change as the conflict unfolds.

Question 80

A compromise conflict orientation can leave the cleanest aftermath to conflict.