Deck 9: Managing Small Group Conflict Productively

Question 1

Explain what it means to use an integrative approach to conflict management.

Answer 1

No Answer

Question 2

Most of the conflict management advice offered in your text is for an individualistic culture. Some of the suggestions of open disagreement may appear rude to which of the following cultures?

A) dominant
B) collectivist
C) low context
D) low power distance
E) common

Answer 2

collectivist

Question 3

Conflict over _____ is not always resolvable.

Answer 3

values and goals

Question 4

Conflict management that focus on helping participants integrate their goals and needs-generally lead to better group decisions for complex tasks is called _________.

Question 5

Nominal group technique is based on the principle that people work better individually to resolve conflict.

Question 6

CMC groups follow the same pattern of conflict types as face-to-face groups.

Question 7

Marshall believes in trade-offs, in which he gives up something in exchange for something he wants. His typical conflict management style is called

A) collaboration.
B) competition.
C) compromise.
D) accommodation.
E) win-win.

Question 8

An accommodator has a high motivation to meet the needs of the other person but a low motivation to meet the needs of the self.

Question 9

During "principled negotiation," a conflict management procedure grounded in the premise that without communication there simply is no negotiation, and that communication must allow individuals to be heard in ways that do not damage relationships.

Question 10

Expressed disagreement early in the problem-solving process and at the beginning of meetings can help facilitate learning about the issues.

Question 11

As compromise does not resolve underlying issues, it is not recommended for managing any conflicts that occur among the members of a group.

Question 12

Explain three ways by which you can increase your influence on the group as a whole when you are a lone deviant or part of a deviant minority in a small group.

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a way to disagree productively?

A) express disagreement
B) react to disagreement with a spirit of inquiry
C) express disagreement with sensitivity toward others
D) express disagreement in a timely way
E) wait until a conflict has ended to express your thoughts

Question 14

Conflict over how to do something is called _____ conflict.

Question 15

Managed well, task conflict allows group members to challenge and evaluate ideas, proposals, evidence, and reasoning.

Question 16

Kuhn and Poole found in their study of naturally occurring groups that those who facilitated integrative patterns of conflict did better than those who did not. They discovered that groups that facilitated integrated patterns of conflict tended to

A) establish their norms for conflict early in their development and did not change them much.
B) collaborate and compromise.
C) establish stable roles.
D) avoid the avoidance and confrontational styles of conflict.
E) all of these answers are correct.

Question 17

Task conflict involves disagreement over

A) all of these answers are correct.
B) information.
C) evidence.
D) ideas.
E) reasoning.

Question 18

More than anything else, only the quality of the deviant's argument directly influences the other members' attitude change.

Question 19

Which of the following conflict is necessary for good decisions to emerge?

A) task
B) affective
C) interpersonal
D) substantive
E) functional

Question 20

Which conflict style is associated with stress, dissatisfaction, frustration, and burn out?

A) substantive
B) relational
C) functional
D) task
E) interpersonal

Question 21

Describe the four ways of expressing strong disagreement in a group to increase the probability of resolving a conflict satisfactorily with the group intact.

Question 22

Conflict management styles incorporating the legitimate needs of all parties are preferable to those that produce winners and losers.

Question 23

Rodrigo and Kia are members of a group that is trying to determine how to put together its final presentation. Kia thinks a PowerPoint presentation should be involved, but Rodrigo thinks a PowerPoint presentation will limit the group's ability to let the discussion flow. They are most likely having which type of conflict?

A) task
B) affective
C) substantive
D) interpersonal
E) functional

Question 24

A person who stands up for her point of view and encourages others to do the same in a group conflict is employing the _____ style of conflict management.

Question 25

Conflicts that are likely to be the most difficult to resolve are due to

A) differences in values and goals.
B) willing to discuss the issues.
C) conflict is too harmful to engage in.
D) misunderstandings.
E) differing opinions about solutions.

Question 26

Sometimes, conflict is highly emotional and drives people on both sides of an issue to talk about the other side as the _____.

Question 27

Conflict can increase the _____ of a group.

Question 28

Which of the following is true of conflict management in groups?

A) None of these answer is correct.
B) No single management style is the best in all circumstances.
C) Even when handled correctly, it is bad.
D) Conflict is not situational.
E) Conflict should not be handled immediately.

Question 29

The accommodation style of conflict management is also called _____.

Question 30

A partial-win/partial-lose solution describes a _____ by the persons involved in managing a conflict.

Question 31

A competitor has a high motivation to meet the needs of the other person.

Question 32

Amber reacts to Tyrone's suggestion for promoting an upcoming concert by putting fliers on cars in the school parking lot by telling him, "That is so idiotic! People hate it when they get those stupid fliers on their cars!" She is NOT displaying which of the following techniques for expressing disagreement productively?

A) expressing disagreement with sensitivity toward others
B) reacting to disagreement with a spirit of inquiry
C) expressing disagreement when it seems important
D) none of these answer is correct.
E) expressing disagreement forcefully

Question 33

Relational conflict is the conflict that originates from which of the following?

A) task designation
B) goals for a group
C) interpersonal power clashes
D) project plan
E) project implementation

Question 34

Task conflict helps a group to make effective decisions.

Question 35

Susan expresses her preference to solve her hospital's parking shortage by building a new garage but gives in to Randy who argues strongly for a carpool center. Susan's conflict management style is

A) collaboration.
B) win-win.
C) accommodation.
D) compromise.
E) competition.

Question 36

Conflict can help a group by

A) improving group decisions.
B) increasing the cohesiveness in the group.
C) increasing member involvement.
D) helping the members understand issues clearly.
E) all of these answers are correct.

Question 37

CMC groups engaged in more inflammatory, profane, and negative communication than _____.

Question 38

Usually, it is more productive for a member to wait until late in a discussion to express a disagreement rather than verbalizing it when first felt.

Question 39

_______________ occurs when one person or faction gives in to the other without arguing strongly for a different point of view.

Question 40

Group members should react to disagreement with a spirit of inquiry, not defensiveness.

Question 41

Standards agreed upon by all group members as fair, and appropriate for evaluating alternatives are called _____ criteria.

A) objective
B) neutral
C) equitable
D) consensus
E) impartial

Question 42

The problem-solving technique that recognizes that sometimes people working by themselves in the presence of others generate more ideas than during group interaction is known as the _____.

Question 43

If you use any type of CMC for informal or formal group interaction, make sure you give yourselves __________.

A) time to acknowledge substantive conflicts
B) time to learn the technology
C) time to increase intrarelationships
D) time to address negative emotions
E) time for social development

Question 44

A disagreement has no chance of helping a group if it is not _____.

Question 45

_____, otherwise known as procedural conflict, is described as involving both task and relationship dimensions.

A) Equality
B) Sharing
C) Distribution of power
D) Process conflict
E) Openly expressing ideas

Question 46

In the _____ conflict style, a group member has little motivation to meet one's own needs.

Question 47

Edith argues that animals have rights equal to those of human beings, while Nina says animals should serve human interests. The central issue in this conflict is one of

A) ends.
B) policies.
C) solutions.
D) values.
E) issues.

Question 48

Competition, as a way of managing a conflict, is also called the _____ style.

A) win-lose
B) lose-lose
C) win-win
D) win
E) lose

Question 49

Conflict can be beneficial to a group, but only if it is _____ properly.