Deck 12: Negotiating Via Information Technology

Question 1

Which of the following modes of communication offers both parties the most kinetic cues?

A) videoconferencing
B) face-to-face communication
C) telephonic conversation
D) computer messaging

Answer 1

B

Question 2

With reference to the place-time model of interaction,which of the following modes of interaction can accomplish a communication that takes place at the same time and at the same place?

A) videoconference
B) voice mail
C) face-to-face
D) e-mail

Answer 2

C

Question 3

There is more turn-taking in negotiations conducted via e-mail than in face-to-face negotiations.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

You are planning to negotiate a sales contract with a potential client.This is a new client and you are very keen on acquiring this account.Which of the following modes of communication should you select?

A) computer messaging
B) telephonic conversation
C) videoconferencing
D) face-to-face communication

Question 5

Your team is negotiating a sales contract with a potential client.One of your team members says,"I wish we could use some other mode of communication because this one is creating a huge psychological distance between us and our potential clients." Which of the following modes of communication are you using?

A) face-to-face communication
B) videoconferencing
C) computer messaging
D) telephonic conversation

Question 6

Negotiators who communicate face-to-face are less likely to reach deals and avoid impasses than are e-negotiators.

Question 7

With reference to the place-time model of interaction,the communication accomplished through voice mail takes place ________.

A) at the same time and in the same place
B) at the same time and in a different place
C) at a different time and in the same place
D) at a different time and in a different place

Question 8

The sinister attribution bias refers to the tendency for e-communicators to ascribe diabolical intentions to the other party.

Question 9

Formal numerical documentation conveys the richest information of any medium.

Question 10

Negotiators are less cooperative when interacting face-to-face than over the telephone.

Question 11

In which of the following modes of communication are the sender and the receiver likely to have the least psychological distance between them?

A) e-mail messaging
B) telephone conversations
C) written correspondence
D) face-to-face communication

Question 12

Both visual anonymity and remote distance inhibit the activation of the continuation norm.

Question 13

According to the framing effect,people are risk-averse for gains and risk-seeking for losses.

Question 14

Face-to-face meetings are ideal for wrestling with complex negotiations.

Question 15

As compared to face-to-face communication,memos and business correspondence provide more cues about the context,thereby providing people with a greater awareness of context.

Question 16

Which of the following modes of communication conveys the richest information?

A) e-mail
B) memos
C) voice mail
D) face-to-face

Question 17

The ________ of a communication medium is the potential information-carrying capacity of the communication medium.

A) breadth
B) intensity
C) richness
D) depth

Question 18

With reference to the place-time model of interaction,which of the following modes of interaction can accomplish a communication that takes place at the same time but at different places?

A) e-mail
B) videoconference
C) voice mail
D) face-to-face

Question 19

The least-rich mode of communication among the following is ________.

A) videoconferencing
B) numerical documentation
C) face-to-face communication
D) voice mail messages

Question 20

E-mail acts as an equalizer because the absence of status cues makes it difficult for high-status people to dominate the discussion.

Question 21

Which of the following modes of communication does not offer the recipient paralinguistic cues?

A) videoconferencing
B) face-to-face communication
C) computer messaging
D) telephonic communication

Question 22

U.S.-based Bluegray Designs is undertaking a project for a client based in Sweden.As a result,most negotiation interactions will take place through telephone conferences or e-mail.Which of the following demonstrates that this system will be a disadvantage for Bluegray?

A) When negotiators are not face-to-face, they reach more integrative agreements when they believe that the other party is nearby rather than far away.
B) The formality of a scheduled phone meeting may compel parties to better prepare for the negotiation.
C) Conflicts are expressed, recognized, and addressed more quickly if negotiators work in close proximity.
D) Distance creates a "buffer zone" between parties, minimizing nonverbal cues.

Question 23

William works as a sales manager for a company which exports garments.William is negotiating a sales contract with an international client.He is conducting the negotiation through e-mails.Which of the following is he more likely to observe?

A) Conflicts are expressed, recognized, and addressed quickly.
B) The negotiations usually reach integrative outcomes.
C) He could quickly clarify his doubts due to frequent feedback.
D) The counterparty adopts an adversarial negotiation style.

Question 24

Negotiations conducted using which of the following modes of communication are more likely to reach integrative (win-win)outcomes and more balanced distributions of surplus?

A) e-mails
B) telephonic conversation
C) face-to-face
D) instant messaging

Question 25

U.S.-based Bluegray Designs is undertaking a project for a client based in Sweden.As a result,most negotiation interactions will take place through telephone conferences or e-mail.Which of the following demonstrates that this system will be an advantage for Bluegray?

A) Conflicts are expressed more quickly if negotiators work in close proximity.
B) Greater distance tends to block the feedback loops provided in face-to-face negotiations.
C) The formality of a scheduled phone meeting allows parties to better prepare for the negotiation.
D) Distance eliminates the tendency of negotiators to chat informally.

Question 26

Which of the following statements is true for negotiations conducted via e-mail?

A) E-negotiators are forced to make more assumptions than face-to-face negotiators.
B) There is more turn-taking in negotiations conducted via e-mail than in face-to-face negotiations.
C) E-negotiators ask more clarifying questions than do face-to-face negotiators.
D) Negotiations conducted via e-mail allow people to correct misunderstandings immediately.

Question 27

Max is the CEO of Telemax Inc.He realizes that the informal communication that occurs in his organization is what is most important and most critical to ensuring better communication during meetings.Which of the following modes of communication should he encourage in order to boost informal communication among his employees?

A) videoconferencing
B) telephonic conversations
C) instant messaging
D) voice mail

Question 28

The temporal synchrony bias is the tendency for negotiators to ________.

A) view two options as more dissimilar when evaluating them simultaneously than when evaluating them separately
B) have a stronger preference for more immediate payoffs relative to later payoffs
C) overestimate one's degree of influence over other external events
D) behave as if they are communicating at the same time when in fact they are not

Question 29

It is generally observed that people are more likely to engage in counter-normative social behavior when interacting via e-mail.Which of the following statements,if true,would most likely weaken this argument?

A) When interacting via e-mail, people often misattribute the behavior of others to their underlying character traits while ignoring the influence of temporary, situational factors.
B) In the case of e-mail communication, both visual anonymity and remote distance inhibit the activation of the continuation norm.
C) While writing e-mails, people pay more attention to the style of the message rather than to the content of the message.
D) While communicating with e-mails, people tend to attribute malevolent motives to people they don't know or who represent the out-group.

Question 30

Which of the following modes of communication offers the recipient only linguistic cues?

A) face-to-face communication
B) telephonic conversation
C) e-mail communication
D) videoconferencing

Question 31

Conflicts are expressed,recognized,and addressed more quickly ________.

A) in the absence of frequent feedback
B) when the negotiators interact asynchronously
C) when plenty of time is available for negotiations
D) if negotiators work in close proximity

Question 32

Your company is opening branches in three new cities.You foresee the need for daily communication between employees in the different branches for an update on the day's work.Which of the following methods of communication will allow you to communicate at the same time,from different places,while minimizing psychological distance and maximizing nonverbal cues?

A) videoconferencing
B) instant messaging
C) voice mail
D) e-mail messages

Question 33

DEC Inc.recently revamped its headquarters,abandoning its open-plan system for private cubicles that allow employees to work with minimum distraction.However,it was noted that the productivity during meetings decreased and the time taken to reach a decision lengthened significantly after the switch.What can DEC do to remedy this situation and improve consensus?

A) DEC should install a company-wide instant messaging service and encourage employees to use it.
B) DEC should make it mandatory for all issues to be handled through e-mail.
C) DEC should limit employees' access to social networking websites and non-work-related sites.
D) DEC should ask employees to mail a status report of their daily activities at the end of each day.

Question 34

You are negotiating a sales contract with a new client.You are aware of the fact that people rely primarily on nonverbal signals to help them conduct social interactions.Thus,in order to encourage a good rapport between you and the counterparty,you should ________.

A) maintain an indirect body orientation
B) maintain steady eye contact
C) lean backward
D) cross your arms

Question 35

You are negotiating a sales contract with a potential client and get the feeling that you won't be able to develop a good rapport with him.You most likely observe that your potential client ________.

A) is sitting with a forward lean
B) has an open body posture
C) is maintaining steady eye contact
D) is sitting with crossed arms

Question 36

Which of the following is an advantage of e-negotiations?

A) E-negotiations reach more integrative outcomes than face-to-face negotiations.
B) As compared to face-to-face negotiations, e-negotiations result in increased overall satisfaction for both the parties.
C) During e-negotiations power and status differences are minimized.
D) E-negotiators are less likely to suspect the other party of lying or deceiving them, relative to negotiators interacting face-to-face.

Question 37

Which of the following is a key bias that affects the ability of people to negotiate via e-mail?

A) omission bias
B) flaming bias
C) impact bias
D) distinction bias

Question 38

Which of the following is likely to be the most limiting aspect of same-time,different-place negotiations?

A) the lack of an appropriate communication channel
B) the increase in the time required for negotiation
C) the loss of informal communication
D) the decrease in the level of cooperation

Question 39

The ________ refers to the perception that negotiation is unstable and should be terminated.

A) recency effect
B) conjunction fallacy
C) flaming bias
D) exit bias

Question 40

Which of the following statements is true regarding e-mail communication?

A) As compared to face-to-face negotiation, people negotiating via e-mail are less likely to negatively confront one another.
B) It provides a continuous feedback loop so that people can immediately clarify their doubts.
C) As compared to face-to-face negotiation, e-mail negotiations offer more context cues and are therefore richer.
D) People who would normally not approach others in person are much more likely to initiate e-mail exchange.

Question 41

The "sinister attribution error" is the tendency for people to attribute malevolent motives to ________.

A) people who they work with on a regular basis
B) their immediate superiors in the organization
C) people they don't know or who represent the out-group
D) those performing low-skilled work

Question 42

You are in the process of negotiating a sales contract with a new client.The product you are selling is high-quality and has received excellent reviews from customers.You have a strong bargaining position in this negotiation.In such a situation,which of the following will be the ideal mode of communication for negotiating the contract with the new client in order to receive the maximum benefit?

A) e-mail
B) instant messaging
C) telephone
D) face-to-face

Question 43

You want to put a working group together for a long,complex project.The goal of the project is to develop a Web-based application for an international client.The project will need coordination among different people who will have to work from different geographic regions.While selecting the team members you make sure that the members already know each other.Which of the following is the strongest argument that supports your decision?

A) When negotiators interact via technology, power and status differences are minimized.
B) As compared to face-to-face teams, virtual teams are better at brainstorming and generating new ideas.
C) Even a short face-to-face meeting among people can reduce uncertainty and build trust.
D) Face-to-face teams communicate better initially but their performance deteriorates over time.

Question 44

Relative to face-to-face negotiations,people who negotiate online ________.

A) trust each other more before beginning the negotiation
B) are more interested in future relationships with the other party
C) trust each other more after the online interaction
D) report less overall satisfaction with the negotiation

Question 45

The "sinister attribution error" is the tendency for people to ________.

A) rely too heavily on one trait or piece of information when making decisions
B) attribute malevolent motives to people who represent the out-group
C) view two options as more dissimilar when evaluating them simultaneously than when evaluating them separately.
D) underestimate task-completion times for a given set of tasks

Question 46

What are the key challenges to "same time,different place" negotiations?

Question 47

Discuss the key biases that affect the ability of people to negotiate via e-mail.

Question 48

Negotiators interacting through which of the following modes of communication would feel a greater amount of rapport?

A) voice mail
B) videoconference
C) face-to-face communication
D) telephonic conversation

Question 49

After an argument with her colleague,Sara recounted the incident to her friend,saying,"She's getting more hostile by the day.She always takes offence at the slightest thing." Her friend reminded her that the colleague had been unwell recently and was still taking medication,which probably accounted for her irritability.In this case,Sara's behavior can be explained by the ________.

A) sinister attribution bias
B) impact bias
C) group attribution error
D) outgroup homogeneity

Question 50

The ________ bias is the tendency for negotiators to adopt an adversarial negotiation style when communicating via e-mail-whereas the same negotiator might use a positive emotional style in a face-to-face interaction.

A) anchoring
B) omission
C) flaming
D) exit