Deck 11: Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace

Question 1

Emotional intelligence and team cohesiveness are two ways to:

A)minimize constructive conflict
B)engage in third-party conflict resolution
C)increase relationship conflict
D)minimize relationship conflict
E)add more cycles to the conflict escalation cycle

Answer 1

D

Question 2

To be more effective,managers should:

A)try to increase the amount of conflict among employees.
B)successfully remove 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 that conflict should be avoided.
E)encourage constructive conflict for better decision making and minimize relationship conflict.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

A large computer company was well known for the frequent debate among employees regarding various issues.Employees weren't afraid to disagree with their colleagues and to clearly argue their point.Although the discussions would sometimes get loud,employees never spoke angrily at each other and the discussants would always end the meeting in friendship.This computer company has many instances of:

A)constructive conflict
B)debating conflict
C)avoiding conflict management style
D)relationship conflict
E)positional conflict

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Relationship conflict usually causes people to:

A)use logical analysis to resolve the conflict.
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)do all of these things.
E)do none of these things.

Question 5

The two main forms of conflict are:

A)structural and personal
B)constructive and relationship
C)pooled and sequential
D)problem-solving and forcing
E)superordinate and supraordinate

Question 6

The process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party is called:

A)politics
B)conflict
C)negotiation
D)dialogue
E)negative delusion

Question 7

The conflict process begins:

A)when one party intends to interfere with the other's goals.
B)when one party does something that actually interferes with the other party's goals.
C)after the first party does something that causes the second party to take a similar hostile action.
D)when some source of conflict lead one or both parties to perceive that conflict exists.
E)when both parties are informed by a third party that they have a potential conflict.

Question 8

Constructive conflict exists:

A)when the conflict is viewed as a personal attack on each person in the relationship.
B)when an employee disagrees with,and loses respect for,his or her supervisor.
C)when the conflict is emotionally charged.
D)when all of these exist.
E)when none of these exists.

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a benefit of moderate conflict in organizations?

A)It prevents stagnation and nonresponsiveness to the external environment.
B)It improves decision making.
C)Conflict with people outside the team can potentially increase cohesion with the team.
D)It energizes people to debate issues more thoroughly.
E)It helps regenerate employee ranks,since those who cannot manage conflict effectively tend to leave the organization and are replaced with more effective staff.

Question 10

The current perspective on organizational conflict is that:

A)conflict should be minimized.
B)conflict is the result of poor communication
C)conflict is an inevitable result of increased technology and globalization.
D)All of the above are correct.
E)moderate levels of conflict are necessary and produce favourable outcomes.

Question 11

According to the literature on organizational conflict,constructive conflict:

A)is a positive form of conflict in organizations.
B)is one of the most common outcomes of conflict.
C)is the only conflict management style that has high assertiveness and low cooperativeness.
D)is the main source of conflict in organizations.
E)should never be used as a conflict management strategy.

Question 12

Constructive conflict:

A)is the same as relationship conflict.
B)encourages people to think about different points of view.
C)is a source of conflict based on the physical layout of the office.
D)is the main source of groupthink and denial of external problems.
E)is none of these.

Question 13

The conflict escalation cycle:

A)rarely occurs in organizational settings.
B)helps employees to move from socioemotional to constructive conflict.
C)helps the conflicting parties to remove the sources of conflict.
D)includes the situation where behaviours during manifest conflict communicate the perception of conflict to the other party.
E)is all of these.

Question 14

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)None of these describes relationship conflict.

Question 15

In the conflict process,what immediately precedes conflict outcomes?

A)Manifest conflict
B)Conflict emotions
C)Sources of conflict
D)Conflict perceptions
E)Both conflict emotions and perceptions immediately precede conflict outcomes

Question 16

In the conflict process,what immediately follows conflict perceptions and emotions?

A)Sources of conflict
B)Manifest conflict
C)Conflict outcomes
D)Conflict management
E)Both conflict outcomes and conflict management immediately follow conflict perceptions and emotions

Question 17

Conflict is defined as:

A)any event where two parties demonstrate their dislike of each other.
B)any occasion where both parties perceive each other as a threat to achieving the other party's goals.
C)a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.
D)any event where one party acts in a way that prevents another party from achieving its goals.
E)a process in which each party tries to learn the resistance point of the other party.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT explicitly labeled in the conflict process model?

A)Manifest conflict
B)Conflict perceptions
C)Conflict emotions
D)Conflict sources
E)Conflict tolerance

Question 19

Constructive conflict:

A)is the opposite of task-related conflict.
B)encourages participants to re-examine their basic assumptions about a problem and its possible solution.
C)is one of the dysfunctional outcomes of conflict.
D)is the most common outcome of arbitration.
E)sometimes replaces manifest conflict in the conflict process.

Question 20

Constructive conflict is less likely to turn into relationship conflict when team members:

A)learn how to argue more forcefully with each other.
B)have higher emotional intelligence.
C)have high differentiation.
D)have competitive team norms.
E)use a forcing style of conflict resolution.

Question 21

The potential for conflict between two employees would be highest under conditions of:

A)pooled interdependence
B)total independence
C)reciprocal interdependence
D)anticipatory interdependence
E)sequential interdependence

Question 22

Incompatible goals,differentiation and ambiguous rules are:

A)indicators of effectiveness in third-party conflict resolution.
B)situational influences on negotiations.
C)sources of potential conflict.
D)strategies used in the inquisition approach to third-party conflict resolution.
E)none of these.

Question 23

In organizational conflict,scarce resources are typically identified as:

A)a source of conflict
B)a form of task interdependence
C)a third-party conflict resolution strategy
D)a form of differentiation
E)scarce resources are unrelated to any part of organizational conflict

Question 24

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

Question 25

A win-win orientation exists when a person or team believes that:

A)one party necessarily loses if the other gains,so a forcing style should be applied.
B)a combination of all interpersonal styles of conflict management must be applied to reach a mutually beneficial solution.
C)a mutually beneficial solution may be found if both parties apply a collaborative orientation.
D)both parties must apply a yielding interpersonal style to resolve the conflict effectively.
E)None of these statements apply to a win-win orientation.

Question 26

Which of the following statements about the structural sources of conflict in organizations is FALSE?

A)Members of the organization are the ultimately the source of all conflicts in organizations.
B)Poor communication can be a source of conflict.
C)Scarce resources is a condition that can cause conflict.
D)Decision ambiguity can increase the potential for conflict.
E)Conflict tends to increase with high levels of task interdependence

Question 27

Which conflict management style has low cooperativeness and low assertiveness?

A)Forcing
B)Inquisition
C)Compromising
D)Arbitration
E)Avoiding

Question 28

GlobalCo formed a task force consisting of eight employees from four culturally diverse countries who have not previously met.The task force must work closely together for a month to solve a troublesome customer problem.These employees have similar technical training,but they have different religious beliefs,different languages,and different standards of living.If these employees experience conflict,this conflict might be caused by:

A)task interdependence.
B)differentiation.
C)communication problems.
D)all of these factors.
E)differentiation and communication problems,but not task interdependence

Question 29

Which of the following most likely produces 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)None of these has any effect on the risk of conflict.

Question 30

Communication is a potential source of conflict because:

A)communication leads to misunderstanding.
B)ineffective communication often leads to an escalation in the conflict cycle.
C)perceptions of conflict reduce a person's motivation to communicate in the future.
D)All of the above.
E)'B' and 'C' only.

Question 31

Which of the following interpersonal conflict management styles has mostly or completely a win-win orientation?

A)Forcing
B)Yielding
C)Problem-solving
D)Avoiding
E)Both yielding and problem solving have mostly or completely a win-win orientation.

Question 32

Employees in engineering and marketing often disagree with each other,mainly because they hold divergent beliefs and attitudes due to their unique backgrounds,experiences,and training.The most apparent source of conflict here is:

A)task interdependence.
B)differentiation.
C)goal incompatibility.
D)scarce resources.
E)ambiguity.

Question 33

Which of the following sources of conflict is typically associated with mergers and acquisitions?

A)Task interdependence
B)Differentiation
C)Goal incompatibility
D)Scarce resources
E)Ambiguity

Question 34

Two departmental managers are most likely to experience conflict with each other when they _____________ communicate with each other and their two departments have _____________ interdependence.

A)frequently; high
B)seldom; low
C)seldom; high
D)frequently; low
E)Communication and interdependence do not affect conflict between departments.

Question 35

Which of the following interpersonal conflict management styles has some degree of win-lose orientation?

A)Forcing
B)Yielding
C)Avoiding
D)All of these have some degree of win-lose orientation.
E)None of these has any degree of win-lose orientation.

Question 36

The conflict process model includes:

A)conflict outcomes.
B)sources of conflict.
C)conflict emotions.
D)conflict outcomes and conflict emotions,but not sources of conflict.
E)conflict outcomes,conflict emotions,and sources of conflict.

Question 37

Ambiguous rules,scarce resources and task interdependence are:

A)structural sources of potential conflict
B)strategies used in the inquisition approach to third-party conflict resolution
C)interpersonal sources of potential conflict.
D)indicators of effectiveness in third-party conflict resolution
E)situational influences on negotiations

Question 38

Salespeople at Widget Ltd.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 are rewarded.This is mainly an example of conflict due to:

A)ambiguity
B)communication problems
C)pooled task interdependence
D)differentiation
E)goal incompatibility

Question 39

Compared to those with an individualist value,employees with a strong collectivist values tend to manage disagreements through:

A)forcing.
B)third-party conflict resolution.
C)arbitration.
D)avoidance or problem solving.
E)compromising and forcing.

Question 40

Conflict management styles are defined in terms of their:

A)consequences for the organization.
B)arbitrariness and firmness.
C)assertiveness and cooperativeness.
D)differentiation and interdependence.
E)animosity and tolerance.

Question 41

Which of the following is a third-party conflict resolution strategy with high process control and high outcome control?

A)Inquisition
B)Arbitration
C)Mediation
D)Imposition
E)All third-party conflict resolution strategies have high process and outcome control

Question 42

According to some writers,women tend to adopt the _____________ style,whereas men are more likely to use the _____________ style.

A)forcing; collaborative
B)avoiding; compromising
C)yielding; forcing
D)compromising; forcing
E)yielding; avoiding

Question 43

Two team members who disagree over their work schedule approach their team leader to help resolve the conflict.Based on your knowledge of third-party conflict resolution,to avoid feelings of unfairness by the team member,the team leader should:

A)help the employees resolve their own conflict,with the team leader serving as a mediator to help them clarify their differences and common interests in the dispute.
B)ask the employees to avoid the conflict and move on.
C)tell each employee to present a solution,then the team leader would randomly choose one of them.
D)refuse to allow the conflict and ignore both employees.
E)tell the employees that their personal leave has been cancelled this year because they couldn't agree on such a trivial issue.

Question 44

A Dean tells a faculty member,"I don't care what the collective agreement states about your right to negotiate a workload with me,I'm the Dean,and I make the decisions about who is assigned what work and how much." According to your text,this is an example of which approach for resolving conflict?

A)Managerial.
B)Inquisition.
C)Confrontational.
D)Fuedal.
E)Imperious.

Question 45

Which of the following is a third-party conflict resolution strategy with low process control and low outcome control?

A)Inquisition
B)Arbitration
C)Mediation
D)All of these have low process control and low outcome control.
E)None of these has low process control and low outcome control.

Question 46

According to your text,compared to those with individualist cultures,employees in collectivist and high power distance cultures tend to be:

A)more comfortable with the practice of resolving differences through direct and open communication.
B)less comfortable with the practice of resolving differences through direct and open communication.
C)no more comfortable or uncomfortable with any particular practice of resolving differences.
D)All of the above are correct.
E)there is no evidence to support a cultural dimension with respect to any differences.

Question 47

Third-party interventions are defined 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.

Question 48

Combining two jobs to reduce conflict is a:

A)way to reduce task interdependence.
B)form of job enrichment.
C)strategy of avoidance.
D)downsizing strategy
E)'A' and 'B' only.

Question 49

Which conflict management style is most appropriate when the parties do not have perfectly opposing interests and have enough trust to share information?

A)Forcing
B)Yielding
C)Avoiding
D)Problem-solving
E)Compromising

Question 50

Which of the following actions does NOT emphasize superordinate goals to reduce conflict?

A)Representatives from the two departments must jointly visit a client to hear about its concerns.
B)Hiring employees with a technical specialty and developing their career paths within that specialty.
C)Keeping all employees informed of the company's successes and difficulties in the marketplace.
D)Introducing profit sharing or other organizationally based rewards for all employees.
E)The CEO speaks with employees from several departments together about current challenges from competitors.

Question 51

Managers tend to rely on which of the following types of third-party intervention?

A)Inquisitor
B)Competitor
C)Mediator
D)Arbitrator
E)Dictatorial

Question 52

The yielding conflict management style should be used:

A)never.
B)when the issue is much less important to you than to the other party.
C)when the other party has much less power than you do.
D)when the issue is important to both parties.
E)under almost all circumstances.

Question 53

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)creating a buffer that decouples the relationship between work units

Question 54

Maintenance employees and drivers at ABC Bus Company were constantly bickering with each other.However,the conflict subsided when another bus company opened for business to compete with ABC and ABC executives warned employees that the competitor could force lay-offs at ABC if productivity and customer service didn't improve.Which of the following conflict management strategies was operating here?

A)The company clarified rules and procedures.
B)The company reduced interdependence between the parties.
C)The company reduced differentiation between the parties.
D)The company introduced superordinate goals for both parties.
E)The company helped the parties to understand each other better.

Question 55

Improving communication and understanding should occur:

A)only after differentiation between the two sides has been reduced.
B)before differentiation between the two sides has been reduced.
C)only when the conflicting parties use the compromising conflict resolution style.
D)when task interdependence is low.
E)only when both parties have a win-lose orientation.

Question 56

Which conflict management style may be necessary when it is apparent that the other party will take advantage of information sharing and other cooperative strategies?

A)Forcing
B)Passive-aggressive
C)Avoiding
D)Problem-solving
E)Compromising

Question 57

Direct communication minimizes conflict by:

A)reducing task interdependence.
B)reducing reliance on stereotypes about the other party.
C)improving understanding of the other party's circumstances.
D)doing all of these things.
E)reducing reliance on stereotypes AND improving understanding of the other party's circumstances.

Question 58

Which of the following actions does NOT reduce conflict between employees and work teams?

A)Reducing the amount of task interdependence.
B)Increasing the resources available.
C)Clarifying the responsibilities and authority of each employee.
D)Encouraging employees to emphasize departmental rather than organizational goals.
E)Requiring employees to learn more about each other in special sessions.

Question 59

A major game software firm experienced conflict between the young Internet-savvy employees who designed the games and the older computer-illiterate executives who ran the company.The company hired coordinators who could work with the executives but were computer literate and therefore respected by the development staff members.By hiring these coordinators as liaisons between the executives and employees,the company would:

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 using integrators.

Question 60

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)All of these
E)None of these

Question 61

Effective negotiators:

A)prepare and set negotiation goals for themselves
B)talk more than listen
C)rarely make any concessions
D)do all of these things.
E)set negotiation goals for themselves AND rarely make any concessions.

Question 62

Which of the following tends to make negotiators more competitive and less willing to give concessions?

A)Representatives from both sides are interspersed around a circular table.
B)The parties spend time socializing and learning about each other before beginning negotiations.
C)The audiences of each party directly observe the negotiations.
D)All of these tend to make negotiators more competitive and less willing to give concessions.
E)None of these tend to make negotiators more competitive and less willing to give concessions.

Question 63

Negotiators implicitly or explicitly consider three bargaining positions,including:

A)win-win,win-lose,lose-lose
B)resistance,concessions,time
C)win-win,timely,target
D)initial,concessions,final
E)initial,target,resistance

Question 64

Conflict begins when two parties experience manifest conflict.

Question 65

Initial,target,and resistance represent three elements in:

A)the conflict process model.
B)the bargaining zone model.
C)the types of third-party conflict resolution.
D)the sources of conflict.
E)the conflict escalation cycle.

Question 66

Which of the following statements about time deadlines and passage in negotiations is FALSE?

A)Negotiators with more power in the relationship sometimes apply time pressure through an "exploding offer."
B)Negotiators become less committed to reaching an agreement as they devote more time to it.
C)Negotiators make more concessions as the negotiations approach an inflexible deadline.
D)As negotiators become more committed to reaching an agreement the tendency to make unwarranted concessions to ensure negotiations do not fail increases.
E)As the amount of time invested in a negotiation increases,negotiators tend to become more motivated to settle the negotiations.

Question 67

Conflict occurs when one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.

Question 68

If the parties cannot resolve their differences through direct dialogue and negotiation,the process that seems to work best is to:

A)go to court seeking damages.
B)arbitrate the dispute.
C)involve a mediator.
D)rely on inquisition.
E)try to bury the problem.

Question 69

The bargaining zone model illustrates:

A)the best zoning for negotiations.
B)the conditions under which the other party will hold out for a better offer.
C)the various bargaining positions between the parties.
D)all of these.
E)none of these.

Question 70

Which of the following is a skill to effectively create value in negotiations?

A)Know your BATNA.
B)Manage your time wisely.
C)Prepare and set goals.
D)All of the above.
E)None of the above creating value in negotiations.

Question 71

For everyday disputes between two employees,managers should use _____________ as a third-party intervention:

A)inquisition
B)mediation
C)arbitration
D)retaliation
E)negotiation

Question 72

You have a high BATNA when:

A)your estimated cost of walking away from the relationship is high.
B)your estimated cost of walking away from the relationship is low.
C)you have a no concerns about losing face.
D)you have a high need to save face.
E)None of these statements are correct.

Question 73

Creating value in negotiations involves:

A)trying to obtain the best possible outcome for yourself and your constituents.
B)minimizing the time required to reach a settlement so that all parties can get back to doing productive work.
C)cooperating to help both negotiators obtain the best possible outcomes.
D)reducing the costs associated with bargaining to maximize value.
E)try to inflate positive aspects of what you are offering the other party.

Question 74

Conflict begins whenever both parties realize that they have opposing interests.

Question 75

What effect does making concessions have on negotiations?

A)Concessions enable the parties to move towards the area of potential agreement.
B)Concessions symbolize each party's motivation to bargain in good faith.
C)Concessions communicate to the other party the relative importance of negotiating items.
D)Concessions have all of these effects on negotiations.
E)Concessions have none of these effects on negotiations.

Question 76

Negotiators tend to be more successful when:

A)they carefully think through their three key positions in the bargaining zone model.
B)they ask probing questions and listen intently to the answers.
C)they tell the other party how lucky the other party is to have such a generous deal.
D)they do all of these things.
E)"A" and "B' only.

Question 77

When negotiators have an audience watching their progress in the negotiations,the audience's negotiator:

A)is more likely to give in to the other party's demands.
B)pays more attention to saving face.
C)tends to feel more cooperative towards the other party.
D)tends to be more willing to make concessions to the other party.
E)tends to feel more cooperative AND are more willing to make concessions to the other party.

Question 78

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 with an area of potential overlap.
C)the best negotiations occur in a neutral territory.
D)negotiators must try to move the other party from a win-lose orientation towards a win-win orientation.
E)win-lose negotiations typically begin by each party communicating its resistance point.

Question 79

All of the following are ways that skilled negotiators can reap the benefits of value creation in negotiations EXCEPT by:

A)gathering information.
B)discovering priorities through offers and concessions.
C)building relationships.
D)stalling for more time to evaluate proposals more fully.
E)All of the above are ways to reap the benefits of value creation.

Question 80

In a purely win-lose situation,the bargaining zone states that the opposing parties:

A)usually apply a collaborative approach to resolving their differences.
B)begin negotiations by describing their resistance point for each item on the agenda.
C)rarely know each other's initial point.
D)tend to move from their target point to their initial point very quickly.
E)try to discover the other side's resistance point so they can determine how much they can gain without breaking off negotiations.