Deck 8: Managing Team Conflict

Question 1

An example of a rights-based argument is ________; an example of a power-based approach is ________.

A)arguing about the terms of a contract; making a threat
B)making a threat; arguing the terms of a contract
C)focusing on interests; making a threat
D)arguing about the terms of a contract; arguing about precedent

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Relationship conflict is best described as conflict about:

A)tasks and the work to be done.
B)procedures,processes,and how the work should be done.
C)personalities,often involving anger and ego clashes.
D)ideology,philosophy,and fundamental belief systems.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

According to the "Managerial Grid," concern for self and concern for the other person determines the conflict approach one uses.High concern for the self,coupled with high concern for the other party,would lead to:

A)collaboration.
B)competition.
C)avoidance.
D)compromise.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

When people change their attitudes as a result of direct influence or pressure,this is referred to as:

A)the sleeper effect.
B)team power.
C)conversion.
D)compliance.

Question 5

________ is the term used to describe a person's change in attitude and behavior as a result of their own thinking about a subject,and is more stable than an attitude change induced by peer pressure.

A)Direct influence
B)Interest-based approach
C)Compliance
D)Conversion

Question 6

Which of the following statements is TRUE about minorities in teams?

A)When minorities in a group express a differing opinion,the minority's opinion distracts the group in a negative way.
B)Groups who have been exposed to the minority dissenting opinion search for less information on an issue.
C)People exposed to minority opinions experience a decrease in their level of integrative thought.
D)When minorities in a group express a differing opinion,the general level of cognitive activity in the group increases,and group members engage in more message scrutiny.

Question 7

Tom and Tim are in a five-person team.Tim perceives that the team's recent arguments pertain to team tasks.Tom does not detect such overtones of conflict in task discussions.The fact that they don't see conflict in the same way is an example of ________ conflict.

A)perceptual
B)process
C)task
D)proportional

Question 8

According to Wageman and Donnenfeld's conflict intervention model,which of the four guiding principles for enhancing teams has the largest effects?

A)Task process coaching
B)Team (re)Design
C)Conflict process coaching
D)Changing the individual

Question 9

How does "minority influence" benefit a team?

A)Statistical minorities simulate greater thought about issues.
B)Statistical minorities increase convergent thinking skills in a team.
C)Statistical minorities are effective in decreasing divergent thinking in a team.
D)Statistical minorities who are not harassed by the majority are more likely to be perceived as courageous.

Question 10

________ centers on disagreements that team members have about how to approach a task and who should do what.

A)Proportional conflict
B)Task conflict
C)Perceptual conflict
D)Process conflict

Question 11

Of the two ways which majorities and minorities influence their teams,which of the following is the best example of indirect influence?

A)Sarah convinces Holly and Sue to adopt her position on their team project.
B)Holly changes her behavior due to Sarah's influence.
C)Even though Sarah has convinced two members of the team to agree with her views,seven of the ten team members privately agree with Bob's minority viewpoint.
D)Sarah talks to Carl to try and convince him to understand and agree with her viewpoints on the project.Carl doesn't agree right away,but after thinking about it for a week,he decides that Sarah's view is best.

Question 12

Greater amounts of relationship conflict in a team are associated with lower levels of ________,and negatively associated with ________.

A)social loafing; team power
B)performance; team effectiveness
C)education; cognitive functioning
D)compliance; financial stability

Question 13

Team members high in motivation to acquire relationship-threatening information,or "MARTI":

A)make more sinister attributions about their coworkers' behaviors and intentions.
B)are more likely to include prospective group members in joining their group.
C)plan to accept newcomers to their group.
D)have lower levels of relationship conflict.

Question 14

Task conflict is best described as:

A)tasks and the work to be done.
B)procedures,processes,and how the work should be done.
C)personalities,often involving anger and ego clashes.
D)ideology,philosophy,and fundamental belief systems.

Question 15

Using the managerial grid model,low concern for the self,coupled with high concern for the other party,would lead to:

A)collaboration.
B)competition.
C)compromise.
D)accommodation.

Question 16

Which of the following is the best example of a task-content conflict?

A)Lori and Ted spend 20 minutes arguing over who will ship boxes to an event location.
B)Bob and Margie have a difficult time agreeing on how to allocate the scope of work to their different team members.
C)Amanda and Tammy disagree on the sequence of steps to complete a task.
D)Heather and Phyllis disagree about what the ultimate goal of their task-force should be.

Question 17

People who persist in the face of hardships and ridicule are viewed as particularly sincere,confident,and courageous,given that they are willing to risk social censure.The reason why harassed minorities are viewed in this positive way is known as the:

A)sleeper effect.
B)indirect influence.
C)courage hypothesis.
D)norms of fairness.

Question 18

In regard to the different methods that teams can take to approach conflict,what would be a good example of a collaborative,interest-based response?

A)"Larry,I've sensed that this is of great concern.While I'm not sure anything can change,we welcome your own views on this proposal.I think it is important that we all have a chance to understand your point of view."
B)"Look,Larry,you agreed to cover that part of the project when we first took on the challenge four years ago.As a matter of fact,I believe that I have an e-mail from you indicating you would agree to do that part of the work."
C)"I think you are completely out of line,Larry.I don't think that discussing unrealistic and selfish goals is a good use of our team time.I am ready to hear your solutions,but only on the condition that you start working with us as a team."
D)"Larry,due to issues this conflict has caused,we're going to have to let you go."

Question 19

With regard to conflict in different cultures,which of the following is NOT true?

A)Language barriers in multicultural teams increase the likelihood of relationship conflict.
B)Americans and East Asians believe in addressing task conflict proactively.
C)East Asians are more likely than Americans to join a talented group that is known to have high-relationship conflict.
D)Americans are more likely than East Asians to join a talented group that is known to have high-relationship conflict.

Question 20

Wageman and Donnenfeld's model of conflict resolution focuses on: team (re)Design,task process coaching,conflict process coaching,and membership change.All of the following are true with regard to Wageman and Donnenfeld's conflict intervention model EXCEPT:

A)of all four factors,team (re)Design has the biggest impact on conflict resolution.
B)after the team has been well designed,the team leader should coach the team.
C)changing members of the team will have its greatest impact only after the team design and team processes are addressed.
D)the team goal or shared vision should only be developed after the leader has coached about conflict.

Question 21

Wageman and Donnenfeld distinguish four kinds of interventions that team leaders and managers can use to improve the quality of conflict resolution processes.One of these interventions,task process coaching means:

A)a type of coaching that helps the team perform better via changes in effort,strategy,and talent,including developing team member skills or improving the team's communication system.
B)the involvement of very specific,structural changes to a group,which might include how the team's goal is defined,who is on the team,and nature and amount of resources allocated to the team,team rewards,and norms of conduct.
C)the direct intervention in a team to improve the quality of conflict the team is experiencing,including trust-building exercises,structured debates and appointing a devil's advocate.
D)individual-level training with the goal of making specific team members more tolerant,thoughtful,and capable when they disagree with others.

Question 22

When it some to team satisfaction,task conflict is more disruptive for teams than relationship conflict.

Question 23

Groups that have high levels of trust among their members during the early stage of group development are buffered from experiencing future relationship conflict.

Question 24

In groups containing members with different power or status levels,those with low-power/status want the equality method used when dividing resources,whereas those team members with high-power/status prefer to use the equity method for dividing resources.

Question 25

Regarding power and conflict in teams,the term "team power" refers to:

A)the disagreements that team members have about how to approach a task and who on the team should do what.
B)the extent to which there is agreement or lack thereof,in terms of whether team members perceive conflict.
C)the tendency for group discussion to intensify group opinion.
D)the control of resources that enables a team to influence others in the organization.

Question 26

When teams experience conflict,they have lower trust,which leads them to increase individual autonomy and tighten task interdependencies in the team.

Question 27

People who are exposed to majority opinions or unanimous groups actually experience an increase in integrative thinking.

Question 28

Two team members in an eight-person team perceive arguments in the group pertaining to the task,while the other six members do not detect such conflict.These two members have a larger ________ score than those members who believe that there is no task conflict.

A)proportional conflict composition
B)perceptual conflict composition
C)equity method
D)equality method

Question 29

The Conflict Choices model (Exhibit 8-6 in the text)represents an application of the ELVN model of conflict in business teams.In the Conflict Choices model,people's behavior in conflict is depicted in terms of two key dimensions: active versus passive behavior and constructive versus destructive action.When people are passive and destructive,they engage in ________; when people tolerate another person's bad behaviors in the hope that the situation will resolve itself,the conflict choice is passive and constructive and is best termed ________.

A)attack; engagement
B)avoidance; rationalization
C)avoidance; attack
D)rationalization; engagement

Question 30

Members of teams who regard their organization to be market-focused tend to gather information about ________.Conversely,employees who regard their organization as bureaucratic tend to be most interested in gathering information on ________.

A)how they are treated by authority figures; reward allocation
B)reward allocation; how they are treated by authority figures
C)delegation of duties; who gets credit for success
D)who gets credit for success; delegation of duties

Question 31

John's team has contributed less work to the company project than Jay's team,who has done the lion's share of the work.When it is time to allocate budgets for the next phase of the project,what form of resource allocation would John's team prefer and Jay's team prefer?

A)Need; Equality
B)Equality; Equity
C)Equity; Need
D)Equity; Equality

Question 32

Groups do not like members who are unselfish.When groups perceive members to be contributing too much toward the provision of a good,but then use little of that good,they are seen as establishing an undesirable behavior standard and become targets of expulsion from the group.

Question 33

The three most popular norms of fairness are: equality,also known as ________; equity,also known as ________; and needs also known as ________.

A)contribution-based justice; blind-justice; welfare-based justice
B)blind justice; contribution-based justice; welfare-based justice
C)welfare-based justice; contribution-based justice; blind justice
D)blind justice; welfare-based justice; contribution-based justice