Exam 13: Conflict, Power, and Politics

Intergroup conflict can occur horizontally across departments, vertically between different levels, and between divisions or business units within the organization.

The ability to identify oneself as a part of one group and to observe differences in comparison with other groups is necessary for conflict.

Applying what you know about sources of conflict, you could conclude that as task interdependence moves from pooled to reciprocal interdependence:

____ is difficult to measure because power differences are not defined on the organization chart.

Describe when political activity is used.

"He who has the gold makes the rules" refers to control of financial resources as a strategic contingency that influences horizontal power among departments.

The advantage of intergroup consultation is that individuals become submerged in the values, attitudes, problems, and goals of the other department.

Working in the offices of the state legislature was an aspiring young man who provided clerical research services for legislators on a wide range of issues. He always provided easy-to-read summary sheets on current issues at the top of their in-baskets, and always tried to make every party so that they would know him personally. When he realized that water distribution was a key issue in the state, he became an expert on water distribution. Finally it got to the point that whenever bills came up that dealt with water distribution, he provided information to the legislators that was exclusive because they did not look elsewhere for detail. Analyze this young man's use of power, utilizing principles from our textbook.

Horizontal conflict may occur when employees clash with bosses about new work methods, reward systems, or job assignments.

Which of the following is not one of strategic contingencies that influence horizontal power among departments?

Negotiation occurs when parties in conflict directly engage one another and try to work out their differences.

Strategic contingencies are succession plans that are made within the corporation.

Describe the steps of a win-win strategy and a win-lose strategy.

Assume that you are called to mediate a conflict between the players and the management of Major League Baseball. The players wanted different salary caps and were turned down. Now they are about to go out on strike and neither side is talking to the other. What might you do to try to resolve this conflict so that baseball will not reach the same fate it did on September 15, 1995 when the 1994 major-league season and the World Series were called off for the first time in 89 years?

Why is it that some employees may obtain power that is disproportionate to the level of their formal position?

People have authority in an organization because of:

Formal authority is exercised downward along the hierarchy and is the same as vertical power and legitimate power.

____ are designed to increase worker participation and provide a cooperative model for solving union-management problems.

People at the bottom levels of an organization can never obtain more power than those in higher levels of the organization.

____ is the potential ability of one person/department to influence other persons/departments to carry out orders or do something they would not otherwise have done.