Exam 13: Managing Conflict and Negotiating

When a situation is characterized by _____, managers should anticipate conflict.

High levels of in-group cohesiveness usually turn a group into a smooth-running team.

People tend to handle negative conflict in predictable and patterned ways referred to as styles.

Which of the following is true about cross-cultural conflict?

Cross-cultural relationships can be built by advocating inclusive (participative) leadership.

An agreement that leaves one party feeling exploited or defeated tends to breed resentment.

Obliging is an appropriate conflict-handling strategy when it is possible to eventually get something in return.

Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution that renders a decision.

Two supervisors, Justin and Shawn, had been given instructions to trim their group size by two people. Justin's personality tended to favor people. He was generally more sensitive to people, and was a thoughtful supervisor. Shawn was just the opposite. He was more concerned with group production, and considered people's feelings secondary to the work. Hence their approaches in trimming their teams were different. They could not see the other's point of view and hence they left the discussion thinking ill of each other. Which of the following types of conflict did Justin and Shawn experience?

Conflict tends to decrease as the number of hierarchical layers and specialized tasks increase.

_____ is an alternative dispute resolution technique where the disputing parties agree ahead of time to accept the decision of a neutral third party in a formal court-like setting, often complete with evidence and witnesses.

Both intradepartmental and interdepartmental conflict typically decrease as goal difficulty and goal clarity increase.

_____ is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.

The dialectic method calls for managers to foster a structured debate of opposing viewpoints prior to making a decision.

A major drawback of _____ is that "winning the debate" may overshadow the issue at hand, leading to a less than desired conclusion.

The integrating style of handling conflict involves cooperatively identifying the problem, generating and weighing alternative solutions, and selecting a solution.

Facilitation occurs when a neutral third party informally acts as a communication conduit between disputing parties.

A day of contemplation is a part of the organization's formal disciplinary process and is a traditional suspension without pay.

In the _____ style of handling conflict, the interested parties cooperatively identify the problem, generate and weigh alternatives, and select a solution.

Devil's advocacy is a way of stimulating programmed conflict.