Ch 11 Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace

Question 1

Conflict

Answer 1

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

Question 2

3 cons of conflict

Answer 2

1) threatens personal needs and self concept, which produces employee stress, reduces job satisfaction and increases employee turnover
2) potentially undermines information sharing
3) may hurt team cohesion and performance

Question 3

3 benefits of conflict

Answer 3

1) improves decision making by making people evaluate alternatives more thoroughly
2) moderate levels of conflict maintain vigilance with the external environment.
3) People tend to be more moti- vated to work together when faced with an external threat, which strengthens cohesion within the team

Question 4

3 conditions minimizing the level of relationship conflict

Answer 4

1) emotional intelligence
2) team development
3) norms supporting psychological safety

Question 5

psychological safety

Answer 5

A shared belief that it is safe
to engage in interpersonal risk-taking; specifically, that presenting unusual ideas, con- structively disagreeing with the majority, and experiment- ing with new work behaviours will not result in co-workers posing a threat to one’s self-concept, status, or career.

Question 6

Structural sources of conflict

Answer 6

1) Incompatible goals
2) Differentiation
3) interdependence
4) Scarce resources
5) Ambiguous Rules
6) Communication Problems

Question 7

Conflict Process Model

Answer 7

Starts off with sources of conflict and then goes into perceptions and emotions. That’s when the parties perceive that conflict exists and those perceptions then produce emotions. Those emotions are usually negative (stress, anxiety, fear, frustration) or can also be positive (positive challenge, opportunity to learn). Then comes manifest conflict which is when the parties make decisions and behave in a certain way (subtle non verbal communication to warlike aggression). It ends with conflict outcomes, can be either positive or negative.

Question 8

Incompatible goals

Answer 8

Goal incompatibility occurs when the goals of one person or department seem to interfere with another person’s or department’s goals.

Question 9

Differentiation

Answer 9

Another source of conflict is differentiation—differences among people and work units regarding their beliefs, values, and preferences

Question 10

Interpersonal Conflict Handling Styles

Answer 10

Problem Solving
Avoiding
Forcing
Yielding
Compromising