Chapter 13

Question 1

Interpersonal conflict

Answer 1

Process that occurs when one person, group, or organizational subunit frustrates the goal attainment of another.

Question 2

What are causes of organizational conflict?

Answer 2

o Group identification and intergroup bias.
Why intergroup bias occurs: Self-esteem.

o Interdependence.
Can lead to conflict for 2 reasons:
• It is necessitating interaction between the parties so that they can coordinate their interests.
• Interdependence implies that each party has some power over the other and so it’s relatively easy for one side or the other to abuse its power and create antagonism.
 Doesn’t ALWAYS lead to conflict. But actually often provides a good basis for collaboration through mutual assistance.

oDifferences in power, status, and culture.
 Power.
 Status.
 Culture.

o Ambiguity.

o Scarce resources.

Question 3

Relationship conflict

Answer 3

Interpersonal tensions among individuals that have to do with their relationship not the task at hand.

Question 4

Task conflict

Answer 4

Disagreement about the nature of the work to be done.

Question 5

Process conflict

Answer 5

Disagreements about how work should be organized and accomplished.

Question 6

What are the 5 models of conflict management?

Answer 6

Avoiding- Conflict management style characterized by low assertiveness of one’s own interests and low cooperation with the other party.
Suitable when:
•	Issue is trivial.
•	Information is lacking.
•	People need to cool down.
•	Opponent is very powerful and hostile.

Accommodating- Conflict management style in which one cooperates with the other party while not asserting one’s own interests.
Effective when:
• You’re wrong.
• The issue is more important to the other party.
• You want to build good will.

Competing- Conflict management style that maximizes assertiveness and minimizes cooperation.
Effective when:
• You have a lot of power.
• You’re sure of your facts.
• The situation is truly win-lose.
• You will not have to interact with the other party I the future.

Compromise- Conflict management style that combines intermediate levels of assertiveness and cooperation.
Not useful for resolving conflicts that stem from power asymmetry.
Sensible reaction to conflict stemming from scarce resources and is a good fallback position if other strategies fail.

Collaborating- Conflict management style that maximizes both assertiveness and cooperation.
Works best when conflict is not intense and when each party has information useful to the other.
Enhances productivity and achievement.

Question 7

Distributive negotiation

Answer 7

Win-lose negotiation in which a fixed amount of assets is divided between parties.

Question 8

When does a threat hold merit?

Answer 8

Has some merit as a bargaining tactic if one party has power over the other that corresponds to the nature of the treat.

Question 9

When do promises hold merit?

Answer 9

Have merit when your side lacks power and anticipates future negotiations with the others side.

Question 10

Integrative negotiation

Answer 10

Win-win negotiation that assumes that mutual problem solving can enlarge the assets to be divided between parties.

Question 11

What are the tactics of Integrative negotiation?

Answer 11

	Copious information exchange.
	Framing differences as opportunities.
	Cutting costs.
	Increasing resources. -Gets around the fixed-pie syndrome.
	Introducing superordinate goals.

Superordinate goals- Attractive outcomes that can be achieved only by collaboration.

Question 12

What are two methods of third party involvment?

Answer 12

Mediation.
 Mediation works best when the conflict is not too intense, and the parties are resolved to use negotiation to deal with their conflict.
 If the mediator is not seen as neutral or if there is dissension in the ranks of each negotiation party, mediation doesn’t work so well.

Arbitration.
 Occurs when a third party is given the authority to dictate the terms of settlement of a conflict.
 Conventional arbitration- Arbitrator can choose any outcome.
 Final offer arbitration- Each party makes a final offer, and the arbitrator chooses one of them.

Question 13

Constructive conflict

Answer 13

Conflict for which the benefits outweigh the costs.

Most likely when the tendency to avoid conflict is suppressed and the parties engage I the open-minded discussion of their differences.

Question 14

Locus of control

Answer 14

A set of beliefs about whether one’s behaviour is controlled mainly by internal or external forces.

Externals feel less in control compared to internals.

Question 15

Type A behaviour pattern

Answer 15

Personality pattern that includes aggressiveness, ambitiousness, competitiveness, hostility, impatience, and a sense of time urgency.

Question 16

Negative affectivity

Answer 16

Propensity to view the world, including oneself and other people, in a negative light.

Question 17

What are the factors responsible for the susceptibility to stress of those who are high in negative affectivity?

Answer 17

 Predisposition to perceive stressors in the workplace.
 Hypersensitivity to existing stressors.
 Tendency to gravitate to stressful jobs.
 Tendency to provide stress through their negativity.
 Use of passive, indirect coping styles that avoid real stress sources.

Question 18

What are two executive and managerial stressors?

Answer 18

o Role overload.

o Heavy responsibility.

Question 19

What are two Operative-Level Stressors?

Answer 19

o Poor physical working conditions.

o Poor job design.

Question 20

Boundary roles

Answer 20

Positions in which organizational members are required to interact with members of other organizations or with the public.

Most boundary role stress stems from the frequent need for employees to engage in “emotional labour”.

Question 21

What is burnout and what are the consequences of it?

Answer 21

Most common among people who entered their jobs with especially high ideals.

Consequences:
• Seeking new occupation after not being able to cope with the old one.
• Staying in the same occupation but pursuing a new job.

Question 22

Job demands-resources model

Answer 22

A model that specifies how job demands cause burnout and job resources cause engagement.

Central assumption of this model is that high job resources foster work engagement while high job demands exhaust employees physically and mentally and lead to burnout.

Question 23

What are general stressors?

Answer 23

o Interpersonal conflict. -Can especially affect those with avoidance tendencies.

o Work-family conflict.-Factors that increased the stress stemming from this type of conflict:
• Increase in the number of households in which both parents work.
• Increase in single-parent families.
((Women are particularly victimized by this. Occupations that need a high degree of teamwork or responsibilities for others provoke the most work-family conflict.))

o Job insecurity and change.
o Role ambiguity.
o Sexual harassment.

Question 24

What are behavioural reactions to stress?

Answer 24

o	Problem solving.
	Types:
•	Delegation.
•	Time management.
•	Talking it out.
•	Asking for help.
•	Searching for alternatives.

o Seeking social support.

o Performance changes.

o Withdrawal and presenteeism.
 Presenteeism- Attending work when ill. (Mostly occurs due to stress.)
 Withdrawal from the stressor.

o Use of addictive substances.

Question 25

What are psychological reactions to stress?

Answer 25

o Defence mechanisms:
	Common defence mechanisms:
•	Rationalization.
•	Projection.
•	Displacement.

o Directing feelings of anger at a “safe” target rather than expressing them when they may be punished.
• Reaction formation.

o Expressing self in a manner directly opposite to the way one truly feels.
• Compensation.
 Helpful unless it becomes chronic.

Question 26

What are organizational strategies for managing stress?

Answer 26

o Job redesign.
o “Family-Friendly” Human resources policies.
o Stress management programs.
o Work-life balance, fitness, and wellness programs.