Conflict, Power & Politics

Question 1

5 Conflict Management Styles

Answer 1

1. Avoidance
2. Accommodation
3. Competition
4. Collaboration
5. Compromise

Question 2

Avoidance

Answer 2

Let people ‘cool down’ before trying to come to a consensus

Question 3

Accommodation

Answer 3

• Realize you are wrong
• Issues are more important to the other group
• Builds credit for the future

Question 4

Competition

Answer 4

• No long-term intergroup relationship
• ‘Protects’ group from untrustworthy
• Issue of survival not a manufactured state of survival

Question 5

Collaboration

Answer 5

• Both groups concerns are too important to be compromised
• Gain commitment; need other group to execute

Question 6

Compremise

Answer 6

• Outcome is less important to your group than to other group
• Mutually exclusive goals
• Temporary settlement is needed
• Intense time pressure

Question 7

Importance of Leadership

Answer 7

Leaders create a vision, a common understanding of who we are and where we are going (e.g. culture)

Question 8

Underlying Sources of Conflict

Answer 8

• Miscommunication & misinformation (surface)
• Real or perceived differences in needs & priorities (deep)
• Real or perceived differences in values, perception, beliefs, attitudes and culture (deeper or rare if ever verbalized)

Question 9

Power

Answer 9

Influence over others through
- Property
- Structure
- Discipline

Question 10

Sources of Power

Answer 10

1. Positional/”Formal” (Control over resources valued by others)
2. Personal/”Informal” (Respect, prestige, admiration granted by others)

Question 11

Positional/”Formal”

Answer 11

- Level of hierarchy
- Control over rewards, resources, information
- Centrality, relevance, visibility of position
- Can be coercive

Question 12

Personal/”Informal”

Answer 12

- Reputation & track record
- Expertise & knowledge
- Personal attributes
- Voluntary

Question 12

Motivation

Answer 12

The intensity, direction, & persistence of effort a person shows in reaching a goal

Question 13

Intensity

Answer 13

How hard a person tries

Question 14

Direction

Answer 14

Where effort is channeled

Question 15

Persistence

Answer 15

How long effort is maintained

Question 16

Needs Theories

Answer 16

Certain fundamental human needs must be met in a hierarchical order to facilitate motivation

Question 17

Alderfer’s ERG Theory

Answer 17

3.Growth Needs
2.Relatedness Needs
1.Existence Needs

Question 18

Maslows’ Hierarchy

Answer 18

5. Self-Actualization Needs
6. Esteem Needs
7. Social Needs
8. Safety Needs
9. Physiological Needs

Question 19

Equity Theory

Answer 19

• Recognizes that individuals are concerned not only with the absolute amount of rewards, but also with the relative value of the rewards
• Not all employees are paid the same, some have higher positions/titles due to more work experience or a higher level of education

Question 20

Equity Comparisons

Answer 20

1. Self-inside
2. Self-outside
3. Other-inside
4. Other-outside

Question 21

Self-inside

Answer 21

An employee’s experiences in a different position inside his or her current organization

Question 22

Self-outside

Answer 22

An employee’s experiences in a situation or position outside his or her current organization

Question 23

Other-inside

Answer 23

Another individual or group of individuals inside the employee’s organization

Question 24

Other-outside

Answer 24

Another individual or group of individuals outside the employee’s organization

Question 25

Internal vs External Equity

Answer 25

Internal Equity: The worth of the job to the organization (job evaluation)

External Equity: The competitiveness of an organization’s pay relative to industry standards

Question 26

Tournament Systems

Answer 26

Promotions/salary are determined by relative performance with high payoffs for top performers

Question 27

Expectancy Theory

Answer 27

Motivation is a functions of expectancy, instrumentality, valence

Question 28

Expectancy

Answer 28

Effort&raquo_space; Performance
Provide training & mentorship

Question 29

Instrumentality

Answer 29

Performance&raquo_space; Outcomes

Question 30

Valence

Answer 30

Value of outcome/reward (highly desirable to highly undesirable)

Question 31

Goal-Setting Theory

Answer 31

Specific & difficult goals lead to higher performance than easy or “do your best” goals
- Management by Objectives (MBO)