Topic 7 (Chapt. 14)

Question 1

Is conflict a bad thing?

Answer 1

No

Question 2

Define ‘conflict resolution’

Answer 2

An approach to conflict that usually involves the reduction or elimination of conflict

Question 3

Define ‘conflict management’

Answer 3

An approach to conflict that may involve reduction or eliminaytion of, or an increase in, conflict

Question 4

What causes conflict?

Answer 4

• Scarce resources (two parties want the same thing)
• Adversity (economic hardschip can cause stress)
• Faulty communication (someone may misinterpret a remark, taking it as an insult)
• Perceived differences (people perceive people from differeny races, religions, class etc as ‘the other people’ and as being threats as well as potential allies
• Biology (may be part of biological makeup)

Question 5

What are some approaches to conflict?

Answer 5

• avoidance or inaction (do nothing, adopt a wait and see attitude)
• withdrawal
• domination (one individual abusing another, bullying, war)
• capitulation (giving in to the other side)
• unilateral power play (involves physical violence)
• referral up the chain of command (let the bosses, senior officers or parents take care of it)
• negociation (two parties sit down and try tp reach agreement, usually by seeking common ground abd trading consessions)
• mediation (a third party is brought in to hlp disputing parties)
• arbitration (a third party is brought in tow help and has some power to compel a decision)
• other (ombudsman, private judge, expert evaluation)
• litigation (courtroom, with judge having substantial power to compel decisions with or without jury)

Question 6

What the five conflict handling styles?

Answer 6

1. Competing
2. Collaborating
3. Compromising
4. Avoiding
5. Accommodating

Question 7

Define ‘conflict spiral’

Answer 7

A fairly predictable development sequence of conflict events and perceptions
- avoidance -> prolem solving

Question 8

Define ‘critical incident’

Answer 8

An event that is, or is perceived to be, significant in the escalation of a conflict

Question 9

Define ‘selecting perception’

Answer 9

Distorting or filtering reality so that conflict is polarised

Question 10

Explain the ‘conflict spiral’ (see p. 451 for picture)

Answer 10

• toleration
• covert resisitance
• overt resistance (move not only from covert to overt zone but also from passivity to action)
• critical incidents
• selective perception
• enlisting the support of others
• issue linkage
• ritual or hot button words
• threats
• action (deliberate action e.g. sitting down at a negociation table or going to court)
• provocation (pushing, jossling, vandalism)
• retaliation (tit-for-tat exchange)
• violence

Question 11

Define ‘issue linkage’

Answer 11

Linking issues that may or may not be connected, to strenghten a case

Question 12

Define ‘building a case’

Answer 12

Developping an argument in a valid or invalid way to acheive persuasion

Question 13

Define ‘hot button words’

Answer 13

Words that are changed with particular emotion, value or prejudice that may trigger off rapid, unthinking responses on one or both sides

Question 14

Define ‘provocation’

Answer 14

Deliberately teasing or needling someone, sometimes with a view to evoking a physically violent response

Question 15

Define ‘retalliation’

Answer 15

Reciprocal action in a conflict, where a real or perceivwed offence by one side is matched or surpassed by a real offence by the other side

Question 16

Define ‘vertical conflict’

Answer 16

Conflict that occurs in organisations between people at different hierarchical levels

Question 17

Define ‘horizontal conflict’

Answer 17

Conflict that occurs in organisations between people at the same hierarchical level

Question 18

Define ‘staff-line conflict’

Answer 18

Conflict that occurs in organisations between people doing frontline and backup tasks

Question 19

Define ‘role conflict’

Answer 19

Conflict that occurs in organisations when there are misunderstandings about what duties and behaviour are expected from persns

Question 20

Define ‘resource scarcity’

Answer 20

Conflict that occurs in organisations when resources are, or are perceived to be, scare

Question 21

Define ‘workflow interdependence’

Answer 21

Conflict that occurs in organisations when the output of one section is the input of another, and mismatches occur

Question 22

Define ‘power/value asymmetry’

Answer 22

Conflict that occurs in organisations between people with differing values and/or status

Question 23

Define ‘goal incompatibility’

Answer 23

Conflict that occurs in organisations when the specific goals of different sections to not match

Question 24

How can conflict be managed?

Answer 24

• Negociation
• Interpersonal skills
• Understanding cultural and gender differences
• work in groups (can help manage conflict in a healthy way)
• Get both sides of the story
• set superordinate goals (a goal that can be worked towards by all parties to a conflict)
• tit-for-tat (use for positive, not negative e.g. return a smile or kind gesture/words)
• De-escalate the situation by openning up communication, replace person causing conflict etc
• apologise
• forgive, praise, sacrifice, compromise (split the difference)
• decoupling and buffering (physically separating the warring factions so the conflict can be minimised or eliminated
• formal authority, mediation
• planning (Gannt chartys, project/management tools)
• match the scale of the solution to the nature of the situation

Question 25

Define ‘stalemates’

Answer 25

The phase in a conflict when all parties seem unable to move to a solution; also know as a deadlock or impasse