WOP: Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace

Question 1

What is meant by conflict?

Answer 1

Conflict is the process in which one party perceives that its interest is being opposed or negatively affected by another party.

Question 2

Is conflict always experienced by both parties? Why is this?

Answer 2

No, Conflict is based on perception. One party can believe they have a conflict without the other party believing this.

Question 3

What negative effects can result from an organisational perspective? (7)

Answer 3

Lower performance, high stress, more dissatisfaction and turnover, more organisational politics, lower team cohesion, less information sharing and coordination and wasted resources

Question 4

What are the benefits of conflict? (3) what does this depend on?

Answer 4

Conflict can lead to better decision making, make people more responsive to the changing environment and lead to a stronger team cohesion if the conflict is between the team and outside opponents.

Question 5

What does the optimal conflict perspective state?

Answer 5

organizations are most effective when employees experience some levels of conflict but become less effective with high levels of conflict.

Question 6

What are the two different types of conflict

Answer 6

Task conflict (constructive conflict) This is a type of conflict in which people focus their discussion around the issue while showing respect for people who have other points of view. It focusses on an issue or task.
Relationship conflict is a type of conflict in which people focus on the characteristics of other individuals as the source of conflict.

Question 7

What can relationship conflict threaten? (3)

Answer 7

This conflict threatens self-esteem, self-enhancement and self- verification processes.

Question 8

What makes it more likely task conflict will develop into relationship conflict? (2)

Answer 8

The stronger the level of debate and the more the issue is tied to our self-view

Question 9

What are the three conditions that potentially minimise the level of relationship conflict during task conflict?

Answer 9

emotional intelligence and emotional stability (1), cohesive team (2) and supportive team norms (3).

Question 10

Name six different sources of conflicts in organisations

Answer 10

Differentiation (differences in beliefs, values training etc), ambiguous rules, incompatible goals, interdependence, scarce resources and communication problems

Question 11

What is an added risk of communication problems?

Answer 11

Stereotyping

Question 12

What is meant by pooled interdependence?

Answer 12

Pooled interdependence occurs where individuals operate independently except for reliance on a common resource or authority.

Question 13

What is meant by reciprocal interdependence?

Answer 13

Reciprocal interdependence refers to high mutual dependence as well as higher centrality.

Question 14

List pooled, sequential and reciprocal interdependence in order of risk of conflict

Answer 14

pooled
sequential
reciprocal

Question 15

What are the five ways of resolving conflicts?

Answer 15

Problem solving (win win), forcing (win lose), yielding (lose win), compromising and avoiding

Question 16

What task is important for problem solving

Answer 16

Information sharing

Question 17

What qualities are important for forcing?

Answer 17

Assertiveness and hard influential tactics

Question 18

What processes does yielding involve (2)

Answer 18

unilateral concessions and unconditional promises

Question 19

What factors can influence the conflict style?

Answer 19

Situation, culture and men use the forcing style more

Question 20

What are the six structural approaches to conflict management?

Answer 20

Emphasising superordinate goals, reducing differentiation, improving effective communication and mutual understanding, defining rules and procedures, increasing resources, reducing interdependence

Question 21

What are superordinate goals?

Answer 21

Superordinate goals refer to goals that the conflicting parties value and whose attainment requires the joint resources and effort of those parties

Question 22

What is the link between improving communication and mutual understanding and reducing differentiation?

Answer 22

This only helps if the differentiation is sufficiently low.

Question 23

How can interdependence be reduced? (3)

Answer 23

creating buffers (1), which is any mechanism that loosens the coupling between two or more people or work units, use integrators (2), which are employees who coordinate the activities of work unites toward the completion of a shared task or project and combine jobs

Question 24

What is meant by third party conflict resolution?

Answer 24

Third-party conflict resolution is any attempt by a relatively neutral person to help conflicting parties resolve their differences

Question 25

What three activities are possible in third party conflict resolution?

Answer 25

This includes three activities. Arbitration is someone that has a high control over the final decision, but low control over the process. Inquisition refers to people who control all discussion about the conflict. Mediation refers to people who have high control over the process, but low control over the final decision.

Question 26

What is usually the least effective method of TPC?

Answer 26

Inquisition

Question 27

What is meant by negotiation

Answer 27

Negotiation occurs when two or more conflicting parties attempt to resolve their divergent goals by redefining the terms of their interdependence.

Question 28

Describe and name the two approaches to negotiation

Answer 28

In the distributive approach, the negotiator believes those involved in the conflict must distribute portions from a fixed pie. In the integrative or mutual gains approach the negotiator believes that the resources at stake are expandable rather than fixed if the parties work creatively together to find a solution.

Question 29

When is each approach more common?

Answer 29

Distributive negotiation is most common when the parties have only one item to resolve (e.g: salary) and integrative negotiation is most common when the parties have more items to resolve.

Question 30

What three things will a negotiator have in mind when entering a negotiation?

Answer 30

what they will initially request in the negotiations (initial), what they want to achieve in the best possible situation (target) and what minimum acceptable result they will accept (resistance).

Question 31

if the other party also has these three things, what does this create?

Answer 31

An area of potential agreement

Question 32

What is meant by a best alternative to a negotiated settlement? (BATNA)

Answer 32

best outcome you might achieve through some other course of action if you abandon the current negotiation.

Question 33

What aspects are there to the negotiation process? (4)

Answer 33

Gather info, manage concessions, manage time, build the relationship

Question 34

Why is information sharing a potential pitfall?

Answer 34

it gives the other party more power to leverage a better deal if the opportunity occurs.

Question 35

Why are concessions important?

Answer 35

they signal to the other party the relative importance of each issue being negotiated. Concessions are necessary for the parties to move toward the area of agreement.

Question 36

How should you utilise concessions?

Answer 36

They should also be offered in instalments because people experience more positive emotions from a few smaller concessions than from one large concession. Generally, the best strategy is to be moderately tough and give just enough concessions to communicate sincerity and motivation to resolve the conflict.

Question 37

How is time related to making concessions?

Answer 37

The more time someone has put into negotiations, the more committed they become to actually reaching an agreement and this can lead to the tendency to make unwarranted concessions so that the negotiations do not fail.

Question 38

How can trust be built?

Answer 38

Trust can be build by searching for common backgrounds and interests.

Question 39

What else can the effectiveness of negotiating depend on?

Answer 39

to some extent on the environment in which the negotiation occurs.

Question 40

What are the three key situational factors?

Answer 40

location (1), physical setting (2) and audience (3)

Question 41

How can someone manipulate the location to their advantage?

Answer 41

There is an advantage to negotiating on the home turf.

Question 42

How else can physical setting influence the outcome? (2)

Answer 42

The physical distance between the parties and formality of the setting can influence their orientation toward each other and the disputed issues

Question 43

What is the effect of direct surveillance on the negotiators?

Answer 43

Direct surveillance leads to negotiators being more competitive.

Question 44

What trait is required for relationship building?

Answer 44

Relationship building demands emotional intelligence.