Organizational Behavior, 17e (Robbins)
Chapter 14 Conflict and Negotiation
1) ________ is defined as a process that begins when one party perceives another party has or is
about to negatively affect something the first party cares about.
A) Problem solving
B) Assessment
C) Conflict
D) Negotiation
E) Collective bargaining
2) According to the traditional view of conflict, all conflict is ________.
A) harmful and must be avoided
B) natural and helps generate discussion
C) necessary and improves creativity of a group
D) healthy and improves productivity
E) rational and cannot be avoided
3) According to the ________ view of conflict, conflict can be a positive force in a group and
some conflict is absolutely necessary for a group to perform effectively.
A) resolution focused
B) traditional
C) managed
D) interactionist
E) transactional
4) According to the interactionist’s perspective, a group that functions without conflict is
________.
A) living up to behavioral standards
B) prone to becoming static and apathetic
C) the most productive
D) most likely to be responsive to the need for change and innovation
E) a rare phenomenon
5) According to the interactionist view, ________ conflicts support the goals of the group and
improve its performance.
A) formal
B) informal
C) functional
D) evaluative
E) reactive
6) Conflict that relates to the content and goals of work is called ________ conflict.
A) job
B) task
C) relationship
D) process
E) communication
7) Conflicts related to how the work gets done are called ________ conflicts.
A) communication
B) task
C) job
D) relationship
E) process
8) Mike and Keith are on the same team; they work well with other people in the same team but
don’t get along with each other. This type of conflict can best be described as ________.
A) intragroup
B) bilateral
C) intergroup
D) dyadic
E) dual
9) Conflict between two people is called ________ conflict.
A) intragroup
B) bilateral
C) intergroup
D) dyadic
E) dual
It seems that your work group is in conflict much of the time. One colleague has suggested that
you, as the supervisor, are responsible for eliminating the conflict so that your work group can
function harmoniously. Another colleague has suggested that conflict is good for stimulating
creativity and productivity within the work environment. You are unsure about whether you
should try to eliminate the conflict within your group or learn to deal with it positively.
10) If you support the idea that conflict should be eliminated, you are supporting which of the
following views of conflict?
A) the traditional view
B) the human relations view
C) the interactionist view
D) the moderated acceptance view
E) the optimistic view
11) You decide to do more research on the view that conflict should be encouraged as a means to
achieve change and innovation. This view is termed ________.
A) the traditional view
B) the human relations view
C) the interactionist view
D) the acceptance view
E) the promotional view
12) When your work group disagrees, the disagreements usually concern how the group’s work
should be accomplished. The type of conflict experienced by your group is known as a ________
conflict.
A) task
B) relationship
C) process
D) traditional
E) reactive
13) Open and emotionally stable teams can put task conflict in perspective and focus on how the
variance in ideas can help solve the problem rather than letting it degenerate into relationship
conflicts.
14) Relationship conflicts are almost always dysfunctional.
15) Conflict is uniformly good or bad.
16) Spotify needs to demonstrate to recording companies that cooperating with streaming
services creates better value for them than different music distribution methods, even as prices
change.
17) Define and describe the traditional view of conflict.
18) Describe a functional conflict and dysfunctional conflict that could exist because of structure.
19) Identify the three basic types of conflict from the perspective of where the conflict occurs
and discuss why it is important to understand the loci of conflict in order to address conflict in
the workplace.
20) What is the difference between intergroup conflict and intragroup conflict? Provide an
example of each type of conflict.
21) Conservationists have had a perpetual conflict with the government of the United States over
the fast and rampant depletion of Earth’s natural resources. They argue that the United States
must reduce its consumption level significantly to rectify this problem. Which of the following,
if true, would most strengthen the conservationists’ argument?
A) The United States has been conserving forests for several years.
B) Most countries have not taken any measures to reduce their consumption levels of natural
resources.
C) There are several countries that have more requirements for resources than the United States.
D) The United States accounts for one-third of the total world resource consumption.
E) New resource deposits are constantly being discovered.
22) Matt works as a sales representative at Tandem Industries, which manufactures and sells
bicycles. He’s the best salesman on the floor, but he also receives the highest number of customer
complaints for late deliveries. Which of the following, if true, best explains this situation?
A) The company uses enterprise solutions to manage inventory.
B) The company’s manufacturing facility is functioning at optimum capacity.
C) The company’s sales and logistics functions are tightly integrated.
D) The company keeps inventory levels low in order to reduce costs.
E) The company has an efficient credit verification process.
23) Conditions that can create conflicts can be classified into three categories. Which of the
following is one of these three categories that includes variables such as jurisdictional clarity,
member-goal compatibility, and leadership styles?
A) communication
B) structure
C) personal variables
D) group interactions
E) process variables
24) Which of the following statements is true regarding conflict?
A) The smaller the group, the greater the likelihood of conflict.
B) The less specialized the activities of the group, the greater the likelihood of conflict.
C) People low in the personality traits of disagreeableness, neuroticism, or self-monitoring are
more likely to engage in a conflict.
D) Diversity of goals among groups is a major source of conflict.
E) As the ambiguity about where responsibility for actions lies decreases, the potential for
conflict increases.
25) Stage II of the conflict process deals with the conflict being ________.
A) perceived and felt
B) apparent and experienced
C) expressed and resolved
D) analyzed
E) internalized
26) The ________ stage of the conflict process is important because it’s where conflict issues
tend to be defined.
A) potential opposition
B) cognition and personalization
C) intention
D) behavior
E) reaction and transference
27) ________ is the third stage in the conflict process and it intervenes between people’s
perceptions and their overt behavior.
A) Potential for opposition
B) Intention
C) Cognition
D) Attribution
E) Behavioral manifestation
28) The conflict-handling techniques are characterized by two dimensions, cooperativeness and
assertiveness. Cooperativeness indicates the degree to which ________.
A) one party attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns
B) one party attempts to suppress the conflict
C) the parties attempt to find a win-win solution
D) one party attempts to satisfy the other party’s concerns
E) the parties are willing to involve a third party in conflict resolution
29) Assertiveness indicates the degree to which ________.
A) one party attempts to satisfy his or her own concerns
B) one party attempts to suppress the conflict
C) the parties attempt to find a win-win solution
D) one party attempts to satisfy the other party’s concerns
E) the parties are willing to involve a third party in conflict resolution
30) When one person seeks to satisfy his or her own interests regardless of the impact on the
other parties to the conflict, that person is using the conflict-handling intention of ________.
A) competing
B) avoiding
C) accommodating
D) compromising
E) collaborating
31) ________ is a conflict-handling technique in which the parties in a conflict each desire to
satisfy fully the concerns of all parties.
A) Collaborating
B) Competing
C) Accommodating
D) Avoiding
E) Compromising
32) The conflict-handling intention of collaborating is ________.
A) assertive and uncooperative
B) assertive and cooperative
C) unassertive and uncooperative
D) unassertive and cooperative
E) affective and reflective
33) Which of the following conflict-handling intentions is unassertive and uncooperative?
A) competing
B) collaborating
C) avoiding
D) compromising
E) accommodating
34) The conflict-handling intention of accommodating is ________.
A) assertive and uncooperative
B) assertive and cooperative
C) unassertive and uncooperative
D) unassertive and cooperative
E) reflective and assertive
35) Luke’s cubicle neighbor Leia, though an understanding and great co-worker, talks loudly on
the phone. Luke gets annoyed every time Leia’s phone rings, but he has decided it’s simply not
worth the trouble to talk to her about it. Luke’s conflict-handling intention is called ________.
A) competing
B) avoiding
C) accommodating
D) compromising
E) collaborating
36) A party who seeks to appease an opponent may be willing to place the opponent’s interests
above his or her own, sacrificing to maintain the relationship. We refer to this conflict-handling
intention as ________.
A) collaborating
B) avoiding
C) compromising
D) competing
E) accommodating
37) Macy does not like a few of the standard operating procedures adapted for the new project.
However, she discussed the items with the team and told them that she realized she was in the
minority and that she would adapt the new procedures to maintain smooth operations within the
team. This type of conflict-handling intention is called ________.
A) negotiating
B) accommodating
C) collaborating
D) compromising
E) competing
38) Which of the following conflict-handling intentions is assertive and uncooperative?
A) compromising
B) avoiding
C) competing
D) collaborating
E) accommodating
39) Which of the following conflict-handling intentions involves accepting a solution that
provides incomplete satisfaction of both parties’ concerns?
A) collaborating
B) compromising
C) avoiding
D) competing
E) accommodating
40) In which stage of the conflict process does conflict become visible?
A) outcomes
B) intentions
C) incompatibility
D) behavior
E) personalization
41) A conflict-intensity continuum has “annihilatory conflict” at the upper end and “no conflict”
at the lower end. In the context of this conflict-intensity continuum, which of the following
statements is true of conflict intensities?
A) Aggressive physical attacks fall in the lower range of the conflict-intensity continuum.
B) Conflicts that reach the lower ranges of the conflict-intensity continuum are almost always
dysfunctional.
C) Strikes, riots, and wars fall in the lower range of the conflict-intensity continuum.
D) In cases of annihilatory conflict, there is overt questioning or challenging of others.
E) Functional conflicts are typically confined to the lower range of the conflict-intensity
continuum.
42) The division manager at Xperience Inc. wants to replace the SAP ERP currently used in his
division with Epicor ERP as it costs 30 percent less to train new staff in Epicor ERP. But this
leads to a conflict with the general manager, who insists that they can simply hire only people
who already know how to use SAP ERP. Which of the following, if true, weakens the general
manager’s objection to the replacement of SAP ERP with Epicor ERP?
A) Currently all employees in the company are required to attend workshops on how to use SAP
ERP.
B) Once employees learn how to use an ERP system, they tend to change employers more
readily than before.
C) Experienced users of SAP ERP command much higher salaries than do prospective
employees who have no experience in the use of any ERP.
D) The average productivity of employees in the company is below the average productivity of
the employees of its competitors.
E) The high costs of updates and upgrades make Epicor ERP more expensive to maintain than
SAP ERP.
43) According to a newly added office smoking regulation, only employees who have an
enclosed office may smoke at their desks. This leads to a major conflict between various
employees as virtually all employees with enclosed offices are higher-level managers and all
other employees lack enclosed offices. Therefore, the lower-level employees who smoke argue
that they should be offered enclosed offices. Which of the following, if true, strengthens the
employees’ argument?
A) The company is a zealous supporter of the “Kick the Butt” campaign—a corporate anti-
smoking campaign.
B) Higher-level managers, who have enclosed offices, are willing to share their offices with-
lower level employees.
C) The smoking regulations allow all employees who smoke an equal opportunity to do so,
regardless of an employee’s job level.
D) Employees at the higher level, who do not smoke, do not have enclosed offices.
E) The company has a limited budget for infrastructure modifications.
44) Which of the following is a conflict-stimulation technique?
A) expansion of resources
B) compromise
C) bringing in outsiders
D) exercising authoritative command
E) problem solving
45) Which of the following conflict management techniques involves designating a critic to
purposely argue against the majority positions held by the group?
A) altering the structural variables
B) altering the human variable
C) bringing in outsiders
D) exercising authoritative command
E) appointing a devil’s advocate
46) Conflict is dysfunctional when it ________.
A) provides a medium to release tension
B) reduces group cohesiveness
C) fosters an environment of self-evaluation
D) provides a means for expressing frustration
E) leads to change
47) Which of the following statements is true regarding negotiation that takes place in a
collectivist culture?
A) Collectivists are less likely to seek to preserve relationships and promote the good of the
group as a whole than individualists.
B) Collectivists are more likely to confront differences of opinion directly and openly than
individualists.
C) Collectivist cultures see people as autonomous, not as people deeply embedded in social
situations.
D) Compared to individualists, collectivists are less likely to see offers from their counterparts as
unfair and to reject them.
E) The method of conflict management preferred by collectivist managers is competing.
48) A collectivist Chinese manager is most likely to use which of the following techniques for
conflict management?
A) direct confrontation
B) authoritative command
C) avoiding
D) pressurizing
E) competing tactics
49) All of the following are benefits of conflict in organizations except ________.
A) increased self-evaluation and change
B) increased groupthink
C) increased creativity and innovation
D) increased curiosity among group members
E) increased opportunity to air problems
50) The potential for conflict increases when too much communication takes place.
51) A review that examined the effects of the four sets of behaviors across multiple studies found
that openness and collaborating were both associated with superior group performance, whereas
avoiding and competing strategies were associated with significantly worse group performance.
52) During the behavior stage of the conflict process, the parties decide what the conflict is
about.
53) Cross-cultural negotiations have no issues of trust.
54) Collectivists are more interested in demonstrations of concern and working through third
parties to resolve disputes, whereas individualists are more likely to confront differences of
opinion directly and openly.