Stress and Conflict in Organizations
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Questions and Answers

What characteristics are typically associated with Type A personalities?

  • Laid-back and patient
  • Never in a hurry
  • Competitive and aggressive (correct)
  • Relaxed and low-key
  • Which of the following behaviors is a hallmark of Type B personalities?

  • Always feeling rushed
  • Eager to do many things at once
  • Being obsessed with numbers
  • Taking things one at a time (correct)
  • What factor is suggested to be linked with heart problems in Type A personalities?

  • Anger and hostility (correct)
  • Being laid back
  • Having few interests
  • Impatience
  • Which trait is NOT commonly associated with Type A individuals?

    <p>Measured success by quality</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do Type A individuals typically handle feelings?

    <p>Sit on feelings</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a common misconception about Type A personalities?

    <p>They cope well with leisure time</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the scoring range indicating a very competitive approach to life?

    <p>120 or more</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following can be considered a psychological characteristic of individuals who identify as Type A?

    <p>Obsessed with deadlines</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the potential negative reactions to frustration mentioned in the content?

    <p>Aggression and withdrawal</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How might frustration positively impact an employee's performance?

    <p>By motivating them to try harder to overcome barriers</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which characteristic is associated with lower stress and strain during frustration?

    <p>High self-efficacy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role do defense mechanisms play in reaction to frustration?

    <p>They assist in psychological adjustment processes</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is suggested about the relationship between frustration and organizational goals?

    <p>Frustration can result in a new direction compatible with goals.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What kind of employee is most likely to react positively to frustration?

    <p>An employee with high needs for competence and achievement</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following describes a common misconception regarding frustration?

    <p>Frustration is always detrimental to performance</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What might happen if an employee fails to effectively manage frustration?

    <p>They could resort to dysfunctional behaviors</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a primary challenge faced by individuals in modern organizations according to the content?

    <p>Role conflict and ambiguity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of roles does a production team leader represent in the context of organizational role conflict?

    <p>Extreme cases of role conflict</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the content suggest is necessary for managing role conflict?

    <p>Determining how to resolve or manage it</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which role is specifically mentioned as having unclear authority in the organization?

    <p>Staff engineer</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the text describe the nature of societal expectations regarding roles?

    <p>They are evolving and filled with ambiguity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What emotional response did the individual experience upon learning about their mother’s illness?

    <p>Brief sadness before distraction</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following roles is NOT mentioned as a source of role conflict in a modern organization?

    <p>Union organizer</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In the context of role conflicts, what does the term 'ambiguity' refer to?

    <p>Undefined responsibilities and expectations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What may result from a sales manager making delivery promises that are incompatible with low inventory levels?

    <p>Role incompatibility conflicts</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In what type of environment is conflict more probable?

    <p>An uncertain and competitive environment</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When managers are faced with mandatory changes, such as a new night shift, what common response might they consider?

    <p>Updating their resumes and seeking new positions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What management process is mentioned as a means to resolve conflicts arising from role incompatibility?

    <p>Higher-level management intervention</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which type of conflict might increase due to organizational downsizing or competitive pressures?

    <p>Interpersonal conflict</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one possible reaction of managers when faced with job insecurity in their roles?

    <p>Lower performance levels</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How is conflict characterized in environments with high degrees of uncertainty?

    <p>Conflict is more probable to arise</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which behavior type is associated with uncooperative and assertive responses in conflict situations?

    <p>Aggressive behavior</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does self-efficacy influence an individual's response to stressful situations?

    <p>High self-efficacy reduces the impact of heavy workloads.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which strategy is emphasized for coping with job stress according to social psychology research?

    <p>Forming alliances with empathetic colleagues.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is referred to as social capital in the context of job stress?

    <p>Networks developed for social support.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What characterizes organizational coping strategies?

    <p>Designed to eliminate organizational-level stressors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which aspect is NOT a focus in developing organizational coping strategies?

    <p>Employee personal finances.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one challenge management faces regarding organizational conflicts?

    <p>Ensuring information transfer between different cultures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What effect does forming networks at work have on job stress?

    <p>May help individuals cope better with stress.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which coping strategy directly involves experience or persuasion to enhance self-efficacy?

    <p>Vicarious experience.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary benefit of engaging in physical activity, according to the content?

    <p>It fosters a feeling of total engagement.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a method to manage stress effectively?

    <p>Medication</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role does relaxation play in stress management as described in the content?

    <p>It helps manage prolonged stressful situations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of these activities is suggested as a way to take it easy?

    <p>Curling up with a good book.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does Shawn Achor describe the relationship between physical activity and work performance?

    <p>It enhances performance and reduces anxiety.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What misconception about exercise is highlighted in the content?

    <p>It guarantees heart disease prevention.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one specific relaxation technique mentioned in the content?

    <p>Biofeedback.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following outcomes is NOT related to physical activity's impact on stress?

    <p>Eliminating stress entirely.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Stress and Conflict in Organizations

    • Stress: Defined as an adaptive response to external situations causing physical, psychological, and/or behavioral deviations in organizational participants.
    • Distress vs. Eustress: Distress is negative stress from bad events (e.g., probation, illness, reprimand). Eustress is positive stress from good events (e.g., dean's list).
    • Key components of stress definition: Reaction to a situation, influenced by individual differences, involving excessive psychological/physical demands (unusual situations).
    • Stressors: Factors causing stress, categorized as:
      • Extraorganizational: Societal/technological change, globalization, family issues, relocation, economic conditions, race/gender/community factors.
      • Organizational: Administrative policies/strategies (e.g., downsizing), organizational structure/design (e.g., specialization), organizational processes (e.g., communication), working conditions (e.g., noise level, safety, pay).
      • Group: Lack of cohesiveness, lack of social support, organizational politics, conflicts with coworkers/supervisors.
      • Individual: Type A personality (impatience, competition, hostility, aggression), personal control, learned helplessness, psychological hardiness, negative affectivity, and neuroticism.

    The Emergence of Stress

    • Contemporary workplace demands: Globalization, strategic alliances, 24/7 technology, job losses, create significant stress for employees.
    • Stressful life experiences: Job loss ranks eighth, behind spousal death (No. 1) and ahead of friend death (No. 17).

    What Stress Is Not

    • Not simply anxiety or nervous tension: Stress has physiological components beyond emotional responses.
    • Not always damaging: Eustress is a positive and beneficial form of stress.

    What About Burnout?

    • Burnout: A type of stress, often associated with helping professions (nursing, education, social work). It is treated as synonymous with stress for this context of discussion.

    Intra-Individual Conflict

    • Frustration: Occurs when a need is blocked, manifesting as overt or covert aggression or withdrawal.
    • Goal conflict: Approach-approach (multiple positive, mutually exclusive goals), approach-avoidance (single goal with both positive and negative aspects), avoidance-avoidance (multiple negative, mutually exclusive goals). Approach-avoidance is relevant to organizational behavior discussion.

    Interactive Conflict

    • Personal differences: Diverse backgrounds contribute to conflict, often emotional.
    • Information deficiency: Misinformation/communication breakdown leading to conflict, not emotionally charged.
    • Role incompatibility: Interdependent roles (e.g., production/sales) with incompatible goals creating conflict.
    • Environmental stress: Scarce resources, downsizing, competition, uncertainty intensify all conflicts.

    Intergroup Conflict

    • Competition for resources: Limited organizational resources (budget, space) cause conflict among groups.
    • Task interdependence: Mutually or unidirectionally reliant groups create increased conflict (e.g., research and operations).
    • Jurisdictional ambiguity: Overlapping responsibilities leading to conflict about control of activities (e.g., “turf” problems).
    • Status struggles: Conflict arises from unequal treatment, unequal status, rivalry for better position within organization.

    Effects of Stress and Intraindividual Conflict

    • Physical: Heart disease, ulcers, arthritis.
    • Psychological: Mood swings, low self-esteem, resentment, poor decision-making, dissatisfaction.
    • Behavioral: Eating habits, sleep patterns, smoking, drinking, drug use.

    Coping Strategies

    • Individual: Exercise, relaxation techniques (biofeedback, meditation), behavioral self-control, cognitive therapy, networking.
    • Organizational: Policies that reduce work-family conflict, restructuring to decrease specialization, implementation of EAPs, proactively managing stress for both departing and remaining employees after downsizing.

    Negotiation as a Conflict Resolution Method

    • Traditional negotiation: Distributive (fixed-pie) or positional (hard/soft approaches).
    • Contemporary negotiation (integrative/win-win approach): Focus on superordinate goals, separating people from the problem, emphasizing interests, generating multiple options, utilizing objective criteria.

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    Description

    Explore the concepts of stress and conflict within organizational settings. This quiz covers definitions, types of stress (distress vs. eustress), and various stressors that impact employees. Understand how organizational and external factors contribute to stress management.

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