Week 6: Decision-Making, Conflict and Communication

Question 1

perceptual errors

Answer 1

• primacy effect
• recency effect
• availability bias
• contrast effects
• halo error

Question 2

primacy effect

Answer 2

once an initial impression is mae, it’s often maintained even when proved wrong
- belief perseverence

Question 3

recency effect

Answer 3

people remember what they experience first, and the most recent experience

Question 4

availability bias

Answer 4

what first comes to mind

Question 5

contrast effects

Answer 5

comparisons based on what happened just before we make a decision
- among most significant biases for leaders

Question 6

halo error

Answer 6

overall impression strongly influences ratings of specific attributes

Question 7

employability

Answer 7

what employer thinks about an applicant’s probability to make good contributions to their organization

Question 8

what 3 things influence employability during application process

Answer 8

1: social/interpersonal compatibility -> rewarding to deal with
2: abilities, expertise -> able to do the job
3: ambition, work ethic, drive -> willing to work hard

Question 9

Mintzberg’s classic analysis: 4 decision roles of managers

Answer 9

1. entrepreneur: looks for new ideas and opportunities
2. disturbance handler: resolves conflicts, chooses strategic alternatives
3. resource allocator: decides how to prioritze direction of resources
4. negotiator: interacts with teams, departments and organization to protects interests of the business

Question 10

3 situational factors that hinder decision-making

Answer 10

1: lack of information
2: unclear/conflicting goals
3: uncertainty of outcomes

Question 11

Rational Decision-Making Model

Answer 11

1: problem/opportunity identification
2: information search and analysis
3: generate alternatives
4: evaluate alternatives
5: make decision
6: develop action plans

Question 12

limitations Rational Decision-Making Model

Answer 12

decision makers don’t have complete information, can’t make all alternatives

Question 13

Prospect Theory

Answer 13

focuses on risk-perceptions
- risk-averse about gains, risk-seeking about losses
- losses weigh more heaviliy than gains

Question 14

decision errors

Answer 14

• hindsight bias
• overconfidence bias
• escalation of commitment (sunk-cost fallacy)

Question 15

things that cause escalation of commitment

Answer 15

money spent, pride issues, being unsure, need to finish what’s started, self-interest, losing face

Question 16

Three-Component Model of creative problem-solving

Answer 16

1) expertise (E)
2) creative thinking skills (C)
3) (task) motivation = intrinsic form of motivation (M)
combined, there’s creativity

Question 17

sources of organizational conflict

Answer 17

1: substantive/task conflict
2: affective/relationship conflict
3: process conflict

Question 18

1: substantive/task conflict

Answer 18

too little: apathy, poor performance
halfway: optimum level, constructive debate, high performance
too much: disruption, poor performance

Question 19

2: affective/relationship conflict

Answer 19

personality clashes, differences in values

Question 20

3: process conflict

Answer 20

about the course of action; when a decision is made, how do you go at it?

Question 21

workplace incivility

Answer 21

low intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target

Question 22

effects of deviant behavior by coworkers

Answer 22

direct: someone is bullied
indirect: seeing someone get bullied demotivates
ambient impact: broad impact on e.g. entire department (hostile working environment, caused by the behavior)

Question 23

conflict resolution styles

Answer 23

1: integrating (problem solving)
2: obliging (smoothing/yielding)
3: dominating (forcing)
4: avoiding (withdrawing)
5: compromising

Question 24

conflict resolution styles: (1) concern for other x (2) concern for self

Answer 24

(1) high x (2) high: integrating
(1) high x (2) low: obliging
(1) low x (2) low: avoiding
(1) low x (2) high: dominating

Question 25

negotiation phases

Answer 25

1: preparation 2: relationship building 3: information gathering 4: information using 5: bidding 6: closing the deal 7: implementing the agreement

Question 26

distributive bargaining

Answer 26

'fixed pie' perspective/belief hardball tactics: lead to higher economic outcomes - zero-sum game: either win or lose - BATNA: Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement - first-offer-effect

Question 27

integrative bargaining

Answer 27

tries to reach an agreement that satisfies all concerns and leads to higher emotional outcomes - expanding pie (win-win) - adding extra issues to negotiation - creativity: new solutions

Question 28

"thin-slicing" a conversation

Answer 28

first few minutes of communicatoin

Question 29

Shannon-Weaver Model of organizational communication

Answer 29

sender[information source] > encoder[transmitter] -> channel[medium] (<- noise) -> decoder[reception] -> receiver [destination] --> feedback --> ...

Question 30

informal network: grapevine network

Answer 30

emerges when situation: - is important - is ambiguous - causes anxiety not controlled by management perceived to be more believable/reliable used to serve self-interest of those willing to communicate

Question 31

satisficing

Answer 31

make decisions that are satisfactory but not optimal (can be due to bounded rationality)

Question 32

flow

Answer 32

emotional state that occurs when a challenging opportunity is in line with a person's skills

Question 33

conciliation

Answer 33

call in a third party to resolve conflict

Question 34

arbitration

Answer 34

all involved parties agree to accept a decision made by a neutral third party

Question 35

blowback effect

Answer 35

anger can erode trust and positive feeings in a relationship

Question 36

communication apprehension

Answer 36

a person's level of anxiety/fear duo to anticipated or actual communication with others