Informal Communication
Use your understanding of informal communication in organizations to correctly complete the following sentence.
The management by wandering around strategy exposes a manager to information that comes from many sources .
Points:
0 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
By using the management by wandering around strategy, the manager communicates with people at all levels within the organization as well as with people outside the organization, such as vendors and customers. A manager can learn from the perspectives of all these people and gain important insights.
Because of your education in management, you know that informal communication is important for organizations. Which of the following statements is true about organizations?
Organizations with strong leadership communicate only through formal networks.
The information shared through the grapevine is rarely accurate.
Managers who manage by walking around do so to determine who is responsible for gossip in the organization.
Grapevines occur in all organizations.
Points:
0 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
The true statement is that grapevines occur in all organizations. It is natural for informal communication to occur. No matter how wonderful the organization’s leadership is, informal communications will take place. The information transferred by the grapevine is actually quite accurate. Walking around enables managers to communicate informally with employees at many levels. It is not a tactic for identifying those spreading gossip.
5. Overcoming Barriers to Communication
The table gives several examples of ineffective communication. For each example, indicate whether the problem is an individual barrier or an organizational barrier to communication.
Individual Organizational
Jim says that the process should be done one way on Monday, but on Wednesday he describes a different procedure.
Martin always says, “My door is always open.” The trouble is, it is just closed.
Jason’s team has tried to explain the patterns of failure they’ve experienced lately, but Jason is a poor listener.
Our company relies heavily on acronyms like TQM, ROI, and RPPs, which vendors have trouble understanding.
Points:
0.75 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
Barriers to communication can be categorized as individual or organizational. Individual barriers are those that arise from individual characteristics, while organizational barriers are those that arise from the organizational context in which communication takes place. In the table, the individual barriers are inconsistent signals such as saying “My door is always open” when it is not and describing different processes on different days and difficulty communicating caused by the team leader’s difficulty in listening. The organizational barrier is jargon in the form of acronyms.
Read the following scenario and answer the questions.
Management at Work
You have been working in an entry-level position in Raytheon’s Environmental Health and Safety division for the last 6 months. You spend your time reviewing safety reports, entering them into the database, and compiling statistical analyses of the results for your boss, Jack Blum. Lately, Mr. Blum has been asking you when each report will be finished. Following this query, Mr. Blum often compliments you on the results of your past analyses.
What is the most important message Mr. Blum is trying to convey?
You are ready for a promotion.
He wants to know when the report will be ready.
He is worried about the results of your analysis.
Points:
0 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
Mr. Blum seems pleased with your progress and may even feel you’re ready to take on greater challenges in the field-reporting unit. His main reason for the conversation, however, is to ask when the new report will be ready. Superiors often sandwich requests for action between motivational comments to build employee morale.
What can you do to listen more effectively to Mr. Blum?
Paraphrase his questions in return.
Lean forward and make eye contact.
Ask questions in return.
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
Your goal during the conversation is to make Mr. Blum feel he has your undivided attention. Leaning forward and making eye contact are nonverbal signs that you are listening carefully. When you understand what Mr. Blum is asking, you can give him the information he wants.
Although asking questions and paraphrasing is generally helpful when listening to someone who is giving you information, these techniques can backfire when used in response to a reasonably simple question, such as the one Mr. Blum is asking. Asking additional questions may make it seem as if you are avoiding giving an answer, while paraphrasing the question may make it seem as if you are mocking Mr. Blum.
Identify whether each of the following examples is characteristic of a good listener or a poor listener.
Example Good Listener Poor Listener
1. Looks for new learning
2. Resists difficult material in favor of light, recreational material
3. Shows no energy; forgets what the speaker says
4. Works hard; exhibits active body state and eye contact
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
Example Good/Poor Listener Explanation
1. Looks for new learning Good listener Effective listeners find areas of interest in whatever they are listening to. One way to do this is to look for things in the communication that you did not know before, thus increasing your learning while you listen.
2. Resists difficult material in favor of light, recreational material Poor listener Effective listeners exercise their minds as they listen. Light, recreational material doesn’t provide a mental workout; it only entertains and diverts the mind. The game of Angry Birds won’t increase your brainpower!
3. Shows no energy; forgets what the speaker says Poor listener Effective listeners work at listening. If you forget what a person has said immediately after the words come out of his or her mouth, it is an indication that you are not putting any effort or energy into your listening.
4. Works hard; exhibits active body state and eye contact Good listener Effective listeners work at listening. This takes effort; it can be helpful to sit or stand up, lean forward, and make eye contact. These nonverbal signals let the speaker know that you care about his or her message.
For the factors listed, indicate whether each one is an individual barrier or an organizational barrier.
Individual Organizational
Listening skills
Information overload
Language
Status differences
Read the following scenario and answer the questions.
Management at Work
You are a member of a project team revising the Nvidia Corporation’s ethics policy. The team has representatives from five divisions: Software Engineering, Graphic Design, Business Systems, Demand Planning, and Corporate Communications. You are the Corporate Communications representative and the team’s leader. Audra, a member of the project team, suggests that the team review a new draft of the ethics policy. She says the policy will have positive effects on the team’s performance and on the organization as a whole.
What is the most important message your colleague is trying to convey?
She wants to present a new draft of the ethics policy.
She is concerned that her work isn’t being valued.
The other members of the team are ineffective.
What can you do to listen more effectively to your colleague?
Agree with her assessment.
Remain objective.
Prejudge her remarks.
Identify whether each of the following examples is characteristic of a good listener or a poor listener.
Example Good Listener Poor Listener
1. Mentally summarizes; weighs the evidence
2. Listens to central themes
3. Tunes out dry subjects
4. Has preconceptions
You work with a group of employees who are all in their early 20s. Which of the following methods of communication should you use to effectively stimulate conversation with and between your workers?
Social media
Handwritten notes
Formal postings of policies
Points:
0 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
Many managers are finding that social media is an effective way to communicate with their employees, especially younger employees. Social media not only allows you to communicate directly with people, but also allows them to communicate with each other and actively exchange ideas and feedback.
Read the following segments of a communication between two people, and answer the questions about the communication process.
SALLY (THINKS TO HERSELF): I can’t wait to see the new Ron Howard movie tonight!
SALLY (SAYS TO MORGAN): Hey, Morgan, do you want to go with me to the movies tonight?
In first part of the conversation, Sally is thesender .
Points:
1 / 1
ED (THINKS TO HIMSELF): I’ll bet Frank really liked my work!
After hearing what Frank said, Ed’s thought representsdecoding .
Points:
1 / 1
ED (SAYS TO FRANK): Sure, Frank, what time is good for you?
This response by Ed representsfeedback
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
In this dialogue, Frank must encode his thoughts into speech—he translates what he is thinking into what he is going to say. Ed decodes, or interprets, Frank’s speech, and in his verbal message sends Frank feedback that he understands Frank’s request to meet.
Breadloaf Bakery has recently invested in software to track sales across its five locations. The company prides itself on providing freshly baked goods, and this software upgrade is an attempt to better identify which items to bake at which times of the day. The managers of each location have been attending training on the new system, with Wayne, the manager of the downtown location, taking the following notes throughout the day:
Wayne’s notes include details that pertain to the characteristics of useful information. His notes about making sure the software is running at all hours of operation are in reference to thecompleteness of information.
Points:
0 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
Wayne’s notes about making sure the software is running at all hours of operation are in reference to the completeness of information.
Complete information is information that is not missing any pieces of data. Making sure the software is running during all hours of operation ensures that no sales go unrecorded, creating a more comprehensive statistical analysis that will better serve the company.
Information also needs to be accurate (correct), relevant (applicable to all contexts involved), and timely (available when needed) to be useful. Wayne’s notes on making sure the software is running at all hours of operation are not in reference to any of these other characteristics of
Select the word or phrase that best completes each of the following sentences.
Imagine you’ve been tasked with creating the homecoming float for your student organization. You can’t do it alone! You’ll need a team to help you.
You remind potential team members that when they join the team, they will have the benefit of friendship. For this reason, participation helps team members .
IDEO is tasked with developing ideas for new extensions for the company’s product. The new group has gotten to know each other, but there are frequent arguments among group members. Jack, the team leader, recognizes that this team can’t move forward until it finishes the process.
Please select the best answer to the question posed.
3M wants to manage processes such as accounting more efficiently. If you were the chief financial officer, what type of group would you form to address this ongoing need?
Interest
Informal
Functional
Task
Select the word or phrase that best completes each of the following sentences.
Imagine you’ve been tasked with creating the homecoming float for your student organization. You can’t do it alone! You’ll need a team to help you.
You’ll need a team to help you. While your number one goal is to complete the float, you know some of your team members will seek to by using the opportunity for leadership experience.
At IDEO, every project is addressed with teams. Because the company is fairly large, people who have never worked together before may be assigned to a project team. Before they can even begin to function, the team must go through theforming process.
Please select the best answer to the question posed.
Salesforce is a large company, and with so many employees, people often find that their coworkers share an interest in their hobbies. A group of golfing enthusiasts decide to set up a putting green near the work site. What type of group is this?
Task
Virtual
Interest
Functional
Imagine you’ve been tasked with creating the homecoming float for your student organization. You can’t do it alone! You’ll need a team to help you.
Since this team’s function meets a goal of the organization, people will join if they understand the primary purpose is to .
Teams at IDEO follow a standard process for brainstorming. Nicole, the group leader, doesn’t have to explain this process. She knows the group has already moved past the process and is ready to perform.
Please select the best answer to the question posed.
NACCO understands it must innovate to ensure future growth. But where that innovation can originate is anyone’s guess. If you were the chief innovation officer, what type of group would you form to develop ideas for new product development?
Informal
Interest
Functional
Task
Please select the term that best completes each of the following sentences.
If you’ve experienced groups that were close and loyal and groups that weren’t, you know how important can be to group performance.
College students have a lot of opportunities for growth during college. You should focus on course performance, but you might also run for student government, play a sport, and join a social club. It’s easy for students like you to experience .
In the new business development group at The Martin Agency, the vice president demands professionalism. If you want to work there, you’ll experience because of this pressure.
Please select the best answer from the choices provided.
The programming team at Zynga has a low level of cohesiveness. What reason might explain this?
The group agrees on goals.
The group members like each other.
The group tends to compete with other groups in the company.
The team is large.
In most families, parents play the role of leader, and children play the role of follower. Thus, families have .
You always strive to be a good student. But your accounting teacher wants you to attend the career fair even though it conflicts with your management class. Your management professor demands class participation. You are experiencing .
Most people at The Martin Agency work a standard workday. They arrive by 9:00 AM and leave in the early evening. But the award-winning videographer on staff arrives sporadically. Everyone understands this , because creativity doesn’t punch a time clock.
Please select the best answer from the choices provided.
The team tasked with monetizing games at Zynga has really performed well over the last two years and has a strong sense of cohesion. The team has been recognized at the company’s annual meetings for the last three years straight. Which factor has helped increase this team’s cohesion?
Domination
Large group size
Favorable evaluation
Intragroup competition
Members in your chapter of the Society for the Advancement of Management (SAM) disagree about whether to attend this year’s annual conference, creating conflict in the group.interpersonal conflict like this is quite common in organizations.
Choose the best answers to the following questions.
Lily and Jessica are both members of the account management group at Calabrio. They disagree on the best process to adopt for ongoing client communications. Which form of conflict is their team likely to experience as a result?
Intergroup conflict
Interorganizational conflict
Personality clash
Interpersonal conflict
Apple and Samsung both claim to have created innovations in smartphone technology. Although Samsung is both Apple’s competitor and its partner (supplying parts for Apple products), this situation is laced with interorganizational conflict.
Which situation is similar?
Amazon provides its Kindle app as a free download to people who want to buy Kindle books but don’t wish to buy a Kindle reader.
Dell founder Michael Dell vied against a major shareholder to win the right to purchase shareholder stock.
Clinique sells its products to many competing department stores, but has none of its own stores.
Spanx sells its products in its own stores, as well as in department stores such as Macy’s.
You understand conflict is a part of group interactions, but you try to minimize , because arguing with another functional group tends to distract your own group from its core mission.
Choose the best answers to the following questions.
Jerry Stritzke, president and CEO of retailer REI, submitted his resignation to the board of directors after an investigation revealed that he was in a close personal relationship with the leader of another organization in the outdoor recreation industry. After discovering this potential conflict of interest, the board simply could not trust Stritzke, and Stritzke no longer felt he could rely on the confidence of the board members. Which form of conflict has evolved?
Role conflict
Intergroup conflict
Interorganizational conflict
Personality clash
Apple and Samsung both claim to have created innovations in smartphone technology. Although Samsung is both Apple’s competitor and its partner (supplying parts for Apple products), this situation is laced with interorganizational conflict.
Which situation is similar in terms of the type of conflict that could result?
Amazon provides its Kindle app as a free download to people who want to buy Kindle books but don’t wish to buy a Kindle reader.
Dell founder Michael Dell vied against a major shareholder to win the right to purchase shareholder stock.
Buick and Chevrolet, both divisions of General Motors, vie for the right to be the first in-house brand to produce new car models.
Amazon demands that manufacturers ensure that Amazon can offer lower prices than any other retailer—even if that lowest price is below the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).
You understand conflict is a part of group interactions, but you try to minimizeintergroup conflict , because arguing with another functional group tends to distract your own group from its core mission.
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
Intergroup conflict occurs when two groups are at odds. For instance, the marketing group might disagree with the production group.
Choose the best answers to the following questions.
Jerry Stritzke, president and CEO of retailer REI, submitted his resignation to the board of directors after an investigation revealed that he was in a close personal relationship with the leader of another organization in the outdoor recreation industry. After discovering this potential conflict of interest, the board simply could not trust Stritzke, and Stritzke no longer felt he could rely on the confidence of the board members. Which form of conflict has evolved?
Role conflict
Intergroup conflict
Interorganizational conflict
Personality clash
Points:
0 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
When people in a group or organization distrust each other, the source of interpersonal conflict is known as a personality clash.
Apple and Samsung both claim to have created innovations in smartphone technology. Although Samsung is both Apple’s competitor and its partner (supplying parts for Apple products), this situation is laced with interorganizational conflict.
Which situation is similar in terms of the type of conflict that could result?
Amazon provides its Kindle app as a free download to people who want to buy Kindle books but don’t wish to buy a Kindle reader.
Dell founder Michael Dell vied against a major shareholder to win the right to purchase shareholder stock.
Buick and Chevrolet, both divisions of General Motors, vie for the right to be the first in-house brand to produce new car models.
Amazon demands that manufacturers ensure that Amazon can offer lower prices than any other retailer—even if that lowest price is below the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).
John, your group’s informal leader, doesn’t trust Alicia, the group’s communications manager. John feels Alicia tends to overemphasize her own beliefs in group documents, and Alicia believes John is micromanaging the team. This is a classic case ofa personality clash .
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
Personality clashes are a form of interpersonal conflict. They occur when two people distrust each other or simply dislike each other.
Choose the best answers to the following questions.
CubCadet’s marketing group wants to advertise that its lawn tractors are faster than any others. If the vice president of marketing requests these specifications but manufacturing can’t fulfill the request, what kind of conflict could result?
Interpersonal conflict
Personality clashes
Intergroup conflict
Interorganizational conflict
Points:
1 / 1
Close Explanation
Explanation:
Because marketing and manufacturing are different groups within the same organization, disagreements between these two groups would be classified as intergroup conflict.
Apple and Samsung both claim to have created innovations in smartphone technology. Although Samsung is both Apple’s competitor and its partner (supplying parts for Apple products), this situation is laced with interorganizational conflict.
Which situation is different?
Spanx sells its products in its own stores as well as in department stores like Macy’s.
Amazon demands that manufacturers ensure that Amazon can offer lower prices than any other retailer—even if that lowest price is below the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).
Google and Bing operate competing businesses with similar services.
Dell founder Michael Dell vied against a major shareholder to win the right to purchase shareholder stock.
4. How Organizations Manage Conflict
© Shutterstock Images
Use your understanding of how to manage conflict to answer the following questions.
You probably think that conflict is negative, but conflict can be good for teams, too. When conflict is positive, it has specific characteristics. Which characteristic could you use to help ensure that conflict will have a positive influence on a group that you manage?
Measures of productivity are regularly changed.
The ground rules are equitable.
Participants perceive that the contest is designed to reward your favorite employees.
Participants are reminded that the whole team benefits from hard work.
Hireology encourages employees to spend a percentage of their working time on special projects such as hackathons, side projects, and business case study competitions. Imagine that, as a manager of one of the most promising projects at Hireology, you have more volunteers than roles available. You can’t choose everyone to work on your team. What is the best way to control the conflict?
Hire an external consultant to pick new team members for you.
Avoid talking to employees who want to volunteer for one of your teams.
Make prospective team members compete for the spots by running errands for you and current team members.
Expand the number of teams or the number of team positions available.
Two of your group members are at odds. They’ve disagreed so long that the conflict is a chronic problem for your group. Now they want you to referee. What’s the best way for you to resolve their conflict in an effective way?
Dispute resolution
Avoidance
Firing one of the members
Smoothing
Select the answer that best completes the sentence.
You’ve requested a raise at work, but your manager has limited financial resources to meet employee requests like yours. As you discuss your respective positions and seek to come to an agreement, you are engaged in the process of .
Imagine yourself in the situation posed in the question. Then choose the best answer.
You are heading the task force from your labor union. The issue? The company doesn’t want to offer raises, but the labor union believes employees deserve them.
Luckily, you are charismatic with just the right tolerance for risk taking. Which approach to negotiation might be best for you?
Game theory
Individual differences
Situational characteristics
Cognitive approach
Choose the answer that best addresses the question posed.
You strive to be rational when you negotiate, but you sometimes fall prey to bias. Now you have to choose a new employee, but you’ve needed the help for a long time. There’s just no time to search. You choose a prospect from the preapproved list provided by Human Resources. Which cognitive approach to negotiation has sidetracked you?
Anchoring
Fixed-sum outcomes
Overreliance on readily available information
Escalation of commitment
Conflict can actually be useful for organizations. If you wanted to encourage competition in order to motivate better performance, which of the following would you do?
Pay everyone the same regardless of rank or performance.
Throw a company party.
Create a contest to reward the group member with the best performance.
Match employees in small teams by personality type.
3M allows employees to spend 15% of their working time on projects that they feel passionate about. Sometimes there is more interest than roles to play on the respective project teams. If, as a manager of one of these special teams, you chose to make volunteers compete for the right to work on your team, which conflict management approach would you be using?
Controlling conflict.
Stimulating conflict.
Eliminating conflict.
Resolving conflict.
If your group is experiencing a source of conflict and you wish to approach the resolution of that conflict in a confrontational manner, which conflict resolution approach would you use?
Smoothing
Compromise
Avoidance
Interpersonal problem solving
Select the answer that best completes the sentence.
The need for arises when two parties are involved, have different preferences, but need to reach an agreement to continue to work together.
Imagine yourself in the situation posed in the question. Then choose the best answer.
You are heading the task force from your labor union. The issue? The company doesn’t want to offer raises, but the labor union believes employees deserve them.
Unfortunately, the employees have few alternatives to their current jobs, meaning the company “holds all the cards.” Which approach to negotiation are you facing?
Game theory
Cognitive approach
Situational characteristics
Individual differences
Choose the answer that best addresses the question posed.
When people negotiate, much of the negotiation is simply beyond control. You can’t necessarily control how much power you have or the setting of the actual negotiation. To which type of negotiation approach does this relate?
Game theory approach
Anchoring
Cognitive approach
Situational characteristics
4. How Organizations Manage Conflict
© Shutterstock Images
Use your understanding of how to manage conflict to answer the following questions.
Conflict can actually be useful for organizations. If you wanted to encourage competition in order to motivate better performance, which of the following would you do?
Pay everyone the same regardless of rank or performance.
Throw a company party.
Create a contest to reward the group member with the best performance.
Match employees in small teams by personality type.
3M allows employees to spend 15% of their working time on projects that they feel passionate about. Sometimes there is more interest than roles to play on the respective project teams. If, as a manager of one of these special teams, you chose to make volunteers compete for the right to work on your team, which conflict management approach would you be using?
Controlling conflict.
Stimulating conflict.
Eliminating conflict.
Resolving conflict.
If your group is experiencing a source of conflict and you wish to approach the resolution of that conflict in a confrontational manner, which conflict resolution approach would you use?
Smoothing
Compromise
Avoidance
Interpersonal problem solving
Select the answer that best completes the sentence.
The need fornegotiation arises when two parties are involved, have different preferences, but need to reach an agreement to continue to work together.
Imagine yourself in the situation posed in the question. Then choose the best answer.
You are heading the task force from your labor union. The issue? The company doesn’t want to offer raises, but the labor union believes employees deserve them.
Unfortunately, the employees have few alternatives to their current jobs, meaning the company “holds all the cards.” Which approach to negotiation are you facing?
Game theory
Cognitive approach
Situational characteristics
Individual differences
Choose the answer that best addresses the question posed.
When people negotiate, much of the negotiation is simply beyond control. You can’t necessarily control how much power you have or the setting of the actual negotiation. To which type of negotiation approach does this relate?
Game theory approach
Anchoring
Cognitive approach
Situational characteristics
4. How Organizations Manage Conflict
© Shutterstock Images
Use your understanding of how to manage conflict to answer the following questions.
Imagine you want to use conflict in a positive way. You decide to create a sense of competition among your team members. Which of these tactics could create competition?
Acknowledge top performers in the company newsletter.
Hire an outsider to assess performance.
Throw a company party.
Require top producers to share their commissions with their teammates.
Capital One invites employees to work on special projects during hackathons. Employees can explore new technologies, rapidly push development forward, or just expand their network to include more colleagues interested in innovation. There’s always the possibility that more employees want to participate in the hackathon than there are roles available. If you were a hackathon team manager, how could you best address the conflict created by having more volunteers than open roles?
Stimulate conflict by making volunteers compete for the available roles.
Control conflict by expanding the resource base.
Eliminate conflict by avoiding the volunteers.
Eliminate conflict by assigning volunteers to another project team.
Your group mostly works well together. Sometimes there is conflict, but you address such conflicts with equal concern for all involved. Which resolution approach do you tend to use?
Compromise
Interpersonal problem solving
Smoothing
Avoidance
Select the answer that best completes the sentence.
At Tate & Associates, employees generally work a standard workweek of Monday through Friday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Since you commute from a long distance, you recognize you could work more hours if you could work from home. You and your manager must come to an agreement that meets your needs and those of the organization. You will have to engage in the process of .
Imagine yourself in the situation posed in the question. Then choose the best answer.
You are heading the task force from your labor union. The issue? The company doesn’t want to offer raises, but the labor union believes employees deserve them.
In preparation, you identify all possible outcomes and the probability of each outcome. Which approach to negotiation are you using?
Cognitive approach
Situational characteristics
Individual differences
Game theory
Choose the answer that best addresses the question posed.
Negotiators can succeed if they can predict when and how their adversary might deviate from a rational pattern during negotiations. Imagine you are the vendor for a major company. The company wants a discount and is threatening to go to a competing firm. You emphasize that it would be a shame, since the company already invested millions with your firm. Which cognitive bias are you using?
Anchoring
Fixed-sum outcomes
Escalation of commitment
Overreliance on readily available information
