Glossary of Key Terms

Within an organizational context, Methot (2010) defines ability to focus as “the ability to pay attention to value-producing activities without being concerned with extraneous issues such as off-task thoughts or distractions” (p. 47). See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

In the KTI model this approach to conflict demonstrates a low commitment to goals and high commitment to relationship. This approach is the opposite of competing. It occurs when a person ignores or overrides their own concerns to satisfy the concerns of the other party. See Section 2.2 Approaches to Conflict

Action-oriented listeners are focused on what the source wants and prefer brief and logical communications. See Section 10.3 Listening

Active listening refers to the process of pairing outwardly visible positive listening behaviors with positive cognitive listening practices. See Section 10.3 Listening

Acute stressors are time-specific events of high intensity and short duration that occur infrequently, such as a performance review, a car accident, or unexpected encounter. See Section 7.2 Stress

Advising is a listening response that occurs that offers counsel or direction to another. See Section 10.3 Listening

Affect is the experience of feeling or emotion. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Seen in situations where two individuals simply don’t get along with each other.  See section 1.2 Levels and Types of Conflict

Affective orientation is “the degree to which people are aware of their emotions, perceive them as important, and actively consider their affective responses in making judgments and interacting with others” (Booth-Butterfield & Booth-Butterfield, 1994, p. 332). See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Aggressive communicators will come across as standing up for their rights while possibly violating the rights of others. This person tends to communicate in a way that tells others they don’t matter or their feelings don’t matter. See Section 8.3 Asserting Your Needs

Aggressive listening is a bad listening practice in which people pay attention in order to attack something that a speaker says. See Section 10.3 Listening

Alexithymia is “a general deficit in emotional vocabulary—the ability to identify emotional feelings, differentiate emotional states from physical sensations, communicate feelings to others, and process emotion in a meaningful way” (Friedman et al., 2003). See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Amygdala is the region in the limbic system that is primarily responsible for regulating our perceptions of, and reactions to, aggression and fear. The amygdala has connections to other bodily systems related to emotions, including the facial muscles, which perceive and express emotions, and it also regulates the release of neurotransmitters related to stress and aggression (Best, 2009). When we experience events that are dangerous, the amygdala stimulates the brain to remember the details of the situation so that we learn to avoid it in the future (Sigurdsson et al., 2007; Whalen et al., 2001). See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Amygdala hijacking occurs where you can no longer access the prefrontal cortex, this is the part of the brain that regulates empathy, decision making, problem solving, and much more. You can often see people experience an amygdala hijacking, some people lash out (fight), some people run away (flight), and some people sink into themselves (freeze). See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Analyzing is a listening response in which an  individual offers different alternatives and perspectives by interpreting the speaker’s message. See Section 10.3 Listening

Anxiety is a feeling of inability to deal with anticipated harm. Anxiety occurs when people do not have appropriate responses or plans for coping with anticipated problems. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Anxious shyness involves the fear associated with dealing with others face-to-face. Anxious shyness is initially caused by a combination of strangers, novel settings, novel social roles, fear of evaluation, or fear of self-presentation. See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

The arbitrator is a neutral third party, but the decision made by the arbitrator is final (the decision is called the “award”). Awards are made in writing and are binding to the parties involved in the case. See Section 2.4 Negotiation

Argumentativeness is a communication trait that involves verbally attacking the positions of others. See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

Assertive communicators respect their rights and the rights of others when communicating. This person tends to be direct but not insulting or offensive. The assertive communicator stands up for his or her own rights but makes sure the rights of others aren’t affected. See Section 8.3 Asserting Your Needs

Attachment behaviors in Bowlby’s model of attachment behaviours that humans engage to help them to fulfil their biological drive to attach themselves with others. See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

Attribution theory concerns "the process by which an individual interprets events as being caused by a particular part of a relatively stable environment” (Kelly, 1980, p. 193). In attribution theory,  the likelihood that we will attribute behaviour to the internal, stable traits of an individual compared to external, situational factors is influenced by three factors: consensus (the extent to which you believe that the person being observed is behaving in a manner that is consistent with the behavior of their peers); . consistency (whether the person being observed behaves in a similar manner in other situations); and distinctiveness (the extent to which you believe that the person being observed would behave consistently when faced with different situations). See Section 6.3 Attributions

Refers to the natural process in which the candidates who do not fit in will leave the company. See Section 3.2 Creating, Maintaining, and Changing Culture

Authoritarianism is a form of social organization where individuals favor absolute obedience to authority (or authorities) as opposed to individual freedom. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Authority represents the right to seek compliance by others; the exercise of authority is backed by legitimacy.. See Section 4.1 Power

In the KTI model, this approach to conflict demonstrates a low commitment to both goals and relationships. This is the most common method of dealing with conflict, especially by people who view conflict negatively. See Section 2.2 Approaches to Conflict

Avoiders - in the ABC model of conflict management, avoiders are individuals who tend to use avoidance as their preferred method of conflict management. Common avoidance tactics used during conflict are summarized in Table 9.1. See Section 9.3 ABCs of Conflict

When the two parties are unable to reach consensus on the collective bargaining agreement. See Section 2.5 Labour Relations

BATNA: stand for the “Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement”, which can be taken as a measure of the objective strength of a party’s bargaining stance. See Section 2.4 Negotiation

Battlers - in the ABC model of conflict management, battlers are individuals who engage in distributive approaches to conflict and value "winning" the conflict, even if it is at the cost of their relationships. Common strategies used during conflict by battlers are summarized in Table 9.2. See Section 9.3 ABCs of Conflict

Exists when one person or group does something that is unacceptable to others. See section 1.2 Levels and Types of Conflict

Big 5 personality traits:

Openness is the degree to which a person is curious, original, intellectual, creative, and open to new ideas.

Conscientiousness refers to the degree to which a person is organized, systematic, punctual, achievement-oriented, and dependable

Extraversion is the degree to which a person is outgoing, talkative, sociable, and enjoys socializing

Agreeableness is the degree to which a person is affable, tolerant, sensitive, trusting, kind, and warm.

Neuroticism refers to the degree to which a person is anxious, irritable, temperamental, and moody.

See Section 9.1 Personality

Bribery, which is offering something in return for an expected favour; is considered to be unethical because it sidesteps normal, fair protocol for personal gain at the audience’s expense. See Section 10.1 Communication

Bullying is similar to harassment and comprises repeated actions or verbal comments that lead to mental harm, isolation, or humiliation of a worker (or group), often with the intent to wield power over them. See Section 4.4 Bullying, Violence, and Harassment

Burnout is a general feeling of exhaustion that can develop when a person simultaneously experiences too much pressure to perform and too few sources of satisfaction (Jackson et al., 1986). See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Career strategizing is the process of creating a plan of action for one’s career path and trajectory. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Catastrophic stressors are a subset of acute stressors but differ in their intensity, threatening life, safety, or property. Robbery and physical assault are examples of catastrophic stressors. See Section 7.2 Stress

Chronic stressors are stressors that persist over a sustained period of time, and include job insecurity, work overload, or lack of control. See Section 7.2 Stress

Coalition tactics refer to a group of individuals working together toward a common goal to influence others). See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

Coercion is the use of power to make someone do something they would not choose to do freely. See Section 10.1 Communication

Is the ability to take something away or punish someone for noncompliance, often through the use of fear tactics. See Section 4.1 Power

Cognitive appraisal are the cognitive interpretations that accompany emotion. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Cognitive complexity - According to John Daly (2002), “cognitive complexity has been defined in terms of the number of different constructs an individual has to describe others (differentiation), the degree to which those constructs cohere (integration), and the level of abstraction of the constructs (abstractness)”. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Can result when one person or group holds ideas or opinions that are inconsistent with those of others. See section 1.2 Levels and Types of Conflict

Cognitive dispositions refer to general patterns of mental processes that impact how people respond and react to the world around them. These dispositions (or one’s natural mental or emotional outlook) take on several different forms.  This chapter examines four cognitive dispositions identified by John Daly (2011): locus of control, cognitive complexity, authoritarianism/dogmatism, and emotional intelligence. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

This is a conflict approach that demonstrates a high commitment to goals and also a high commitment to relationships. See Section 2.2 Approaches to Conflict

Collaborative work is “a coordinated, synchronous activity that is the result of a continued attempt to construct and maintain a shared conception of a problem” (Roschelle and Teasley, 1995, p. 70). See Section 5.3 Collaboration, Decision-Making and Problem Solving in Groups

Collaborators - in the ABC model of conflict management, collaborators are individuals who engage in a range of collaborating choices, from being completely collaborative in an attempt to find a mutually agreed upon solution, to being compromising when you realize that both sides will need to win and lose a little to come to a satisfactory solution. In both cases, the goal is to use prosocial communicative behaviors in an attempt to reach a solution that works for everyone. Common strategies used by collaborators are summarized in Table 9.3. See Section 9.3 ABCs of Conflict

Collective bargaining is the process of negotiations between the company and representatives of the union. The goal is for management and the union to reach a contract agreement, which is put into place for a specified period of time. Once this time is up, a new contract is negotiated. See Section 2.5 Labour Relations

The second class of relationships  in the workplace are collegial peers or relationships that have moderate levels of trust and self-disclosure and is different from information peers because of the more openness that is shared between two individuals. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Communication is the process of generating meaning by sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal symbols and signs that are influenced by multiple contexts. See Section 10.1 Communication

Communication apprehension (CA) as the fear or anxiety “associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (McCrosky, 1977, p. 28). See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

Communication dispositions are general patterns of communicative behavior. Examples include introversion/extraversion, approach and avoidance traits, argumentativeness /verbal aggressiveness, and sociocommunicative orientation (Daly, 2011). See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

Communication freezers put an end to effective communication by making the receiver feel judged or defensive. See Section 10.4 Giving and Receiving Feedback

The two axes in the framework, external focus versus internal focus, indicate whether or not the organization’s culture is externally or internally oriented. The other two axes, flexibility versus stability and control, determine whether a culture functions better in a stable, controlled environment or a flexible, fast-paced environment. Combining the axes offers four cultural types: (1) the dynamic, entrepreneurial Adhocracy Culture—an external focus with a flexibility orientation; (2) the people-oriented, friendly Clan Culture—an internal focus with a flexibility orientation; (3) the process-oriented, structured Hierarchy Culture—an internal focus with a stability/control orientation; and (4) the results-oriented, competitive Market Culture—an external focus with a stability/control orientation.. See Section 3.3 Frameworks for Assessing Organizational Culture

A rivalry between two groups or two individuals over an outcome that they both seek. In a competition there is a winner and a loser. See section 1.1 Conflict Defined

A compromising approach strikes a balance between a commitment to goals and a commitment to relationships. See Section 2.2 Approaches to Conflict

Concealment is a form of deception in which the source deliberately withholds information. See Section 10.1 Communication

A conciliator is a trusted third party who provides communication between the negotiating parties. See Section 2.4 Negotiation

Conflict occurs in interactions in which there are real or perceived incompatible goals, scare resources, or opposing viewpoints. See section 1.1 Conflict Defined

Consensus rule is a decision-making technique in which all members of the group must agree on the same decision. On rare occasions, a decision may be ideal for all group members, which can lead to unanimous agreement without further debate and discussion. See Section 5.3 Collaboration, Decision-Making and Problem Solving in Groups

Constructive criticism differs from mere negative criticism in that it is focused on improvement with clear, specific instructions for what exactly the receiver must do to meet expectations. See Section 10.4 Giving and Receiving Feedback

A consultant is a third-party negotiator who is skilled in conflict management and can add their knowledge and skill to the mix to help the negotiating parties arrive at a conclusion. A consultant will help parties learn to understand and work with each other, so this approach has a longer-term focus to build bridges between the conflicting parties. See Section 2.4 Negotiation

Refers to the influence agent’s asking others for help in directly influencing or planning to influence another person or group. Consultation is most effective in organizations and cultures that value democratic decision making. See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

Content-oriented listener, or a listener who focuses on the content of the message and process that message in a systematic way. See Section 10.3 Listening

In The Construction of Shared Knowledge in Collaborative Problem Solving, Roschelle and Teasley define cooperative group work as “the division of labour among participants, as an activity where each person is responsible for a portion of the problem solving). See Section 5.3 Collaboration, Decision-Making and Problem Solving in Groups

Cortisol is frequently referred to as the “stress hormone,” and it is commonly measured by researchers in order to assess the activation of the HPA axis in response to stress. See Section 7.2 Stress

Cost escalation involves tactics that are designed to make the cost of maintaining the relationship higher than getting out of the relationship. For example, a coworker could start belittling a friend in public, making the friend the center of all jokes, or talking about the friend behind the friend’s back. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Defined as shared values and beliefs that are in direct opposition to the values of the broader organizational culture. See Section 3.1 Organizational Culture

Critical listening is the “careful, systematic thinking and reasoning to see whether a message makes sense in light of factual evidence” (Wrench et al., 2017, p. 61). See Section 10.3 Listening

Cultural display rules is one of a collection of culturally specific standards that govern the types and frequencies of displays of emotions that are acceptable (Malatesta & Haviland, 1982) See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Cultural intelligence is a competency and a skill that enables individuals to function effectively in cross-cultural environments. It develops as people become more aware of the influence of culture and more capable of adapting their behavior to the norms of other cultures. There is the cognitive component of cultural intelligence, a physical component (demeanor, eye contact, posture, accent) and  an emotional commitment and motivation to understand the new culture. See Section 5.4 Working in Diverse Teams

Depersonalization can come in one of two basic forms. First, an individual can depersonalization a relationship by stopping all the interaction that is not task-focused.. The second way people can depersonalize a relationship is simply to avoid that person. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Depression is a psychological disorder characterized by varying degrees of disappointment, guilt, hopelessness, loneliness, sadness, and self-doubt, all of which negatively impact a person’s general mental and physical wellbeing. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Deviant workplace behaviour is defined as voluntary behavior of organizational members that violates significant organizational norms and practices or threatens the wellbeing of the organization and its members. See Section 9.3 Types of Deviant Workplace Behaviour

The devil’s advocate intentionally takes on the role of critic. Their job is to point out flawed logic, to challenge the group’s evaluations of various alternatives, and to identify weaknesses in proposed solutions. This pushes the other group members to think more deeply about the advantages and disadvantages of proposed solutions before reaching a decision and implementing it. See Section 5.3 Collaboration, Decision-Making and Problem Solving in Groups

is a disagreement between parties. Typically, a dispute is adversarial in nature. See section 1.1 Conflict Defined

Distorted listening is an example of bad listening that occurs from mishearing a message or adjusting the message to fit expectations. See Section 10.3 Listening

Distributive bargaining is “win-lose” or fixed-pie bargaining. That is, the goals of one party are in fundamental and direct conflict with those of the other party. See Section 2.4 Negotiation

Dogmatism is defined as the inclination to believe one’s point-of-view as undeniably true based on faulty premises and without consideration of evidence and the opinions of others. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Is the ability to influence employees lower than you in the institutional hierarchy. This is best achieved through an inspiring vision. See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

Eavesdropping is a bad listening practice that involves a calculated and planned attempt to secretly listen to a conversation. See Section 10.3 Listening

Ego motives include the “thrill of the chase” and the self-esteem boost one may get. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Emotion is a mental and physiological feeling state that directs our attention and guides our behaviour. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EQ) as an individual’s appraisal and expression of their emotions and the emotions of others in a manner that enhances thought, living, and communicative interactions.  EQ involves self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Emotional loneliness results when an individual feels that they do not have an emotional connection with others. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Empathizing is used to show that you identify with a speaker’s information. See Section 10.3 Listening

Empathy is often commonly defined as "putting yourself in someone else's shoes". Empathy consists of three components: cognitive, affective, and compassionate. The cognitive component involves thinking about the world from someone else's point of view. The affective component involves feeling the emotions of others. The compassionate component of empathy refers to having a genuine concern for their wellbeing. See Section 8.2 Meeting Needs Through Communication Climate

Employee empowerment involves management allowing us to make decisions and act upon those decisions, with the support of the organization. See Section 8.1 Theories of Motivation

Environmental noise, such as lighting, temperature, and furniture affect our ability to listen. See Section 10.3 Listening

Episodic (or daily) stressors may be similar to acute stressors but occur more frequently, have a longer duration, and may be of lower intensity. Making repeated requests of a worker to work overtime is an example of an episodic stressor. See Section 7.2 Stress

Equity theory, which focuses on our perceptions of how fairly we’re treated relative to others. Applied to the work environment, this theory proposes that employees analyze their contributions or job inputs (hours worked, education, experience, work performance) and their rewards or job outcomes (salary, bonus, promotion, recognition). Then they create a contributions/rewards ratio and compare it to those of other people. See Section 8.1 Theories of Motivation

Equivocation is a form of deception; when a statement that could be interpreted as having more than one meaning. See Section 10.1 Communication

Occurs when the negotiator continues a course of action long after it’s been proven to be the wrong choice. See Section 2.4 Negotiation

Eustress is a term that signifies beneficial stress, either psychological or physical. See Section 7.2 Stress

Evaluating is a listening response in which an individual explains speaker’s thoughts or behaviors. See Section 10.3 Listening

Exchange refers to give-and-take in which someone does something for you, and you do something for them in return. The rule of reciprocation says that “we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us”(Cialdini, 2000, p. 20). See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

Exit: The worker decides to get away from the undesired situation, either by quitting the employer or transferring to another location or job within the same employer. See Section 4.4 Bullying, Violence, and Harassment

Expert power comes from knowledge and skill. See Section 4.1 Power

Explicit knowledge is information that is kept in some retrievable format. For example, you’ll need to find previously written reports or a list of customers’ names and addresses. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Face Goals – How one’s self-image is perceived in a social setting. See Section 8.4 Understanding Goals in Conflict and The Scarf Model

Falsification is when a source deliberately presents information that is false or fraudulent. See Section 10.1 Communication

Fight or flight response is an emotional and behavioral reaction to stress that increases the readiness for action. See Section 7.2 Stress

Filtering is the distortion or withholding of information to manage a person’s reactions. See Section 10.1 Communication

Refers to the extent to which policies, procedures, job descriptions, and rules are written and explicitly articulated. In other words, formalized structures are those in which there are many written rules and regulations. See Section 3.4 Organizational Codes and Discipline

Framing, in communication, is essentially the act of intentionally setting the stage for the conversation you want to have. See Section 8.3 Asserting Your Needs

Frustration refers to a psychological reaction to an obstruction or impediment to goal-oriented behavior. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Fundamental attribution error,  refers to our tendency to explain others’ behaviors using internal rather than external attributions (Sillars, 1980). See Section 6.3 Attributions

General adaptation syndrome as described by Selye refers to the three distinct phases of physiological change that occur in response to long-term stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. See Section 7.2 Stress

Goal conflict can occur when one person or group desires a different outcome than others do. This is simply a clash over whose goals are going to be pursued. See section 1.2 Levels and Types of Conflict

GRIT stands for Graduated Reciprocation in Tension-reduction, sometimes watered down into Gradual Reduction in Tension. It involves one side initiating a breakthrough in the form of a concession or compromise on one of its demands. The norm of reciprocity obligates the other side to return the favour with a concession of its own, giving up one of its demands. Both sides build trust by reciprocal compromises back and forth till they reach an amicable solution. See Section 5.5 Conflict Management Strategies for Groups and Teams

Grapevine is the informal channel of communication in the workplace that transmits workplace gossip and other information. See Section 10.1 Communication

The grievance procedure outlines the process by which grievances over contract violations will be handled. As you have probably already identified, the grievance procedure is a formalized conflict. See Section 2.5 Labour Relations

Group climate refers to the relatively enduring tone and quality of group interaction that is experienced similarly by group members. To better understand cohesion and climate, we can examine two types of cohesion: task and social. See Section 5.2 Small Group Dynamics

In group communication, group fantasies are verbalized references to events outside the “here and now” of the group, including references to the group’s past, predictions for the future, or other communication about people or events outside the group (Griffin, 2009). See Section 5.2 Small Group Dynamics

Groupthink, or the tendency to accept the group’s ideas and actions in spite of individual concerns, can also compromise the process and reduce efficiency. Personalities, competition, and internal conflict can factor into a team’s failure to produce, which is why care must be taken in how teams are assembled and managed. See Section 5.2 Small Group Dynamics

Gunnysacking (backpacking) - refers to the imaginary bag we all carry, into which we place unresolved conflicts or grievances over time. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Hardiness represents a collection of personality characteristics that involve one’s ability to perceptually or behaviorally transform negative stressors into positive challenges. These characteristics include a sense of commitment to the importance of what one is doing, an internal locus of control, and a sense of life challenge. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Hearing refers to a passive activity where an individual perceives sound by detecting vibrations through an ear. See Section 10.3 Listening

HPA axis is a physiological response to stress involving interactions among the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands. The HPA response begins when the hypothalamus secretes hormones that direct the pituitary gland to release the hormone ACTH. The ACTH then directs the adrenal glands to secrete more hormones, including epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol, a stress hormone that releases sugars into the blood to help prepare the body to respond to threat (Rodrigues et al., 2009). See Section 7.2 Stress

I statements are an assertive way to express your experiences and tries to minimize defensive reactions of the receiver. Often an I statement consists of three parts: a nonjudgemental description of someone's behaviour; a specific feeling; and how someone's behaviour directly impacts you. See Section 8.3 Asserting Your Needs

People in individualistic cultures value individual freedom and personal independence, and cultures always have stories to reflect their values. Collectivist cultures, including many in Asia and South America, focus on the needs of the nation, community, family, or group of workers. See Section 5.4 Working in Diverse Teams

Information overload occurs when our mental resources are not sufficient to address the rate or quantity of information from the external environment. See Section 10.1 Communication

Information peers are so-called because we rely on these individuals for information about job tasks and the organization itself. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Refers to different forms of making others feel good about themselves. Ingratiation includes any form of flattery done either before or during the influence attempt. See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

Inspirational appeals seek to tap into our values, emotions, and beliefs to gain support for a request or course of action.  Effective inspirational appeals are authentic, personal, big-thinking, and enthusiastic. See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

Instrumental values according to Rokeach, instrumental values represent those values concerning the way we approach end-states. Examples of instrumental values include ambition, cleanliness, honesty, and obedience. See Section 6.1 Values

In this approach, both parties look for ways to integrate their goals. That is, they look for ways to expand the pie, so that each party gets more. This is also called a win–win approach. See Section 2.4 Negotiation

Usually involves disagreements between two opposing forces over goals or the sharing of resources. See section 1.2 Levels and Types of Conflict

Disputes between two companies in the same industry, two companies in different industries or economic sectors, or two or more countries. See section 1.2 Levels and Types of Conflict

Where two individuals disagree on some matter. such as coworkers, a manager and an employee, or CEOs and their staff. See section 1.2 Levels and Types of Conflict

interpersonal violence involves acts of aggression such as an intent to harm or actual physical or psychological harm to another or their property. See section 1.1 Conflict Defined

Interpretation is the third part of the perception process, in which we assign meaning to our experiences using mental structures known as schemata. See Section 6.2 Perceptions

Interruption is an example of bad listening that occurs when the listener interjects during the speaker’s turn. See Section 10.3 Listening

Intrapersonal conflict is a conflict within one person. In the workplace, this is often the result of competing motivations or roles. See section 1.2 Levels and Types of Conflict

Jargon is the language of specialized terms used by a group or profession. See Section 10.1 Communication

Job enlargement is defined as the adding of new challenges or responsibilities to a current job, can create job satisfaction. Assigning us to a special project or task is an example of job enlargement. See Section 8.1 Theories of Motivation

means to enhance a job by adding more meaningful tasks to make our work more rewarding. See Section 8.1 Theories of Motivation

Job motives include gaining rewards such as power, money, or job security. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Karasek’s job demands-control model demonstrates that t the degree of control a worker has in their job plays a significant role in whether the demands of a job and job-related stress will be positive or negative and whether ill health results (Karasek, 1979). See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

A labour union, or union, is defined as workers banding together to meet common goals, such as better pay, benefits, or promotion rules. See Section 2.5 Labour Relations

The ability of one individual to elicit responses from another person that go beyond required or mechanical compliance. See Section 4.1 Power

Is power that comes from one’s organizational role or position. It is synonymous with authority. See Section 4.1 Power

Legitimating tactics occur when the appeal is based on legitimate or position power.. See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

Limbic system is one of the evolutionarily oldest parts of our brain and includes several structures (amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus) that help us to experience emotio. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Listening is “focused, concentrated attention for the purpose of understanding the meanings expressed by a [source]” (Wrench et al., 2017, p. 50). See Section 10.3 Listening

Love motives include the desire for genuine affection and companionship. Despite the motives, workplace romances impact coworkers, the individuals in the relationship, and workplace policies. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

In low-power distance cultures, according to Dutch researcher Geert Hofstede, people relate to one another more as equals and less as a reflection of dominant or subordinate roles, regardless of their actual formal roles as employee and manager, for example. In a high-power distance culture, you would probably be much less likely to challenge the decision, to provide an alternative, or to give input. See Section 5.4 Working in Diverse Teams

Machiavellianism- named after the 16th century author Nicolo Machiavelli. In modern times, an individual with Machiavellian tendencies has four characteristics according to Christie and Gies. They are a lack of affect; lack of concern for others; rational view of others and focus on short-term goals. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Maintenance difficulty can be defined as “the degree of difficulty individuals experience in interpersonal relationships due to misunderstandings, incompatibility of goals, and the time and effort necessary to cope with disagreements” (Merthot, 2010, p. 49). See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Majority rule is a commonly used decision-making technique in which a majority (one-half plus one) must agree before a decision is made. A show-of-hands vote, a paper ballot, or an electronic voting system can determine the majority choice. See Section 5.3 Collaboration, Decision-Making and Problem Solving in Groups

Hofstede describes the masculine-feminine dichotomy not in terms of whether men or women hold the power in a given culture, but rather the extent to which that culture values certain traits that may be considered masculine or feminine. Thus, “the assertive pole has been called ‘masculine’ and the modest, caring pole ‘feminine.’ See Section 5.4 Working in Diverse Teams

A mediator is a neutral, third party who helps facilitate a negotiated solution. See Section 2.4 Negotiation

A mentor is a trusted person who provides an employee with advice and support regarding career-related matters.  See Section 3.2 Creating, Maintaining, and Changing Culture

The mentoring relationship can be influential in establishing or advancing a person’s career, and supervisors are often in a position to mentor select employees. In a mentoring relationship, one person functions as a guide, helping another navigate toward career goals (Sias, 2009). See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Microaggressions are subtle slights, remarks and actions that occur both consciously and unconsciously and are often linked to our unconscious bias and stereotypes. See Section 10.1 Communication

Minority rule is a decision-making technique in which a designated authority or expert has final say over a decision and may or may not consider the input of other group members. When a designated expert makes a decision by minority rule, there may be buy-in from others in the group, especially if the members of the group didn’t have relevant knowledge or expertise. See Section 5.3 Collaboration, Decision-Making and Problem Solving in Groups

In monochromatic time, interruptions are to be avoided, and everything has its own specific time.. Polychromatic time looks a little more complicated, with business and family mixing with dinner and dancing. Greece, Italy, Chile, and Saudi Arabia are countries where one can observe this perception of time; business meetings may be scheduled at a fixed time, but when they actually begin may be another story. See Section 5.4 Working in Diverse Teams

Motivation refers to an internally generated drive to achieve a goal or follow a particular course of action. See Section 8.1 Theories of Motivation

Narcissism is defined a personality trait characterized by overly high self-esteem, self-admiration, and self-centeredness. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Narcissistic listening is a form of self-centered and self-absorbed listening in which listeners try to make the interaction about them by interrupting or changing the topic. See Section 10.3 Listening

Neglect: The worker does nothing, based on the belief that the situation will not change or might grow worse. The worker might try to avoid the source of the situation but will generally take no action to change the situation. Workers choose this option when the costs of exiting are too high and their relationship to the organization is sufficiently damaged to prevent either voice or patience (Leck & Saunders, 1992; Rusbult et al., 1988). See Section 4.4 Bullying, Violence, and Harassment

Negotiation is the process by which individuals or groups attempt to realize their goals by bargaining with another party who has at least some control over goal attainment. See Section 2.4 Negotiation

The nominal group technique guides decision making through a four-step process that includes idea generation and evaluation and seeks to elicit equal contributions from all group members (Delbecq & Ven de Ven, 1971). See Section 5.3 Collaboration, Decision-Making and Problem Solving in Groups

Refers to the process through which new employees learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to function effectively within an organization.  See Section 3.2 Creating, Maintaining, and Changing Culture

Organization is the second part of the perception process, in which we sort and categorize information that we perceive based on innate and learned cognitive patterns. Three ways we sort things into patterns are by using proximity, similarity, and differences (Coren, 1980). See Section 6.2 Perceptions

Refers to a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that show employees what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. See Section 3.1 Organizational Culture

OCP is a framework for examining organizational culture in which culture is represented by seven distinct values. See Section 3.3 Frameworks for Assessing Organizational Culture

Outcome fairness refers to the judgment that we make with respect to the outcomes we receive versus the outcomes received by others with whom we associate with at work. When assessing whether an outcome is fair, individuals often look at consistency, bias suppression, information accuracy, correctability, representativeness and ethicality. See Section 8.1 Theories of Motivation

Paraphrasing is defined as restating in your own words, the message you think the speaker just sent. See Section 10.3 Listening

Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is the division of the autonomic nervous system that is involved in resting, digesting, relaxing, and recovering. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Passive communicators tend to put the rights of others before their own. Passive communicators tend to be apologetic or sound tentative when they speak. They do not speak up if they feel like they are being wronged. See Section 8.3 Asserting Your Needs

Patience: The worker decides to do nothing in the hopes that the situation will eventually improve. Workers adopt a patience approach when their loyalty to the organization or the cost of exiting is greater than the price of experiencing the negative situation. See Section 4.4 Bullying, Violence, and Harassment

According to organizational workplace relationship expert Patricia Sias (2009), peer coworker relationships exist between individuals who exist at the same level within an organizational hierarchy and have no formal authority over each other. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Occurs all the time. But, to be effective within organizations, peers need to be willing to influence each other without being destructively competitive. See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

People-oriented listeners tend to be more focused on the person sending the message than the content of the message. See Section 10.3 Listening

Perception is the process of selecting, organizing, and interpreting information. See Section 6.2 Perceptions

Perception checking is a way to ensure that we are understanding how another person is thinking or feeling. Three steps to creating a perception checking statement are:

Step 1: Describe the behavior or situation without evaluating or judging it. Perception checks include “I” language and a clearly stated observation or fact: “I heard you mention ____.

Step 2: Think of some possible interpretations of the behavior, being aware of attributions and other influences on the perception process. This is followed by 2 possible interpretations: “I am wondering if or is the case for you?”

Step 3: Verify what happened and ask for clarification from the other person’s perspective. Be aware of punctuation, since the other person likely experienced the event differently than you.

The perception check is completed with a clarification request: “Can you clarify?”. See Section 6.4 Examining our Perceptions in Conflict

Perceptual defense is the tendency to distort or ignore information that is either personally threatening or culturally unacceptable. See Section 6.4 Examining our Perceptions in Conflict

Personal appeals refers to helping another person because you like them and they asked for your help. We enjoy saying yes to people we know and like. See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

Personal control represents the extent to which an employee actually has control over factors affecting effective job performance. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Personality encompasses a person’s relatively stable feelings, thoughts, and behavioral patterns. See Section 9.1 Personality

Physiological noise is a type of noise that bridges physical and cognitive barriers to effective listening. See Section 10.3 Listening

Polarizing language is language that presents people, ideas, or situations as polar opposites. Such language exaggerates differences and overgeneralizes. See Section 10.1 Communication

Refers to peoples’ interpersonal style, including their ability to relate well to others, self-monitor, alter their reactions depending upon the situation they are in, and inspire confidence and trust (Ferris et al., 2000). See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

we will adopt Pfeffer’s (2011) definition of politics as involving “those activities taken within organizations to acquire, develop, and use power and other resources to obtain one’s preferred outcomes in a situation in which there is uncertainty or dissensus about choices". See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

Positive psychology is the science of happiness; it is an area of study that seeks to identify and promote those qualities that lead to greater fulfillment in our lives. This field looks at people’s strengths and what helps individuals to lead happy, contented lives. See Section 7.4 Coping with Stress

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a medical syndrome that includes symptoms of anxiety, sleeplessness, nightmares, and social withdrawal. See Section 7.2 Stress

Power can be defined as an interpersonal relationship in which one individual (or group) has the ability to cause another individual (or group) to take an action that would not be taken otherwise. See Section 4.1 Power

Prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that regulates empathy, decision making, problem solving, and much more. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Refers to exerting undue influence on someone to do what you want or else something undesirable will occur. See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

Primary (basic) emotions are the most fundamental emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise). The basic emotions are determined by the limbic system and have a long history in human evolution, and they have developed in large part to help us make rapid judgments about stimuli and to quickly guide appropriate behaviour (LeDoux, 2000). The basic emotions are determined by the limbic system and are displayed in much the same way across cultures (Ekman, 1992; Elfenbein & Ambady, 2002; Fridlund et al., 1987). See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Primary tension is tension based on uncertainty that is a natural part of initial interactions. It is only after group members begin to “break the ice” and get to know each other that the tension can be addressed and group members can proceed with the forming stage of group development.. See Section 5.5 Conflict Management Strategies for Groups and Teams

Procedural justice is the process used to determine the outcomes received. See Section 8.1 Theories of Motivation

Process Goals – how events or processes unfold, how decisions are made, and how communication takes place. See Section 8.4 Understanding Goals in Conflict and The Scarf Model

Refers to the process of using increasingly severe steps or measures when an employee fails to correct a problem after being given a reasonable opportunity to do so. The underlying principle of sound progressive discipline is to use the least severe action that you believe is necessary to correct the undesirable situation. See Section 3.4 Organizational Codes and Discipline

Pseudo-listening is behaving as if you’re paying attention to a speaker when you’re actually not. See Section 10.3 Listening

Psycho-social hazards are the social and psychological factors that negatively affect worker health and safety. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Psychological noise, or noise stemming from our psychological states including moods and level of arousal, can facilitate or impede listening. See Section 10.3 Listening

Punctuation refers to the structuring of information into a timeline to determine the cause (stimulus) and effect (response) of our communication interactions (Sillars, 1980). See Section 6.2 Perceptions

Qualitative role overload consists of being taxed beyond one’s skills, abilities, and knowledge. It can be seen as a continuum ranging from too-easy work to too-difficult work. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Quantitative overload consists of having more work than can be done in a given time period. Overload can be visualized as a continuum ranging from too little to do to too much to do. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Questioning is a listening style in which an individual poses questions to gain understanding or get information. Questions can be open, closed, or leading. See Section 10.3 Listening

Rational persuasion includes using facts, data, and logical arguments to try to convince others that your point of view is the best alternative. This is the most commonly applied influence tactic. See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

Reframing is taking a conversation and bringing it back to the topic at hand if things get off track. See Section 8.3 Asserting Your Needs

Rejection sensitivity can be defined as the degree to which an individual expects to be rejected, readily perceives rejection when occurring, and experiences an intensely adverse reaction to that rejection. See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

Relational dispositions are general patterns of mental processes that impact how people view and organize themselves in relationships. See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

The definition of the term “relational maintenance” can be broken down into four basic types: to keep a relationship in existence; to keep a relationship in a specified state or condition; to keep a relationship in a satisfactory condition, and to keep a relationship in repair. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Relationship Goals – How people relate to one another. See Section 8.4 Understanding Goals in Conflict and The Scarf Model

Relationship management refers to our ability to communicate clearly, maintain good relationships with others, work well in teams, and manage conflict See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Response preparation refers to our tendency to rehearse what we are going to say next while a speaker is still talking. See Section 10.3 Listening

Is the ability to grant a reward, such as an increase in pay, a perk, or an attractive job assignment. See Section 4.1 Power

Right-wing authoritarians (RWAs) tend to have three specific characteristics: RWAs believe in submitting themselves to individuals they perceive as established and legitimate authorities. RWAs believe in strict adherence to social and cultural norms. RWAs tend to become aggressive towards those who do not submit to established, legitimate authorities and those who violate social and cultural norms. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Role ambiguity occurs when individuals have inadequate information concerning their roles at work.. Uncertainty over job definition takes many forms, including not knowing expectations for performance, not knowing how to meet those expectations, and not knowing the consequences of job behavior. Role ambiguity is particularly strong among managerial jobs. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Role overload is a condition in which individuals feel they are being asked to do more than time or ability permits. Individuals often experience role overload as a conflict between quantity and quality of performance. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Role underutilization occurs when employees are allowed to use only a few of their skills and abilities, even though they are required to make heavy use of them. The most prevalent characteristic of role underutilization is monotony, where the worker performs the same routine task (or set of tasks) over and over. Other situations that make for underutilization include total dependence on machines for determining work pace and sustained positional or postural constraint. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

In organizations where safety-sensitive jobs are performed, creating and maintaining a safety culture provides a competitive advantage, because the organization can reduce accidents, maintain high levels of morale and employee retention, and increase profitability by cutting workers’ compensation insurance costs. See Section 3.3 Frameworks for Assessing Organizational Culture

Salience is the degree to which something attracts our attention in a particular context. According to Fiske & Taylor (1991), the degree of salience depends on three features: visually or aurally stimulating; things that meet our needs or interests; and our expectations. See Section 6.2 Perceptions

SCARF model is a model of social experience by Rock et al. that identifies five domains of human experience: status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness. Threats to one or more of these domains may result in conflict. See Section 8.4 Understanding Goals in Conflict and The Scarf Model

Schemata are like databases of stored, related information that we use to interpret new experiences. See Section 6.2 Perceptions

Secondary emotions are more complex, social emotions that are generated by slow pathways in the brain and the prefrontal cortex. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Secondary tension emerges after groups have passed the forming stage of group development and begin to have conflict over member roles, differing ideas, and personality conflicts. These tensions are typically evidenced by less reserved and less polite behavior than primary tensions.. See Section 5.5 Conflict Management Strategies for Groups and Teams

Selection is the first part of the perception process, in which we focus our attention on certain incoming sensory information. See Section 6.2 Perceptions

Selective perception refers to the often unconscious process of filtering what we see and hear to suit our own needs. See Section 10.1 Communication

Self-awareness refers to a person’s ability to understand their feelings from moment to moment. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Self-compassion also involves offering nonjudgmental understanding to one’s pain, inadequacies and failures, so that one’s experience is seen as part of the larger human experience” (Neff, 2003, p. 86-87). Neff argues that self-compassion can be broken down into three distinct categories: self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

Self-conscious shyness involves feeling conspicuous or socially exposed when dealing with others face-to-face. See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

Self-esteem is an individual’s subjective evaluation of their abilities and limitations. See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

Self-management refers to our ability to manage our emotions and is dependent on our self-awareness ability. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Self-monitoring proposes that individuals differ in the degree to which they can control their behaviors following the appropriate social rules and norms involved in interpersonal interactions. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Self-serving bias is a perceptual error through which we attribute the cause of our successes to internal personal factors while attributing our failures to external factors beyond our control. See Section 6.3 Attributions

Self-talk refers to the thoughts we have about ourselves and situations throughout the day. Positive self-talk is an important part of self-management. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Semantics is the study of meaning in communication. See Section 10.1 Communication

Serial arguing is a repeated pattern of disagreement over an issue. See Section 10.4 Giving and Receiving Feedback

What differentiates companies with service culture from those without such a culture may be the desire to solve customer-related problems proactively. In other words, in these cultures employees are engaged in their jobs and personally invested in improving customer experience such that they identify issues and come up with solutions without necessarily being told what to do. See Section 3.3 Frameworks for Assessing Organizational Culture

The Canada Labour Code’s definition of sexual harassment is quite broad, but oriented more toward the perception of the person offended than the intentions of the offender. According to Provision 241.1 of the Code, sexual harassment means any conduct, comment, gesture or contact of a sexual nature that is likely to cause offence or humiliation to any employee, or that might, on reasonable grounds, be perceived by that employee as placing a condition of a sexual nature on employment or on any opportunity for training or promotion. (Government of Canada, 1985, p. 214). See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

If you work within a culture that has a short-term orientation, you may need to place greater emphasis on reciprocation of greetings, gifts, and rewards. Long-term orientation is often marked by persistence, thrift and frugality, and an order to relationships based on age and status. See Section 5.4 Working in Diverse Teams

Silent listening occurs when you say nothing. It may or may not an appropriate listening response, depending on the situation. See Section 10.3 Listening

Social awareness is our ability to understand social cues that may affect others around us. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Social cohesion refers to the attraction and liking among group members. Ideally, groups would have an appropriate balance between these two types of cohesion relative to the group’s purpose, with task-oriented groups having higher task cohesion and relational-oriented groups having higher social cohesion. See Section 5.2 Small Group Dynamics

Social loneliness results from a lack of a satisfying social network. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Social support is  the extent to which organization members feel their peers can be trusted, are interested in one another’s welfare, respect one another, and have a genuine positive regard for one another. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

Social-personal dispositions refer to general patterns of mental processes that impact how people socially relate to others or view themselves. Dispositions discussed in the chapter include loneliness, depression, self-esteem, narcissism, Machiavellianism, empathy, and self-monitoring. See Section 9.2 Cognitive and Personal-Social Dispositions

Sociocommunicative orientation is the combination of assertiveness and responsiveness (considering the needs of others). See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

Kram and Isabella (1985) note that special peer relationships “involves revealing central ambivalences and personal dilemmas in work and family realms. Pretense and formal roles are replaced by greater self-disclosure and self-expression” (p. 121). See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

The first strategy people use when disengaging from workplace friendships involves state-of-the-relationship talk. State-of-the-relationship talk is exactly what it sounds like; you officially have a discussion that the friendship is ending. The goal of state-of-the-relationship talk is to engage the other person and inform them that ending the friendship is the best way to ensure that the two can continue a professional, functional relationship. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Status an be defined as a person’s perceived level of importance or significance within a particular context. See Section 5.2 Small Group Dynamics

Stereotype is a widely held generalization about a group of people. See Section 6.4 Examining our Perceptions in Conflict

Strain is the damage that results from stress when an individual is not able to cope with the demands of their environment. See Section 7.2 Stress

Stress is the physical and psychological reactions that occur whenever we believe that the demands of a situation threaten our ability to respond to the threat (Lazarus, 2000; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). See Section 7.2 Stress

Stressors are situations causing stress. Stressors can be acute, episodic, chronic or catastrophic. See Section 7.2 Stress

A culture that emerges within different departments, branches, or geographic locations is called a subculture. Subcultures may arise from the personal characteristics of employees. See Section 3.1 Organizational Culture

Substantive Goals – our ability to secure tangible resources and/or something measurable and visible that we desire. See Section 8.4 Understanding Goals in Conflict and The Scarf Model

The supervisor-subordinate relationships can be primarily based in mentoring, friendship, or romance and includes two people, one of whom has formal authority over the other. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Supportive communication climate is defined as an environmental where the overall tone of the relationship is warm and supportive. Communication behaviours in this climate are less likely to elicit defensiveness. Supportive behaviours include description, straightforwardness, collaboration, empathy, equality and flexibility. See Section 8.2 Meeting Needs Through Communication Climate

Supportive responses include agreement, offers to help, praise, reassurance, and diversion and show support. See Section 10.3 Listening

Symbolic convergence refers to the sense of community or group consciousness that develops in a group through non-task-related communication such as stories and jokes. See Section 5.2 Small Group Dynamics

Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is the division of the autonomic nervous system that is involved in preparing the body to respond to threats by activating the organs and the glands in the endocrine system. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

Sympathy is feeling bad for someone; to pity them or their situation. Unlike empathy, an individual who expresses sympathy is not engage in the cognitive component of empathy - they are just considering the situation from their own worldview. Individuals who are expressing sympathy also fail to exhibit the affective or compassionate aspects of empathy. See Section 8.2 Meeting Needs Through Communication Climate

Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, is the knowledge that’s difficult to capture permanently (e.g., write down, visualize, or permanently transfer from one person to another) because it’s garnered from personal experience and contexts. See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Task cohesion refers to the commitment of group members to the purpose and activities of the group. See Section 5.2 Small Group Dynamics

Tend-and-befriend response is a behavioral reaction to stress that involves activities designed to create social networks that provide protection from threats. See Section 7.2 Stress

Terminal values, according to Rokeach, are those end-state goals that we prize. Examples of terminal values include a comfortable life, a sense of accomplishment, and equality among all people. See Section 6.1 Values

Thalamus is a part of the brain involved in perception and starting to create an interpretation of external stimuli. See Section 7.1 Emotions and Intelligence

The five domains of human social experiences. David Rock and his team found that there are 5 areas of our brains that light up (via brain scan technology) during our social experiences. See Section 8.4 Understanding Goals in Conflict and The Scarf Model

Time-oriented listening style are always in a hurry and want a source of a message to speed things up a bit. See Section 10.3 Listening

Transactional model of communication describes communication as a process in which communicators generate social realities within social, relational, and cultural contexts. See Section 10.1 Communication

Methot (2010) defines trust as “the willingness to be vulnerable to another party with the expectation that the other party will behave with the best interest of the focal individual” (p. 45). See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Type A personality is characterized by impatience, restlessness, aggressiveness, competitiveness, polyphasic activities (having many “irons in the fire” at one time), and being under considerable time pressure. Work activities are particularly important to Type A individuals, and they tend to freely invest long hours on the job to meet pressing (and recurring) deadlines. Type B people, on the other hand, experience fewer pressing deadlines or conflicts, are relatively free of any sense of time urgency or hostility, and are generally less competitive on the job. See Section 7.3 Stress at Work

When we meet each other for the first time, we often use what we have previously learned to understand our current context. We also do this to reduce our uncertainty. Some cultures, such as the United States and Britain, are highly tolerant of uncertainty, while others go to great lengths to reduce the element of surprise. Other cultures are high in uncertainty avoidance; they tend to be resistant to change and reluctant to take risks. See Section 5.4 Working in Diverse Teams

Upward influence, as its name implies, is the ability to influence your manager and others in positions higher than yours. See Section 4.2 Politics and Influence

A value may be defined as “an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence.” (Rokeach, 1973, p. 5). Rokeach (1973) has identified two fundamental types of values: instrumental and terminal. See Section 6.1 Values

Verbal aggression is the communication trait in which an indvidual tends to attack the other person instead of their positions. See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

Voice: The worker decides to speak up in an attempt to change the situation. Voice can take a number of forms, including attempting to repair the situation directly, lodging a complaint, filing a grievance or, less constructively, retaliating with their own inappropriate behaviour. See Section 4.4 Bullying, Violence, and Harassment

Willingness to communicate examines an individual’s tendency to initiate communicative interactions with other people. See Section 10.2 Self-Esteem, Communication and Relationship Dispositions

A common error in negotiations in which a negotiator makes a high offer quickly and it’s accepted just as quickly, making the negotiator feel as though he is being cheated. See Section 2.4 Negotiation

Workplace harassment is behaviour aimed at an individual (or group) that is belittling or threatening in nature. This can include actions (e.g., unwanted touching) or words (e.g., insults, jokes) that have the effect of causing psychological harm to victim(s). Harassment can take a variety of forms, including racial/ethnic harassment, sexual harassment, and general workplace harassment. See Section 4.4 Bullying, Violence, and Harassment

Workplace romances involve two people who are emotionally and physically attracted to one another (Sias, 2009). See Section 5.1 Interpersonal Relationships at Work

Workplace violence is any act in which a person is abused, threatened, intimidated, or assaulted in their employment. It can include physical attack, threats of physical attack, threatening language or behaviour (e.g., shaking a fist), or physically aggressive behaviour. See Section 4.4 Bullying, Violence, and Harassment

You statements tend to place blame on the other person and may evoke defensiveness compared to using I statements. See Section 8.3 Asserting Your Needs