Exam 11: Effective Work Groups and Teams

Large groups have the greatest potential for conflict.

A research team believed that an organization's members would perform better when in a group. They studied how much effort was exerted in a tug of war contest when individuals were by themselves and when the individuals were on a team with others. They were MOST LIKELY to find that ________.

The impact of group cohesiveness on organizational effectiveness is the same whether or not the group's goals are aligned with organizational goals.

If a group task involves ________, each member of the group makes a separate and independent contribution to group performance.

What steps can a CEO take to reduce process losses associated with reciprocal task interdependence of the top management team?

Four employees are working together to assemble a product. April is first in the assembly line and must finish her work before the most capable worker, Stewart, can begin. Derek, who is the least capable, can only work on his part after he has received Stewart's portion. Meg, who is the final worker on the line, finishes the product after she receives Derek's work. Who will determine group performance?

The negative effects of sequential task interdependence can be minimized by forming work groups consisting of individuals with divergent ability levels.

Self-managed work teams are most effective when their work is sufficiently complex and it results in some sort of finished end product.

In a group with a(n) ________ level of cohesiveness, group members socialize excessively on the job, there is very high level of conformity, and the group achieves its goals at the expense of the organization as a whole.

A "skunk works" is a research and development team that ________.

A manager should do all of the following to minimize process losses when a group's activities are reciprocally interdependent EXCEPT ________.

The potential for process losses is higher with ________ than with ________.

The following statement reads correctly, "The skunk works at Ford was successful in developing the new Mustang in record time."

________ are increases in potential performance that result from new ways of motivating and coordinating group members.

Top management teams are characterized by pooled task interdependence.

Effective work groups perform at lower than optimal levels when they ________.

The term "social loafing" refers to the tendency for people to exert less effort when working in a group than when working alone.

Process gains are increases in potential performance that result from new ways of motivating and coordinating group members.

A high school has many different extracurricular organizations. Of the four listed, which one is MOST LIKELY to have the most cohesiveness?

A manager leads a group with goals that align with the organization's goals. However, he also notices that there is social loafing and bickering amongst members. His BEST move to eliminate social loafing would be to ________.