Exam 15: Managing Groups and Teams

__________ conflict relates to the content and goals of the work.

Effective team leaders are increasingly taking the role of coach and facilitator.

Small groups consistently get better results than larger ones when the groups are engaged in problem solving.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. A New Group (Scenario) David had been away from his old company, Control Tech, for a while. He remembered that when he worked there 10 years ago, the company was very traditional and conservative. The lines of authority and responsibility were established and clear. Now, it felt ironic that he was managing the consulting team that was going to help bring a group orientation into being. In addition to the traditional hierarchy, with a manager and subordinates, he saw a need to introduce teams comprised of individuals from various work areas to help solve operational problems. He also felt that for certain projects, there could be groups that could function essentially independently, even taking on traditional management responsibilities such as hiring, planning, and scheduling. Plus, he also saw real potential for special, temporary projects to be handled by groups that would disband once the task was completed. -The temporary groups that would be created to achieve a special task, then disband, are known as __________.

Social loafing is the tendency for an individual to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually.

Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding status systems?

Team building training and exercises do not add value to high performance work teams.

If group cohesiveness is __________ and goals are __________, productivity decreases.

Francine's team has developed some very innovative solutions to the problems facing the company, but they feel there is still room for improvement in their report. Francine's team appears to be operating at which level of conflict?

In the __________ stage, high levels of task performance are no longer the group's top priority.

Global teams are associated with high levels of groupthink.

Which conflict-resolution technique is best used when the issues are more important to others than they are to yourself?

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Stages of Team Development at King Midas (Scenario) King Midas Manufacturing Co. has been utilizing groups to improve the manufacturing process, product design and packaging, vendor selection, quality control, and other organizational tasks. The groups have been starting and stopping for the last three years. Some of the most successful groups were together for only a few months, while others have been together for over a year with little success to date. Management has requested your consulting expertise in determining why there were varied successes and failures. Your analysis indicates that part of the explanation for the diverse results is based on the stage of team development. For example, Group 348 has been meeting for one month and still having some difficulty establishing a leader. At least three individuals are qualified to keep the group focused on its objectives, but they are still undecided about who should lead. Group 174 has been meeting for about two years and has nearly completed its task. They have only one more print to distribute to engineering for final consideration before prototype production can begin on the latest model of product S. Only four of the original nine members remain, and the group is winding down. Group 830 has been meeting for 11 months and is finding it difficult to get all 10 members together at one time. Several of the middle-level managers have been promoted and transferred to other functional areas or to other facilities of the company. To date, the group has had 18 members at one time or another to fill the 10 positions allocated by management and, as a result, has not yet started to focus on its objectives. On the other hand, Group 458 has been meeting for two months and seems to be progressing extremely well. You attended a meeting and observed that the group starts by chatting for about five minutes, then moves to the meeting area and begins reviewing the decisions of the last meeting. Then, Group 458 gets down to new business, focusing on their objectives and determining new assignments before concluding and returning to their functional job duties. Finally, Group 791 has been meeting for four months and appears to have close relationships among its members, considerable cohesiveness, and a focus on its objectives. -Group 458 is currently at the __________ stage.

Robert is the CEO of a manufacturing plant. He believes that smaller teams are more effective than bigger ones. Do you think this is the right strategy? Why or why not?

Compromising is both the most assertive and cooperative approach to conflict resolution.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Group Development at MagPie Inc. As a consultant who specializes in group dynamics, you are observing MagPie Inc.'s self-managing teams and work groups which are in different stages of development. MagPie is a medium-sized manufacturing business and has recently started using teams in all of their operations. Team training is lacking and you have been asked to evaluate the teams and suggest actions for better cohesiveness among the team members. You have labelled the teams A, B, C, D and E, in order to conceal their names. Group D has resolved its issues of leadership and is devoting all of its energy to getting the job done. Team C, on the other hand, shows significant resistance to its appointed leader's guidance and there is a lot of argument over roles within the group. The members of Group A are getting acquainted in their meeting. The team is made up of employees from different divisions and departments and they are still getting to know each other. Team E is in the process of setting their formal rules, roles, and clarifying expectations. Everyone seems to be in agreement as to how these are done. Team B is full of hostility. At least one group member has withdrawn by sitting quietly away from the others, and is no longer participating in the discussions. -Group D seems to be in the development stage of _________________.

The __________ view of conflict sees it as absolutely necessary for effective organizational performance.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Stages of Team Development at King Midas (Scenario) King Midas Manufacturing Co. has been utilizing groups to improve the manufacturing process, product design and packaging, vendor selection, quality control, and other organizational tasks. The groups have been starting and stopping for the last three years. Some of the most successful groups were together for only a few months, while others have been together for over a year with little success to date. Management has requested your consulting expertise in determining why there were varied successes and failures. Your analysis indicates that part of the explanation for the diverse results is based on the stage of team development. For example, Group 348 has been meeting for one month and still having some difficulty establishing a leader. At least three individuals are qualified to keep the group focused on its objectives, but they are still undecided about who should lead. Group 174 has been meeting for about two years and has nearly completed its task. They have only one more print to distribute to engineering for final consideration before prototype production can begin on the latest model of product S. Only four of the original nine members remain, and the group is winding down. Group 830 has been meeting for 11 months and is finding it difficult to get all 10 members together at one time. Several of the middle-level managers have been promoted and transferred to other functional areas or to other facilities of the company. To date, the group has had 18 members at one time or another to fill the 10 positions allocated by management and, as a result, has not yet started to focus on its objectives. On the other hand, Group 458 has been meeting for two months and seems to be progressing extremely well. You attended a meeting and observed that the group starts by chatting for about five minutes, then moves to the meeting area and begins reviewing the decisions of the last meeting. Then, Group 458 gets down to new business, focusing on their objectives and determining new assignments before concluding and returning to their functional job duties. Finally, Group 791 has been meeting for four months and appears to have close relationships among its members, considerable cohesiveness, and a focus on its objectives. -Group 830 is at the __________ stage.

Refer to the scenario below to answer the following questions. Manny's Many Conflicts (Scenario) Manny Gill is reflecting on several recent conflicts and how they were resolved. At work, he has spent weeks of careful negotiations with the labour union representing most of his workers. The previous round of negotiations had not gone well, and Manny saw an opportunity to try to mend the relationship between labour and management. In the end, both sides had to give up some of their demands in order to achieve a settlement before the current agreement expired. However, Manny was not about to give up any ground on his dispute with the production manager over the latest budget allocation. His position may not be popular, but Manny knew he was right! Then there was his brief encounter with Jeff, who complained that Sherry kept leaving the photocopier tray empty. Manny did not have time to deal with such squabbles, so he told Jeff to sort it out with Sherry directly. At home, he was hoping to catch the game on TV last night, but his wife wanted to watch a light romantic comedy instead. Manny agreed to watch the movie with her since it really seemed to be important to her. Besides, he could always catch the game highlights on the news at eleven! -Which conflict-resolution technique did Manny try first in the labour negotiation?

Effective work teams tend to have __________ goals.