Exam 8: Group Dynamics and Work Teams

In the four-stage process of team creation and development, Stage 2 involves ensuring that the team has the proper resources that it needs to function.

Susan belongs to a social club where members get together to see movies, play cards or just talk. This type of group is a/an:

Table 8.1 Introduction to Business class is to observe the use of groups in a large manufacturing business. The students notice that most groups are arranged by reporting relationships. Bill discovers a group of managers who have been placed together to study and recommend a course of action on a flextime schedule for employees. Jane finds that the executives of the company have formed a team consisting of themselves, some middle managers, and a few hourly employees to work on improving work processes and efficiency within the company. This group has been in existence for 5 years and is going strong. -Refer to Table 8.1. The majority of groups in this business appear to be:

Dorothea is forming work teams by combining managers from various functions within the company. The fact that she is drawing team members from different departments defines the degree of autonomy the team has.

Teams can fail to work properly for a number of reasons, including an unwillingness of its members to cooperate.

Table 8.2 As a consultant of group processes, you are observing B.C.H.C., Inc.'s self-managing teams and work groups, which are in different stages of development in this medium-sized manufacturing business. You have named the teams and groups A, B, C, D, and E, to conceal their names and get the most honest information possible. Group D has resolved its issues of leadership and is devoting all of its energy to getting the task 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 still getting acquainted in their meetings. They are setting their formal norms and clarifying expectations.Team B is full of hostility. At least one group member has 'withdrawn' by sitting quietly and no longer participating in the discussions/arguments. -Refer to Table 8.2. Team C, on the other hand, seems to be at the:

________ focuses on the nature of groups, the variables that govern their development, formation, structure, performance, etc.

Groups tend to be responsive to self-imposed demands, whereas teams tend to be responsive to the demands of management.

Sometimes the presence of others enhances task performance, and sometimes it impairs it. This phenomenon is known as:

Table 8.3 Management is considering the implementation of teams in the company. Several issues come up during the initial discussion. First, should the teams be permanent or established simply for specific projects and terminated when the project is completed? Second, do we want self-managing teams, supervisor led teams, or a mix? Third issue, do we want teams within departments or should we use some cross-functional teams? The discussion concludes with a fourth issue, do we want teams focused on improving our processes or simply accomplishing the work we are already doing? -Refer to Table 8.3. The first issue discussed by the team is dealing with the ________ dimension of teams.

What are the four aspects of group structure?

Groups that are created by the organization and are intentionally designed to direct its members toward some important organizational goal are known as:

The tendency for various specialized roles to emerge as a group develops is called prescriptive norms.

Table 8.2 As a consultant of group processes, you are observing B.C.H.C., Inc.'s self-managing teams and work groups, which are in different stages of development in this medium-sized manufacturing business. You have named the teams and groups A, B, C, D, and E, to conceal their names and get the most honest information possible. Group D has resolved its issues of leadership and is devoting all of its energy to getting the task 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 still getting acquainted in their meetings. They are setting their formal norms and clarifying expectations.Team B is full of hostility. At least one group member has 'withdrawn' by sitting quietly and no longer participating in the discussions/arguments. -Refer to Table 8.2. Group A appears to be at which stage of team development?

An example of a self-oriented group role would be:

Which of the following constitutes a group?

A formal group that is composed of individuals with some special interest or expertise in a specific area, regardless of their positions in the organization, is known as a/n:

Table 8.4 Nermina is preparing to implement teams in her functional area. Currently she is studying how to create a team. In her past experience she often found that groups of people did less work than just one or two people could do. It is now two weeks later. Nermina is well into the process of creating teams. She is ensuring the correct resources, both human and material are available for the team. -Refer to Table 8.4. How could she have prevented the problem?

Describe the key characteristics of a group.

Table 8.3 Management is considering the implementation of teams in the company. Several issues come up during the initial discussion. First, should the teams be permanent or established simply for specific projects and terminated when the project is completed? Second, do we want self-managing teams, supervisor led teams, or a mix? Third issue, do we want teams within departments or should we use some cross-functional teams? The discussion concludes with a fourth issue, do we want teams focused on improving our processes or simply accomplishing the work we are already doing? -Refer to Table 8.3. The second issue discussed focuses on the ________ dimension of teams.