Exam 10: Understanding Groups and Teams

Refer to the Scenario below to answer the questions that follow. 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 the stage of group development is part of the explanation for the diverse results.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 between its members,considerable cohesiveness,and a focus on its objectives. -Group 348 is at the ________ stage.

Being a big picture thinker in a team is an example of a specialist role.

Which of the following is good advice for a manager to limit social loafing?