Exam 14: Managing Teams

Discuss the major issues associated with group structure in global teams.

Which of the following is true about group decision making?

Which of the following types of conflict is based on how the work gets done?

In the group development process,the forming stage is complete when members begin to think of themselves as part of a group.

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.It now felt ironic that he was managing the consulting team that was going to help the organization become more group-oriented.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 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. -For a new project,David forms a team comprising of individuals from various functional departments.After a few days David observes conflicts within the group over who will control the group and what the group needs to be doing.This team is now in the ________ stage of group development.

Which of the following suggestions will help reduce the effect of social loafing in groups?

Which of the following refers to independent formal groups whose members,in addition to their regular jobs,take on traditional managerial responsibilities,such as hiring,planning and scheduling,and evaluating performance?

Research on conformity suggests that ________.

An organization must eliminate conflicts to be successful.Do you agree with this statement? Justify your answer..

An incentive system which appropriately recognizes team activities is an example of which of the following characteristics of effective teams?

List and discuss the five stages of group development.

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?

Strato Engineering (Scenario) Strato Engineering,a technology product company,formed a team (Team 1)to develop the next generation of the company's model CVF-D.The team is composed of the product development manager,chief engineer,director of procurement,human resource director,marketing research director,cost analysis director,operations director,and the four highest-dollar project vendors.The preliminary projection for the lifetime of the team is expected to be 2 years due to the level of technology involved in the product.Another team (Team 2)has also been established recently to solve a new problem with an industrial adhesive used by the firm.There are three members in this team: installer,engineer,and sales representative for the adhesive manufacturer,but the team does not have a specific leader.It is anticipated that it will require about 2 weeks to solve the problem.A third team (Team 3)has been working together for 4 years,implementing modifications to the company's current model CVF-C.None of the members of this team are at the same location.They utilize a variety of graphic-electronic technologies to view the product onscreen in three-dimension at each location simultaneously. -Team 1,which is working on the model CVF-D,is a ________ team.

The New Professor (Scenario) Dan Powell received his Ph.D.and has begun teaching at a large university.Prior to his first day of class,Dan's department head met with him and explained what was expected of a new professor in terms of maintaining discipline in his classroom and providing students with a challenging course.Later that week,Dan met with other professors in a faculty meeting.During that meeting,a number of issues were discussed.Although Dan did not agree with all of them,he did not feel comfortable voicing his opinion because he was less experienced than the other professors.Many of the senior professors were also reluctant to discuss issues. -Midway through his first semester,one of the teams in Dan's class came to him with a problem.Of the four team members,all of them were doing their jobs except Stacey.The group had agreed to have Stacey as a member since they all knew she had a high GPA and worked hard on all of her individual assignments.However,as a team member the group agreed that they were not getting Stacey's best efforts.Which of the following is a possible explanation for Stacey's behavior?

A work team ________.

Which of the following traits is negatively related to group productivity and morale?

The New Professor (Scenario) Dan Powell received his Ph.D.and has begun teaching at a large university.Prior to his first day of class,Dan's department head met with him and explained what was expected of a new professor in terms of maintaining discipline in his classroom and providing students with a challenging course.Later that week,Dan met with other professors in a faculty meeting.During that meeting,a number of issues were discussed.Although Dan did not agree with all of them,he did not feel comfortable voicing his opinion because he was less experienced than the other professors.Many of the senior professors were also reluctant to discuss issues. -When Dan's department head explained what was expected of him as a new professor,he was referring to Dan's ________ at the university.

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

Which of the following is true about the effectiveness of individual decision making over group decision making?

A problem-solving team brings together experts in various specialties to work together on various organizational tasks.