Deck 6: Foundations of Group Behavior

Question 1

Which of the following is likely to generate the least innovative alternatives?

A) face-to-face interacting groups
B) electronic meeting
C) nominal group technique
D) Delphi technique
E) brainstorming

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What are the five stages of group development?

A) introduction, development, production, deterioration, adjournment
B) forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
C) generation, implementation, construction, production, termination
D) initiation, evolution, maturation, degeneration, termination
E) acting, reacting, enacting, impacting, acting

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What term is used for acceptable standards of behavior that are shared by a group's members?

A) standards
B) norms
C) codes of behavior
D) explicit contracts
E) rules

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is not likely to increase group cohesiveness?

A) bonding opportunities exist between members
B) a high level of group productivity
C) the group is physically isolated
D) the existence of external threats
E) members spending a lot of time together

Question 5

What result can groupshift have on the decisions a group makes?

A) They are generally riskier.
B) They are made by groups rather than individuals.
C) They are less effective.
D) They are objectively incorrect.
E) They are made more quickly.

Question 6

Which of the following statements about status is not true?

A) Status is an important motivator.
B) High status members are better able to resist conformity pressures than lower status members.
C) Conformity is affected by status.
D) Low status members are given more freedom to deviate from norms than are other members.
E) Possession of personal characteristics that are positively valued by the group will give a member higher status.

Question 7

Adila, Bibi, and Radwa work in different departments but often eat lunch together. They are an example of what type of group?

A) task
B) formal
C) command
D) reactant
E) informal

Question 8

Temporary groups with deadlines tend to follow the __________model.

A) punctuated equilibrium
B) cluster variance
C) frantic action
D) sociometry
E) five-stage group development

Question 9

Akram has learned in an OB course that __________.

A) team spirit always spurs individual effort and enhances the group's overall productivity
B) groups composed of all men or all women are the most effective groups, in general
C) large groups are better at taking action
D) small groups are good for developing ideas
E) social loafing is the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively

Question 10

Which is the stage of group development characterized by the development of close relationships and cohesiveness?

A) initiating
B) performing
C) forming
D) bonding
E) norming

Question 11

Which is not a common class of norms appearing in most work groups?

A) performance
B) appearance
C) allocation of resources
D) in-group status
E) social arrangement

Question 12

Norms that dictate with whom group members eat lunch, friendships on and off the job, and social games are__________ norms.

A) social arrangement
B) leisure
C) appearance
D) performance
E) confluence

Question 13

Your organization is considering the use of team decision making. You have read the literature on decision making and are trying to inform your manager about the advantages and disadvantages of group decision making.

-You should expect to find that__________ .

A) group discussions will be shared equally
B) group decision making will be faster
C) group decision making will be very costly
D) groups will find reaching a decision to be less effortful than individuals
E) there will be increased acceptance of the decision

Question 14

What term is used for a set of expected behavior patterns associated with a particular position in a social unit?

A) role identity
B) role perception
C) identity
D) role
E) role expectation

Question 15

What term is used for the mutual expectations of what management expects from workers and what workers expect from management?

A) role identity
B) group norm
C) reactive goals
D) role expectation
E) psychological contract

Question 16

What term is used for the degree to which group members are attracted to one another and are motivated to stay in the group?

A) integration
B) interdependence
C) cohesiveness
D) reliability
E) sociability

Question 17

A local government work-crew cleans up parks and other public spaces. In this crew the dirtiest jobs are generally given to the newest members, while the more senior members of the crew tend to do little except draw their pay. What is the class of norms that encompasses arrangements like this?

A) performance.
B) appearance
C) confluence
D) financial rewards
E) resource allocation

Question 18

What sort of group is defined by the organization's structure?

A) interest
B) formal
C) informal
D) task
E) friendship

Question 19

The group type that is determined by the organization chart is the__________ group.

A) work
B) job
C) command
D) social
E) authority

Question 20

In the second stage of group development__________ .

A) intragroup conflict often occurs
B) groups disband
C) close relationships are developed
D) the job task is performed
E) the group demonstrates cohesiveness

Question 21

Your organization is considering the use of team decision making. You have read the literature on decision making and are trying to inform your manager about the advantages and disadvantages of group decision making.

-You have observed that the group tends to come to consensus very quickly and there appears to be an illusion of unanimity. You conclude that they may be suffering from __________ .

A) inefficiency syndrome
B) groupshift
C) groupthink
D) risky shift
E) disintegrating norms

Question 22

You decide that your company's choice of which new product to manufacture needs to have widespread acceptance and that this decision needs to be of the highest quality possible. Having read the literature on decision making, you believe that this choice needs to be made by a group of your best managers.
You have decided to use the electronic meeting technique. Which of the following is not true about this type of meeting?

A) It can be highly effective under certain conditions.
B) Participants will be anonymous.
C) Group cohesiveness will be high.
D) Participants type their responses onto a computer screen.
E) You can expect participants to be honest.

Question 23

Which of the following is an effective means of countering social loafing?

A) increase the size of the group
B) increase the amount by which the group's progress is monitored
C) provide means by which individual efforts can be identified
D) increase the rewards the group is given if it succeeds
E) increase the group's workload

Question 24

When do informal groups appear?

A) when formal groups cannot meet their goals
B) in response to the need for social contact
C) in reaction to formal groups
D) as a result of social needs
E) most frequently in bureaucracies

Question 25

Several years ago you began a small retail store to sell computer parts. The store grew and the business expanded to offer computer repair and custom programming. You have noticed that people have definite expectations about what their appropriate roles within the expanding company should be.

-Sadiq is expected to help customers in the retail store as well as perform computer repair work. He feels that every time he gets started on a repair, he is interrupted and doesn't know whether to finish his repair or wait on the customer. Sadiq suffers from role__________ .

A) expectations
B) conflict
C) perception
D) identity
E) duality

Question 26

Your group is engaged in problem solving and your goal is fact-finding. Which of the following size group should be most effective?

A) 4
B) 2
C) 15
D) 8
E) 10

Question 27

Your organization is considering the use of team decision making. You have read the literature on decision making and are trying to inform your manager about the advantages and disadvantages of group decision making.

-You should expect a weakness of group decision making to be__________ .

A) decreased risky shift
B) employees will be less accepting of the group decision
C) less complete knowledge
D) the decision will probably be a lower quality decision
E) more time will be used to make the decision

Question 28

What norms include things like appropriate dress and loyalty to the group or organization?

A) social arrangement
B) confluence
C) appearance
D) allocation of resources
E) performance

Question 29

Which of the following is not an explanation for the phenomenon of groupshift?

A) The group diffuses responsibility.
B) Group discussion motivates members to show their willingness to take risks.
C) Most first-world societies value risk.
D) The group leader usually gets the credit or blame for the group action.
E) Discussion creates familiarization among members.

Question 30

You decide that your company's choice of which new product to manufacture needs to have widespread acceptance and that this decision needs to be of the highest quality possible. Having read the literature on decision making, you believe that this choice needs to be made by a group of your best managers.
You have decided to use the nominal group technique. Which is true about this method?

A) This method is good for encouraging independent thinking.
B) This method requires a great deal of face-to-face interaction.
C) This method is good for processing ideas rapidly.
D) This method is good for building group cohesiveness.
E) This method is an inexpensive means for generating a large number of ideas.

Question 31

After which stage of a group's development has the group formed a common set of expectations of member behaviors?

A) norming
B) storming
C) development
D) maturation
E) forming

Question 32

Employees who band together to seek improved working conditions form a(n)__________ group.

A) interest
B) union
C) work
D) emancipated
E) support

Question 33

Safiya works as a salesperson in a department store. Whenever a customer asks for an item that is in stock but not on display, she usually tells them that the product is out of stock. "It's a pain going into the stock-room to find an item," says Safiya. "Nobody in my department ever tells a customer the truth about what is in stock." This example illustrates which of the following facts about deviant workplace behavior?

A) Groups will come to their own conclusions about what is and isn't appropriate.
B) Deviant workplace behavior will arise when tasks that an employee is supposed to perform are unpleasant or difficult.
C) Most workers do not consider lying to a customer be deviant workplace behavior.
D) Deviant workplace behavior flourishes where it's supported by group norms.
E) Workers will lie to customers as long as the customers do not complain about it.

Question 34

Given what Akram knows about groups, what is a good size for a group that must take action?

A) 9
B) over 12
C) 4
D) 7
E) 12

Question 35

What term is used for the socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others?

A) command
B) magnus
C) regency
D) status
E) authority

Question 36

Astro Inc. is reorganizing and your new work group begins working together on Monday morning. Your college course in organizational behavior contained information about the stages of group development and your supervisor has asked your advice about the predictable stages of group development.

-The final stage for this permanent work group should be__________ .

A) adjourning
B) maturity
C) performing
D) termination
E) the omega stage

Question 37

Which of the following is not a finding of Elton Mayo's Hawthorne studies?

A) Group influences are significant in affecting individual behavior.
B) A worker's behavior and sentiments are closely related.
C) Competition between groups will maximize group output.
D) Group standards are highly effective in establishing individual worker output.
E) Money was less a factor in determining worker output than were group standards, sentiments, and security.

Question 38

Which of the following is a phenomenon in which group pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views?

A) group conformity
B) groupshift
C) compromise
D) risk transfer
E) groupthink

Question 39

If your group must take action, which size should be most effective?

A) 3
B) 24
C) 12
D) 7
E) 100

Question 40

Most people assume that a police officer should behave in a lawful manner, not show any favoritism to any particular group, and do their best to uphold the law. What term is used for this kind of belief?

A) a norm identity
B) a norm violation
C) a norm
D) a role expectation
E) a role perception

Question 41

Which one of the following characteristics is not necessarily true about groups?

A) Groups have two or more members.
B) Groups interact.
C) Groups have particular objectives.
D) Group members are interdependent.
E) Groups have assigned goals.

Question 42

A temporary task group working under a time-constrained deadline would be expected to behave in which of the following manners?

A) group energy will move rapidly from getting to know and understand each other to performing the task at hand
B) a period of activity where tasks are set and the bulk of the project is completed, followed by a period of inertia where what little work remains is performed
C) forming, then storming, then norming, then performing, and finally adjourning
D) develop plans, assign roles, determine and allocate resources, resolve conflicts, and set norms
E) exhibit long periods of inertia interspersed with brief revolutionary changes triggered by its members' awareness of looming deadlines

Question 43

What sort of group should you avoid if you want to minimize interpersonal conflict?

A) brainstorming
B) interacting
C) nominal
D) social
E) electronic

Question 44

What term is used for antisocial actions by organizational members who voluntarily violate established norms and that result in negative consequences for the organization, its members, or both?

A) discommitment behavior
B) abnormal behavior
C) deviant workplace behavior
D) ethical dilemmas
E) reactive affirmation behavior

Question 45

Which of the following statements is true?

A) All task groups are also command groups.
B) All task groups are also friendship groups.
C) All command groups are also task groups.
D) All command groups are also informal groups.
E) All informal groups are also command groups.

Question 46

Which of the following statements most accurately describes interest groups?

A) They are formed because of some common objective.
B) They develop because individual members have one or more common characteristics.
C) They are governed by labor laws.
D) They are longer lasting than friendship groups.
E) They are likely to involve great social conflict.

Question 47

Which type of decision-making group is most committed to the group solution?

A) brainstorming
B) nominal
C) social
D) interacting
E) electronic

Question 48

Roles, norms, status, and cohesiveness are examples of __________.

A) group properties
B) team mechanisms
C) structural variables
D) static factors
E) team factors

Question 49

Several years ago you began a small retail store to sell computer parts. The store grew and the business expanded to offer computer repair and custom programming. You have noticed that people have definite expectations about what their appropriate roles within the expanding company should be.
You can help the people in the company understand their roles and the roles of other people by explaining some common facts about roles. Which of the following is not true?

A) Each person will be expected to play a number of diverse roles.
B) It may be helpful for them to view role expectations through the perspective of a psychological contract.
C) People can be flexible in the roles that they play.
D) Most people have the ability to shift roles rapidly when they recognize that the situation and its demands require major changes.
E) Role perception is how people believe others are expected to act in their given roles.

Question 50

When the group energy is focused on the task at hand, the group has moved to the __________stage.

A) norming
B) storming
C) performing
D) maturation
E) production

Question 51

After which stage of a group's development is there a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership within the group?

A) evolution
B) development
C) norming
D) forming
E) storming

Question 52

Which of the following was the major finding of Zimbardo's simulated prison experiment?

A) Group cohesiveness is so important that individuals will restrain their natural impulses in order to remain part of the group.
B) Individuals can rapidly assimilate new roles very different from their inherent personalities.
C) Status differences between groups will always result in conflict between those groups.
D) An individual's emotions and the behavioral responses to those emotions are congruent.
E) When given the opportunity, people will tend to act in an oppressive manner to those around them.

Question 53

Groups based on support for a given sports team are examples of what sort of group?

A) interest
B) booster
C) friendship
D) sports
E) miscreant

Question 54

When Rafa became a doctor she modeled her manner on her observations of more experienced doctors, and also on the behavior of doctors in medical dramas she had enjoyed watching as a child on TV. What is Rafa modeling her manner upon?

A) the role behaviors of doctors
B) her role expectation of doctors
C) her role perception of doctors
D) the core role actions of doctors
E) the role identity of doctors

Question 55

Which of the following is not considered an advantage of electronic meetings?

A) Chitchat is eliminated.
B) Individuals receive credit for their ideas.
C) It is anonymous.
D) Members can be honest.
E) It is speedy.

Question 56

The major contribution of the Asch study was to demonstrate the impact of __________.

A) convergence
B) cognitive dissonance
C) seating arrangements
D) group pressures
E) status

Question 57

Which of the following is true of role identity?

A) People have the ability to shift roles rapidly when the situation requires change.
B) Everyone is required to play one specific role in every situation.
C) No two people ever agree on what constitutes a role.
D) There is considerable inertia in role identity after roles are changed.
E) Role perception creates the attitudes and actual behaviors consistent with a role.

Question 58

Which of the following is not one of the most common reasons why people join groups?

A) equity
B) status
C) goal achievement
D) security
E) power

Question 59

Astro Inc. is reorganizing and your new work group begins working together on Monday morning. Your college course in organizational behavior contained information about the stages of group development and your supervisor has asked your advice about the predictable stages of group development.

-You should tell your supervisor that in the first stage of group development, the team members will probably be__________ .

A) confident
B) focused on the task at hand
C) in conflict
D) uncertain
E) excited

Question 60

Which one of the following group types is organizationally determined?

A) authority
B) task
C) social
D) work
E) job

Question 61

Which is not a weakness of group decision making?

A) It's not clear who is accountable for bad decisions.
B) It can be dominated by one or a few members.
C) There is less originality.
D) It is time consuming.
E) It suffers from ambiguous responsibility.

Question 62

Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to expend less energy when working individually than when working collectively.

Question 63

A group is most likely to tolerate deviation from a group's conformity norms by which of the following individuals?

A) a high status individual who does not care about the social rewards the group provides
B) a low status individual who strongly wishes to integrate within the group
C) a high status individual who is tightly integrated into the group's social structure
D) a low status individual who is not well regarded by the rest of the group
E) a low status individual who has only recently entered the group

Question 64

High status people tend to__________ .

A) assist more
B) have superior insight
C) be more assertive
D) be well liked
E) be more reflective

Question 65

What term is used for the process by which an individual's desire for acceptance by the group and the pressure by the group on individual members to match its standards results in a change in individual attitudes and behaviors?

A) coercion
B) commitment
C) convergence
D) confluence
E) conformity

Question 66

According to the punctuated equilibrium model, groups tend to experience what for the first half of the project?

A) inertia
B) discord
C) mid-life crisis
D) markedly accelerated activity
E) reorganization and redirection

Question 67

Individual decisions are generally preferable to group decisions when which of the following is sought?

A) broad unanimity
B) speed
C) quality
D) acceptance
E) creativity

Question 68

Which of the following is not an example of a work group norm dealing with performance?

A) the acceptable level of output
B) the importance of promptness
C) when an employee needs to look busy
D) the appropriate levels of tardiness
E) how hard an employee should work

Question 69

Astro Inc. is reorganizing and your new work group begins working together on Monday morning. Your college course in organizational behavior contained information about the stages of group development and your supervisor has asked your advice about the predictable stages of group development.

-You should predict that the most productive stage will be __________.

A) increasing
B) omitting
C) maturity
D) producing
E) performing

Question 70

Akram is forming a fact-finding group. What would be the better group size to gain diverse input?

A) 3
B) over 12
C) 7
D) 9
E) 10

Question 71

What will happen if group cohesiveness is high and performance norms are low?

A) Internal conflict will be low.
B) Productivity will be low.
C) Internal conflict will be high.
D) It will have little effect on internal conflict or productivity.
E) Productivity will be high.

Question 72

All task groups are also command groups.

Question 73

Which stage in group development is most characterized by uncertainty?

A) forming
B) introduction
C) norming
D) storming
E) evolution

Question 74

Several years ago you began a small retail store to sell computer parts. The store grew and the business expanded to offer computer repair and custom programming. You have noticed that people have definite expectations about what their appropriate roles within the expanding company should be.

-To clear up role confusion, you have decided that you must come to an unwritten agreement with each employee about your mutual expectations. You are developing a(n)__________ .

A) employment contract
B) role playing document
C) role expectation contract
D) implicit role adherence schedule
E) psychological contract

Question 75

Conformity is the degree to which members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.

Question 76

Social arrangement norms are usually formal in nature.

Question 77

What term is used for the tendency for individuals to spend less effort when working collectively?

A) social loafing
B) clustering
C) the rule of diminishing returns
D) groupshift
E) groupthink

Question 78

If a low-to-medium ability person dominates the group, the group's overall effectiveness will suffer.

Question 79

What is brainstorming?

A) a process used mainly when group members cannot agree on a solution
B) a process for generating ideas
C) a technique used to build group cohesiveness
D) the most effective means of generating answers
E) a technique that tends to restrict independent thinking

Question 80

Group decisions are generally preferable to individual decisions when which of the following is sought?

A) efficiency
B) acceptance of the solution
C) a conjunctive solution
D) speed
E) clear responsibility