Deck 17: Managing Work Teams

Question 1

A team is a special type of group.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Researchers estimate that 50 percent or more of the employees work in teams at 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Some informal groups may actually be opposed to organizational goals.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Companies such as Toyota and Honda, known for their product development skills, require as many as 1,000 engineers working in teams for one to two years to develop a new car.

Question 5

In a recent study, half the managers responding believed that improving teamwork processes to focus on customers was the strategic initiative with the greatest potential for ensuring their organizations' success.

Question 6

Microsoft employees dislike working in teams because face-to-face communication and problem solving at its headquarters is seldom possible.

Question 7

A work team may vary from short term to permanent.

Question 8

Signicast Corporation, suppliers of metal parts for Harley Davidson and John Deere, use task forces to solve problems.

Question 9

Pharmaceutical companies use product development teams, which are different from multidisciplinary work teams.

Question 10

A self-managing work team normally consists of employees who meet once a week to make managerial decision for their unit.

Question 11

The first step in fostering team effectiveness involves stating what effectiveness means.

Question 12

Jeanie Duck with the Boston Consulting Group advises new teams to get past the startup phase quickly so that the team can focus on performance.

Question 13

The storming stage of team development is characterized by increased tension among members while increasing output at the same time.

Question 14

Feelings refer to the negative emotional experiences of the individual team members.

Question 15

The use of subteams to compensate for the problem of having too large a team is considered inappropriate by management experts.

Question 16

Increasing the team size demands greater attention by the leader.

Question 17

As work teams become larger, the team's tolerance of direction from the leader diminishes.

Question 18

Intrapreneurial teams frequently set up skunkworks operations in a remote location, away from distractions.

Question 19

Virtual work teams are typically multidisciplinary teams and rarely functional teams.

Question 20

Sabre found that technical skills were the primary essential requirement for virtual team members.

Question 21

Consensus means that the team leader's decision is final.

Question 22

Until four years ago, Roche had its scientist divided into teams that were __________.

A) focused on common goals
B) competing with each other for resources
C) unable to produce a blockbuster drug
D) collaborating with other pharmaceutical companies

Question 23

Competitive teams at Roche led to all of the following except __________.

A) multidisciplinary structure
B) reluctance to share expertise
C) project commitment
D) competition for resources

Question 24

CommonHealth wanted to facilitate teamwork in every possible way when it renovated its three buildings. All of the following worker-friendly spaces were provided except __________.

A) alcoves
B) meeting rooms
C) workout rooms
D) bistros

Question 25

CommonHealth designed workspace during their renovations that included a cappuccino bar in order to __________.

A) keep workers from leaving the building for breaks
B) encourage workers to congregate informally
C) create a formal discussion area for team members
D) energize workers who are stuck in cubicles all day

Question 26

What airline's pilots described in the text banded together in informal groups at major hubs across the country and agreed to refuse to fly overtime?

A) United Airlines
B) Southwest Airlines
C) Northwest Airlines
D) Continental Airlines

Question 27

Half the managers responding to one study believed what factor presents the greatest potential for ensuring their organizations' success?

A) innovation and on-time delivery of services
B) communication and cooperation among employees
C) improving team processes to focus on customers
D) networking and career growth for employees

Question 28

What challenges must management meet in order to assure the success of teams?

A) figuring out how to cope with the mountains of work involved
B) integrating the efforts of the individuals working on the projects
C) organizing employees into numerous work teams
D) all of the above

Question 29

Which of the following statements correctly describes Jostens' success with implementing self-managing teams?

A) Productivity increased from 6 rings per employee per day to 16 rings per employee per day.
B) Jostens includes peer evaluations in their teamwork plan.
C) The entire process, from order receipt to shipping, was shortened from 30 calendar days to just 10 calendar days.
D) Jostens publishes Ring Wear magazine and a Web site to enhance communication with the team members.

Question 30

What is the unique feature characterizing NASA's mission control team?

A) It has a membership that includes both suppliers and customers.
B) Its goal focuses on product development.
C) The work team has been in existence for several decades.
D) It is a functional work team brought together as a task force to complete a particular mission.

Question 31

What managerial competency did Signicast use when it adopted a team-based organizational design in the manufacture of precision metal parts?

A) communication competency
B) strategic action competency
C) global awareness competency
D) self-management competency

Question 32

What type of team did Signicast Corporation use when it developed plans for a new facility?

A) Signicast's executives involved the employees in a functional work team.
B) The employees were placed in a multidisciplinary work team.
C) A problem-solving task force was developed.
D) Despite implementing the team-based approach, Signicast discontinued the use of teams because of unanticipated negative side effects such as lingering unproductive conflicts and turnover.

Question 33

ConAgra, a diversified international food company, uses a team whose members are the purchasing manager and the purchasing agents in the department. Their goals include minimizing costs and ensuring that beef supplies are available to stores when needed. To achieve their goals, these work team members coordinate their activities constantly, sharing information on price changes and new products. What type of team is ConAgra likely using?

A) functional work team
B) self-managing work team
C) problem-solving work team
D) task force

Question 34

__________ is not one of the competitive advantages of multidisciplinary work teams.

A) Creativity
B) Speed
C) Production
D) Differentiation

Question 35

__________ refer(s) to the activities that enable a team to cooperate and coordinate the efforts of team members, including the development of the team over time, personal feelings, and behavioral norms.

A) Formation processes
B) External supports
C) Internal processes
D) Team culture

Question 36

Bobby Bradford has just received the results from the Team Assessment Survey that each team member was required to complete. Bobby should take all of the following actions except __________.

A) compute the team's average score for each question
B) provide feedback to the team
C) identify the team member with the lowest score
D) after awhile, reassess the members to measure if satisfactory progress has been made

Question 37

Ayako Liyama of Northern States Power Company has just administered the Team Assessment Survey to each of the individual team members in his group. All of the following are likely benefits of this survey except:

A) Liyama and the individual team members can learn how to manage more effectively the work team's internal process
B) Liyama can use the survey to pinpoint problems that the team needs to address
C) Liyama can provide feedback acknowledging what the team seems to be doing well and identifying the things that need to be improved
D) all of the above

Question 38

Dr. Dana Valich is a member of a work team at a large HMO. He has just presented a "wild" idea about patient services and was put down by other members of the team he thought had come to trust and accept him. Clearly, Dr. Valich thought this team was in what stage of team development?

A) norming stage
B) storming stage
C) performing stage
D) adjourning stage

Question 39

As it acquires companies, Michael Foods likes to do all of the following except:

A) allow the acquired company to remain autonomous.
B) create an environment of open communication.
C) preserve the entrepreneurial qualities of the acquired company.
D) transfer its business practices to the new division.

Question 40

A new culture arose when Michael Foods fully integrated the Papetti group that they had acquired. One of the first goals was to __________.

A) get rid of managers who were resistant to change
B) identify the best practices in each division
C) bring the two divisions together in one production facility
D) all of the above

Question 41

Important features of the external system are all of the following except __________.

A) culture
B) diagnosis of problems
C) team member selection
D) reward system

Question 42

Which of the following companies described in your textbook benefits from teams sharing close proximity to each other?

A) Lincoln Power Systems
B) Black and Decker
C) Microsoft
D) none of the above

Question 43

Because Sabre's virtual team members do not see each other very often, the company has designed their jobs with all of the following except:

A) classroom training before a team's launch.
B) a small group of senior team managers who meet frequently.
C) setting of objectives and clarification of roles.
D) CD-ROM training modules.

Question 44

Sabre invested in development of new measures for team effectiveness, which include __________.

A) customer satisfaction ratings
B) electronic monitoring of team discussions
C) 360-degree performance assessments
D) all of the above

Question 45

Eric Sorensen is developing rules and establishing practices for managing a new virtual work team at his new company Soccer for Stars. Eric should adopt all of the following practices except __________.

A) use a variety of communication technologies
B) pay attention to the quality of the communication transmissions
C) monitor the discussions of each member
D) encourage team members to discuss cultural differences

Question 46

Tonia Brown has been a member of a virtual work team for several years. Which of the following principles should Tonia's team adopt?

A) Resist the temptation to hold a face-to-face meeting.
B) Assemble the team members to visit others only when all members are present.
C) If meetings are necessary, limit them to only one or two a year.
D) Schedule periodic face-to-face meetings to refresh connections.

Question 47

Which of the following is true concerning NASA's team training?

A) The teams work together for six months before their space mission.
B) Due to the scientific nature of their work, formal training is emphasized more than informal team training.
C) NASA understands that individual needs come before effective teamwork.
D) None of the above correctly describe NASA's team training program.

Question 48

Employees of Chrysler's Evart Glass Plant were required to participate in a one-day camplike program as a part of team training and team building. What teamwork lesson was taught by having the members juggle several objects such as tennis balls, simultaneously, as a team?

A) Each member has different strengths and bringing these strengths together leads to task success.
B) Things that may seem impossible can be achieved when people work together.
C) Although everyone has a different role, each person touches and affects the outcome.
D) Teams must find and use each individual's hidden strengths.

Question 49

As a team leader choosing ways to reward your work team, you should ask all of the following questions except:

A) How can nonmonetary rewards be used to recognize excellent team performance?
B) Should all members of the team receive equal rewards?
C) Who should be responsible for the allocation of rewards among team members?
D) All of the above should be asked.

Question 50

What is a group? Briefly describe the two types of groups within an organization.

Question 51

Identify what the external system comprises.

Question 52

Identify four general guidelines that all virtual work teams should follow to function effectively.

Question 53

Describe how Chrysler's Evart Glass Plant division developed its use of teams and identify what competency its training emphasized.