Deck 8: Team Dynamics

Question 1

Which one of the following types of teams is best known for having members who are organized around work processes that complete an entire piece of work requiring several interdependent tasks and have substantial autonomy over the execution of those tasks?

A) self-directed
B) communities of practice
C) task forces
D) informal groups
E) production teams

Answer 1

self-directed

Question 2

What are the three characteristics that distinguish different types of teams?

A) team permanence, skill diversity, and authority dispersion
B) team cohesion, skill diversity, and authority dispersion
C) team cohesion, team size, and skill diversity
D) team performance, task complexity, and member diversity
E) team performance, skill diversity, and informality

Answer 2

team permanence, skill diversity, and authority dispersion

Question 3

________ are employees with similar or complementary skills that are organized into one unit.

A) Self-directed teams
B) Departmental teams
C) Task force teams
D) Informal groups
E) Social networks

Answer 3

Departmental teams

Question 4

Employees are more motivated in teams because they

A) have a drive to bond.
B) are not accountable to fellow team members.
C) are given additional funding.
D) consume time figuring out how to work together.
E) exert less effort than working alone.

Question 5

In organizations, ________ are the backbone of social networks.

A) task forces
B) departments
C) informal groups
D) teams
E) managers

Question 6

All of the following are examples of teams except

A) employees of a company's Accounting Department.
B) Red Cross volunteers assisting flood victims.
C) a project team responsible for constructing a new shopping center.
D) a local police force.
E) friends who meet for lunch at the cafeteria.

Question 7

Social loafing is minimized by

A) decreasing job enrichment.
B) forming larger teams.
C) using team members who are self-motivated.
D) measuring the team's overall performance.
E) assigning low task significance to the objectives.

Question 8

One cost of teams versus individuals working alone is ________-expending resources on team development and maintenance rather than on performing the task.

A) overconfidence
B) social loafing
C) coalition building
D) process loss
E) cohesion

Question 9

Which of the following is a motivating force that can make teams more productive?

A) the drive to defend
B) Brook's Law
C) process loss
D) lack of accountability
E) high accountability

Question 10

Which of the following types of behavior is primarily aimed at maintaining healthy psychological team dynamics?

A) conflicting
B) coordinating
C) communicating
D) comforting
E) concentrating

Question 11

Which of the following pairs of "five C's" of effective member behaviors primarily assist the team's task performance rather than team maintenance?

A) comforting and communicating
B) cooperating and conflict resolving
C) coordinating and communicating
D) conflict resolving and coordinating
E) comforting and cooperating

Question 12

Teams are influenced by environmental resources and environmental drivers. Which one of the following is an environmental driver?

A) internal competition
B) changing societal expectations
C) lower safety standards
D) team-based rewards
E) coordinated information systems

Question 13

You have just been asked to lead a team of 50 people. What are you likely to do if the task is highly complex?

A) Break the team into smaller groups by abilities.
B) Tell your supervisor to reduce the number of people.
C) Ask for more people.
D) Encourage them to all hold each other accountable.
E) Convince them that they have a new social identity.

Question 14

Of the five Cs, which one includes the behavior of accommodating others?

A) cooperating
B) coordinating
C) communicating
D) comforting
E) concentrating

Question 15

In which of the following scenarios would a diverse team be better than a homogeneous team?

A) a need to bring different viewpoints to the decision
B) on tasks requiring a high degree of cooperation
C) the team must reach the performing stage of team development quickly
D) in most organizational activities that require minimal conflict among team members
E) if the team is an emergency response team

Question 16

When a team benefits its members and the organization, and exists long enough to accomplish its mandate, it is said to be

A) effective.
B) efficient.
C) dysfunctional.
D) purposive.
E) cohesive.

Question 17

Which of the following is an element of team design?

A) team norms
B) team development
C) team trust
D) rewards
E) team size

Question 18

Employees with high interdependence should be formed into teams only when they

A) are diverse.
B) are responsible for distinct tasks with frequently conflicting objectives.
C) have previously been team members.
D) have seniority.
E) share the same task goals.

Question 19

Which of the following generally occurs during the storming stage of team development?

A) Members learn about each other and evaluate the benefits and costs of continued membership.
B) Members shift their attention away from task orientation to a socio-emotional focus as they realize their relationship is coming to an end.
C) Members learn to coordinate their actions and become more task oriented.
D) Members develop their first real sense of cohesion and, through disclosure and feedback, make an effort to understand and accept each other.
E) Members try to establish norms of appropriate behavior and performance standards.

Question 20

In which stage of team development is there a period of testing and orientation in which members learn about each other and evaluate the benefits and costs of continued membership?

A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) adjourning
E) performing

Question 21

During which stage of team development does the team develop its first real sense of cohesion and consensus on team objectives?

A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) adjourning
E) performing

Question 22

The ________ stage is marked by interpersonal conflict as members become more proactive and compete for various team roles.

A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) adjourning
E) performing

Question 23

Team cohesion tends to be higher when

A) the team is large.
B) entry into the team is difficult.
C) the team has distinct fault lines.
D) members have limited interaction.
E) the team has had a low success rate in its duties.

Question 24

Lawrence works in a team of four other accounting professionals within a company. Lawrence doesn't particularly agree with many of his teammates' ideas, such as leaving work early and failing to double-check some account entries. However, he works comfortably with the group because their behavior and decisions are predictable. What foundation of trust does Lawrence have in this team?

A) calculus-based
B) identification-based
C) knowledge-based
D) cooperative
E) collaborative

Question 25

________ are knowledge structures mutually held by team members about expectations and ideals of the collective task and team dynamics.

A) Team identities
B) Coordinating routines
C) Team mental models
D) Roles
E) Norms

Question 26

A team has high team ________ when members shift from viewing the team as something "out there" to something that is part of themselves.

A) identification
B) mental models
C) conflict
D) diversity
E) roles

Question 27

Most team roles either focus directly on

A) task performance or relationships.
B) relationships or conflict.
C) harmony or social interaction.
D) coordinating or diversity.
E) coordinating or conflict.

Question 28

When is team building most commonly applied?

A) when the team has adjourned
B) when the team is cohesive
C) when the team has regressed
D) when the team lacks diversity
E) when the team is new

Question 29

Team building interventions can have four objectives. Which of the following is not one of them?

A) goal setting
B) role clarification
C) problem solving
D) interpersonal relations
E) team adjournment

Question 30

What is the best way to establish desirable team norms?

A) Let them develop naturally.
B) Select team members with opposing values.
C) Seek input from non-team members.
D) Clearly state them when the team is created.
E) Define them during the adjournment stage of development.

Question 31

Team ________ is defined as the degree of attraction people feel toward the team and their motivation to remain members.

A) similarity
B) cohesion
C) diversity
D) development
E) design

Question 32

Which of the following statements regarding team cohesion is correct?

A) Team cohesion has less effect on team performance when the team has low task interdependence.
B) Members of highly cohesive teams tend to share less information with each other.
C) Members of highly cohesive teams spend less time together.
D) Teams with lower cohesion tend to perform better than teams with high cohesion.
E) Team cohesion has no effect on team performance.

Question 33

When team cohesion is low and team norms conflict with company goals, team performance is predicted to be

A) low.
B) moderately low.
C) moderately high.
D) high.
E) extremely low.

Question 34

A remote (virtual) team is defined as

A) any group in whose members are almost identical to each other in skills and values.
B) any group of in which one or more members operates across space, time, and organizational boundaries.
C) formal work teams in which most members do not feel that they are really part of the team.
D) informal groups that communicate with each other only through digital technologies.
E) any group whose members originate from several departments of the organization and temporarily work side-by-side in the same physical space to complete a project.

Question 35

To be successful, self-directed teams ideally should

A) be split into smaller teams, each of which completes one part of the work process.
B) be highly interdependent with other teams throughout the organization.
C) isolate the team members from each other.
D) have a sufficient autonomy to complete their work.
E) work remotely.

Question 36

Remote teams tend to work better when their members have all of the following except

A) high emotional intelligence.
B) good communication technology skills.
C) strong self-leadership skills.
D) extraverted personalities.
E) ability to decipher feelings from text messages.

Question 37

To manage remote teams effectively, organizations should

A) provide documented work processes and clear objectives.
B) specify the communication technology that the teams should use.
C) avoid face-to-face contact among team members.
D) use remote teams only for long-term projects.
E) only use them for production work.

Question 38

All of the following are characteristics of self-directed teams except

A) they are cross-functional.
B) their work requires several interdependent tasks.
C) they complete an entire piece of work.
D) they have little autonomy over how they execute their tasks.
E) interdependence with employees outside the team is minimal.

Question 39

One feature that distinguishes remote teams from most other types of teams is their

A) size and heterogeneity.
B) lack of co-location.
C) joint optimization and primary work unit.
D) norms and trust.
E) independence from information technology.

Question 40

Remote teams should have

A) a toolkit of communication channels.
B) external consultants.
C) vague operational objectives.
D) long-term assignments.
E) a low level of bonding.

Question 41

Due to informational technologies and knowledge work, ________ teams have become commonplace in most organizations.

A) gainsharing
B) production
C) remote
D) executive
E) self-directed

Question 42

Which of the following is characteristic of self-directed teams?

A) Team members are given very little autonomy.
B) Team members typically have identical skills.
C) Team members collectively complete an entire piece of work.
D) The tasks of each team member are independent of each other.
E) Team members have more interaction with members of other teams than with members of their own team.

Question 43

Research shows that self-directed teams

A) potentially increase productivity but not job satisfaction.
B) potentially increase job satisfaction but not productivity.
C) potentially increase productivity and job satisfaction.
D) have no impact on productivity or job satisfaction.
E) There has been no research done on whether self-directed teams influence productivity and job satisfaction.

Question 44

Which of the following is not one of the effects of high team efficacy?

A) Teams set more challenging goals.
B) Teams are more motivated to achieve goals.
C) Teams make better decisions.
D) Teams have more positive moods.
E) Teams are more vigilant in decision making.

Question 45

Which of the following is not one of the four rules of brainstorming?

A) Don't criticize.
B) Speak freely.
C) Provide as many ideas as possible.
D) Build on ideas that have been presented.
E) "Crazy" ideas should not be offered.

Question 46

Lab studies have indicated that individuals working alone produce more ideas than brainstorming teams. Yet numerous successful firms report that brainstorming is very helpful. What might explain this discrepancy?

A) Lab studies offer better incentives to individuals than to teams.
B) Production blocking does not occur in lab studies.
C) The firms studied were overstating their opinion.
D) Lab studies used untrained students as facilitators whereas firms with brainstorming use trained facilitators.
E) The firms studied had not actually used brainstorming.

Question 47

The main reason why teams become overconfident is

A) the collective effect of each team member's self-enhancement on the team.
B) the effect of evaluation apprehension on individual team members.
C) the team's response to a strong internal threat.
D) that supervisors have less control over teams than over individual employees.
E) the collective effect of each team member's social loafing on the team.

Question 48

Which of the following most effectively minimizes the problem of production blocking in team decisions?

A) brainstorming
B) electronic brainstorming
C) Brooks's law
D) nominal group technique
E) evaluation apprehension

Question 49

Which of the following team-based activities tends to be more effective than the others at generating creative ideas with minimal production blocking, evaluation apprehension, or conformity problems?

A) brainstorming
B) remote participation
C) electronic brainstorming
D) nominal group technique
E) gainsharing

Question 50

________ is the shared belief that engaging in interpersonal risk-taking will not have adverse consequences.

A) Evaluation apprehension
B) Production blocking
C) Psychological safety
D) Overconfidence
E) Mistrust

Question 51

In teams with high psychological safety, individual members are

A) less willing to offer "weird" ideas.
B) less able to engage in novel behaviors.
C) more likely to demonstrate overconfidence.
D) more likely to engage in production blocking.
E) more likely to constructively disagree with other team members.

Question 52

Raisa has worked at GHI Inc. for 14 years. GHI has a large building where each work unit is located on a different floor. Raisa works on the accounting floor. She is also a member of a team formed to explore redesigning the office layout, where she met Suzie from Engineering and José from Receiving. That team will generate a report, then disband. Each week, the three meet after work on Thursdays to play darts at a local pub.

-Raisa works in the unit in Accounting that handles Accounts Receivable. What type of team is this unit most likely to be?

A) leadership team
B) self-directed team
C) remote team
D) task force team
E) departmental team

Question 53

Raisa has worked at GHI Inc. for 14 years. GHI has a large building where each work unit is located on a different floor. Raisa works on the accounting floor. She is also a member of a team formed to explore redesigning the office layout, where she met Suzie from Engineering and José from Receiving. That team will generate a report, then disband. Each week, the three meet after work on Thursdays to play darts at a local pub.

-The office redesign team is an example of a(n)

A) departmental team.
B) task force (project team).
C) self-directed team.
D) informal group.
E) remote team.

Question 54

Raisa has worked at GHI Inc. for 14 years. GHI has a large building where each work unit is located on a different floor. Raisa works on the accounting floor. She is also a member of a team formed to explore redesigning the office layout, where she met Suzie from Engineering and José from Receiving. That team will generate a report, then disband. Each week, the three meet after work on Thursdays to play darts at a local pub.

-When Raisa, Suzie, and José meet after work to play darts, they are forming a(n)

A) task force.
B) self-directed team.
C) informal group.
D) departmental team.
E) remote team.

Question 55

Ned was assigned recently to a large team working on a major software release that was taking longer than expected. Ned and the other late additions into the project spent a month partnered with a senior programmer who went over the project in detail with them and got them up to speed. Unfortunately, this training put the project even farther behind schedule. After a few months of working on the project with so many other programmers, Ned's work output becomes noticeably lower than it was before when he was working independently.

-________ is the loss of work time on the project due to Ned being added to the project late.

A) Process gain
B) Social loafing
C) Brooks's law
D) Authority dispersion
E) Team effectiveness

Question 56

Ned was assigned recently to a large team working on a major software release that was taking longer than expected. Ned and the other late additions into the project spent a month partnered with a senior programmer who went over the project in detail with them and got them up to speed. Unfortunately, this training put the project even farther behind schedule. After a few months of working on the project with so many other programmers, Ned's work output becomes noticeably lower than it was before when he was working independently.

-Ned's reduced work output could be due to ________, a motivational process loss.

A) a lack of knowledge
B) job dissatisfaction
C) a hostile work environment
D) social loafing
E) lack of proper supervision

Question 57

Jennifer works for a Sunshine Manufacturing, where her team shares a machine and materials with another team that works a different shift. Each team is responsible for ensuring that the machine is in working order and the work area is fully stocked before handing it over to the other team at shift change. While working, Jennifer begins the manufacturing process, then passes her work along to her teammate, Angela, to complete the next step of the process. After this, Angela passes it along to Raul to complete the process.

-________ interdependence occurs when two teams share a work space and a machine.

A) Reciprocal
B) Sequential
C) Complete
D) Pooled
E) Collective

Question 58

Jennifer works for a Sunshine Manufacturing, where her team shares a machine and materials with another team that works a different shift. Each team is responsible for ensuring that the machine is in working order and the work area is fully stocked before handing it over to the other team at shift change. While working, Jennifer begins the manufacturing process, then passes her work along to her teammate, Angela, to complete the next step of the process.

-After this, Angela passes it along to Raul to complete the process.Overall, Jennifer's team functions with ________ interdependence.

A) reciprocal
B) sequential
C) complete
D) pooled
E) collective

Question 59

Juliet is a member of a team of 17 people working in research and development for a toy maker. They have weekly meetings to discuss new toy ideas. At these meetings, participants are encouraged to identify potential toy products no matter how crazy they seem, to build on each other's ideas, and to avoid evaluating or criticizing any of the ideas presented. Juliet has several good ideas in these sessions, but forgets or doesn't have time to mention some of them because it takes time for her teammates to finish describing their ideas.

-Juliet's inability to present all of her creative ideas in these meetings is evidence of

A) groupthink.
B) evaluation apprehension.
C) brainstorming.
D) production blocking.
E) brainwriting.

Question 60

Juliet is a member of a team of 17 people working in research and development for a toy maker. They have weekly meetings to discuss new toy ideas. At these meetings, participants are encouraged to identify potential toy products no matter how crazy they seem, to build on each other's ideas, and to avoid evaluating or criticizing any of the ideas presented. Juliet has several good ideas in these sessions, but forgets or doesn't have time to mention some of them because it takes time for her teammates to finish describing their ideas.

-What type of meetings is Juliet participating in?

A) brainstorming
B) electronic brainstorming
C) informal group gathering
D) remote team meeting
E) brainwriting

Question 61

NDB has several teams in their company. At any given time, the company may have teams starting and ending. Juan's team has just started to build consensus around the group's objectives. Kimberly is on a recently-created team; so far, everyone is being polite and deferring authority. Sheena's team has completed its project and is about to disband. Victor's team has learned to efficiently coordinate and resolve conflicts.

- Kimberly is on a team that is most likely in the ________ stage of team development.

A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) performing
E) adjourning

Question 62

NDB has several teams in their company. At any given time, the company may have teams starting and ending. Juan's team has just started to build consensus around the group's objectives. Kimberly is on a recently-created team; so far, everyone is being polite and deferring authority. Sheena's team has completed its project and is about to disband. Victor's team has learned to efficiently coordinate and resolve conflicts.

-Juan is on a team that is most likely in the ________ stage of team development.

A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) performing
E) adjourning

Question 63

NDB has several teams in their company. At any given time, the company may have teams starting and ending. Juan's team has just started to build consensus around the group's objectives. Kimberly is on a recently-created team; so far, everyone is being polite and deferring authority. Sheena's team has completed its project and is about to disband. Victor's team has learned to efficiently coordinate and resolve conflicts.

-Victor is on a team that is most likely in the ________ stage of team development.

A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) performing
E) adjourning

Question 64

NDB has several teams in their company. At any given time, the company may have teams starting and ending. Juan's team has just started to build consensus around the group's objectives. Kimberly is on a recently-created team; so far, everyone is being polite and deferring authority. Sheena's team has completed its project and is about to disband. Victor's team has learned to efficiently coordinate and resolve conflicts.

-Sheena is on a team that is most likely in the ________ stage of team development.

A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) performing
E) adjourning

Question 65

Informal groups exist primarily to serve the benefits of their members.

Question 66

Team members are often motivated by their drive to bond, which can make the team more productive.

Question 67

Team design elements include team norms, cohesion, and trust.

Question 68

As a general rule, teams should have many more members than needed in case some members leave the team.

Question 69

One important element of team member behavior is comforting-helping coworkers maintain a healthy psychological state.

Question 70

Teams will have a high level of trust when that trust is based on avoiding sanctions if team expectations are violated.

Question 71

Having plenty of structure is a success factor for remote teams.

Question 72

One reason remote teams have become commonplace is that people now perform knowledge work.

Question 73

Effective team decision making is more likely in psychologically safe environments.