Deck 2: Collaboration Information Systems

Question 1

Which of the following is a key difference between collaboration and cooperation?

A) Unlike cooperation, collaboration occurs when a job has to be accomplished.
B) Cooperation requires people to have a common goal, whereas collaboration occurs even without a common goal.
C) People should work together to cooperate, whereas they need not work together to collaborate.
D) Unlike cooperation, collaboration emphasizes iteration and feedback.
E) Cooperation emphasizes iteration and feedback, and collaboration emphasizes consensus.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Distinguish between cooperation and collaboration.

Answer 2

Cooperation is a group of people working together, all doing essentially the same type of work, to accomplish a job. A group of four painters, each painting a different wall in the same room, are working cooperatively. A cooperative group can accomplish a given task faster than an individual working alone, but the cooperative result is usually not better in quality than the result of someone working alone.
Collaboration occurs when a group of people work together to achieve a common goal via a process of feedback and iteration. Using feedback and iteration, one person will produce something, say the draft of a document, and a second person will review that draft and provide critical feedback. Given the feedback, the original author or someone else will then revise the first draft to produce a second. The work proceeds in a series of stages, or iterations.

Question 3

A student team, which is assigned a term project, works together to achieve results. They provide continuous feedback to each other and thus, complete the project. Which of the following is being illustrated in this activity?

A) collaboration
B) association
C) participation
D) cooperation
E) support

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Identify a primary purpose of collaboration.

A) eliminating individual tasks
B) making decisions
C) evaluating coworkers
D) performing routine tasks
E) personal improvement

Question 5

Which of the following is the most important trait that an effective collaborator should have?

A) avoiding unpopular ideas
B) persuasive presentation skills
C) giving and receiving critical feedback
D) previous experience as a collaborator
E) ability to resolve conflict

Question 6

A student group that is working on a project is considered to be a collaboration if the ________.

A) members work on different sections by themselves
B) members provide feedback on each other's work
C) group uses Google Drive to share files
D) group uses a file server to share files
E) group uses Gmail to communicate

Question 7

Groupthink is a phenomenon where the desire for group cohesion leads to improved decision making.

Question 8

________ is defined as a group of people working together, all doing essentially the same type of work, to accomplish a job.

A) Collaboration
B) Association
C) Participation
D) Cooperation
E) Support

Question 9

According to J. Richard Hackman, which of the following is a primary criterion for judging team success?

A) successful outcome
B) experience in collaborating
C) ability to be dynamic
D) availability of external help
E) least amount of conflict

Question 10

Being a skilled and persuasive presenter is the most important characteristic for an effective collaborator.

Question 11

Which of the following is the least important characteristic of an effective collaborator?

A) willingness to enter difficult conversations
B) having experience as a collaborator
C) showing the ability to receive critical feedback
D) being skillful at giving negative feedback
E) willing to put forward unpopular ideas

Question 12

According to J. Richard Hackman, what are the three primary criteria for judging team success?

Question 13

Collaboration is defined as a group of people ________.

A) coming together to perform tasks that are different
B) working together to achieve a common goal
C) performing independent tasks that are important
D) working without having to critically analyze each other's work
E) reconciling differences in communication styles

Question 14

Feedback and iteration enable a group to produce something greater than any single person could accomplish by working independently.

Question 15

Richard Hackman's studies revealed that successful outcome is a major criterion for judging team success.

Question 16

Operational decisions are those that support ________.

A) operational, day-to-day activities
B) optimum utilization of resources
C) organizational issues
D) allocation of tasks
E) strategic competitive objectives

Question 17

Describe the guidelines for giving and receiving constructive criticism.

Question 18

List six of the most important characteristics of an effective collaborator.

Question 19

Constructive criticism is negative advice given to improve an outcome.

Question 20

________ is defined as a group of people working together to achieve a common goal via a process of feedback and iteration.

A) Participation
B) Collaboration
C) Association
D) Cooperation
E) Assimilation

Question 21

An organization uses a formula to compute the reorder quantity of an item in inventory. This is an example of a(n) ________ decision process.

A) structured
B) unstructured
C) managerial
D) strategic
E) predictive

Question 22

The need for collaboration is greatest for ________ decisions.

A) operational
B) procedural
C) strategic
D) managerial
E) technical

Question 23

Which of the following questions is best answered through unstructured decision making?

A) How many overtime hours should be used to fill this order?
B) Should we continue to outsource our bookkeeping processes?
C) What is the acceptable defect ratio for this product?
D) When should the next batch be scheduled to reduce idle time?
E) How many replacement parts should be kept on hand?

Question 24

Which of the following decisions is least likely to involve collaboration?

A) How much of product A should be ordered from vendor B?
B) What products should we include in the new product line?
C) Should our company acquire company A?
D) What type of relationship should the company maintain with company A?
E) Should we create a strategic partnership with company A?

Question 25

Which of the following is an example of a strategic decision?

A) deciding to increase the salaries of a group of employees
B) deciding to open a centralized distribution system
C) deciding to increase the reorder quantity of raw materials
D) deciding to give an employee certain tasks and responsibilities
E) deciding to buy a replacement server

Question 26

Carl, the information technology head at Cloud Denim, a clothing company, has to update the enterprise software system used by the organization. He is responsible for determining the hardware and software that would be required to implement the new system. Carl's decisions, in this case, are ________.

A) operational
B) strategic
C) procedural
D) managerial
E) technical

Question 27

Evelyn, who is in charge of an ad hoc team, holds a meeting with her team and explains the purpose of the project and outlines what the team can expect during its course. She lays down certain rules regarding the methods that can be used to achieve their project goals. Evelyn's project is in the ________ phase of project management.

A) starting
B) finalizing
C) doing
D) planning
E) maintenance

Question 28

Marci, a purchasing agent, orders 300 refrigerators per month from an online vendor portal. In doing so, she has made a(n) ________ decision.

A) managerial
B) tactical
C) strategic
D) operational
E) technical

Question 29

Managerial decisions are decisions about ________.

A) the utilization of resources
B) broad organizational issues
C) the day-to-day activities
D) strategic decision making
E) the creation of strategic goals

Question 30

The fundamental purpose of the starting phase of a project is ________.

A) accomplishing the project tasks effectively
B) determining tasks and dependencies
C) managing tasks and budgets of the project
D) setting the ground rules for the project and team
E) solving problems

Question 31

Identify a key difference between managerial decisions and operational decisions.

A) Managerial decisions concern the allocation of resources, whereas operational decisions concern day-to-day activities.
B) Managerial decisions are corporate decisions, whereas operational decisions concern the utilization of resources.
C) Managerial decisions deal with the allocation of resources, whereas operational decisions concern broad-scope, organizational issues.
D) Operational decisions have broad scope, whereas the scope of managerial decisions is limited to day-to-day activities.
E) Operational decisions have narrow scope, whereas the scope of managerial decisions is limited to day-to-day activities.

Question 32

The directors of X-lam Inc., a manufacturer of electric water heaters, meet to discuss ways to increase their net profit. They decide to manufacture electric toasters and thus invest in a new product line. This investment is an example of a(n) ________ decision.

A) operational
B) strategic
C) managerial
D) procedural
E) technical

Question 33

________ decisions are those that support broad-scope, organizational issues.

A) Operational
B) Strategic
C) Unstructured
D) Managerial
E) Technical

Question 34

A company's top managers meet to decide on a potential merger with one of its competitors. They discuss various aspects of the merger, such as business valuations and conducting due diligence. This is an example of ________ decision making.

A) asynchronous
B) unstructured
C) structured
D) operational
E) relational

Question 35

Which of the following observations about the relationship between decision type and decision process is True?

A) Managerial decisions tend to be highly structured, whereas operational decisions are unstructured.
B) Decisions at the operational level tend to be structured, whereas decisions at the strategic level tend to be unstructured.
C) Higher-level organizational decisions should be highly structured.
D) Need for collaboration is highly significant for lower-level, structured decisions.
E) Decisions at the operational level tend to be unstructured, whereas decisions at the strategic level tend to be structured.

Question 36

Which of the following is a key difference between strategic decisions and managerial decisions?

A) Strategic decisions deal with the utilization of resources, whereas managerial decisions deal with day-to-day activities.
B) Managerial decisions concern organizational issues, whereas strategic decisions concern external issues.
C) Managerial decisions concern allocation and utilization of resources, whereas strategic decisions concern broad organizational issues.
D) Strategic decisions involve financial issues, whereas managerial decisions do not involve financial issues.
E) Strategic decisions involve innovative issues, whereas managerial decisions do not involve innovative issues.

Question 37

Arie is a team lead for a group of engineers working on a new product. Arie decides to assign four additional engineers to the project to optimize corporate resources. His decisions, in this scenario, are ________ in nature.

A) operational
B) functional
C) managerial
D) strategic
E) active

Question 38

Following standardized guidelines to calculate sales commissions is an example of a(n) ________.

A) autocratic participative decision-making style
B) structured decision
C) unstructured decision
D) consensus participative decision-making style
E) financial decision

Question 39

________ decisions are the most structured and have very little need for collaboration.

A) Operational
B) Tactical
C) Managerial
D) Strategic
E) Technical

Question 40

________ decisions are concerned with day-to-day activities.

A) Operational
B) Strategic
C) Managerial
D) Tactical
E) Preemptive

Question 41

One of the procedures of a collaboration project is documenting and reporting progress. This is performed in the ________ phase of the project.

A) starting
B) planning
C) doing
D) scheduling
E) maintenance

Question 42

Briefly describe the starting phase of a project.

Question 43

Identify the project management phase in which the budget and tasks of a project are managed.

A) finalizing
B) doing
C) planning
D) starting
E) maintenance

Question 44

Need for collaboration increases as the decisions become more structured.

Question 45

Team roles, responsibilities, and authorities are established during the ________ phase of a project.

A) starting
B) planning
C) doing
D) evaluating
E) maintenance

Question 46

Operational decisions require a high degree of collaboration.

Question 47

What is the difference between structured and unstructured decisions? Give an example of each.

Question 48

Identify a task that should be performed during the planning phase of project management.

A) reporting project progress
B) determining the schedule
C) performing project tasks
D) preparing archival documents
E) form the team

Question 49

The facility manager of an insurance company makes decisions on the monthly purchase of office supplies. This is an example of an operational decision.

Question 50

A project manager has to manage tasks and identify schedule problems during the ________ phase of project management.

A) planning
B) starting
C) doing
D) finalizing
E) maintenance

Question 51

Determining the best mix of products that a company should sell is an example of an unstructured decision.

Question 52

Are most strategic decisions unstructured? Give an example of an unstructured strategic decision.

Question 53

Roselyn works for an event management company. Her latest project as a party planner is a corporate event. She delegates tasks like choosing the venue, posting invitations, and planning logistics to her team members. She also specifies a time frame for each task. Roselyn's project is in the ________ phase of project management.

A) planning
B) starting
C) doing
D) finalizing
E) maintenance

Question 54

Project plan and budget are prepared during the finalizing phase of project management.

Question 55

Explain why structured decisions seldom require collaboration.

Question 56

Project teams should document project results and information for future teams. Which of the following is the project management phase in which the teams perform this function?

A) doing
B) planning
C) starting
D) finalizing
E) maintenance

Question 57

Project scope and initial budget are set during the starting phase of a project.

Question 58

The main purpose of the planning phase in a project is to ________.

A) set up the project scope and initial budget
B) accomplish the project tasks effectively
C) determine who will do what and by when
D) establish team roles, responsibilities, and authorities
E) determine completion

Question 59

An unstructured decision process is one for which there is no agreed-on decision-making method.

Question 60

Operational decisions are those that support day-to-day activities.

Question 61

________ communication occurs within a team when all team members meet at the same time.

A) Synchronous
B) Asynchronous
C) Virtual
D) Unidirectional
E) Anachronous

Question 62

Which of the following tools facilitates asynchronous communication?

A) videoconferencing
B) multiparty text chat
C) discussion forum
D) screen-sharing application
E) real-time protocol

Question 63

A webinar is a tool used to facilitate asynchronous communication.

Question 64

Asynchronous communication occurs when team members ________.

A) cannot arrive at consensus after discussions
B) engage in conflicting discussions
C) do not meet at the same time
D) communicate in a sequential manner
E) talk with each other via video conference

Question 65

Susan, the operations manager at Multitech Systems Inc., schedules a face-to-face meeting with her vendors to decide on the specifications for a project. Some of her senior engineers are also asked to participate in the discussion through a conference call. This is an example of synchronous communication.

Question 66

According to Hackman's three criteria for team success, which of the following IS requirements will be categorized under the meaningful and satisfying experience criterion?

A) documenting definitions
B) rewarding accomplishment
C) managing many versions of content
D) managing tasks
E) communicate (feedback)

Question 67

What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous communications? Provide examples for each.

Question 68

Project data is data that is ________.

A) part of the collaboration's work product
B) used to manage a project
C) used to schedule the tasks of the project
D) part of documents such as schedules and budgets
E) used for operational decision making

Question 69

________ is a popular commercial webinar product used in virtual sales presentations.

A) SurveyMonkey
B) MS Office Web
C) WebEx
D) Skype
E) Aspen

Question 70

Project data is data that is part of the collaboration's work product.

Question 71

Margaret finds that calling all her senior supervisors and quality managers for a face-to-face meeting is not feasible. She arranges for a multiparty text chatting session involving all of them. This is an example of asynchronous communication.

Question 72

One of the advantages of a team survey is that it is easy to determine who has not yet responded.

Question 73

Describe project data and project metadata.

Question 74

Which of the following is an example of project data?

A) list of project tasks
B) schedule
C) budget
D) design document
E) monthly sales report

Question 75

Who among the following are most likely to use asynchronous communication?

A) members of a team who work in different time zones
B) managers who work in the same office
C) employees who work in an assembly line
D) a group of directors who regularly meet for board meetings
E) group members flying together on the same flight

Question 76

The term ________ refers to a collaboration tool where team members can easily respond and the management can easily identify the people who have not responded to a request.

A) discussion forum
B) management survey
C) webinar
D) team survey
E) email

Question 77

The use of a conference call is an example of ________ communication.

A) sequential
B) synchronous
C) indirect
D) asynchronous
E) incidental

Question 78

According to Hackman's three criteria for team success, which of the following IS requirements will be categorized under the growth in team capability criterion?

A) rewarding accomplishment
B) managing many versions of content
C) supporting intra-team training
D) building team esprit
E) create sense of importance

Question 79

Project metadata is data that is ________.

A) part of a collaboration's work product
B) used to manage the project
C) developed to design new offerings
D) used in documents to describe recommended solutions
E) intended to be archived

Question 80

Discussion forums are better suited than emails in asynchronous communication because ________.

A) they are best suited to transmit personalized information
B) they facilitate real-time communication between participants
C) they keep the discussion from going off track
D) they ensure that all team members are involved in the discussion
E) they have greater organizational memory