Deck 11: Effective Team Management

Question 1

As the size of a group increases, so does the amount of social loafing that is likely to occur.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: Group size is related to the causes of social loafing. As size increases, identifying individual contributions becomes increasingly difficult, and members are increasingly likely to think their individual contributions are not important.

Question 2

In terms of group performance, the idea that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts" is the fundamental point in the concept of ________.

A) division of labor
B) synergy
C) social deviance
D) norming

Answer 2

B
Explanation: The essence of synergy is captured in the saying "the whole is more than the sum of its parts." People working in a group can produce more or higher-quality outputs than would have been produced if each person had worked separately and all their individual efforts were later combined.

Question 3

All teams are groups and all groups are teams.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: A group may be defined as two or more people who interact with each other to accomplish certain goals or meet certain needs. A team is a group whose members work intensely with one another to achieve a specific common goal or objective. These definitions imply all teams are groups but not all groups are teams.

Question 4

Groupthink is when members strive to agree instead of trying to make an accurate assessment of the situation.

Question 5

When group cohesiveness is high, individuals strongly value their group membership, whereas when group cohesiveness is low, group members do not find their group particularly appealing.

Question 6

Which of the following refers to two or more people who interact with each other to accomplish certain goals or meet certain needs?

A) Management
B) Group
C) Members
D) Stakeholders

Question 7

Which of the following is a characteristic that distinguishes teams from groups?

A) More member participation
B) Frequency of meetings conducted
C) Active member participation
D) Intensity with which members work together

Question 8

Generally, groups must "storm" before they can "form."

Question 9

The creation and development of new products is known as synergy.

Question 10

Task forces are sometimes referred to as standing committees.

Question 11

When group cohesiveness is low, managers can often increase it by encouraging groups to develop their own identities and engage in healthy competition.

Question 12

When a member's deviant behavior leads to a positive change in the group norm, it suggests that some deviant behavior can be functional for groups.

Question 13

The extent of conformity and reactions to deviance within groups are determined by managers.

Question 14

Shared rules of conduct that most group members follow are known as group roles.

Question 15

Paul, the HR Manager, has worked with other managers over the years to set up groups and teams to handle issues. One of the recent groups, which is also a team, is the ________.

A) search committee selecting a dean for a college that interacts frequently by various means over a period of several months
B) group of sales representatives for a hardware company, each with his/her own geographical territory
C) group of factory workers who belong to a labor union
D) board of directors of a corporation that meets quarterly

Question 16

While forming a group, the primary job of a manager is to make sure the team is given responsibility and authority.

Question 17

Financial rewards should not be used to motivate members of teams.

Question 18

The use of teams generally leads to higher turnover.

Question 19

Which of the following defines a team?

A) A group that managers or nonmanagerial employees form to help achieve their own goals or meet their own needs
B) A group whose members work intensely with one another to achieve a specific common goal or objective
C) A group composed of the CEO, the president, and the heads of the most important departments
D) A group of two or more people who interact with each other to accomplish certain goals or meet certain needs

Question 20

Virtual teams are teams that rarely or never meet face-to-face.

Question 21

Command groups are also known as ________.

A) informal groups
B) virtual groups
C) interest groups
D) departments

Question 22

Which of the following statements captures the essence of synergy?

A) Challenge the issue, not the person.
B) Learn by doing.
C) Nothing succeeds like success.
D) The whole is more than the sum of its parts.

Question 23

The strategic planning committee at Comfort Fabric Clothing Company consists of managers from engineering, R&D, production, marketing, and finance. This is an example of a(n) ________.

A) cross-functional team
B) informal group
C) virtual team
D) command group

Question 24

In an attempt to promote innovation in a work group, the supervisor should ________.

A) provide little guidance to the group, and let the group members self-guide themselves
B) provide detailed procedures to the group
C) let group members self-coach within the group
D) provide for only outside the organization resources for the group

Question 25

Daniel is the vice president of an insurance company that sells workers' compensation insurance. Recently, the company has identified problems of cost control in all of its offices. Daniel formed a team composed of the sales managers of all the four regions, along with some staff members from the company's informational technology and administration departments, to study the problem and make recommendations. This team is an example of a ________.

A) functional group
B) task force
C) virtual assembly
D) command group

Question 26

Active Appliances, an electrical appliance firm, forms a group to design a new software application. This group consists of a systems designer, a programmer, and a user representative. This is an example of a(n) ________.

A) informal team
B) ad hoc committee
C) cross-cultural team
D) cross-functional team

Question 27

The group who is responsible for developing the strategies that result in an organization's competitive advantage is the ________.

A) informal group
B) cross-cultural team
C) top management team
D) virtual team

Question 28

To take advantage of the potential for synergy in groups, managers should ________.

A) create groups of similar individuals
B) be strongly directive with the group
C) reward individual performance
D) appoint members with complementary skills

Question 29

What is one of the biggest challenges faced by members of virtual teams?

A) Building core teams
B) Sending in reports at the same time
C) Building trust and camaraderie
D) Communicating their feelings

Question 30

A group of managers spend a great deal of time ensuring that they agree on important issues instead of working toward an accurate assessment of the situation. This scenario describes ________.

A) a fundamental attribution error
B) self-serving bias
C) lack of synergy
D) groupthink

Question 31

Who takes part in cross-functional teams?

A) Subordinates who report to the same supervisor
B) Members from different cultures
C) CEO, the president, and the heads of departments
D) Members from different departments

Question 32

In which of the following teams are the expertise and knowledge in different organizational departments brought together in the skills and knowledge of the team members?

A) Virtual team
B) Cross-cultural team
C) Research and Development team
D) Cross-functional team

Question 33

When team leaders of various cross-functional groups report to the same manager, the team leaders form a(n) ________.

A) cross-cultural group
B) command group
C) informal group
D) task force

Question 34

Which of the following enables managers to disregard geographic distances?

A) Virtual team
B) Cross-cultural team
C) Research and Development team
D) Cross-functional team

Question 35

Teams that are empowered to take responsibility for acting autonomously in order to complete identifiable pieces of work are referred to as ________.

A) informal groups
B) interest groups
C) virtual teams
D) self-managed work teams

Question 36

Another name for a task force is a(n) ________.

A) informal group
B) interest group
C) ad hoc committee
D) virtual group

Question 37

Teams that rarely interact with each other on a face-to-face basis are referred to as ________.

A) informal teams
B) ad hoc teams
C) virtual teams
D) task forces

Question 38

A major problem that self-managed work teams can encounter is ________.

A) selection of members with the right skills and ability to work with others
B) disciplining team members
C) being given work that is sufficiently complex
D) managers who are too "hands off"

Question 39

The salespersons who report to a common sales manager are known as a(n) ________.

A) informal group
B) command group
C) cross-functional group
D) cross-cultural group

Question 40

Joanna, a manager, is responsible for organizing a team for the development of a new product. To be successful in creating synergy in the team, Joanna's top priority should be to ________.

A) choose members of the most diverse backgrounds possible
B) supervise the group closely
C) bring in members with complementary skills relevant to the work
D) choose members who have worked together previously without any problems

Question 41

Informal groups of workers who enjoy one another's company and meet socially either on or off the job are referred to as ________ groups.

A) formal
B) friendship
C) virtual
D) interest

Question 42

The members of a task force have disagreements because some members do not want to do what some of the other members want them to do. This stage of group development is known as ________.

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

Question 43

A group of employees at Swift Motors has initiated a marathon run with the aim of raising funds for the maintenance of a children's park in Chicago. This group can be defined as a(n) ________ group.

A) virtual
B) formal
C) command
D) interest

Question 44

A group of college professors from the Jackson Business School meets once a week for lunch to discuss the college's accreditation efforts. This is an example of a(n) ________.

A) formal group
B) virtual team
C) interest group
D) command group

Question 45

Blue Bay International has formed a virtual team to improve quality in its five plants, which are located across three continents. In order to give this team the best chance of succeeding, what could the management do?

A) Insist that the team use only asynchronous technologies to communicate
B) Expect that the team will be less cohesive than face-to-face teams and live with it
C) Trust the team to do its job
D) Schedule periodic face-to-face meetings for all team members

Question 46

Which of the following aspects of a group includes the characteristics and processes from which the group derives its function and effectiveness?

A) Dynamics
B) Size
C) Role
D) Visions

Question 47

Close ties between the members of the group typically are formed during which stage of group development?

A) Forming
B) Adjourning
C) Norming
D) Storming

Question 48

Which of the following is the correct order of the stages of group development?

A) Forming, storming, performing, norming, adjourning
B) Forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
C) Forming, norming, storming, performing, adjourning
D) Forming, performing, norming, storming, adjourning

Question 49

A manager of a group encourages members of the group to take on additional responsibilities as they see the need. This is an example of ________.

A) group polarization
B) role making
C) synergy
D) virtual teamwork

Question 50

A task force submits its report supporting its recommendation(s) on the project that the group has been working on. At which stage is this group operating?

A) Forming
B) Storming
C) Adjourning
D) Norming

Question 51

What type of group is formed in order to encourage managers to institute flexible working hours?

A) Interest
B) Formal
C) Command
D) Virtual

Question 52

A new product development team for Fountain Cards Limited includes an artist whose job it is to draw the illustrations that will accompany new cards. This artist is acting according to his/her ________.

A) virtual role
B) interest group
C) group role
D) wishful thinking

Question 53

The members of a particular group are getting to know one another and attempting to reach an understanding of how each of them should act within the group. This stage of group development is known as ________.

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

Question 54

During the first stage of group development, managers should ________.

A) make sure that conflict does not arise
B) make sure that each member feels like a valued part of the group
C) encourage the formation of group norms
D) give the group a lot of responsibility and authority

Question 55

Splitting the work to be performed into particular tasks and assigning tasks to individual workers is called ________.

A) division of labor
B) performance
C) role making
D) formation

Question 56

The set of behaviors and tasks that a member of the group is expected to perform because he/she is a member of the group is known as ________.

A) a group role
B) virtual teamwork
C) group polarization
D) a group norm

Question 57

In which stage of group development is it important for managers to strive to make each member feel that he or she is a valued part of the group?

A) Forming
B) Adjourning
C) Norming
D) Storming

Question 58

Tom, the marketing manager, who is a member of a task force for new product development, is expected to represent the marketing department's concerns to the task force. Tom and his involvement with the task force describe ________.

A) a group norm
B) a group role
C) groupthink
D) group cohesiveness

Question 59

Which of the following stage of group development applies only to groups that eventually are disbanded, such as task forces?

A) Forming
B) Adjourning
C) Norming
D) Storming

Question 60

What type of group helps satisfy employees' needs for interpersonal interaction and can provide needed social support in times of stress?

A) Interest
B) Formal
C) Friendship
D) Virtual

Question 61

To ensure that dysfunctional norms are discarded and replaced with functional ones, with the group members, the group should require ________.

A) deviance
B) social loafing
C) group polarization
D) conformity

Question 62

The tendency of group members to exert less effort when they work in groups than they would exert if they were acting alone is known as ________.

A) social facilitation
B) self-serving bias
C) groupthink
D) social loafing

Question 63

John, who is part of the R&D team at Digital World, has been a key player in formulating new ideas and strategies. His contribution has resulted in more clients and higher production rates. Of late, John has not been regularly attending team meetings and even if he does, he leaves midway. John's behavior is an example of ________.

A) synergy
B) groupthink
C) conformity
D) social loafing

Question 64

Shared guidelines or rules of behavior that most group members follow are called ________.

A) sequential task interdependence rules
B) group roles
C) group norms
D) group polarization

Question 65

Deviance is functional for a group when ________.

A) a group member gets punished for not acting consistently with the group norm
B) a group member gets away with not acting consistently with the group norm on more than one occasion
C) it causes group members to evaluate norms that may be ineffective but are taken for granted by the group
D) it causes a group member to get expelled from the group

Question 66

To ensure that the group can control their members' behavior and channel them in the direction of high performance and group goal accomplishment, the group should require ________.

A) groupthink
B) conformity
C) deviance
D) dispositional attribution

Question 67

In general, higher group cohesiveness is associated with ________.

A) large groups
B) similarity among group members
C) high organizational identity
D) decreasing groupthink

Question 68

The degree to which the members of a group are attracted to membership in the group is known as ________.

A) group design
B) group cohesiveness
C) group polarization
D) groupthink

Question 69

Regarding organizational effectiveness, the best level of cohesiveness in groups ________.

A) is low
B) is moderate
C) is high
D) starts low, then becomes extremely high

Question 70

When group cohesiveness increases, ________.

A) communication effectiveness declines
B) conformity to norms increases
C) emphasis on goal accomplishment declines
D) members become more motivated to accomplish personal goals

Question 71

A high-performing group is most likely the result of ________.

A) low conformity/high deviance
B) moderate conformity/moderate deviance
C) moderate conformity/low deviance
D) high conformity/low deviance

Question 72

Who determines the extent of conformity and reactions to deviance within groups?

A) Board of directors
B) Managers
C) Group members
D) Task force

Question 73

Managers promote organizational identity and make the organization the focus of the group's efforts when groups are ________.

A) heading in different directions
B) less cohesive
C) at the point of breaking up
D) too cohesive

Question 74

Bryan took over as manager of a group of medical transcribers about a month ago. While the employees' performance is satisfactory, he has noticed that the group seems to squash any new ideas about how they might do their work more effectively. What should Bryan do to increase tolerance for deviance?

A) Take steps to increase the cohesion of the group.
B) Order the group to accept some of the new ideas.
C) Set up an incentive system for employees' suggestions about changes to procedures.
D) Create competition between members of the group.

Question 75

When there is high conformity and low deviance in a group, the group's performance is likely to be ________.

A) high because the group is well balanced
B) low because the group cannot control its members' behaviors
C) low because the group fails to change dysfunctional norms
D) high because the group is satisfied

Question 76

To encourage group cohesiveness, managers should ________.

A) discourage the group from forming an identity
B) promote intergroup competition
C) reward cooperation between groups
D) keep the measures of group performance confidential

Question 77

What do teams need to balance in order to effectively help an organization gain a competitive advantage?

A) Behavior and group norms
B) Conformity and deviance
C) Performance and cohesiveness
D) Tolerance and polarization

Question 78

When a member of a group fails to act consistently with a group norm, this is known as ________.

A) synergy
B) deviance
C) groupthink
D) group polarization

Question 79

When Mark recently left town on personal work, members of his team at The Beat did not have issues getting in touch with him because he had left a number they could call in case of an emergency. This arrangement is known as ________.

A) groupthink
B) a group norm
C) a synergistic requirement
D) group polarization

Question 80

As group cohesiveness increases, ________.

A) participation of members decreases
B) members share more information
C) members are less open with each other
D) communication effectiveness declines