Deck 11: Team Networking and Social Capital

Question 1

Within a ________ network,most of the interaction and communication is centered around one or a few core members while the more peripheral members of the team are relatively disconnected.This type of network can help team performance because it is an efficient method for channeling information amongst the team.

A)centralized
B)multiplex
C)specialized
D)expanded

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A clique network is ________; a boundary-spanning network is ________.

A)closed,dense,and self-contained; less dense,more unique,and more varied
B)less dense,more unique,and varied; closed,dense,and self-contained
C)friendship ties; advice ties
D)advice ties; friendship ties

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The leader centrality-performance hypothesis focuses on the network structure of the team leader.Which statement best summarizes the key idea of the hypothesis?

A)Team leaders who do not have well-established relationships with their subordinates make better decisions.
B)Team leaders from whom subordinates seek advice or friendship tend to make better decisions.
C)Team leaders who consult with the leaders of other teams make better decisions.
D)Team leaders who engage their subordinates in conflict make better decisions.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

People in teams bond along three specific types of ties: friendship,trust,and advice.Trust-ties involve ________; advice-ties involve ________.

A)friends; professionals
B)professionals; friends
C)an emotional and cognitive component; instrumental relationships
D)instrumental relationships; an emotional and cognitive component

Question 5

The differential performance of women in business is often caused by their disadvantaged social position most frequently due to:

A)socially accepted modes of interacting,termed gender scripts,built through socializing activities that could have different social connotations between people of the opposite sex.
B)different team expectations in regard to the appropriate career aggressiveness for women.
C)socio-economic differences.
D)insufficient time,between family and career obligations,to build a substantial and diverse career network.

Question 6

In regard to common roles in workgroups,the person who provides meanings about what the team is doing,how successful it is to people outside of the team,and the interpretation of what the team is perceived to be doing is best termed a(n):

A)advisor.
B)gatekeeper.
C)interpreter.
D)lobbyist.

Question 7

Regarding Exhibit 11-4 in the text and team effectiveness and organization-focused behavior,what type of boundary-management behavior is best categorized under the skill of "relating"?

A)Obtaining external support
B)Influencing the team
C)Diagnosing member behavior
D)Being socially and politically aware

Question 8

Social capital is distinct from human capital.Social capital is best described as the:

A)sum total of the skills,talents,abilities,and education of a person's achievements.
B)organizational strategy of making sure that every team member has sufficient resources to perform their jobs.
C)practice of more talented team members educating less talented team members.
D)value that people add to their teams and organizations through their ties and relationships to other people.

Question 9

One advantage of a clique network is ________; one advantage of a boundary-spanning network is ________.

A)power; conflict management
B)conflict management; power
C)high cohesion; greater innovation and diversity
D)greater innovation and diversity; high cohesion

Question 10

Teamwork and task work are related,but they are not the same thing.A strong taskwork network between coworkers indicates:

A)that two members of a team have fewer tasks or tools in common.
B)that two members of a team share many tasks and tools together.
C)that members interact with one another regularly,usually through verbal discussion.
D)that team members have unique knowledge and expertise.

Question 11

According to research,there are two explanations for outsider bias in knowledge valuation.The first involves organizational incentives that reward managers when they learn from outsiders; the second best explanation is:

A)internal knowledge is more readily available and subject to greater scrutiny,whereas "scarce" external knowledge is unique.
B)managers see internal ideas as developmentally finished and irrelevant to their project at hand.
C)managers feel that by using internal resource information they would be giving someone else a chance at getting credit or a reward for a good idea.
D)organizational red tape that slows access to internal knowledge makes managers more interested in researching external knowledge resources.

Question 12

One disadvantage of a clique network is/are ________; one disadvantage of a boundary-spanning network is/are ________.

A)high cohesion; it leverages diversity
B)increased efficiency; it capitalizes on opportunity
C)groupthink; the power struggles
D)the indispensable members; the biased communication

Question 13

Four interplaying characteristics determine the extent to which negative relationships hurt team and organizational effectiveness.Which of the following is NOT one of those characteristics?

A)Relationship strength-the intensity of dislike amongst different team members.
B)Reciprocity-if an individual is the object or source of dislike or if the dislike is reciprocated.
C)Expert exchange-the exchange of expertise amongst members.
D)Social distance-if the negative relationship tie is direct or indirect.

Question 14

As team members make plans,coordinate,communicate and assist one another in the efforts regarding how to accomplish a project,they are forming a:

A)taskwork network.
B)perceived network.
C)teamwork network.
D)faultline.

Question 15

In groups such as cross-functional teams,the key challenge for teams whose members have unique knowledge and expertise is:

A)minimizing costs for the continuing education of its members.
B)how to integrate the diverse knowledge of the team members so that it is meaningful to the team's purpose.
C)minimizing conflicts.
D)keeping team members engaged in the project.

Question 16

Boundary spanning can be stressful and challenging.What characterizes role overload??

A)When a person does not have enough responsibility to justify their membership on the team.
B)When a person has too much work to do in the time available.
C)When there is too much overlap among members' roles on the team.
D)When there are too many people on the team filling too many roles.

Question 17

As a link between different subgroups,Berta is a boundary spanner between different functional units.Berta is alone at the critical junction between these organizational networks,and serves an important role as a(n)________.

A)information broker
B)advice tie
C)trust tie
D)leader

Question 18

Managers and team members can increase their social capital by doing all of the following EXCEPT:

A)determining the brokers in their networks.
B)identifying structural holes in their organization.
C)diversifying their networks.
D)reducing the size of their networks.

Question 19

Which of the following is TRUE regarding a team's efforts to team build social capital?

A)Teams should strengthen their team cohesion by avoiding socializing informally with anyone except their teammates outside of work.
B)Rapid access to information and political support is greater for teams whose members socialize during their free time with the organization's upper management.
C)Leaders from whom subordinates sought friendship or advice tend to have relatively negative views of their team's social structure.
D)Extra team relationships always have a negative impact on team performance.

Question 20

With regard to knowledge valuation,or how people value the knowledge that is created in their own organization,which statement is correct?

A)People often place greater value on knowledge that comes from the outside (e.g.,competitors and consultants)than knowledge that comes from the inside (e.g.,colleagues).
B)People often place greater value on knowledge that comes from the inside (e.g.,colleagues)than knowledge that comes from the outside (e.g.,competitors and consultants).
C)People often place more value on knowledge obtained through first-hand accounts than knowledge obtained through second-hand accounts.
D)People often value technical knowledge more than they value interpersonal knowledge.

Question 21

Managers with more social capital get higher returns on their human capital because they are in a position to identify and develop more rewarding opportunities.

Question 22

Managers at Xerox displayed very little interest in a new Internet technology that internal scientists at Xerox's PARC division had developed.However,several years later,when an external company developed a similar technology,Xerox,which was considering acquiring the company,responded favorably to the technology idea.This situation is an example of managers prioritizing a(n):

A)not-invented-here syndrome.
B)insider knowledge valuation.
C)outsider knowledge valuation.
D)cognitive stimulation.

Question 23

People often hesitate to embrace the knowledge of network "insiders" because they fear that they will lose personal status if they use that knowledge.

Question 24

Although both friendship and advice ties are severely decimated in the aftermath of a layoff,friendship networks regenerate more quickly than advice networks.

Question 25

One method for most effectively increasing a team's social capital is by expanding the size of that team's network which does not mean increasing the size of the team,but rather:

A)growing and enriching the team's relationships amongst in-group team members.
B)expanding connections with like-minded people within the team's organizational boundaries.
C)grow the number of structural holes in the team.
D)increasing the number and diversity of people with whom the team comes into contact.

Question 26

Trust does not have a direct effect on performance.Strong,dense ties,strongly increase team and organizational retention and commitment but can impair knowledge sharing because of lack of trust and reciprocity.Which of the following is an example of a group with a strong,dense,trust tie?

A)Online work forum
B)Guanxi network
C)Postal workers union
D)Professional business club

Question 27

A team's boundary activities are related to team innovation,are synergistic,and important for team and organizational effectiveness.________ activities focus team members outside the team and organization; ________ activities focus team members inward.

A)Brokering; liaison
B)Liaison; brokering
C)Boundary-loosening; boundary-tightening
D)Boundary-tightening; boundary-loosening

Question 28

Individuals who span organizational divides and integrate the knowledge and best practices from different areas of the organization bridge the functional gaps or the ________,that exist in organizations.

A)structural holes
B)stereotypes
C)social comparisons
D)overbounded teams

Question 29

Clique networks broker the flow of information between people on opposite ends of a structural hole and control the nature of projects that bring people together on opposite ends of the structural hole.

Question 30

In an ideal organizational environment,there would be clear and consistent knowledge sharing among the different functional and geographic team units.Knowledge sharing does not occur as frequently as it should,but two factors: ________ and ________,have been found to consistently encourage knowledge sharing amongst team units.

A)learning new skills; building team pride
B)increased sense of purpose; showing off competence of team
C)giving team increased choice as to how to do their work; meaningful projects
D)building social capital; extrinsic incentives

Question 31

A company who practices "reverse mentoring," in which high-potential millennial employees share their perspectives,ideas,and knowledge with more seasoned managers within the company is encouraging younger employees to:

A)build hierarchical networks of contacts.
B)build lateral networks of contacts.
C)reinforce role hierarchies within the company and establish proper deference norms.
D)increase role diversity.

Question 32

Members of research groups are often subject to the not-invented-here syndrome,in which they overvalue knowledge that comes from out-group members.