Deck 13: Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams

Question 1

A group consists of individuals who share specific goals.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: A group is defined as a collection of interacting individuals who are dependent on one another and share specific goals.

Question 2

The group is likely to work on its primary task during the adjourning stage of group development.

Answer 2

False
Explanation: The group works on its primary task during the performing, not the adjourning, stage of group development. During the adjourning stage, the group prepares to disband.

Question 3

Group norms have little to do with how hard a group member works.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: Group norms are the primary way in which the group enforces its standards on an individual. How hard a group member works depends largely on the standards, or norms, set by the group.

Question 4

High cohesiveness always results in a productivity increase.

Question 5

Work teams and groups are the same thing.

Question 6

Groups tend to go through five stages as they develop.

Question 7

Approximately 80 percent of all Fortune 500 companies use teams.

Question 8

Accountability for a work team is strictly on an individual basis.

Question 9

The forming stage of group development begins when members consider themselves a part of the group.

Question 10

To be considered a group, a gathering must include at least five people.

Question 11

A problem-solving team is likely not to have a supervising manager to oversee it.

Question 12

The studies by Solomon Asch show that group norms are a powerful force.

Question 13

A group of five working collectively would be certain to outproduce five workers working individually.

Question 14

The problem with many problem-solving teams is that they don't have the authority to act on their decisions.

Question 15

As a group expands, individual productivity tends to decline.

Question 16

Formal groups tend to form around friendships and common interests.

Question 17

In an electronics company, a cross-functional team is likely to have an engineer, a designer, a software specialist, and a marketing specialist all working on the same project.

Question 18

A self-managed team is responsible for both completing tasks and managing itself.

Question 19

In the norming stage of group development, the group becomes cohesive.

Question 20

Managers should especially try to avoid conflict during the storming stage of group development.

Question 21

Disruptive effects of diversity on team performance can decline over time.

Question 22

An effective team leader is often more of a coach than a manager.

Question 23

There is no way to reduce social loafing within a team.

Question 24

A Japanese manager with the biggest office is likely to have the most power within an organization.

Question 25

Members of a virtual team never actually communicate with one another.

Question 26

Collectivist societies tend to have an enormous problem with social loafing.

Question 27

Asch's findings suggest that Chinese members of a global team might be expected to conform easily to the team's norms.

Question 28

An effective team must have a whole and identifiable task.

Question 29

Conscientiousness seems to be a key ingredient in successful teams.

Question 30

Selection is important in the success of a team.

Question 31

Rewards for team members should be distributed strictly on team performance.

Question 32

Disagreeable team members rarely decrease team performance.

Question 33

The behaviors required for successful team performance cannot be gained through training.

Question 34

The "two pizza" rule states that the best teams should be small enough so that they can be satisfied with no more than two pizzas.

Question 35

The team role of linker initiates creative ideas in a team.

Question 36

Diversity within a group typically makes reaching consensus easier.

Question 37

On successful teams, individuals rarely play more than one role.

Question 38

A Latin American team member would be more likely than a North American team member to afford status to an individual who comes from a powerful family.

Question 39

Effective teams should avoid conflict at all costs.

Question 40

A team's upholder-maintainer would likely submit the team's request for a large increase in resources to top management.

Question 41

During the storming stage of group development, high levels of conflict ________.

A) are necessary for group cohesiveness
B) increase group cohesiveness
C) can contribute to group effectiveness
D) are never a factor in group effectiveness

Question 42

A group that has gone through the norming stage of the group development process ________.

A) never returns to the storming stage
B) always returns to the storming stage
C) never returns to the forming stage
D) may return to the forming or storming stage

Question 43

Of the following, which is NOT thought to be an advantage of teams within an organization?

A) increased organizational coherence
B) employee job satisfaction
C) more innovation
D) new products developed faster at lower costs

Question 44

Solomon Asch carried out pioneering studies in understanding ________.

A) group status
B) group roles
C) group size
D) group conformity

Question 45

The ________ stage of the group development process is complete when members begin to think of themselves as part of a group.

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

Question 46

Group norms typically are established ________.

A) by organizational leadership
B) formally by group leaders
C) informally by the entire group
D) in the official organizational bylaws

Question 47

In the group development process, the group carries out its primary work during this stage.

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

Question 48

Some organizational tasks are better done individually than in a team or group.

Question 49

Many managers in today's business world have restructured work ________.

A) around individuals rather than teams
B) around teams rather than individuals
C) around both individuals and teams.
D) around groups rather than teams

Question 50

Al is given two different "top priorities" from two different managers. Al is experiencing ________.

A) role conflict
B) role reversal
C) efficiency conflict
D) personal conflict

Question 51

Individuals within a group ________.

A) never play more than one role
B) frequently play more than one role
C) always play more than one role
D) never play the same role for long

Question 52

This kind of work group brings individuals together from different work disciplines with different knowledge and skills.

A) formal group
B) cross-functional team
C) command group
D) self-managed team

Question 53

During a recent meeting, a shouting match arose between a design manager and a marketing representative about a marketing plan for a new product. This team seems to be at the ________ stage of group development.

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

Question 54

This kind of work group is brought together to accomplish a specific job or single activity, such as the development of a new product.

A) command group
B) formal group
C) informal group
D) task group

Question 55

Most workers learn what is expected from them on the job from group ________.

A) roles
B) size
C) cohesiveness
D) norms

Question 56

This is a common and effective method of establishing group norms.

A) playing of board games
B) teasing
C) published lists of norms
D) group norm websites

Question 57

Norming is a stage of group development that occurs when ________.

A) the group struggles for leadership
B) the group defines its purpose
C) the group develops cohesiveness
D) the group defines its goals

Question 58

Formal groups ________.

A) meet at a regular time and place
B) are defined by an organization's structure
C) include people who share a common interest
D) include people who eat lunch together each day

Question 59

This stage involves the most conflict during the entire group development process.

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

Question 60

Permanent work groups are not likely to go through this stage.

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

Question 61

Small groups appear to perform better when it comes to ________.

A) amassing meaningful data
B) being comprehensive
C) thoroughness
D) interpreting data productively

Question 62

A low-ranking employee having the best parking space in the company parking lot is an example of ________.

A) status congruence
B) status incongruence
C) a status category
D) a status level

Question 63

Asch could feel fairly confident that his results were legitimate because ________ pressured by the group.

A) 35 percent of respondents gave wrong answers when they were not
B) only 1 percent of respondents gave wrong answers when they were not
C) only 1 percent of respondents gave wrong answers when they were
D) 90 percent of respondents gave wrong answers when they were

Question 64

The primary reason for why social loafing occurs is that output contributions from ________ easily be measured.

A) the entire group can
B) the entire group cannot
C) individuals can
D) individuals cannot

Question 65

Members of an organization typically ________ the status of other organizational members.

A) agree about
B) disagree about
C) cannot recognize
D) refuse to recognize

Question 66

Small groups appear to perform better when it comes to ________.

A) problem solving
B) getting diverse input into a problem
C) speed of performing tasks
D) finding facts

Question 67

Low cohesiveness combined with a strong alignment between group goals and organizational goals typically results in this.

A) a small productivity increase
B) a productivity decrease
C) a moderate productivity increase
D) no productivity change

Question 68

As the size of a group increases, the output of ________.

A) each group member tends to increase
B) each group member tends to decrease
C) the group decreases
D) the group stays the same

Question 69

High cohesiveness combined with a very weak alignment between group goals and organizational goals typically results in this.

A) a small productivity increase
B) a productivity decrease
C) a large productivity increase
D) no productivity change

Question 70

Teams are increasingly popular among successful organizations because they have been found to ________.

A) match the performance of individuals in every kind of task
B) outperform individuals in many tasks
C) match the performance of individuals in many tasks
D) outperform individuals in every kind of task

Question 71

Asch's subjects were seen to give incorrect answers that they knew were incorrect in ________ of his studies.

A) about half
B) more than half
C) about 35 percent
D) about 90 percent

Question 72

Group cohesiveness is largely a measure of how ________.

A) clear the group's goals are
B) much individuals share the group's goals
C) attainable the group's goals are
D) much the group's goals match organizational goals

Question 73

Status incongruence can be upsetting to employees because it sends a signal that organizational accomplishments ________.

A) are rewarded fairly and justly
B) are always rewarded
C) are never rewarded
D) are not always rewarded fairly and justly

Question 74

Asch's results are attributed to the tendency of people in groups to ________.

A) try to distinguish themselves
B) go along with the pack
C) stand up for what they know is right
D) "swim against the current"

Question 75

Large groups appear to perform better when the goal of the group is to ________.

A) find facts
B) create consensus on a new product
C) interpret facts
D) solve problems quickly

Question 76

High cohesiveness combined with a strong alignment between group goals and organizational goals typically results in this.

A) strong productivity increase
B) strong productivity decrease
C) small productivity decrease
D) no productivity change

Question 77

Asch was surprised most by finding that in some conditions, group members would provide information that they knew to be ________.

A) slightly exaggerated
B) vague
C) wrong
D) not fully substantiated

Question 78

Which of the following is NOT generally thought to be an advantage of teams over traditional work arrangements?

A) Teams are flexible and responsive.
B) Teams are easy to assemble.
C) Teams are easy to disband.
D) Teams are highly mechanistic.

Question 79

The only effective way to guard against social loafing is for managers to make special efforts to do this.

A) be fair to all group members
B) treat all group members equally
C) assess individual contributions of group members
D) assess the group as a whole exclusively

Question 80

Which statement is true of Fortune 500 companies?

A) Half have 100 percent of their employees on teams.
B) 100 percent have half of their employees on teams.
C) 80 percent have half of their employees on teams.
D) Half have 80 percent of their employees on teams.