Deck 8: Teamwork and Performance

Question 1

An essential criterion of a true team is that the members feel "collectively accountable" for what they accomplish.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Effective teams have no further need for leadership efforts, after team building, to improve team processes.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Special problems relating to team processes may arise as more and more jobs are turned over to teams and as more and more traditional supervisors are being asked to function as team leaders.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In coping with the challenge of entering a team, tough battlers are those individuals who are frustrated by a lack of identity in the new group and who may act aggressively or reject authority.

Question 5

Research finds that, in teams, male-dominated individual intelligence, as opposed to collective intelligence, provides a clear focus for solving problems and resolving conflicts.

Question 6

The outdoor experience approach to team building offers opportunities for intense and concentrated effort to examine group accomplishments and operations.

Question 7

Collective intelligence is a sequence of planned activities designed to gather and analyze data on the functioning of a group and to initiate changes designed to improve teamwork and increase team effectiveness.

Question 8

Team building in the formal retreat approach takes place in the firm's headquarters facility, typically over a weekend, when the building is quiet.

Question 9

In a continuous improvement approach to team building, the team members commit themselves to monitoring group developments and accomplishments on an ongoing basis and making the day-to-day changes needed to ensure team effectiveness.

Question 10

The formal retreat approach to team building places group members in a variety of physically challenging situations that must be mastered through teamwork, not through individual work.

Question 11

High-performance teams turn a general sense of purpose into specific performance objectives.

Question 12

According to Schein, the tough battler is insecure, suffering uncertainties of intimacy and control.

Question 13

The second step in the team-building process occurs when members work together in planning for team improvements.

Question 14

Role negotiation is an effective way to deal with teamwork difficulties when they occur or to help prevent them from occurring in the first place.

Question 15

High-performance teams have strong core values that help the team members guide their attitudes and behaviors in directions consistent with the team's purpose.

Question 16

The last step in the team-building process occurs when members work together to evaluate the results.

Question 17

Members of high-performance teams have the right mix of technical, problem-solving, decision-making, and interpersonal skills.

Question 18

The first step in the team-building process is data gathering and analysis.

Question 19

With all the personality issues involved, research finds that the team building process is not very collaborative.

Question 20

Problems regarding participation, goals, control, relationships, and process are likely to occur in a new team or when new members join existing teams.

Question 21

A norm is a set of expectations associated with a job or position on a team.

Question 22

A key negative aspect of inter-team dynamics is that the members of each team may divert energies toward their mutual animosities rather than on the performance of important tasks.

Question 23

Role overload occurs when a person is uncertain about his or her role in a job or on a team.

Question 24

The statement, "People on this committee are good listeners and actively seek out the ideas and opinions of others" reinforces the negative support and helpfulness norm.

Question 25

The performance norm conveys expectations about how hard group members should work and what the team should accomplish.

Question 26

The statement "on our team, people always try to work hard" is an example of a positive high-achievement norm.

Question 27

Team cohesiveness tends to be low when members are similar in age, attitudes, needs, and backgrounds.

Question 28

Distributed leadership is the sharing of responsibility, by all members, for meeting individual needs.

Question 29

Cohesiveness of a group or team is the degree to which group or team members are attracted to and motivated to remain a part of the group or team.

Question 30

From a manager's perspective, the worst-case scenario of a work team's performance norms and cohesiveness occurs with negative performance norms and high team cohesiveness.

Question 31

Role conflict occurs when someone is unable to meet the expectations of others.

Question 32

The roles of a group or team represent ideas or beliefs about how members are expected to behave.

Question 33

Group cohesiveness tends to decrease when groups are physically isolated from others and when they experience performance success or crisis.

Question 34

In terms of team productivity, the best-case scenario of a work team's performance norms and cohesiveness occurs with high performance norms and high team cohesiveness.

Question 35

Research in social psychology suggests that the achievement of sustained high performance by groups requires that members' task needs and maintenance needs are met.

Question 36

Generally, the more cohesive the group, the greater the conformity of members to group norms.

Question 37

A leader can establish positive norms within groups and teams by acting as a positive role model, reinforcing and rewarding desired behaviors, selecting members who can and will perform, and providing support and training for members.

Question 38

Maintenance activities directly contribute to the performance of important group tasks.

Question 39

A positive aspect of intergroup competition occurs when the members of each group work harder, become more focused on key tasks, and develop more internal loyalty.

Question 40

In his studies of how people cope with the challenge of entering a team, Edgar Schein labeled individuals who act in a passive, reflective, and even single-minded manner while struggling with the fit between individual goals and group directions as disruptive entrants.

Question 41

The guidelines for brainstorming include ruling out all criticism, welcoming "freewheeling," emphasizing quantity of ideas, and encouraging "piggy-backing" on others' ideas.

Question 42

Teams will make decisions by majority rule when all team members agree totally on a course of action.

Question 43

In the co-acting team pattern, information flows to a central person and is redistributed to form a centralized communication network.

Question 44

When groupthink occurs in highly cohesive groups, poor decisions may result from the members' unwillingness to criticize one another's ideas and suggestions, overemphasis on agreement, desire to hold the group together, underemphasis on critical discussion, and desire to avoid unpleasant circumstances.

Question 45

The inter-team group technique is a group decision-making approach that involves structured rules for generating and prioritizing ideas.

Question 46

Teams will make decisions by consensus when discussion leads to one alternative being favored by most members and the others members agreeing to support it.

Question 47

In decision by authority rule, the chairperson, a manager, or a leader makes a decision for the group. This can be done with or without discussion and is very time efficient.

Question 48

In decision by lack of response, one idea after another is suggested without any discussion taking place. When the team finally accepts an idea, all others have been bypassed and discarded by simple lack of response rather than by critical evaluation.

Question 49

The potential advantages of group decision making include social pressure to conform, minority domination, and time delays.

Question 50

The counteracting team pattern results in a decentralized communication network in which all team members communicate directly and share information with one another.

Question 51

Groupthink can be avoided when team leaders hold "second-chance" meetings after consensus is apparently achieved.

Question 52

Wheel communication networks and chain communication network are other names for a centralized communication network.

Question 53

Centralized communication networks create high levels of member satisfaction and work best when team tasks are complex and non-routine.

Question 54

Problems of destructive competition in inter-team dynamics are likely in restricted communication networks.

Question 55

The potential advantages of group decision making include more knowledge and expertise being applied to the problem, more alternatives being considered, greater understanding and acceptance of the final decision, and more commitment among group members to making the final decision work.

Question 56

In decision by unanimity, at least one-third team members agree totally on the course of action to be taken.

Question 57

Groupthink can be avoided by having the leader express his/her opinion for a particular course of action.

Question 58

Proxemics refers to the use of space as people interact.

Question 59

Inter-team dynamics are relationships between groups cooperating and competing with one another.

Question 60

To achieve group consensus, members should not argue blindly and should consider others' reactions to one's points.

Question 61

The ability of a team to perform well across a range of tasks is known as ____________.

A) collective intelligence
B) team building
C) proxemics
D) nominal group technique
E) distributed leadership

Question 62

All of the following statements about maintenance activities are true EXCEPT:

A) maintenance activities support the social and interpersonal relationships among group members.
B) when maintenance leadership is poor, members become dissatisfied with one another.
C) in an effective group, maintenance activities support the relationships needed for team members to work well together over time.
D) when maintenance leadership is weak, the value of group membership may diminish.
E) maintenance activities include initiating discussion, sharing information, asking information of others, clarifying something that has been said and summarizing the status of a deliberation.

Question 63

Edgar Schein identified three common behavior profiles that may hinder group operations when people try to cope with individual entry problems in self-serving ways. These three profiles are __________.

A) passive, aggressive, and regressive
B) focused, unfocused, and mid-focused
C) tough battler, friendly helper, and objective thinker
D) primal, emotional, and rational
E) thoughtful, aggressive, and modal

Question 64

To improve team processes, both team leaders and members must be prepared to deal with all of the following EXCEPT:

A) introducing new members.
B) handling disagreements on goals and responsibilities.
C) handling reward and punishment distribution issues.
D) resolving delays and disputes when making decisions.
E) reducing friction and interpersonal conflicts.

Question 65

Which approach to team building places group members in a variety of physically challenging situations that must be mastered through teamwork, not individual work?

A) Formal retreat
B) Outdoor experience
C) Continuous improvement
D) Rustic experience
E) Informal withdrawal

Question 66

In coping with the challenge of entering a team, __________ are individuals who act in a passive, reflective, and even single-minded manner while struggling with the fit between individual goals and group directions.

A) friendly helpers
B) tough battlers
C) objective thinkers
D) amiable entrants
E) thoughtful newcomers

Question 67

Which of the following is a sequence of planned activities designed to gather and analyze data on the functioning of a team and to initiate changes designed to improve teamwork and increase team effectiveness?

A) Proxemics
B) Team building
C) Nominal group technique
D) Collective intelligence
E) Distributed leadership

Question 68

With regards to the sequence of steps in the team-building process which of the following is correct?

A) Establishing a team mission statement; team goal setting; data gathering and analysis; implementing team goals; and evaluation of results
B) Planning for team effectiveness; data gathering and analysis; establishment of team goals and objectives; implementing team goals; and evaluation of results
C) Establishing a team mission statement; team cohesiveness training; data gathering and analysis; actions to improve team functioning; and implementing team goals
D) Planning for team effectiveness; team goal setting; implementing team goals, evaluation of results; and reassessment of team goals
E) Problems or opportunity in team effectiveness; data gathering and analysis; planning for team improvements; actions to improve team functioning; and evaluation of results

Question 69

In an) __________ approach to team building, the manager, team leader, or group members themselves take responsibility for regularly engaging in the team-building process.

A) formal retreat
B) employee participation
C) outdoor experience
D) continuous improvement
E) incremental enhancement

Question 70

A team member contributes __________ leadership by encouraging the participation of others, trying to harmonize differences of opinion, praising the contributions of others, and agreeing to go along with a popular course of action.

A) task
B) functional
C) transactional
D) maintenance
E) directive

Question 71

____________ is not one of the problems that new group members face.

A) Participation
B) Goals
C) Lack of originality
D) Control
E) Process

Question 72

Which approach to team building offers opportunities for intense and concentrated effort to examine group accomplishments and operations?

A) Informal withdrawal approach
B) Brainstorming approach
C) Nominal Group Technique
D) The Delphi Technique
E) Formal retreat approach

Question 73

In which approach does team building takes place during off-site meetings?

A) Formal retreat approach
B) Informal withdrawal approach
C) Privacy approach
D) Informal isolation approach
E) Formal seclusion approach

Question 74

Which of the following directly contributes to the performance of important group tasks?

A) Task activities
B) Assignment mandates
C) Directive activities
D) Responsibility activities
E) Maintenance activities

Question 75

___________ is the third step in the team building process?

A) Data gathering and analysis
B) Problem or opportunity in team effectiveness
C) Actions to improve team functioning
D) Planning for team improvements
E) Evaluation of results

Question 76

The sharing of responsibility for meeting group task and maintenance needs is known as:

A) participative partnering.
B) conjunctive leadership.
C) authentic leadership.
D) empowered leadership.
E) distributed leadership.

Question 77

Which of the following statements regarding characteristics of high-performance teams is false?

A) High-performance teams have strong core values.
B) High-performance teams turn a general sense of purpose into specific performance objectives.
C) High-performance teams have members who focus on individual effort and excellence.
D) Members of high-performance teams have the right mix of skills.
E) Members of high-performance teams feel "collectively accountable."

Question 78

Researchers point out that collective intelligence is _________ in teams whose processes result in social sensitivity and absence of domination by one or a few members.

A) higher
B) lower
C) a constant
D) nonexistent
E) equal

Question 79

Which of these is NOT appropriate in creating a high-performing team?

A) Communicating high-performance standards
B) Having members spend time together
C) Creating a sense of urgency
D) Setting a clear/challenging direction
E) Ensuring that new information is kept to a minimum to avoid information overload

Question 80

Which of the following statements about improving team processes is NOT accurate?

A) Team members must be prepared to handle more members.
B) As more and more jobs are turned over to teams, special problems relating to team processes may arise.
C) As more and more traditional supervisors are being asked to function as team leaders, special problems relating to team processes may arise.
D) Effective teams have no further need, after team-building, for leadership efforts to improve team processes.
E) Team members must be prepared to handle disagreements on rules and responsibilities