Question 1

Describe the punctuated-equilibrium model.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the punctuated-equilibrium model....

Question 2

________ refers to the degree to which members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group.

Accepted Answer

A) Assertiveness 
B) Social dominance 
C) Authoritativeness 
D) Cohesiveness 
E) Diversity

Question 3

The popular thinking is that to increase creativity in groups, for instance, norms should be loosened. However, research on gender-diverse groups indicates that strong political correctness (PC)norms increase group creativity.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 4

Tabby Tolman is a project coordinator at Tristar Solutions. Whenever a new project comes her way, she holds a project meeting and follows it up with repeated meetings to address any concerns the team members may have and to monitor their progress. However, with the peak of the business season arriving, she has been holding just one project initiation meeting for every project to save on time. She has become increasingly worried about the team's progress with no inputs coming from the members, and she has had no time to check with them. With two weeks left to go for a high priority project of a month's duration, she has now begun to see some work coming through and is relieved. This development reflects that the group is at the stage of ________.

Accepted Answer

A) forming 
B) inertia following the first meeting 
C) second phase of inertia before the group's last meeting 
D) storming 
E) transition following the halfway mark in the timeline

Question 5

Like many other marketing strategy specialists, Mark Fritz relies heavily on creativity and originality. Members of his team are selected on the basis of their ability to think divergently, and Mark often conducts activities to ensure that this ability is developed. For instance, before any new project, Mark invites his team to sit together and churn out possible ideas about the new product, its theme, and ways in which it can be projected best in the market. These sessions usually provide him with a bank of potential ideas from which the team selects some strong concepts and develops them into a campaign. To encourage freedom in these sessions, Mark has a no-evaluation policy. This is an example of ________.

Accepted Answer

A) ingroup favoritism 
B) groupshift 
C) brainstorming 
D) groupthink 
E) social loafing

Question 6

Describe the characteristics of the social identity theory.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the characteristics of the social identity...

Question 7

Which of the following stages of the five-stage group development model is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the group's purpose, structure, and leadership?

Accepted Answer

A) introduction 
B) storming 
C) forming 
D) evolution 
E) norming

Question 8

In the context of the social identity theory, distinctiveness refers to the ________.

Accepted Answer

A) tendency of people who have greater uniformity in values and characteristics to have greater identification as well 
B) tendency of people to link themselves to high-status groups in an attempt to define themselves favorably 
C) tendency of people to use the group as a means of understanding who they are and how they fit into the world 
D) tendency of ingroup members to prefer and endorse the products, ideas, and aspects of someone else's culture over their own 
E) tendency of ingroup members to notice and emphasize identities that reflect how different they are from other groups

Question 9

Status refers to the ________.

Accepted Answer

A) impact that support of group norms has on workplace civility 
B) adjustment of one's behavior to align with the norms of the group 
C) socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others 
D) existence of roles that are at variance with one another 
E) acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group's members

Question 10

The HR department at Bailey Services is considering offering telecommuting as an option to some experienced employees. At a meeting to formalize the move, the heads of the different departments met with Laura Watson, the HR manager. Laura, who thought this meeting would be a short one, was proven wrong when all the members, who had previously agreed that telecommuting would work in their company, began coming up with divergent views. By the end, two divisions claimed they had major concerns about allowing employees to telecommute, and those in favor of it were equally vocal. This scenario depicts the operation of ________.

Accepted Answer

A) conformity 
B) groupshift 
C) role conflict 
D) groupthink 
E) social loafing

Question 11

Group decisions are generally less accurate than the judgments of the most accurate individual in the group.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

According to status characteristics theory, which of the following factors does not determine status?

Accepted Answer

A) control over the resources needed by the group 
B) contribution to goals 
C) ability to conform to group norms 
D) personality 
E) talent

Question 13

Which of the following is an effective means of countering social loafing?

Accepted Answer

A) increasing the rewards the group is given if it succeeds 
B) increasing the amount by which the group's progress is monitored 
C) ensuring that individual contributions to the group's outcome are identified 
D) increasing the size of the group 
E) increasing the group's workload

Question 14

Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, a European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy could help them overcome this challenge, and that they could even use the situation to hike fares and generate additional revenues. 
-Which of the following statements, if true, would denote the occurrence of groupshift in Joe's opinions during the meeting?

Accepted Answer

A) Joe proposed that the company should invite price quotes from new suppliers to reduce their dependence on their current fuel suppliers. 
B) Joe determined that the best strategy would be to slash prices and minimize all fringes that are used for customer service. 
C) Joe convinced the top management team to decrease the capacity of the flights. 
D) Joe recommended that the prices for business class fares be increased as they represent a less price-sensitive group of customers. 
E) Joe claimed that aviation fuel was their second largest expense and this was the time to contemplate obtaining a few futures contracts with suppliers.

Question 15

The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it permits the group to meet formally but does not restrict independent thinking, as does the interacting group.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Describe cohesiveness as a property of groups. How can a group be made more cohesive?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe cohesiveness as a property of groups....

Question 17

A group decision-making method in which individual members meet face-to-face to pool their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion is the ________ technique.

Accepted Answer

A) reference groups 
B) nominal groups 
C) brainstorming 
D) interacting groups 
E) ingroup

Question 18

Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, a European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy could help them overcome this challenge, and that they could even use the situation to hike fares and generate additional revenues. 
-Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument that Mark experienced groupshift in the meeting?

Accepted Answer

A) Mark argued that implementing a price rise was necessary to recover the costs in operating the flights. 
B) Mark stated that the company should increase operations but at lower fares so they can regain control over the market share. 
C) Mark believed that most of their clientele was not price sensitive. 
D) Mark stated that oil suppliers were going to pressure them even more in the future and the company had to resort to alternatives like bio fuels. 
E) Mark recommended that the company should establish a fuel hedging contract with its key suppliers to ensure protection from fuel price rises.

Question 19

Individual decisions are more time consuming than group decisions.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Similarity is a characteristic under the social identity theory that manifests itself in the ________.

Accepted Answer

A) tendency of ingroup members to notice and emphasize identities that reflect how different they are from other groups 
B) tendency of people who have greater uniformity in values and characteristics to have greater group identification as well 
C) tendency of people to link themselves to high-status groups in an attempt to define themselves favorably 
D) tendency of people to use the group as a means of understanding who they are and how they fit into the world 
E) tendency of ingroup members to prefer and endorse the products, ideas, and aspects of someone else's culture over their own

Exam 9: Foundations of Group Behavior

Describe the punctuated-equilibrium model.

________ refers to the degree to which members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group.

The popular thinking is that to increase creativity in groups, for instance, norms should be loosened. However, research on gender-diverse groups indicates that strong political correctness (PC)norms increase group creativity.

Describe the characteristics of the social identity theory.

Which of the following stages of the five-stage group development model is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the group's purpose, structure, and leadership?

In the context of the social identity theory, distinctiveness refers to the ________.

Status refers to the ________.

Group decisions are generally less accurate than the judgments of the most accurate individual in the group.

According to status characteristics theory, which of the following factors does not determine status?

Which of the following is an effective means of countering social loafing?

The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it permits the group to meet formally but does not restrict independent thinking, as does the interacting group.

Describe cohesiveness as a property of groups. How can a group be made more cohesive?

A group decision-making method in which individual members meet face-to-face to pool their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion is the ________ technique.

Individual decisions are more time consuming than group decisions.

Similarity is a characteristic under the social identity theory that manifests itself in the ________.