Deck 11: Creating Effective Groups

Question 1

Which of the following is not a way to establish team identity?

A) creating a team name
B) creating a uniform style of dress
C) creating group rituals
D) creating competition among group members for prizes and awards given to the best team member

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Breaking down a problem into its constituent parts during team discussion is which of the following steps in the Standard Agenda?

A) criteria development
B) identification of the problem
C) analyzing the problem
D) evaluating problem solutions

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Consensus decision making means that

A) every group member's preferred choice will be selected by the group
B) all members agree to the final decision or group choice
C) all legitimate concerns of group members are addressed
D) both b and c

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Majority rule has which of the following disadvantages?

A) It is time consuming to arrive at a majority decision.
B) Majorities make slow, methodical decisions.
C) A dominance power dynamic can emerge.
D) all of the above

Question 5

Groupthink is

A) a process where group members gather to decide issues
B) a process of group members' stressing disagreement and skepticism
C) a process of group members' stressing cohesiveness and agreement instead of skepticism and optimal decision making
D) a process of breaking rigid thinking by placing a problem in a different frame of reference

Question 6

Which of the following are benefits of brainstorming when compared to nominal group technique?

A) Brainstorming is more fun.
B) Brainstorming can create a positive organizational climate.
C) Brainstorming can encourage talented and highly skilled employees to remain in an organization.
D) all of the above

Question 7

Groupthink can be combatted in which of the following ways?

A) The team leader could withhold his or her viewpoint during team discussion.
B) The devil's advocate role could be assigned to a specific team member.
C) Team members could engage in cohesiveness-building training.
D) both a and b

Question 8

Team creativity can be promoted in which of the following ways?

A) establishing a competitive environment to promote creative ideas
B) establishing challenges for the team
C) evaluating ideas during the idea generation stage
D) stressing deadlines to encourage intensity and focus

Question 9

Which of the following is an effective technique for dealing with troublesome group members?

A) Embrace their disruptive behavior.
B) Use the same behaviors as the disruptive member to demonstrate why their behaviors are flawed.
C) Create an environment where the disruptive member does not feel welcome.
D) Confront the person directly.

Question 10

Goals work best for building teams when

A) they are clearly stated
B) there are many goals to challenge the team
C) the goals create competition within the group
D) no goal is shared by every member on the team

Question 11

Criteria for decision making are

A) rarely necessary for effective team decision making
B) methods for establishing team goals
C) standards for judging the effectiveness of team decisions
D) techniques for team problem solving

Question 12

Which of the following is an advantage of the consensus decision-making process?

A) Full discussion of issues is required.
B) Commitment from all group members to a final decision is likely.
C) Group satisfaction is normally high.
D) all of the above

Question 13

Team creativity is diminished by

A) structured methods of problem solving
B) unstructured methods of problem solving
C) tough challenges
D) relaxed deadlines

Question 14

Typical problems with information flow in hierarchical organizations include:

A) Information from the top (superordinates) too often does not get to the lower levels (subordinates) of the organization.
B) Negative information (criticism, gripes) often does not reach the top members of the organization.
C) Messages from subordinates often get distorted or diluted by the time they reach the upper levels of the organization.
D) all of the above

Question 15

Self-managed work teams are unlikely to be successful if

A) leadership within the organization insists on maintaining tight control of decision making and problem solving
B) frequent horizontal communication occurs
C) meaningful member participation is discouraged
D) all of the above

Question 16

Which of the following are benefits of self-managed work teams?

A) increased need for management and supervisory staff
B) greater attraction to the organization
C) reduced stress on team members from the responsibility of decision making and problem solving
D) none of the above

Question 17

Quality circles

A) have been highly successful in the United States
B) are self-managed work teams
C) make recommendations to management but do not usually make decisions
D) all of the above

Question 18

Which of the following is not one of the three Cs of motivation likely to gain a response from a social loafer?

A) collaboration
B) content
C) cheerleading
D) choice

Question 19

The ability of groups to complete work more effectively than individuals could complete the same tasks is called

A) groupthink
B) collaboration
C) synergy
D) consensus

Question 20

Which of the following are necessary conditions for group problem solving?

A) a cooperative expectation
B) relaxing deadlines
C) promoting creativity
D) all of the above

Question 21

Every group can be a team.

Question 22

Establishing clear, identifiable goals is critical to building teams.

Question 23

Consensus becomes increasingly difficult and unlikely as groups grow smaller and smaller because there are fewer members to convince the group that consensus decision making is wise.

Question 24

If team members like their training, you can feel confident that the training is effective in teaching useful knowledge and skills.

Question 25

Competition within a team, such as comparison rankings of team members, merit pay schemes, and contests to determine the best team member, usually destroy teamwork.

Question 26

The most appropriate conflict management style for teams is collaboration.

Question 27

Teamwork and teambuilding are the same thing.

Question 28

Diverse groups lead to better decision-making.

Question 29

Creativity is promoted best by using an unstructured approach to the generation of ideas and solutions to problems.

Question 30

It is more challenging and difficult to develop teamwork in an individualist culture than in a collectivist culture.

Question 31

Ignoring a troublemaker in a group is often the best strategy

Question 32

Social loafing is a symptom of shyness.

Question 33

Groupthink is a process where group members stress cohesiveness and agreement instead of skepticism and optimal decision making.

Question 34

Team creativity is enhanced by unstructured methods of problem solving.

Question 35

Reframing a problem in a group setting as an opportunity for progress is one way to break a deadlock.

Question 36

Virtual groups are effective because they require less rigidity and norms than face-to-face groups.

Question 37

Social loafing is more common in an individualist culture such as that of the United States than it is in collectivist cultures such as those of Singapore, China, Thailand, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

Question 38

Majority rule ensures an equal dispersion of power.

Question 39

Groupthink can occur after a decision has been made.