Deck 6: Effective Team Communication

Question 1

In a best-case scenario, it takes approximately ________ for a team to reach the top level of performance.

A) 3-5 days
B) 2-3 weeks
C) 4-5 months
D) 6-7 months
E) 1-2 years

Answer 1

6-7 months

Question 2

Over time, team leaders typically become

A) less easygoing and more controlling.
B) less available and more distant.
C) less demanding and more understanding.
D) less directive and more consultative.
E) less deadline focused and more quality focused.

Answer 2

less directive and more consultative.

Question 3

The stage in which team members get to know one another and work on avoiding conflict is called the ________ stage.

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

Answer 3

forming

Question 4

During the storming stage of development, team members typically

A) get to know one another.
B) finalize the work plan.
C) clarify responsibilities.
D) offer competing ideas.
E) operate efficiently toward accomplishing their goals.

Question 5

The least productive stage of development for teams is typically the ________ stage.

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

Question 6

At which point does a team typically begin the norming stage of development?

A) 1-2 months
B) 2-3 months
C) 4-5 months
D) 6-7 months
E) 10-12 months

Question 7

Samir's team has been working together for six months and is finally reaching a point where everyone is operating efficiently toward accomplishing their goals. Samir's team has reached the ________ stage of development.

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

Question 8

Which of the following is the best definition of team culture?

A) a lack of conflict or disagreement
B) an ability to work independently with minimal collaboration
C) the presence of a strong and vocal leader whom all other team members follow
D) a shared set of values, norms, roles, responsibilities, and goals
E) a healthy sense of competition meant to weed out bad ideas

Question 9

Carla's team has been working together for seven months and is showing signs of reaching peak performance. However, the team is sometimes hindered by conflicts in which team members misinterpret each other's behavior as encroaching on their territory. To address this, Carla should

A) move individual team members to different areas in the office.
B) take on more responsibilities for herself to relieve pressure from the team.
C) lay off team members who complain too often.
D) hold regular meetings and encourage open discussion.
E) assert more control over the day-to-day activities of the team.

Question 10

Which of the following has been identified as the biggest barrier to team effectiveness?

A) poor communication
B) unclear goals
C) low morale
D) low productivity
E) lack of trust

Question 11

According to a recent survey of business professionals, the most frustrating aspect of being on a team is

A) a lack of free time.
B) unrealistic timelines and budgets.
C) ineffective use of meeting time.
D) not being the team leader.
E) having to share an assignment.

Question 12

Among high-performing teams, approximately ________ percent of all remarks are focused on work, while the rest are either supportive or social.

A) 5-10
B) 25-30
C) 40-50
D) 60-70
E) 80-90

Question 13

The majority of remarks made by lower-performing teams are focused on

A) supporting other team members.
B) clarifying responsibilities.
C) undermining authority.
D) bonding and socializing.
E) adjusting deadlines.

Question 14

The reason most teams underperform is that they

A) have weak leadership.
B) don't meet often enough.
C) lack sufficient funding.
D) are overworked.
E) personally dislike each other.

Question 15

Vera's team has similar education and work experience but features a range of ages, genders, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. This is known as ________ diversity.

A) acquired
B) enforced
C) inherent
D) random
E) valid

Question 16

Teams with acquired diversity feature a range of

A) ages.
B) experiences.
C) ethnicities.
D) income levels.
E) genders.

Question 17

Tyreke brings several ideas to his team's project launch meeting. When other team members offer critiques, he accepts the feedback without becoming defensive or taking it personally. Tyreke is demonstrating

A) norming.
B) avoiding.
C) inherent diversity.
D) introversion.
E) disassociation.

Question 18

Association is the process by which

A) people become bonded to their ideas.
B) teams become familiar with each other.
C) employees are selected for a team.
D) teams establish goals and objectives.
E) companies accept proposals from teams.

Question 19

Caris is friendly, outgoing, and unafraid to speak her mind, making her a natural team leader. Caris exhibits the characteristics of a(n)

A) accommodator.
B) compromiser.
C) extravert.
D) avoider.
E) introvert.

Question 20

The main difference between extraverts and introverts is that

A) introverts are friendly, whereas extraverts are mean.
B) introverts are inefficient, whereas extraverts work quickly.
C) introverts are shy, whereas extraverts are outgoing.
D) introverts are natural leaders, whereas extraverts need training to become leaders.
E) introverts can work independently, whereas extraverts must collaborate.

Question 21

Which of the following is a key to effective performance evaluations?

A) Evaluations should be held very rarely.
B) The process should involve clear expectations.
C) The process should focus on punishing poor performance.
D) Only the top and bottom performers should participate.
E) Evaluations should be based entirely on budget performance.

Question 22

Heather is a team leader, and she likes to seek the input of all of her team members before reaching a decision. Heather's leadership style can be described as

A) democratic.
B) autocratic.
C) laissez-faire.
D) idiosyncratic.
E) automatic.

Question 23

Which leadership style is most likely to take action on behalf of the group?

A) laissez-faire
B) democratic
C) idiosyncratic
D) autocratic
E) automatic

Question 24

Evan's team has worked together for several years, and he trusts them to make their own decisions with minimal oversight or feedback. Evan's leadership style can be described as

A) autocratic.
B) democratic.
C) laissez-faire.
D) idiosyncratic.
E) automatic

Question 25

Cruz Design is a web development startup that is launching its first major project. The team leader, Wren, wants to make sure all team members feel equally welcomed and valued. In this scenario, the best leadership style is

A) autocratic.
B) laissez-faire.
C) automatic.
D) idiosyncratic.
E) democratic.

Question 26

Handlebar Manufacturing has taken on a difficult client order that must be completed quickly. In this scenario, the best leadership style is

A) democratic.
B) autocratic.
C) idiosyncratic.
D) automatic.
E) laissez-faire.

Question 27

Serena is a team leader at a major law firm. However, most of her team members have the same level of experience as she does and are capable of working with minimal oversight. In this scenario, Serena should adopt a(n) ________ leadership style.

A) autocratic
B) democratic
C) idiosyncratic
D) laissez-faire
E) automatic

Question 28

An organization in which employees are encouraged to self-organize around projects that meet their interests is called a(n)

A) theocracy.
B) adhocracy.
C) autocracy.
D) democracy.
E) holacracy.

Question 29

In a business setting, conflict most often occurs when two or more parties have

A) acquired diversity.
B) incompatible goals.
C) different backgrounds.
D) unequal salaries.
E) different leadership styles.

Question 30

The strategy for engaging in conflict that represents a high concern for one's own needs and a low concern for the needs of others is the ________ style.

A) accommodating
B) compromising
C) avoiding
D) competing
E) collaborating

Question 31

Dillon is a team leader at a marketing agency. Two of his team members strongly disagree over an aspect of the team's strategy for an upcoming campaign. However, Dillon decides to ignore the conflict in the hope that the problem will resolve itself over time. Dillon's conflict management strategy can best be characterized as

A) avoiding.
B) accommodating.
C) compromising.
D) collaborating.
E) competing.

Question 32

Important issues are often left unresolved when a group's primary method of managing conflict is

A) accommodation.
B) avoidance.
C) compromise.
D) collaboration.
E) competition.

Question 33

The conflict management strategy in which both parties give up something in order to gain something is called

A) avoiding.
B) competing.
C) collaborating.
D) compromising.
E) accommodating.

Question 34

A common downside to compromising as a conflict management strategy is that

A) it leaves important issues unresolved.
B) nobody gets exactly what he or she wants.
C) it creates winners and losers.
D) it takes the most amount of time and effort.
E) neither side receives anything of value.

Question 35

The conflict management strategy that is most likely to result in a win-win scenario is

A) avoidance
B) collaboration.
C) accommodation.
D) compromise.
E) competition.

Question 36

Sanya is part of a team that is working on a proposal for a major downtown development project. She is concerned that the team has underestimated the cost of building materials, but because the deadline is coming up soon, she signs off on the proposed budget to avoid derailing the proposal. Sanya is demonstrating signs of

A) collaboration.
B) autocracy.
C) association.
D) groupthink.
E) stereotyping.

Question 37

Halim assumes that he has a fool-proof plan and refuses to listen to critiques from other team members. He most likely suffers from

A) excessive stereotyping.
B) self-censorship.
C) the illusion of morality.
D) collective rationalization.
E) the illusion of invulnerability.

Question 38

Keiren is a team leader at a financial services company. At a recent meeting, he proposed cutting back on annual bonuses to help save the company money. Even though several team members had reservations, no one raised objections, and Keiren left thinking that everyone agreed with the decision. This is an example of

A) self-censorship.
B) the illusion of unanimity.
C) collective rationalization.
D) the illusion of morality
E) pressure for conformity.

Question 39

Terrence's team is struggling to reach a consensus on an important issue, and tempers are starting to flare. Terrence thinks part of the problem may be that the team is getting hungry. Which of the following barriers to communication is Terrence's team experiencing?

A) self-censorship
B) rebuttal tendency
C) information overload
D) noise
E) boredom

Question 40

Maria is a member of the safety committee for a major mining company, making her responsible for decisions that could mean the difference between life and death. Maria should focus on improving her ________ listening skills.

A) informational
B) empathic
C) critical
D) inspirational
E) passive

Question 41

Approximately ________ percent of professionals working on virtual teams have never met their teammates in person.

A) 10
B) 25
C) 40
D) 75
E) 90

Question 42

Which of the following is a benefit of virtual teams?

A) stronger connections with colleagues
B) ease of assembling experts
C) more comfortable for extraverts
D) quicker trust among team members
E) fewer problems caused by diversity

Question 43

Virtual teams go through the ________ stage of development far less often than traditional teams.

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

Question 44

Sierra has assembled a virtual team for an important research project and is planning a kickoff meeting. The best way for her to encourage her team to do the work of forming and norming is to

A) host the conference call later in the evening.
B) stick to a prewritten list of talking points.
C) postpone the meeting until the team reaches a milestone.
D) have the team meet in person.
E) offer a reward for the funniest personal story.

Question 45

The "Take 5" strategy for virtual meetings suggests that the first five minutes of a meeting should be spent on

A) budgetary concerns.
B) positive feedback.
C) performance evaluations.
D) recapping previous meetings.
E) social chat.

Question 46

Approximately ________ percent of virtual team members admit to multitasking during meetings.

A) 10
B) 25
C) 50
D) 70
E) 90

Question 47

Raj is a member of a virtual team. He often has trouble interpreting verbal and nonverbal cues from his teammates, slowing down the decision-making process. To help address this issue, Raj's team should

A) spend more time explaining their feelings.
B) use video communication technology.
C) use only written forms of communication.
D) take extensive notes during meetings.
E) have one-on-one meetings after the group meetings end.

Question 48

A work plan usually defines team members' roles, goals, and accountabilities.

Question 49

During the performing stage, it is important to avoid disagreement and conflict at all costs.

Question 50

High-performing teams typically just go with the flow.

Question 51

To achieve excellence, teams should primarily focus on establishing rapport.

Question 52

Studies have shown that teams that are more alike than they are different yield better business returns.

Question 53

It is important for teams to allow time for working independently and without interruption.

Question 54

Extraverts tend to make the best leaders.

Question 55

In teams, most feedback should be negative to filter out bad ideas and encourage critical thinking.

Question 56

Laissez-faire leaders care less about their employees than leaders with different leadership styles.

Question 57

If a team leader has valuable experience that the rest of the group members lack, he or she should adopt a laissez-faire style.

Question 58

Most companies seek to have the same leadership style across all of their team leaders.

Question 59

Conflict can be productive for teams.

Question 60

A person in a collectivistic society is more likely than a person in an individualistic society to view accommodation as a valid conflict management strategy.

Question 61

The conflict management strategy that is easiest to implement is collaboration.

Question 62

Groupthink is most likely to occur under democratic leadership.

Question 63

After reaching an important decision, teams should meet a second time to make sure they do not have second thoughts.

Question 64

Teams working in the same office rarely rely upon virtual technologies for communication purposes.

Question 65

Extraverts are more likely to express their opinions in virtual teams than they are in traditional teams.

Question 66

Virtual teams should choose a permanent leader to ensure the group continues moving toward its goals.

Question 67

Most virtual teams emphasize camaraderie during meetings.

Question 68

Why is it important for teams to frequently discuss the set of values, norms, and goals they share?

Question 69

Describe the features of team charters, and explain why they are important to ensuring teams live up to their values and responsibilities.

Question 70

Explain the relationship between association and disassociation in teams and the pattern by which each of these processes occur.

Question 71

Suppose that you are the team leader for a group that is evenly split between introverts and extraverts. Describe some of the steps you and your team could take to ensure that both personality types are given the best chance to succeed.

Question 72

Think about a time in which you were the leader of a team at school or work. Describe your leadership style, and provide at least two examples of behaviors that exemplified the characteristics of a given style.

Question 73

Explain the problems associated with groupthink, and then provide an example from your own life or from the news that illustrates the negative consequences of groupthink.

Question 74

Suppose that you are part of a team of engineers working on a medical device that has the potential to save many lives. With the stakes this high, you recognize the importance of avoiding groupthink. Discuss three different techniques you could use to prevent groupthink from occurring.

Question 75

Three types of listening skills commonly used by teams are informational listening, critical listening, and empathic listening. Describe three different scenarios, one for each type of listening, in which a specific listening style would help your team reach its goals.

Question 76

Compare and contrast virtual teams and traditional teams. What features do they share, and how do they differ in their strengths and weaknesses?

Question 77

Suppose that you have been assigned as the team leader on a research project, and your team consists of experts from around the United States. Since your team lives and works in different parts of the country, you will be conducting virtual meetings. Describe at least three strategies you and your teammates can use to ensure your meetings are effective and productive.