Deck 14: Teamwork

Question 1

Transnational teams tend to be _____ teams.

A)work
B)project and development
C)parallel
D)management
E)virtual

Answer 1

E
Explanation: Transnational teams are work teams composed of multinational members whose activities span multiple countries. Transnational teams tend to be virtual teams, communicating electronically more than face to face, although other types of teams may operate virtually as well.

Question 2

Ahmed was part of a team that took six months to design a new solar-powered clock. When the product was finished, the team disbanded. What kind of team was it?

A)Work
B)Project and development
C)Parallel
D)Management
E)Transnational

Answer 2

B
Explanation: Project and development teams work on long-term projects, often over a period of years. They have specific assignments, such as research or new product development, and they work toward a one-time product, disbanding once their work is completed.

Question 3

Compared to traditionally managed teams, self-managed teams typically have

A)greater productivity and lower costs.
B)greater productivity and higher costs.
C)equal productivity and lower costs.
D)less productivity and lower costs.
E)less productivity and higher costs.

Answer 3

A
Explanation: When teams reach the point of being truly self-managed, results have included lower costs and greater levels of team productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction. Overall, autonomous teams are known to improve the organization's financial and overall performance, at least in North America.

Question 4

Work teams, when they exist, are typically not a part of the formal organization structure.

Question 5

Team cohesiveness, while it contributes to member satisfaction, has shown little benefit to outputs in terms of quality or productivity.

Question 6

Which of the following statements about teams is true?

A)Teams are good for innovation, but they reduce productivity.
B)Working in teams tends to be slower than working independently.
C)Teams can be powerful forces for creativity and change.
D)Working in teams tends to lower employees' esteem.
E)Teams can be powerful forces for quality, but they are expensive.

Question 7

A small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable, is called a working group.

Question 8

Janice works on a sales support team, which helps outside salespeople by mailing promotional material, following up on orders, and tracking shipments. Which type of team is this?

A)Work
B)Project and development
C)Parallel
D)Management
E)Virtual

Question 9

Autonomous work groups have more responsibility than self-designing teams.

Question 10

If used properly, teams can be powerfully effective as a building block for organization structure.

Question 11

How does working in teams affect individuals?

A)The team can satisfy important personal needs, such as affiliation and esteem.
B)Individual team members receive fewer raises and promotions because teams get the credit.
C)Team members are often isolated from the larger company and know little about it.
D)Many individuals report feeling lonelier after they begin to work in teams.
E)Teams often become too insular, so individuals fail to develop useful networks.

Question 12

At Fashionista Bags and Totes, the executive managers created Paolo's group and made it fully responsible for producing the company's briefcase line. The team orders the raw materials, manufactures the briefcases, evaluates quality control, and ships the finished products. Paolo's team is a(n) _____.

A)traditional work group
B)self-designing team
C)autonomous work group
D)virtual team
E)parallel team

Question 13

Teams do not function in a vacuum; it is crucial to know how to deal with people outside the group.

Question 14

Conglomerated Industries has appointed a team to recommend solutions to the problem of high employee turnover. The team does not have the authority to implement any of its suggested changes. What kind of team is this?

A)Project and development
B)Parallel
C)Management
D)Virtual
E)Transnational

Question 15

The productive output of a team should be acceptable to the customers, inside or outside the organization, who receive the team's goods or services.

Question 16

A team that communicates electronically more than face to face is called a _____ team.

A)work
B)project and development
C)parallel
D)management
E)virtual

Question 17

Teams are now used _____ companies to produce goods and services, to manage projects, and to make decisions about running the company.

A)primarily by small
B)primarily by large
C)primarily by technology
D)by almost all
E)by only a few

Question 18

When teams are geographically dispersed, team members tend to experience more trust and less conflict.

Question 19

Teams should be empowered, or they will revert to making safe, traditional decisions.

Question 20

Some people prefer to work in traditional work groups because they have no managerial responsibilities.

Question 21

Teamwork fails when individuals

A)neglect to bring out the best in others.
B)analyze the gifts they bring to the team.
C)compromise on their personal goals.
D)have worked on teams too often.
E)focus on the challenges of the work.

Question 22

Teams that work on long-term projects but disband once the work is completed are known as _____ teams.

A)parallel
B)management
C)traditional work
D)project and development
E)transnational

Question 23

The role of a _____ is filled by an individual who develops and maintains harmony within the team.

A)team maintenance specialist
B)task specialist
C)team recording secretary
D)group facilitator
E)quality control officer

Question 24

Which of the following is characterized by the absence of managerial responsibilities?

A)Transactional teams
B)Management teams
C)Project teams
D)Development work groups
E)Traditional work groups

Question 25

A project and development team is defined as a team that

A)coordinates and provides direction to the subunits under their jurisdiction and integrates work among subunits.
B)focuses on activities such as manufacturing, assembling, selling, or providing service.
C)is physically dispersed and members communicate electronically more than face to face.
D)works toward a one-time product, disbanding once their work is completed.
E)is composed of multinational members whose activities span multiple countries.

Question 26

Which of the following is the best way to motivate a team?

A)Appointing an authoritarian group leader
B)Tying reward to team performance
C)Leaving the team goals open-ended
D)Allowing individuals to focus on personal goals
E)Assigning one group member the role of management informant

Question 27

Which of the following is a common reason for social loafing?

A)Individuals want to take all the credit for themselves.
B)The group knows that it is being monitored closely.
C)Individuals disagree with the goal of the group.
D)The group is too empowered.
E)Individuals believe their contribution is not important.

Question 28

Over time Juanita's team has developed a set of beliefs about how group members should act during meetings. These beliefs are group _____.

A)attitudes
B)values
C)norms
D)rules
E)regulations

Question 29

Which of the following is a skill that will help prevent team failure?

A)Ignoring people's differences
B)Accepting control by the group leader
C)Avoiding making team commitments
D)Negotiating goals that everyone can support
E)Empowering managers to direct the team

Question 30

Berthe's group is in the process of deciding on the ground rules that will govern group behavior. Which stage is her group at?

A)Storming
B)Forming
C)Norming
D)Performing
E)Reforming

Question 31

Which of the following is a problem that occurs when a decision-making group has too much cohesiveness?

A)Groupthink
B)Backbiting
C)Parading
D)Norming
E)Probing

Question 32

Teams can contribute to an organization through

A)the elimination of conflict.
B)the relaxation of safety rules.
C)flexible HR policies.
D)productivity gains.
E)modernism.

Question 33

Team effectiveness is defined by three criteria: productive output, satisfaction, and _____.

A)efficiency
B)communication
C)innovation
D)commitment
E)speed

Question 34

As part of a team, the _____ is someone who stays abreast of current information in scientific and other fields and informs the group of important developments.

A)facilitator
B)gatekeeper
C)mediator
D)researcher
E)taskmaster

Question 35

Which of the following is true of work teams?

A)They are responsible for making goods or providing services.
B)They work to solve a particular problem that the company currently faces.
C)They are not a clear part of the formal organizational structure.
D)They operate separately from the regular work structure of the firm on a temporary basis.
E)They comprise members from different units or jobs and are asked to do work that is not normally done.

Question 36

_____ goals are higher-level goals that take priority over specific individual or group goals.

A)Compromise
B)Development
C)Management
D)Superordinate
E)Virtual

Question 37

_____ is a team strategy that entails making decisions with the team and then telling outsiders of the team's intentions.

A)Informing
B)Parading
C)Probing
D)Collaborating
E)Empowering

Question 38

June's team stopped being productive because it had an internal conflict that the group members could not resolve. A representative from the human resources department attended several meetings to help resolve the conflict and enable the group to move on. The person who did this played the role of _____.

A)facilitator
B)gatekeeper
C)mediator
D)researcher
E)taskmaster

Question 39

Teams that make or do things, such as manufacture, assemble, sell, or provide service, are known as _____ teams.

A)work
B)project
C)parallel
D)management
E)transnational

Question 40

A team's purpose should be translated into

A)individual, not group, performance goals.
B)an idealistic mission statement.
C)general, unquantifiable performance goals.
D)specific, measurable performance goals.
E)an abstract mission statement.

Question 41

In which process of group development do group members attempt to lay the ground rules for types of acceptable behavior?

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

Question 42

Groups that are similar to self-designing teams but without control over the design of the team or its tasks are known as ____.

A)autonomous work groups
B)parallel teams
C)traditional work groups
D)transnational teams
E)management teams

Question 43

_____ work groups control decisions about and execution of a complete range of tasks and are fully responsible for an entire product or an entire part of a production process.

A)Management
B)Traditional
C)Parallel
D)Virtual
E)Autonomous

Question 44

Ross just joined a team of people who come from different units in his organization. The team's primary task is to recommend to the top management valuable uses for the waste materials generated in the manufacturing processes. Although the team meets twice per week, the members continue to work within the usual organizational structure. The temporary team that Ross has joined is a ____.

A)work team
B)working group
C)project group
D)project team
E)parallel team

Question 45

Work groups composed of members from across the globe whose activities span multiple countries are referred to as ____.

A)self-designing teams
B)transnational teams
C)quality circles
D)transformational teams
E)management teams

Question 46

Teams that operate separately from the regular work structure of a firm on a temporary basis are known as _____ teams.

A)management
B)parallel
C)self-designing
D)self-managed
E)transnational

Question 47

Which of the following types of teams has the most freedom in making decisions about the execution of tasks and about the team itself?

A)Self-managing teams
B)Parallel teams
C)Traditional work groups
D)High-performance work teams
E)Self-designing teams

Question 48

A real team differs from a working group in terms of

A)observable cooperative interpersonal interactions.
B)the size and permanence of the group.
C)the purpose of achieving performance improvements.
D)the types of tasks that are undertaken.
E)impact on basic organizational structure.

Question 49

In which process of group development do hostilities and conflict commonly arise as members jockey for positions of power and status?

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

Question 50

A small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable is referred to as a ____.

A)team
B)quality circle
C)working group
D)service club
E)union

Question 51

Which of the following should be done by a team leader while leading a virtual team?

A)Use the start of each virtual meeting to review the agenda and time commitment.
B)Reduce conflict by not allowing virtual subteams to form.
C)Hold virtual reward ceremonies.
D)E-mail minutes only to those not able to attend via computer.
E)Recognize group accomplishments rather than individual ones.

Question 52

Which of the following best describes the characteristic of a management team?

A)It coordinates and provides direction to the subunits under its direction.
B)It is a work team composed of international members.
C)It is a team that communicates electronically rather than face to face.
D)It coordinates and provides directions to the subunits under its jurisdiction.
E)It operates separate from the regular work structure of the organization.

Question 53

A(n) _____ differs from a self-managed team in that the former has no managerial responsibilities.

A)transnational team
B)autonomous work group
C)traditional work group
D)virtual team
E)self-designing team

Question 54

Which of the following types of teams faces the challenges of building trust, cohesion, and team identity, and of overcoming team member isolation?

A)Project and development teams
B)Parallel teams
C)Autonomous work teams
D)Self-designed teams
E)Virtual teams

Question 55

Group members channel their energies into executing their tasks in the _____ process of group development.

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

Question 56

Which of the following describes a self-managed team?

A)Workers are trained to do all or most of the jobs in their unit.
B)Members decide for themselves the composition and tasks of the team.
C)Compensation depends solely upon the team's profitability.
D)Workers rely on management decisions.
E)Workers have control over the design of the team.

Question 57

Which of the following is true of parallel teams?

A)They are responsible for making goods or doing services.
B)They contain members from different units or jobs.
C)They operate as a part of the formal organizational structure.
D)They work on long-term projects.
E)They possess the authority to act.

Question 58

Which of the following describes a collection of people who work in the same area or have been drawn together to undertake a task without achieving significant performance improvements?

A)A division
B)A working team
C)A working group
D)A virtual team
E)A parallel team

Question 59

Which of the following is not generally true of self-managed teams?

A)They are autonomous groups.
B)They are development teams.
C)They are a type of work group.
D)Their members are trained to do most of the jobs in a unit.
E)They make decisions that used to be made by frontline supervisors.

Question 60

Group members agree on their shared goals and standards in the _____ process of group development.

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

Question 61

_____ occurs in teams when individuals believe that others will do the work for them, that their lack of efforts will go undetected, or that they will be the lone sucker who works hard while others don't.

A)Social loafing
B)Groupthink
C)Accommodation
D)The social facilitation effect
E)Group polarization

Question 62

Working harder when in a group than when working alone is known as ____.

A)the social facilitation effect
B)the participatory shield effect
C)group cohesiveness
D)groupthink
E)social loafing

Question 63

Which of the following statements about group norms is true?

A)They are defined by the board of an organization.
B)They are usually negative and destructive to group cohesiveness.
C)They are shared beliefs about how the group members should behave.
D)They are attitudes that support accomplishing the tasks of an organization.
E)They will hinder team performance unless they are put in writing.

Question 64

Which of the following groups will typically exhibit the worst performance?

A)A highly cohesive group with high performance norms
B)A highly cohesive group with low performance norms
C)A noncohesive group with high performance norms
D)A noncohesive group with low performance norms
E)A highly cohesive group without performance norms

Question 65

Which of the following types of skills are also important to teams apart from the technical or functional skills?

A)Political
B)Problem solving
C)Cultural
D)Survival
E)Counseling

Question 66

Which of the following statements about roles within teams is true?

A)Roles are shared beliefs of how various individuals should behave.
B)The formal group leader is appointed as a task specialist.
C)Team maintenance roles are filled by those with specific job-related skills.
D)Task specialists keep the team moving toward achieving its objectives.
E)Roles apply generally to all team members.

Question 67

The degree to which a group is attractive to its members, members are motivated to remain in the group, and members influence one another is referred to as ____.

A)collaboration
B)Parading
C)conciliation
D)cohesiveness
E)team maintenance

Question 68

Which of the following is a critical period in a group's development because the group is particularly open to formative experiences?

A)The second meeting
B)The midpoint between the first meeting and a deadline
C)The time immediately following the final critique of individual performances
D)The day of a scheduled deadline
E)The last meeting before a deadline

Question 69

The key element of effective teamwork is

A)commitment to a common purpose.
B)adequate compensation.
C)strong presentation skills.
D)homogeneity among members.
E)striving for perfection.

Question 70

Shared beliefs about how group members should think and behave are referred to as ____.

A)values
B)roles
C)norms
D)rules
E)policies

Question 71

Which of the following is one of the three criteria that define team effectiveness?

A)Unchallenged centralized decision making
B)Ongoing performance appraisal and feedback
C)Highly experienced team members
D)Team members putting aside their personal needs
E)Productive output from the team

Question 72

Which of the following roles requires particular job-related skills and abilities and keeps the team moving toward accomplishing its objectives?

A)Team maintenance
B)Boundary spanner
C)Formal leadership
D)Task specialist
E)Technical expert

Question 73

The benefits of teams are reduced when they are not ____.

A)visible
B)homogenous
C)empowered
D)closely monitored
E)conservative

Question 74

The highest group performance occurs when a

A)highly cohesive group has high performance norms.
B)highly cohesive group has low performance norms.
C)noncohesive group has high performance norms.
D)noncohesive group has low performance norms.
E)highly cohesive group has eliminated the need for performance norms.

Question 75

_____ are different sets of expectations for how different individuals should behave in an organization.

A)Norms
B)Roles
C)Customs
D)Medians
E)Values

Question 76

Working less hard and being less productive when in a group is known as ____.

A)social facilitation
B)the shield effect
C)social loafing
D)group polarization
E)group avoidance

Question 77

Which of the following will help a manager create a work group that has high-performance norms and is cohesive?

A)Recruiting members with varied attitudes, values, and backgrounds
B)Presenting challenges from only within the team
C)Trying to keep the team as large as possible
D)Maintaining low entrance and socialization standards
E)Being a participative leader

Question 78

Several members of Vonnie's team feel frustrated. They had forwarded many viable concepts to management for work process improvements. A few of the concepts were implemented, but most were not, and the team was not told why. Most members have quit trying to come up with innovative ideas. The team seems to have failed due to

A)lack of interpersonal skills training.
B)too much responsibility.
C)lack of empowerment.
D)employee discrimination.
E)lack of procedural justice.

Question 79

Group cohesiveness refers in part to

A)how attractive the group is to management.
B)how motivated members are to remain in the group.
C)the degree to which management influences the group.
D)the consistency in quality of the group's performance.
E)how homogeneous group members are.

Question 80

Which of the following occurs in teams when individuals are concerned with what others think of them and they want to maintain a positive self-image?

A)Social loafing
B)Group cohesiveness
C)Social conflict
D)Social facilitation effect
E)Cognitive dissonance