Deck 11: Intergroup Development

Question 1

Intergroup conflict is generally increased when both groups perceive there to be a noticeable difference in the degree of power and influence between themselves.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Third-party consultation is one method of intergroup development that strives to increase communication and initiate intergroup problem solving.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

One objective of OD is to increase cooperation among organization subsystems.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Confrontation refers to the process in which the parties directly engage each other and focus on the conflict between them.

Question 5

With high concern for self and low concern for others,the "obliging conflict style" attempts to attain personal objectives and often ignores the needs of others,forcing win-lose situations.

Question 6

Group behavior research suggests that cooperation in some situations,such as when the task is complicated and requires sharing of information,promotes productivity.

Question 7

For groups in competition with one another,the winning group will likely become more cohesive and the losing group will become more concerned for their members' psychological needs.

Question 8

OD techniques for dealing with intergroup problems include the Avoidance-Maintenance Theory and Conservancy Methodology.

Question 9

Coordination between operating groups within an organization tends to occur naturally and there is little need for coordinated effort of the organization to achieve excellence.

Question 10

To deal with intergroup conflict,the OD practitioner seeks interventions that decrease interaction and the frequency of communication between groups in order to avoid the number of contacts between groups.

Question 11

Although some behavioral scientists suggest that there is one best style to resolve conflict,most suggest an examination of styles,so that the most appropriate style for a given situation can be applied.

Question 12

Groups in conflict with one another spend a high degree of their effort,time,and energy directed toward the conflict instead of toward goal accomplishment.

Question 13

The increasing popularity of decentralized structures and matrix organization,in which many organization members wind up reporting to two or more bosses,has increased executives reliance on authority and reduced the reliance on interpersonal conflict management skills.

Question 14

"Open loop" refers to elements such as departments receiving feedback from other elements within the organization.

Question 15

Complex organizations tend to create situations of independence where the performance of one group is not dependent upon another group.

Question 16

Suboptimization occurs when a group optimizes its own goals but loses sight of the larger organization goals.

Question 17

Interpersonal conflicts may result from conflicting functions,objectives,career aspirations,or personalities.These conflicts stay at the personal level and do not become elevated to the intergroup or departmental level.

Question 18

Teamwork implies that all members of a team are contributing to an overall objective though they should not go so far as to subordinate personal prominence.

Question 19

OD techniques are aimed at avoiding "win-lose" situations while emphasizing "win-win" aspects of the situation.

Question 20

Organizational conflict must not necessarily be reduced or eliminated,but managed to enhance individual,group,and organizational effectiveness.

Question 21

Most OD practitioners advise that team development within a group occur soon after team building between teams.

Question 22

Groups in conflict with one another tend naturally to spend a high degree of their effort,time,and energy directed _____.

A)toward accomplishing the goals
B)toward improving coordination between groups
C)toward the conflict instead of toward accomplishing the goals
D)toward resolving the conflict
E)answers a,b,and d

Question 23

Complex organizations tend to _____.

A)create a situation of interdependence between departments
B)create autonomy between departments
C)inherently find that communications improve between departments over time
D)increase in effectiveness since the organizational structure is more sophisticated than in simple organizations
E)all of the above

Question 24

Near the conclusion of the intergroup team building meeting,the groups develop an action plan for solving problems and assigning responsibilities for the action plan.

Question 25

For groups who have leaders who are less articulate or forceful in their presentations,a practitioner following third-party interventions may need to regulate the discussion.

Question 26

_____ often determines organization effectiveness.

A)Competition between work groups
B)Collaboration between work groups
C)Technical training
D)A win-lose strategy
E)answers a and d

Question 27

Team interdependence is _____.

A)unimportant in organizations
B)dysfunctional energy
C)intentional sabotage
D)mutual dependence between groups
E)noncompliance of work rules

Question 28

Intergroup team building,often called laboratory learning,typically consists of meetings taking one or two weeks.

Question 29

The organization mirror is a technique designed to give work units feedback on how other elements of the organization view them.

Question 30

Subsystem interfacing implies _____.

A)boundary spanning with the external environment
B)exchanges across departmental boundaries
C)keeping within departmental boundaries
D)structuring subsystems on a functional basis
E)improved policies being issued from the OD department

Question 31

Unlike other OD intervention techniques,there is hard evidence of positive results from intergroup team building meetings.

Question 32

Collaboration and integration between interdependent groups will more likely _____.

A)cause increased conflict
B)decrease suboptimization
C)create better group leaders
D)lead to situations of win-loose behavior
E)answers a and d

Question 33

Each organization is a system formed of subsystems.For the purposes of intergroup development,which of the following is not a subsystem?

A)division
B)work team
C)department
D)group
E)corporation

Question 34

In third-party consultation,the practitioner may need to encourage a group to moderate their enthusiasm if that group is more highly motivated to resolve the conflict than the other group.

Question 35

What is it called when the goals of operating divisions promote a division's self interest at the expense of the larger organization?

A)intergroup conflict
B)intergroup competition
C)role ambiguity
D)intergroup development
E)suboptimization

Question 36

The manager's ability to deal with conflict between work-teams becomes increasingly important because _____.

A)conflict exists in every situation
B)typical organizations cannot handle conflict
C)a large amount of the manager's time is spent in resolving conflict
D)conflict is unproductive
E)departmental boundaries must be maintained

Question 37

Conflict between groups tend to be more apparent when _____.

A)the groups are interdependent
B)the groups are performing unrelated tasks and they are within close proximity to each other
C)the groups do not depend on one another for information
D)members rarely need to contact or work with one another
E)none of the above

Question 38

The potential for conflict between teams depends on _____.

A)how incompatible the goals are
B)the extent to which required resources are scarce and are shared
C)the degree of interdependence of task activities
D)all of the above
E)answers a and c

Question 39

Third-party consultation attempts to create a difference in power in order to resolve conflict between two groups.

Question 40

In intergroup team development terminology,an interface is any point at which contact between individuals is essential to achieving a result.

Question 41

Role ambiguity exists when individuals or group members are _____.

A)describing their purpose
B)given more control over subordinates
C)given little control over their work
D)not clear about their purpose
E)not given more control over their work

Question 42

One method of increasing communication and initiating intergroup problem solving is _____.

A)taking time-out and having a coffee break
B)having a gripe session
C)having a committee meeting that focus on other issues than the problems causing the conflict
D)third-party consultation
E)none of the above

Question 43

An organization mirror _____.

A)is a technique designed to give work units feedback on how other elements of the organization view them
B)improves relationships and increases effectiveness
C)involves a practitioner gathering data by questionnaire,interview,or survey and presenting the problems to the groups
D)all of the above
E)answers a and b

Question 44

Research into the results of competition and cooperation among groups _____.

A)shows that competition increases productivity for the company,especially when monetary incentives are offered
B)shows that the additional pressure of competition produces more attention to the task
C)shows that cooperation in the long run produces higher profits than does competition
D)is mixed
E)answers a and b

Question 45

In resolving intergroup conflict through third-party consultation,the OD practitioner seeks increased _____.

A)time to discuss problems
B)competition between teams to improve their effectiveness and productivity
C)interaction and negotiation efforts
D)all of the above
E)answers b and c

Question 46

Conflict that occurs between the Air Force and the Army over who should provide tactical air support is an example of _____.

A)structural imbalance
B)dominating behavior
C)perceived power imbalance between groups
D)healthy suboptimization
E)intergroup competition

Question 47

A technique designed to give work units feedback on how other elements of the organization view them is _____.

A)survey feedback
B)organization mirror
C)process feedback
D)Transactional Analysis
E)role analysis technique

Question 48

Role conflict exists in a group when _____.

A)a group is not cohesive
B)a third party intervenes to conduct surveys
C)an individual belongs to two or more groups with conflicting goals
D)members compete with other team members
E)the manager is not strong and well organized

Question 49

Common sources of group conflict are _____.

A)role conflict and role ambiguity
B)upper management communications
C)competition and perceived power imbalances
D)all of the above
E)answers a and c

Question 50

The goal(s)of third-party interventions include _____.

A)achieving increased understanding of the issues
B)not letting parties in conflict confront each other by physically separating them
C)placing a low priority on the needs of individuals and instead focusing on the higher-level needs of the work teams that are in conflict
D)making sure individuals in all of the groups are personally satisfied
E)all of the above

Question 51

The organization mirror provides a means for a work group to _____.

A)improve its operating relations with other groups
B)tell the rest of the organization what type of work it does.
C)practice laboratory learning techniques
D)become more cohesive in order to place higher expectations upon its members
E)all of the above

Question 52

Of five styles representing different levels of cooperative versus assertive behaviors,the _____ style has a high concern for self and others and uses openness and sharing of information to reach a solution.

A)dominating
B)integrating
C)avoiding
D)obliging
E)compromising

Question 53

Describe an organization situation when competition is more appropriate than cooperation and another situation when cooperation is more appropriate than competition.

Question 54

Third-party consultation usually involves _____.

A)confrontation
B)a group discussion and neutral party
C)an objective outsiders opinion
D)all of the above
E)answers a and b

Question 55

A matrix or project form of organization tends to result in _____.

A)role conflicts
B)cooperation
C)personality conflicts
D)dominating behavior
E)suboptimization

Question 56

OD techniques for dealing with intergroup problems include _____.

A)third-party consultation
B)organization mirror
C)intergroup team building
D)all of the above
E)none of the above

Question 57

Competition,according to research,tends to be more effective than cooperation _____.

A)in a majority of the cases according to well-documented studies
B)in a majority of organization situations
C)when the tasks are complicated and require a high degree of coordination
D)when tasks are simple and groups do not need to share information or resources
E)in no documented cases

Question 58

Most intergroup team building meetings usually begin with _____.

A)the groups listing their job descriptions
B)each group drawing the organization chart as they see it
C)each group listing how they see themselves,how they think the other group sees them,and how they see the other group
D)teams diagnosing their interface problems and the development of action plans and follow-up activities
E)answers a and b

Question 59

Common sources of group conflict are _____.

A)competition and perceived power imbalances
B)conflicts arising from different personalities and career aspirations
C)role conflict and role ambiguity
D)all of the above
E)answers a and c

Question 60

In regards to the effects of competition among groups,_____.

A)the winning group will become complacent
B)the losing group will become more concerned for their members' psychological needs
C)both winning and losing groups will become increasingly concerned for their members psychological needs
D)the losing group will become more cohesive
E)all of the above

Question 61

Contrast the differences and similarities between team development and intergroup team building