Deck 14: Managing Quality Improvement Teams and Projects

Question 1

________ is the extent to which a follower has the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task.

A) Finesse
B) Sleekness
C) Effectiveness
D) Readiness
E) Quickness

Answer 1

D

Question 2

________ are teams that rarely or never physically meet, except in electronic meetings using group decision software.

A) Process improvement teams
B) Cross-functional teams
C) Tiger teams
D) Self-directed work teams
E) Virtual teams

Answer 2

E

Question 3

________ are teams organized around a common product, customer, or service.

A) Process improvement teams
B) Self-directed work teams
C) Tiger teams
D) Natural work groups
E) Cross-functional teams

Answer 3

D

Question 4

________ are high-powered teams assigned to work on a specific problem for a limited amount of time.

A) Process improvement teams
B) Natural work groups
C) Tiger teams
D) Virtual teams
E) Cross-functional teams

Question 5

One of the biggest reasons why so many influential voices call for participation and teamwork to manage businesses today is ________ in the workplace.

A) consanguinity
B) diversity
C) complexity
D) unity
E) simplicity

Question 6

Of the preconditions necessary for empowerment, ________ means employees must know what is expected of them and be given authority over their own work.

A) clear authority and accountability
B) flattening hierarchies
C) adequate communication and information for decision making
D) responsibility with authority
E) organizational learning

Question 7

Knowledge work is effective when workers are given a certain amount of autonomy and decision-making authority. Companies such as 3M encourage their employees to become more ________ in their approach to work.

A) entrepreneurial
B) conspiratorial
C) corporeal
D) surreal
E) competitive

Question 8

Of the preconditions necessary for empowerment, ________ means employees should be involved in planning related to their jobs.

A) clear authority and accountability
B) participation in planning at all levels
C) organizational learning
D) responsibility with authority
E) adequate communication and information for decision making

Question 9

________ enlist people from a variety of functional groups within the firm.

A) Process improvement teams
B) Cross-functional teams
C) Self-directed work teams
D) Natural work groups
E) Virtual teams

Question 10

Of the preconditions necessary for empowerment, ________ means that if employees are to make decisions related to their jobs, they need the right managerial information.

A) corporate learning
B) participation in planning at all levels
C) adequate communication and information for decision making
D) responsibility with authority
E) clear authority and accountability

Question 11

In the context of quality teams, ________ is the opportunity for personal development as well as recognition for personal achievement through rewards, incentives, or status.

A) belonging
B) recognition for personal achievement
C) mutuality
D) bounded power
E) creative autonomy

Question 12

Of the preconditions necessary for empowerment, ________ means that employees should be given a definition of power that focuses on getting things done rather than exerting influence over people.

A) adequate communication and information for decision making
B) participation in planning at all levels
C) clear authority and accountability
D) responsibility with authority
E) flattening hierarchies

Question 13

In the context of quality teams, ________ is the individual's need for supportive, cohesive, and friendly team relations.

A) mutuality
B) recognition for personal achievement
C) belonging
D) bounded power
E) creative autonomy

Question 14

In the context of quality teams, ________ is the need for mutual support and encouragement between line management and project managers as well as personal loyalty of project managers to their teams and organizations.

A) mutuality
B) recognition for personal achievement
C) belonging
D) bounded power
E) creative autonomy

Question 15

________ work to improve processes and customer service.

A) Process improvement teams
B) Cross-functional teams
C) Tiger teams
D) Natural work groups
E) Virtual teams

Question 16

________ means giving power to team members who perhaps had little control over their jobs.

A) Needs analysis
B) Implicit promise
C) Empowerment
D) Trust
E) Quality improvement

Question 17

________ are identified as either little s or big S teams who have been chartered to work on projects identified by team members with little managerial oversight.

A) Process improvement teams
B) Cross-functional teams
C) Tiger teams
D) Self-directed work teams
E) Virtual teams

Question 18

In the context of quality teams, ________ is the need for authority and control over project resources and people, personal accountability and challenge, individuals' abilities to influence decisions that affect the project, and opportunities for personal growth and development.

A) recognition for personal achievement
B) creative autonomy
C) belonging
D) bounded power
E) mutuality

Question 19

In the context of quality teams, ________ is the need for individuals to have opportunities to use their creativity and potential during the course of a project and to enjoy good working conditions.

A) mutuality
B) recognition for personal achievement
C) bounded power
D) belonging
E) creative autonomy

Question 20

Which of the following is a reason why employees like teams?

A) mutuality
B) recognition for personal achievement
C) belonging
D) creative autonomy
E) all of the above

Question 21

Perform a cost-benefit analysis with payback period calculation using the following data: Direct Costs
• 15 laptops-$1,850/each
• A server-$2,100
• Network installation-$16,500
• Software-$22,500
Indirect Costs
• Training-$10,000
Annualized Benefits
• Increased capacity-$250,000

A) Total costs are $52,950 with a payback period of 0.21 years.
B) Total costs are $52,950 with a payback period of 0.32 years.
C) Total costs are $108,250 with a payback period of 0.43 years.
D) Total costs are $78,850 with a payback period of 0.32 years.
E) Total costs are $78,850 with a payback period of 0.43 years.

Question 22

The situational leadership model clarifies the interrelation between employee preparedness and effectiveness of leadership.

Question 23

Granting authority to employees guarantees that people will work well together and will necessarily achieve all the lofty goals that are espoused in empowerment.

Question 24

With fewer layers of management, companies tend to rely more on teams.

Question 25

The ________ is a flipchart or whiteboard where topics that are off the subject are parked with the agreement that these topics will be candidates for the next meeting's agenda.

A) project charter
B) flowchart
C) facilitation board
D) PERT chart
E) parking lot

Question 26

The "parking lot" methodology was pioneered by ________.

A) GM
B) IBM
C) GE
D) HP
E) CIGNA

Question 27

Perform a cost-benefit analysis with payback period calculation using the following data: Direct Costs
• 12 laptops-$1,400/each
• A server-$2,000
• Network installation-$14,000
• Software-$20,000
Indirect Costs
• Training-$15,000
Annualized Benefits
• Increased capacity-$200,000

A) Total costs are $37,400 with a payback period of 0.19 years.
B) Total costs are $37,400 with a payback period of 0.21 years.
C) Total costs are $52,400 with a payback period of 0.25 years.
D) Total costs are $52,800 with a payback period of 0.26 years.
E) Total costs are $67,800 with a payback period of 0.34 years.

Question 28

Empowerment means giving power to team members who perhaps had little control over their jobs.

Question 29

Major challenges in the area of workforce development include the integration of human resources practices and the alignment of human resource management with strategic change processes.

Question 30

The Baldrige criteria encourage employee participation.

Question 31

________ is accomplished by following a process that identifies roles for team members and then helps them to become competent in achieving those roles.

A) Brainstorming
B) Team building
C) Meeting management
D) Conflict resolution
E) Facilitation

Question 32

Business is transforming itself from a "command and control" environment to one of collaboration.

Question 33

Quality professionals are unanimous: in order to be successful in achieving teamwork and participation, strong leadership both at the company level and within the team is essential.

Question 34

Organizational learning leads to change in organizational behavior in a way that reduces performance.

Question 35

________ is helping or aiding teams by maintaining a process orientation and focusing the group.

A) Meeting management
B) Team building
C) Facilitation
D) Brainstorming
E) Conceptualization

Question 36

Tools for successful ________ include an agenda, predetermined objectives for the meeting, a process for running the meeting, processes for voting, and development of an action plan.

A) interaction
B) team building
C) meeting management
D) facilitation
E) conceptualization and orientation

Question 37

A team is defined as a finite number of individuals who are united in a common purpose.

Question 38

In a study of project managers who were involved in project teams, two of the motivators that emerged were creative autonomy and recognition for personal achievement.

Question 39

The formula used to calculate the payback period for qualifying projects is ________.

A) C_t = ∑ (C_d + C_i)
B) C_t = PP/B_a
C) PP = ∑ (C_d + C_i)
D) PP = C_t/B_a
E) B_a = C_d + C_i

Question 40

Corporate learning relies on an open culture where no one feels threatened to expose opinions or beliefs.

Question 41

The scope of a natural work group is customer- or region-centered.

Question 42

The scope of a Tiger team is organization-wide.

Question 43

Force-field analysis is designed to identify and quantify all of the forces for or against organizational change.

Question 44

Some of the meeting structured process techniques, such as silent voting and idea writing, help team members reach consensus rapidly.

Question 45

Differentiate between little s or big S self-directed work teams.

Question 46

Soft costs are easily recovered in project savings.

Question 47

The scope of a process improvement team is local or a single department.

Question 48

Why is knowledge work important in managing businesses today?

Question 49

Perform a cost-benefit analysis with payback period calculation using the following data:
Direct Costs
• 25 networkable PCs-$1,700/each
• A server-$2,700
• Peripherals-$2,200
• Network installation-$5,800
• Sales system software-$11,500
Indirect Costs
• Training-$14,500
• Lost time-30 days × $150/day
• Sales-related losses during implementation-$21,000
Annualized Benefits
• Increased sales capacity-$190,000
• Improved customer retention-$250,000
• Improved follow-up sales opportunities-$180,000

Question 50

Quality management is a vehicle by which leaders abdicate their responsibility.

Question 51

Only cost-benefits analysis (CBA) involves identifying direct and indirect project costs and expected returns for projects.

Question 52

Discuss the differences between soft costs and hard costs when evaluating projects.

Question 53

Effective meeting management is an important skill for a facilitator of quality improvement teams.

Question 54

Perform a cost-benefit analysis with payback period calculation for a project where indirect costs are $40,000, direct costs are $15,000, and annualized benefits are $55,000.

Question 55

A Big S self-directed team is involved in managing the different functions of the company with a traditional management structure.

Question 56

Readiness is a function of job maturity and psychological maturity.

Question 57

List the steps to perform force-field analysis.

Question 58

Briefly explain the situational leadership model.

Question 59

Discuss the importance of meeting management in quality improvement of teams and list the steps required for planning a meeting.

Question 60

What are the responsibilities of leaders?

Question 61

________ is the stage at which the team members begin to get to know each other, and agreements have not yet been made that facilitate smooth interaction between team members.

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

Question 62

During the forming stage, teams develop ground rules.

Question 63

________ is the stage at which the team becomes mutually supportive, a steady state is achieved, and the team engages in successful projects.

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

Question 64

List and briefly describe the different stages of team development.

Question 65

Which of the following key stages of team activity requires implementers and involves turning plans into routine procedures, methods, and working practices?

A) identifying needs
B) finding ideas
C) formulating plans
D) making contacts
E) establishing the organization

Question 66

________ is the stage at which the team is composed, and the objective for the team is set.

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

Question 67

The following tasks were identified for a major project using a WBS. Optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic task completion times for each task were also identified. Compute task times, task variances, project variance, and project standard deviation for this project.

Question 68

Key figures at the identifying needs stage of team activity are individuals with strong goal awareness.

Question 69

Which of the following is not a common ground rule for teams in projects?

A) Test assumptions and inferences
B) Be specific and use examples
C) Focus on positions, not interests
D) Share all relevant information
E) Agree on what important words mean

Question 70

In the ________ stage of the conflict resolution process, opponents identify the issues that need to be resolved.

A) interaction
B) compromising
C) conceptualization and orientation
D) outcome
E) frustration

Question 71

________ is the stage at which the team becomes a cohesive unit, and interdependence, trust, and cooperation develop.

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

Question 72

Which of the following key stages of team activity involves persuading people that an improvement is possible and finding champions and cheerleaders of the plan?

A) identifying needs
B) finding ideas
C) formulating plans
D) making contacts
E) establishing the organization

Question 73

During the ________ stage, teams develop ground rules.

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

Question 74

In the ________ stage of the conflict resolution process, people are at odds, and competition or aggression ensues.

A) collaborating
B) frustration
C) interaction
D) outcome
E) conceptualization and orientation

Question 75

What are the benefits of establishing team ground rules? Provide three examples of common ground rules for effective teams.

Question 76

________ is the stage at which the team members regret the ending of the project and the breaking up of the team.

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

Question 77

W. E. Deming provides a widely adopted typology of team roles.

Question 78

If a team is functional, individual participation enhances the group's effectiveness.

Question 79

An example of an act of omission in a dysfunctional team that could affect group effectiveness is forgetting to attend meetings.

Question 80

One of the ground rules for effective teams is to agree openly with every member of the group.