Deck 9: Groups and Teams

Question 1

Which of the following statements about groups and teams is correct?

A) A team is always a group but a group isn't always a team
B) A group operates independently but a team almost always operates in the larger organizational context
C) A team will have an assigned leader but a group will have an emergent leader
D) A group's function is social while a team's function is work

Answer 1

A
Explanation:A) A team is always a group but a group isn't always a team. The definition of a team can be viewed as a group plus additional factors such as shared goals and accountability.

Question 2

You strongly disagree with the course of action your group has decided on but when you speak up in the first meeting, you are hushed. Your group never explores alternate plans or attempts to identify flaws in the plan they have chosen. After being hushed, you don't feel that you can express your dissent, and even if you do, it won't matter because you're sure you won't be heard. The group seems to be suffering from ________.

A) The fallacy of principle belief
B) Poor communication
C) Groupthink
D) Primary choice favoritism

Answer 2

C
Explanation:C) This group seems to be suffering from groupthink because they don't explore alternate plans or listen to dissenting viewpoints.

Question 3

Groups and teams differ primarily on which factor?

A) Shared responsibility for goals
B) Basic unit of coordinating work in organizations
C) Accomplish tasks that can't be effectively performed by an individual
D) Operate within organizations

Answer 3

A
Explanation:A) Shared responsibility for goals is one factor that teams have but groups don't.

Question 4

The ability to function as a team member is a competency that is ________.

A) Innate
B) Natural
C) Learned
D) Emergent

Question 5

Which decision making process is structured to work best for employees working remotely?

A) Virtual decision making
B) Delphi technique
C) Brainstorming asynchronously
D) Nominal group technique

Question 6

What kind of group is composed of members who differ on gender, education level, functional specialty, and age?

A) Analogous
B) Heterogeneous
C) Homologous
D) Homogenous

Question 7

A demolition crew's job is to bring down old buildings. The employees work together in a coordinated effort to clear the site of the building within the time specified in their contract. This demolition crew is an example of what type of team?

A) Executive
B) Deconstruction
C) Project
D) Production

Question 8

According to Tuckman's model, what changes at each level of group development?

A) Feelings of interconnectedness
B) Group norms
C) Group satisfaction
D) Leader workload

Question 9

Which of the following does Tuckman's five-stage model explain particularly well?

A) Explain how psychological norms develop in a group
B) Explain how behavior changes over time spent working together
C) Predict behaviors and contributions of group members at different points in the project
D) Explains how group members influence one another over time

Question 10

In what way are production teams and service teams similar?

A) They both focus on improving ongoing aspects of the business
B) They both focus on improving aspects of employee interactions
C) They both focus on meeting short-term goals of the business
D) The names can be used interchangeably

Question 11

What are the three major types of coaching?

A) Initial, ongoing, turnover
B) Process, behavioral, developmental
C) Storming, norming, performing
D) Positive, neutral, negative

Question 12

Firefighters have to work together using their highly specialized skills to respond to each unique emergency situation effectively. Firefighters are an example of what type of team?

A) Project
B) Action and performance
C) Short-term
D) Parallel

Question 13

Which of the following is not an organizational source of support for groups?

A) Diversity
B) Coaching
C) Rewards or recognition
D) Increasing autonomy

Question 14

Which of the following is not a factor that relates to group effectiveness?

A) Purpose and type
B) Context and composition
C) Internal factors
D) Experience and leadership

Question 15

According to the punctuated equilibrium model, in which step/phase is group productivity the highest?

A) Norming
B) Adjourning
C) Phase 1
D) Phase 2

Question 16

If a team lead wants their group members to share ideas more freely and share in a sense that their teammates will follow through with their commitments, which interpersonal or maintenance norm should they develop within the team?

A) Task
B) Accountability
C) Creativity
D) Trust

Question 17

Individuals change their behavior to conform to group norms because norms serve an important ________ and ________ function.

A) Group; social
B) Psychological; social
C) Interactive; influential
D) Physiological; belonging

Question 18

Which effect predicts that you will make riskier or more conservative decisions in a group than you will on your own?

A) Polarization
B) Peer pressure
C) Groupthink
D) Majority rules

Question 19

Which of the following is a major criticism of Tuckman's five-stage model of group development?

A) It only explains the psychological factors that impact group development
B) It doesn't describe how psychological norms develop in groups
C) Group development doesn't conform to a specified timeline
D) Groups may get stuck at the Storming stage

Question 20

What are two external factors associated with success in groups?

A) Production and action
B) Coaching and support
C) Training and leadership
D) Effective communication and good interpersonal dynamics

Question 21

History has numerous examples of groupthink occurring with catastrophic consequences. What was the common factor to be found missing in many major disasters involving groupthink such as the Shuttle Challenger explosion?

A) Peer pressure
B) Polarization
C) Brainstorming
D) Critical thinking

Question 22

Why do the social loafing and free rider effect say that the same individual will do less work in a group than on their own?

A) The more talented people in the group don't want them to drag them down so they push them aside
B) There is no one else to take responsibility or be held accountable for your work when you are working on your own
C) Everyone does less work in a group than on their own because there are more people to distribute the tasks
D) Peer pressure doesn't exclude them when they are working individually

Question 23

A group that embraces the individual diversity of its members and encourages each member to contribute their own ideas is least likely to experience which effect?

A) Peer pressure effect
B) Polarization effect
C) Common-knowledge effect
D) Groupthink effect

Question 24

Because of their structure and the lack of regular meetings, ________ becomes even more important for virtual teams than for more traditionally structured teams.

A) Face-to-face meetings
B) Frequent virtual communications
C) Extraversion
D) Psychological safety

Question 25

A graphic art firm that designs billboards assigns one team to work on each client contract. What type of team does this firm use?

A) Management
B) Project
C) Implementation
D) Production