Deck 14: Leading Todays Teams

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Managers only need to manage task matters when it comes to managing project teams.
B) Managers only need to manage task matters when it comes to managing virtual teams.
C) Managers only need to manage process matters when it comes to managing project teams.
D) Managers only need to manage process matters when it comes to managing virtual teams.
E) Managers need to manage both task and process matters when it comes to managing both project and virtual teams.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Technology may be of assistance to organisations in today's complex business world when their work teams are characterised by:

A) team members working in different locations around the world.
B) team members speaking different languages.
C) team members coming from different cultures.
D) team members working in different time zones.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Which of the following strategies in relation to conducting onsite meetings would likely be the most effective way of making offsite workers feel part of a team?

A) Advise them that a meeting is going to be held, but that they need not attend because they will be sent the minutes upon its completion.
B) Advise them that they are welcome to attend a meeting that is going to be held, and that they can submit agenda items for it, but that they are not required to do either because they will be sent the minutes upon the meeting's completion.
C) Where possible, include them in the meeting via speaker phone or web-conferencing.
D) Have separate meetings that offsite workers are required to attend, but have these less regularly than other team meetings.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Where a team in the storming stage of its life cycle is merged into or acquired by a new team which is in the performing stage of its life cycle, the manager's best option is likely to be to:

A) dismantle the acquired/merged team's culture completely and impose the acquiring team's culture on all team members.
B) merge the cultures of the two teams.
C) impose the acquired/merged team's culture on the acquiring team's members.
D) create an entirely new culture that places acquired/merged team back in the forming stage.
E) allow each of the team's cultures to exist within the newly merged team.

Question 5

To effectively manage casual, contractor and part-time team members, and to optimise their value to a team, managers should:

A) keep them in the loop about both task and process matters.
B) provide them with opportunities to build working relationships across the rest of the organisation, as well as within the team.
C) manage their performance by results rather than by time spent.
D) include them in team meetings and social activities.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 6

Which one of the following actions should a manager undertake in relation to knowledge workers?

A) Set measurable goals or deliverables.
B) Provide help and mentoring, rather than instructions.
C) Act as their chief coach and supporter, rather than as a traditional boss.
D) Remove administrative impediments and red tape, which may prevent them from carrying out their work in the best way they can.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 7

The experience of most organisations is that, far from teamwork deteriorating in a virtual work environment, the opposite is actually true.

Question 8

Which of the following characteristics would be least apparent in a successful telecommuter?

A) Being reliable at meeting deadlines
B) Having basic computer maintenance skills and being able to solve basic technical problems
C) Being self-disciplined
D) Being self-reliant
E) Placing a high value on the social nature of a workplace

Question 9

When a merged team is formed as a result of a merger or acquisition, one of the first priorities of its manager must be to:

A) conduct a team-building activity.
B) outline how performance will be monitored and measured.
C) align the new members of the team with their new organisation's values and vision.
D) quickly dismantle any existing team culture.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 10

Because project and temporary teams are not ongoing, and in them the roles of workers are specialised and clearly defined, leader-managers of these teams should not place any emphasis on continuous improvement and innovation, and should avoid experimentation and risk-taking.

Question 11

Which of the following is not an example of soft skills training that could be used to build and maintain trust in a virtual team?

A) Training in learning a foreign language
B) Training in building effective working relationships
C) Training in clear communication
D) Training in holding difficult conversations
E) Training in resolving conflicts

Question 12

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Knowledge workers in Australia comprise nearly 40 per cent of the workforce, and this figure is likely to remain stable in the future.
B) Knowledge workers in Australia comprise nearly 40 per cent of the workforce, and this figure is likely to fall in the future.
C) Knowledge workers in Australia comprise nearly 40 per cent of the workforce, and this figure is likely to increase in the future.
D) Knowledge workers in Australia comprise more than 40 per cent of the workforce, and this figure is likely to increase in the future.
E) Knowledge workers in Australia comprise more than 40 per cent of the workforce, and this figure is likely to decrease in the future.

Question 13

While mergers and acquisitions provide organisations with a fast way to widen their product range and expand their customer base, most organisations that have gone through this process perform well below their industry average due to unfocused leadership, petty politicking and poor communication.

Question 14

A project team which is also a virtual team is likely to have the desirable collaborative tension that comes having from a diverse group of team members because:

A) project teams are made up of cross-functional specialists who are likely to think in different languages.
B) project teams are made up of cross-functional specialists who are likely to follow the working practices of their own specialisations.
C) a project team which is also a virtual team may be made up of people from other countries who may literally think in different languages.
D) a project team which is also a virtual team may be made up of people from other countries who follow different cultural customs.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 15

A mixed team:

A) is made up of casual, contract, part-time and temporary employees.
B) is made up of knowledge workers, telecommuters and volunteers.
C) is made up of any employees who are not full-time.
D) is made up of employees from different cultures.
E) can be made up of casual, contract, full-time, part-time and temporary employees, knowledge workers, telecommuters and volunteers.

Question 16

Which of the following actions should a manager avoid in relation to knowledge workers?

A) Allowing and encouraging them to network with their peers
B) Using position power as a basis for leading them
C) Providing them with strategic direction
D) Assisting them with their ongoing professional and personal development
E) Assigning them tasks that stretch and test their talents

Question 17

Which skill/s will assist in being a successful leader of a virtual team?

A) A global mindset
B) Cultural intelligence
C) Relationship management skills
D) A global mindset, cultural intelligence and relationship management skills.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 18

Because managing offsite workers boils down to a matter of trust between manager and worker, the most effective way to manage offsite workers is to have them to record the number of hours they work and be paid accordingly.

Question 19

For workers who join non-traditional teams, the teamworking skills and behaviours that are required for these new types of roles should be:

A) learnt as part of training that occurs before the team actually forms.
B) learnt in one lengthy training session upon the team's formation.
C) learnt as part of training that should occur over a period of time.
D) learnt on the job as the team undertakes its project.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 20

To make members of mixed teams who do not see each other often feel like part of a team, it is important to organise get-togethers; but these should be strictly work-related and conducted within standard operating hours.

Question 21

For leader-managers of virtual and/or project teams, one of the key result areas (KRAs) is relationship management, which requires them to manage the relationships within the team and build a relationship with each team member.

Question 22

For a team whose members may be working offsite or in different locations around the world, a leader-manager should be primarily interested in the deliverables that are met by each team member, because this represents a measurement of:

A) the time they have spent doing their work.
B) only the quantity of work completed.
C) only the quality of work completed.
D) the results they have achieved.
E) the dollar value of the work they have completed.

Question 23

When creating and managing a virtual team room, which of the following might a manager create in relation to their team's work?

A) A homepage
B) A bulletin board
C) An action plan
D) A meeting centre
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 24

Which of the following is not an example of groupware that can assist workers working remotely to work together creatively and flexibly?

A) Online workspaces
B) Real-time application sharing
C) Shared calendars
D) Shared tasks lists
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 25

Which of the following actions is likely to result in inefficiency when introducing new technology?

A) Ensuring every team member has precisely the same version of the same technology
B) Allowing workers to figure out new technology as they go and at their own pace
C) Ensuring workers know how and when to use technology
D) Establishing ground rules for using team technology
E) Establishing ground rules for using technology effectively

Question 26

The advantages of using email as a communication tool are its effective documentation and filing features, which make it quick and easy to find information, and its strong security features, which protect all sent information.

Question 27

When communicating with team members of virtual and/or project teams, leader-managers should:

A) only directly contact team members when there is a problem.
B) only directly contact team members when there is something positive to communicate.
C) avoid only directly contacting team members when there is a problem.
D) only ever contact team members individually, and never as a group.
E) only ever contact team members as a group, but never individually.

Question 28

Technology that allows a manager to remotely assign tasks to different team members, and in turn allows team members to report back on their progress, is a:

A) videoconferencing system.
B) teleconferencing system.
C) virtual meeting system.
D) collaboration system.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 29

Which of the following is recommended for a leader-manager of virtual and/or project teams?

A) They should avoid making regular contact with team members, because this will make them feel they are being checked up on.
B) When contacting team members, they should avoid getting straight down to business, because this may be viewed as impatient or critical.
C) They should avoid spending time keeping up to date with matters of personal importance to team members, because this may be viewed as a waste of time.
D) They should use jokes and humour wherever possible to lighten the mood of the team and make its members feel at ease.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 30

If a leader-manager managing a virtual team devoted significant time and effort at the team's first meeting to make clear each team member's role and function in the team, the likely outcome would be:

A) the establishment of knowledge-based trust among the team.
B) the establishment of identification-based trust among the team.
C) the establishment of deterrence-based trust among the team.
D) the erosion of any trust already established among the team.
E) the creation of mistrust among the members of the team.