Deck 10: Understanding Work Groups and Teams

Question 1

A shared sense of purpose sets a group apart from just a gathering of people.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Hawthorne studies show that when groups of employees are singled out for attention,they tend to work more efficiently.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Groupthink is desirable because it improves employees' ability to make logical decisions.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Member compliance with group norms does not necessarily indicate that the behavior is a reflection of the true private thoughts and feelings of the members.

Question 5

For most employees,a formal work group is attractive because it increases pay and offers some satisfaction.

Question 6

Formal groups rarely develop a shared sense of values because they are assigned rather than voluntary.

Question 7

The success of a group or team can be measured in the same way as the success of organizations.

Question 8

Group norms are the formal rules a group adopts to regulate the behavior of its members.

Question 9

Management recognizes informal groups that revolve around friendships,interests,or shared working space.

Question 10

A task group's work is ongoing and not confined to one issue or product.

Question 11

How the office is laid out and other physical factors will not affect the group's ability to work together successfully.

Question 12

In a production line,groups are more cohesive.

Question 13

The linchpin concept holds that giving special attention to a group of employees changes the employees' behavior.

Question 14

Informal groups are less prevalent in high-risk occupations,such as fire fighting and police work.

Question 15

Groups have more knowledge and information than individuals.

Question 16

Group cohesiveness is the degree to which group members accept and follow group norms.

Question 17

Informal groups cause no harm to organizational goals.

Question 18

Individual members tend to conform to group norms when they feel pressure to accept them.

Question 19

Employees often gain great satisfaction from informal groups.

Question 20

Informal work groups affect productivity,the morale of other employees,and the success of managers.

Question 21

Individuals who could use the idiosyncrasy credit often do not use them because the group's norms often are the same as their own.

Question 22

Which of the following is true about formal work groups?

A) They cannot exist for a short period of time.
B) They are officially recognized by the organizing function of management.
C) They result from personal contacts and interactions among people.
D) They fill important social needs better than informal groups.
E) They work against organization goals.

Question 23

The _____ concluded that informal organizations with their own social systems exist within formal organizations.

A) Maslow studies
B) scientific management studies
C) Hawthorne studies
D) linchpin concept
E) classical conditioning theory

Question 24

The formal authority granted by top management is no guarantee that a manager will effectively guide a group.

Question 25

Which of the following is true about task groups?

A) They are informal groups.
B) These groups are confined to a single goal.
C) They are also called functional groups.
D) The group's work is ongoing.
E) The group consists of employees who lunch together regularly.

Question 26

Which of the following is true of group cohesiveness?

A) The more cohesive a group, the less likely members are to follow group norms.
B) Large groups tend to be more cohesive than small groups.
C) High-status groups tend to be less cohesive than other informal work groups.
D) The more success a group experiences, the more cohesive it becomes.
E) Conflicts with management tend to decrease group cohesiveness.

Question 27

Group _____ is the degree of attraction among group members.

A) think
B) conformity
C) consistency
D) velocity
E) cohesiveness

Question 28

Maximilien Ringelmann discovered that as more and more people are added to a group,the forces affecting the free riding tendency become more powerful and the group becomes increasingly inefficient.

Question 29

Self-directed work teams are teams in which the members are empowered to control the work they do under the guidance of a formal supervisor.

Question 30

A(n)_____ is a formal group with work confined to one issue or product.

A) functional group
B) task group
C) command group
D) interest group
E) focus group

Question 31

Virtual work teams were largely nonexistent a decade ago.

Question 32

Social loafing refers to isolating groups from each other.

Question 33

Idiosyncrasy credit occurs when certain members who have made significant contributions to the group's goals are allowed to take some liberties within the group.

Question 34

In the development of work teams,the storming phase is followed by norming phase.

Question 35

Women executives forming an informal group to share ideas about issues that women in management face is an example of a(n)_____ group.

A) command
B) interest
C) functional
D) contingency
E) task

Question 36

Managers of formal groups do not have the same authority as leaders of informal groups.

Question 37

In the development of work teams,the storming phase occurs when the team members first come together.

Question 38

Informal work groups _____.

A) are formally recognized by the organizing function of management
B) are identical to command groups
C) fail to fill important social needs
D) result from personal contacts and interactions among people
E) are formed involuntarily by members of an organization

Question 39

What is the effect of outside pressures,such as demand or threat from management,on group cohesiveness?

A) It reduces cohesiveness.
B) It eliminates cohesiveness.
C) It increases cohesiveness.
D) It has no effect on cohesiveness.
E) It causes greater internal conflict.

Question 40

Which of the following is true about group norms?

A) They are formal rules a group adopts.
B) They govern every action in a group.
C) They necessarily have to be written down or spoken.
D) They are discovered frequently when someone breaks the norm.
E) They necessarily indicate that member's behavior is a reflection of their true private thoughts and feelings.

Question 41

Hawthorne effect states that:

A) giving special attention to a group of employees changes their behavior.
B) because managers are members of overlapping groups, they link formal work groups to the total organization.
C) members who have made significant contributions to the group's goals should be allowed to take some liberties within the group.
D) members tend to conform to group norms when the norms are congruent with their personal attitudes.
E) highly cohesive groups are detrimental to organizational performance if their goals are misaligned with organizational goals.

Question 42

Which of the following is true of managers building productive teams?

A) Keeping groups large will help managers increase group cohesiveness and group conformity.
B) Managers should reward group members individually instead of rewarding them as a team.
C) Effective managers should not become personally involved with group members.
D) Managers should not seek to duplicate the benefits of informal groups in formal work groups.
E) Manager must ensure that group members have the right personality fit along with the right skills.

Question 43

Members of the team begin to question the leadership and direction of the group in the_____ phase of work team development.

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

Question 44

The focus of the _____ phase of work team development is for members of the team to get to know each other and have their questions answered.

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

Question 45

Which of the following is true of teams?

A) They cause delays for an organization trying to meet its goals.
B) They have more knowledge and information than individuals.
C) They make communicating and solving problems more complex.
D) They create an inefficient and ineffective company.
E) They reduce morale and opportunities for self-expression among employees.

Question 46

Which of the following best describes social loafing?

A) It is a tendency to work more efficiently when groups of employees are singled out for attention.
B) It refers to isolating groups from each other.
C) It occurs when individuals who have played a significant role in a group are allowed some freedom within the group.
D) It refers to stereotyping outsiders as enemies of the group.
E) It is the tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when they are part of a group.

Question 47

Which of the following increases social loafing?

A) Assigning specific tasks to each person and hold him or her accountable for their completion
B) Members being told that if they exert additional efforts, they will receive a larger share of the "public good"
C) Managers establishing a clear method to identify individual contributions
D) Managers maintaining the group size from getting overly large
E) Group members' belief that the others will take up the workload

Question 48

_____ holds that because managers are members of overlapping groups,they link formal work groups to the total organization.

A) Scalar principle
B) Hawthorne effect
C) Linchpin concept
D) Acceptance theory of authority
E) Unity of command

Question 49

Group cohesiveness is high among _____.

A) large groups
B) high-status groups
C) groups that have members working in different areas
D) groups that are not physically isolated from other employees
E) groups that are from the same production line

Question 50

Members of cohesive groups show low levels of _____.

A) participation in decision-making activities
B) productivity
C) job satisfaction
D) participation in problem-solving activities
E) anxiety and stress

Question 51

_____ occurs when members of a group exert pressure on each other to come to a consensus in decision making.

A) Idiosyncrasy credit
B) Group norms
C) Group conformity
D) Group consistency
E) Groupthink

Question 52

Which of the following should a group ideally avoid?

A) Group norms
B) Groupthink
C) Group conformity
D) Group cohesiveness
E) Group velocity

Question 53

Which of the following is a consequence of groupthink?

A) Improved organizational performance
B) Better individual judgments
C) The belief that the group is indestructible and always right
D) Logical decision-making
E) Reduced conformity to group norms

Question 54

_____ is the dysfunctional syndrome that cohesive groups experience that causes the group to lose its critical evaluative capabilities.

A) Groupthink
B) Group conformity
C) Unity of command
D) Group velocity
E) Idiosyncrasy credit

Question 55

Which of the following factors is detrimental to influencing group cohesiveness and conformity?

A) Stimulating groupthink
B) Isolating groups from each other
C) Rewarding groups rather than individuals
D) Encouraging group competition
E) Keeping groups small

Question 56

Which of the following best describes group conformity?

A) The degree of attraction among group members, or how tightly knit a group is
B) The degree to which group members accept and follow group norms
C) The informal rules a group adopts to regulate the behavior of group members
D) The instance when group members lose their ability to think as individuals and conform at the expense of their good judgment
E) The process of establishing a cohesive group that works together to achieve its goals

Question 57

Which of the following hampers a team's performance?

A) Discouraging groupthink
B) Social loafing
C) Inspiring group competition
D) Keeping group size small
E) Encouraging individual contributions over team contributions

Question 58

Which of the following is a consequence of large group size?

A) Reduced group cohesiveness
B) Reduced social loafing
C) Increased group conformity
D) Increased interactions
E) Increased trust among members

Question 59

_____ reduces group cohesiveness.

A) Outside pressure
B) A smaller group
C) Physical isolation from other employees
D) A group's low success rate
E) A group's high status

Question 60

_____ occurs when individuals who have played a significant role in a group are allowed some freedom within the group.

A) Hawthorne effect
B) Linchpin effect
C) Groupthink
D) Idiosyncrasy credit
E) Social loafing

Question 61

A(n)_____ uses technology-supported communication,with the team members working and living in different locations.

A) quality circle
B) interest group
C) self-directed work team
D) virtual work team
E) command team

Question 62

Which of the following is true of self-directed work teams (SDWT)?

A) They have formal supervisors.
B) They fail to empower members.
C) They share leadership responsibilities.
D) They cannot make any personnel decisions.
E) They are informal groups.

Question 63

Outline the phases in the life of teams.

Question 64

The _____ phase follows the forming phase in the development of work teams.

A) storming
B) performing
C) confirming
D) norming
E) maturing

Question 65

What are the conditions under which individual members tend to conform to group norms?

Question 66

Why does social loafing occur?

Question 67

What are the factors that affect group cohesiveness?

Question 68

What are the consequences of groupthink?

Question 69

What are the benefits of being a group's member?

Question 70

Discuss the importance of managers gaining acceptance as leaders from formal group members.

Question 71

Which of the following countries has used quality circles since early 1960s?

A) United States
B) China
C) Japan
D) Germany
E) Canada

Question 72

Which of the following type of team was largely nonexistent a decade ago?

A) Functional team
B) Virtual work team
C) Interest group
D) Quality circle
E) Task team

Question 73

Which of the following occurs during the norming phase?

A) Members of the team begin to question the leadership and direction of the group.
B) Members of the team get to know each other and have their questions answered.
C) Informal rules that the team adopts to regulate the behavior of the team members are developed.
D) The team becomes an effective and high-performing team.
E) Group members justify any action such as stereotyping outsiders as enemies of the group.

Question 74

_____ is a type of formal work group,empowered to control the work they do without a formal supervisor.

A) Quality circle
B) Interest group
C) Self-directed work team
D) Focus group
E) Ad hoc group

Question 75

Describe the steps for building productive teams?

Question 76

Which of the following is true of groups and leaders?

A) An informal group can take away the authority given to a leader at any time.
B) Managers assigned to formal work groups are automatically accepted as leaders.
C) Managers assigned to formal work groups have the same authority as leaders of informal groups.
D) The formal authority granted by top management is a guarantee that a manager will effectively guide a group.
E) Managers of formal groups cannot modify group goals under any circumstances.

Question 77

Which of the following facilitates building effective teams?

A) Traditional managerial approach
B) Encouraging social loafing
C) Reducing employee participation
D) A manager who shares responsibility
E) A manager enforcing employees

Question 78

Which of the following is true of a quality circle?

A) It is an informal work group.
B) It has employees from a single work unit.
C) It reduces employee participation.
D) It is an expensive way to provide employees with training.
E) It discourages communication among members and managers.

Question 79

Discuss briefly the benefits of quality circles.

Question 80

What are self-directed work teams (SDWT)?