Deck 1: Teams in Organizations: Facts and Myths

Question 1

All of the following are risks with self-governing teams EXCEPT:

A) misdirection.
B) team goals and interests may be at odds with organizational interests.
C) poor decision-making due to lack of awareness to company goals and interests.
D) poor potential in terms of team commitment and participation.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Self-designing teams are best suited for:

A) people who cannot take direction.
B) teams whose leaders are incompetent.
C) complex, ill-defined, and ambiguous problems.
D) simple, well-defined, and clear problems.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which type of team offers the most potential for innovation, can enhance goal commitment, and provides opportunities for organizational learning and change?

A) Self-governing teams
B) Manager-led teams
C) Self-directing or self-designing teams
D) Self- managing or self-regulating teams

Answer 3

C

Question 4

With regard to the characteristics of a manager-led team, all of the following are true EXCEPT:

A) has a dedicated, full-time, higher-ranking supervisor.
B) provides the organization with the most amount of control over the team and the work they perform.
C) the members provide peer-feedback for one another.
D) is a very efficient type of team because of the centrality of goals and control.

Question 5

In general, leaders who control all the details, manage all the key relationships in the team, have all the good ideas, and use the team to execute their plan are usually __________ and __________.

A) overworked; underproductive
B) successful; well rewarded
C) well regarded; quickly promoted
D) productive; well connected

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of sampling-on-the-dependent variable?

A) To find out why teams are successful, only successful teams are studied.
B) To find out why teams are unsuccessful, only unsuccessful teams are studied.
C) To find out whether performance reviews help teams, some teams are given performance reviews while others are not; and the effect on performance is measured.
D) a & b

Question 7

The misattribution error is the tendency for managers to attribute the causes of team failure to forces beyond their personal control. According to that definition, which of the following is a misattribution error? Blaming an unsuccessful outcome on:

A) lack of preparation.
B) lack of knowledge.
C) the competitive environment / marketplace.
D) low motivation.

Question 8

When it comes to membership, boundedness refers to the __________; stability refers to __________.

A) limitations imposed by other members; nonmember view of financial stability of team decisions
B) amount of expertise of members; how concrete and available resources are to members
C) team membership identifiability; the tenure of membership
D) promises made by new members; the emotional fortitude of members

Question 9

In manager-led teams, the team members:

A) execute a task.
B) monitor and manage the performance of the team.
C) design the team as a performing unit.
D) design the organizational context.

Question 10

When it comes to teamwork, interdependence means:

A) the team has an identifiable membership.
B) only one individual in the group will assume responsibility for the project outcome.
C) the success of individual efforts is the only important goal for members.
D) team members cannot achieve their goals single-handedly.

Question 11

Which of the following is a positive way that teams deal with situational surprises or unexpected changes within their task assignments?

A) A team strikes out on their own and bucks the authoritative measures causing the change.
B) Shifts responsibility for various task roles to different members of the team.
C) Insists upon the use of more resources to solve the problem from the same approach.
D) Keeps overreaction to a minimum by keeping work assignments the same and sticking with the pre-established work routine.

Question 12

According to research, what is the best advice regarding team size?

A) Teams should generally increase in size up to a maximum of 14 people.
B) Teams should generally have fewer than 10 members - with an optimal size of 5-6 people.
C) Teams should generally decrease in size down to a maximum of 3 people.
D) Teams should not be limited in size.

Question 13

When we ask, "why should organizations bother to develop and support teamwork," all of the following challenges facing organizations might be addressed through teams EXCEPT:

A) improving multi-generational collaboration and teaming.
B) dealing with competition in one's industry.
C) globalization.
D) economic understanding.

Question 14

One of the most frustrating aspects of teamwork is:

A) sustaining high motivation.
B) a high level of turnover.
C) not being able to select one's preferred team members.
D) ineffective leadership.

Question 15

With regard to the defining characteristics of a team, all of the following are true EXCEPT:

A) teams exist to achieve a shared goal.
B) team members are interdependent regarding the achievement of a goal.
C) team members do not have the authority to manage their own work and internal processes.
D) teams are bounded and stable over a period of time.

Question 16

With regard to the disadvantages of self-directing teams, all of the following are true EXCEPT:

A) it is difficult to monitor the team's progress.
B) the team can suffer from conforming too much to team leaders.
C) teams of this type can be very costly to build.
D) the team can suffer from marginalization and struggle with team legitimacy.

Question 17

Which of the following is a way in which managers recognize their team-building responsibilities?

A) Equate managing their team with managing individual people on the team.
B) Rely on group-based forums for problem solving and diagnosis.
C) Gain all of their feedback from one-on-one meetings with team members.
D) Base their decisions on the limited information and resources.

Question 18

Managers often think they can know and predict everything regarding a problem, even when a situation has a completely unpredictable outcome. This, after the fact, "I knew it all along" belief fallacy is known as:

A) the hindsight bias.
B) an inert knowledge problem.
C) interdependence.
D) the social system context.

Question 19

A team where a manager or a leader determines the overall purpose or goal of the team, but team members are at liberty to manage the means by which they meet that goal is called a:

A) manager-lead team.
B) self-managing team.
C) self-directing team.
D) self-governing team.

Question 20

The most common type of team is an):

A) cross-functional team.
B) operations team.
C) middle-management team.
D) service team.

Question 21

Many people make the mistake of looking for the causes of a problem after they find the effects of it. There may be many common factors that have nothing obviously related to the situation, or factors difficult to detect that can interfere with a successful problem solution. This situation is best known as an):

A) preexisting baseline.
B) hindsight bias.
C) evidence-based management.
D) sampling on the dependent variable.

Question 22

The key to a manager unlocking the pervasive, inert knowledge in their team lies in:

A) the manager's social network.
B) how the manager uses examples to illustrate and convey concepts to their team.
C) the manager's talent with lecture-based teaching.
D) the team's boundedness and stability.

Question 23

A leader who coaches, directs, and instructs their team, but has team members who help the leader learn from their perspective, is a team who engages in:

A) single-loop learning.
B) double-loop learning.
C) team longevity.
D) expert learning.