Deck 11: Effective Team Management

Question 1

Informal groups of workers who socialize with one another on the job are known as friendship groups.

Answer 1

True
Explanation: Friendship groups are informal groups composed of employees who enjoy one another's company and socialize with one another. Members of friendship groups may have lunch together, take breaks together, or meet after work for meals, sports, or other activities.

Question 2

A research and development team comprises of members who have the expertise and experience needed to develop new products.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: A research and development team comprises of members who have the expertise and experience needed to develop new products.

Question 3

All teams are groups and all groups are teams.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: A group may be defined as two or more people who interact with each other to accomplish certain goals or meet certain needs. A team is a group whose members work intensely with one another to achieve a specific common goal or objective. These definitions imply, all teams are groups, but not all groups are teams.

Question 4

Virtual teams are teams that rarely or never meet face-to-face.

Question 5

Self-managed work teams help to improve quality,increase motivation and satisfaction,and lower costs.

Question 6

Division of labor is splitting the work to be performed into particular tasks and assigning tasks to individual workers.

Question 7

Large groups have better communication and coordination of activities than do small groups.

Question 8

When employees form groups to seek a common organizational goal within the organization,these groups are known as interest groups.

Question 9

Managers can better encourage innovation by assigning work to individuals working alone rather than teams.

Question 10

Teams that are composed of members from different cultures are known as cross-functional teams.

Question 11

The use of teams generally leads to higher turnover.

Question 12

Task forces are sometimes referred to as standing committees.

Question 13

A department is one in which the subordinates report to the same manager.

Question 14

The creation and development of new products is known as synergy.

Question 15

Virtual teams cannot include members who are not employees of the organization.

Question 16

Groupthink is when members strive to agree instead of trying to make an accurate assessment of the situation.

Question 17

A team can be cross-functional though the members belong to different departments.

Question 18

Groups that managers form to achieve organizational goals are known as formal groups.

Question 19

Teams that are empowered to complete an identifiable piece of work and are accountable for their output are known as self-managed teams.

Question 20

Whenever possible,the top management team should ensure that the element of diversity is maintained.

Question 21

When leaders emerge naturally in a group,they are often referred to as formal leaders.

Question 22

Managers should let employees know that there are always ways to improve group processes and performance levels.

Question 23

Group members may conform to norms so that they can obtain rewards and avoid punishments.

Question 24

A group does not need a certain level of deviance to ensure that dysfunctional norms are replaced with functional ones.

Question 25

A strong emphasis on group goal accomplishment always leads to organizational effectiveness.

Question 26

When group cohesiveness is high,individuals strongly value their group membership,whereas when group cohesiveness is low,group members do not find their group particularly appealing.

Question 27

The greater the number of managers in charge of a team,the greater the chances of social loafing.

Question 28

As the size of a group increases,so does the amount of social loafing that is likely to occur.

Question 29

When a member's deviant behavior leads to a positive change in the group norm,it suggests that some deviant behavior can be functional for groups.

Question 30

High levels of cohesiveness can cause group members to be so focused on group goal accomplishment that they may strive to achieve group goals no matter what-even when doing so jeopardizes organizational performance.

Question 31

Clearly communicating to group members why each person's contributions are valuable to the group is an effective way to reduce or eliminate social loafing.

Question 32

Shared rules of conduct that most group members follow are known as group roles.

Question 33

Financial rewards should not be used to motivate members of teams.

Question 34

Social loafing may occur when people sometimes think their efforts are unnecessary or unimportant when they work in a group.

Question 35

The extent of conformity and reactions to deviance within groups is determined by managers.

Question 36

A set of behaviors that a member of a group is expected to perform because of his/her membership in the group is known as a group norm.

Question 37

Generally,groups must "storm" before they can "form."

Question 38

The degree to which members of a group are attracted to the group is called group cohesiveness.

Question 39

While forming a group,the primary job of a manager is to make sure the team is given responsibility and authority.

Question 40

When group cohesiveness is low,managers can often increase it by encouraging groups to develop their own identities and engage in healthy competition.

Question 41

Another name for a task force is a(n):

A) informal group.
B) interest group.
C) ad hoc committee.
D) virtual group.
E) command group

Question 42

Command groups are also known as:

A) informal groups.
B) virtual groups.
C) interest groups.
D) ad hoc committees.
E) departments.

Question 43

A group of managers works very hard to be sure that they agree on important issues instead of working toward an accurate assessment of the situation.Which of the following best describes this scenario?

A) Fundamental attribution error
B) Self-serving bias
C) Lack of synergy
D) Groupthink
E) Social loafing

Question 44

Daniel is the vice president of marketing and sales of an insurance company that sells workers' compensation insurance within the state of California.Recently,the company has identified problems of cost control in all of its offices.Daniel formed a team composed of the sales managers of all the four regions,along with some staff members from the company's informational technology and administration departments,to study the problem and make recommendations.Which of the following statements about this team is NOT true?

A) The team is a task force
B) The team is cross-functional
C) The team should meet virtually
D) The team is a command group
E) The team is not an interest group

Question 45

Which of the following should managers do to take advantage of the potential for synergy in groups?

A) Create groups of similar individuals
B) Be strongly directive with the group
C) Reward individual performance
D) Avoid empowerment
E) Appoint members with complementary skills

Question 46

Teams that rarely interact with each other on a face-to-face basis are referred to as:

A) informal teams.
B) ad hoc teams.
C) virtual teams.
D) task forces.
E) interest groups.

Question 47

A group of college professors from the Jackson Business School meets once a week for lunch to discuss the college's accreditation efforts.This is an example of a(n)::

A) formal group.
B) virtual team.
C) interest group.
D) command group.
E) self-managed work team.

Question 48

Which of the following is responsible for developing the strategies that result in an organization's competitive advantage?

A) Informal group
B) Cross-cultural team
C) Top management team
D) Virtual team
E) Ad hoc committee

Question 49

Which of the following groups is also a team?

A) A search committee selecting a dean for a college that interacts frequently by various means over a period of several months.
B) A group of sales representatives for a hardware company, each with his/her own geographical territory.
C) A group of factory workers who belong to a labor union.
D) A board of directors of a corporation that meets quarterly.
E) A group of accountants who work in a small CPA firm.

Question 50

Which of the following is a major problem that self-managed work teams can encounter?

A) Selection of members with the right skills and ability to work with others
B) Disciplining team members
C) Being given work that is sufficiently complex
D) Managers who are too "hands off"
E) Being given too much responsibility and autonomy

Question 51

The strategic planning committee at Comfort Fabric Clothing Company,New York,consists of managers from engineering,R&D,production,marketing,and finance.This is an example of a(n):

A) cross-functional team.
B) informal group.
C) virtual team.
D) command group.
E) cross-cultural team.

Question 52

The salespersons who report to a common sales manager are known as a(n):

A) informal group.
B) virtual group.
C) cross-functional group
D) cross-cultural group.
E) command group.

Question 53

Teams that are empowered to take responsibility for acting autonomously in order to complete identifiable pieces of work are referred to as:

A) informal groups.
B) interest groups.
C) virtual teams.
D) sequential task interdependence groups.
E) self-managed work teams.

Question 54

Blue Bay International has formed a virtual team to improve quality in its five plants,which are located across three continents.In order to give this team the best chance of succeeding,what could the management do?

A) Insist that the team use only asynchronous technologies to communicate.
B) Expect that the team will be less cohesive than face-to-face teams and live with it.
C) Trust the team to do its job.
D) Schedule a meeting for all team members.
E) When selecting members of the team, select only people who are already friends.

Question 55

Informal groups of workers who enjoy one another's company and meet socially either on or off the job are referred to as which type of group?

A) Formal groups
B) Friendship groups
C) Virtual groups
D) Interest groups
E) Command groups

Question 56

In an attempt to promote innovation in a work group,the supervisor should do all of the following EXCEPT:

A) provide guidance to the group.
B) provide detailed procedures to the group.
C) provide coaching to the group.
D) provide the resources the group needs.
E) provide assistance to the group.

Question 57

Joanna,a manager,is responsible for organizing a team for the development of a new product.What is the MOST important thing that Joanna should do if she wants to create synergy in this team?

A) Choose members of the most diverse backgrounds possible
B) Supervise the group closely
C) Bring in members with complementary skills relevant to the work
D) Choose members who have worked together previously without any problems
E) Create incentives for team members based on individual contributions

Question 58

When team leaders of various cross-functional groups report to the same manager,the team leaders form a(n):

A) cross-cultural group.
B) command group.
C) informal group.
D) task force.
E) ad hoc committee.

Question 59

In terms of group performance,the idea that "the whole is more than the sum of its parts" is the fundamental point in the concept of:

A) division of labor.
B) synergy.
C) social deviance.
D) norming.
E) social loafing.

Question 60

Active Appliances,an electrical appliance firm,forms a group to design a new software application.This group consists of a systems designer,a programmer,and a user representative.This is an example of a(n):

A) informal team.
B) ad hoc committee.
C) cross-cultural team.
D) cross-functional team.
E) top management team.

Question 61

Shared guidelines or rules of behavior that most group members follow are called:

A) sequential task interdependence rules.
B) group roles.
C) group norms.
D) group polarization.
E) groupthink.

Question 62

A new product development team for Fountain Cards Limited includes an artist whose job it is to draw the illustrations that will accompany new cards.This artist is acting according to his/her:

A) virtual role.
B) interest group.
C) group role.
D) wishful thinking.
E) groupthink.

Question 63

Which of the following is MOST likely to result in high performance by a group?

A) Low conformity/high deviance
B) Moderate conformity/moderate deviance
C) Moderate conformity/low deviance
D) High conformity/low deviance
E) Moderate conformity/high deviance

Question 64

A task force submits its final report on the project on which the group has been working.At which stage is this group operating?

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

Question 65

Which of the following is required to ensure that dysfunctional norms are discarded and replaced with functional ones?

A) Deviance
B) Social loafing
C) Group polarization
D) Conformity
E) Groupthink

Question 66

The members of a particular group are getting to know one another and attempting to reach an understanding of how each of them should act within the group.This stage of group development is known as:

A) storming.
B) norming.
C) forming.
D) adjourning.
E) performing.

Question 67

A manager of a group encourages members of the group to take on additional responsibilities as they see the need.This is an example of:

A) group polarization.
B) role making.
C) synergy.
D) virtual teamwork.
E) groupthink.

Question 68

Deviance is functional for a group when:

A) a member gets punished for not acting consistently with the group norm.
B) a member gets away by not acting consistently with the group norm on more than one occasion.
C) it causes group members to evaluate norms that may be ineffective but are taken for granted by the group.
D) it causes a group member to get expelled from the group.
E) a member changes his/her behavior in accordance with the group norms.

Question 69

Which of the following is the correct order of the stages of group development?

A) Forming, storming, performing, norming, adjourning
B) Forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
C) Forming, norming, storming, performing, adjourning
D) Forming, performing, norming, storming, adjourning
E) Forming, performing, storming, norming, adjourning

Question 70

When Mark recently left town on personal work,members of his team at The Beat did not have issues getting in touch with him because he had left a number on which they could call in case of an emergency.This arrangement is known as:

A) groupthink.
B) a group norm.
C) a synergistic requirement.
D) group polarization.
E) role making.

Question 71

During the first stage of group development,managers should:

A) make sure that conflict does not arise.
B) make sure that each member feels like a valued part of the group.
C) encourage the formation of group norms.
D) give the group a lot of responsibility and authority.
E) empower members.

Question 72

Bryan took over as manager of a group of medical transcribers about a month ago.While the employees' performance is satisfactory,he has noticed that the group seems to squash any new ideas about how they might do their work more effectively.What should Bryan do?

A) Take steps to increase the cohesion of the group
B) Order the group to accept some of the new ideas
C) Set up an incentive system for employees' suggestions about changes to procedures
D) Create competition between members of the group
E) Discipline the group

Question 73

Close ties between the members of the group typically are formed during which stage of group development?

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

Question 74

Which of the following is required by the group to ensure that it can control members' behavior and channel it in the direction of high performance and group goal accomplishment?

A) Groupthink
B) Conformity
C) Deviance
D) Dispositional attribution
E) Social loafing

Question 75

A group of employees at Swift Motors has initiated a marathon run with the aim of raising funds for the maintenance of a children's park at Chicago.This group can be defined as a(n):

A) virtual group.
B) formal group.
C) command group.
D) interest group.
E) friendship group.

Question 76

When there is high conformity and low deviance in a group,the group's performance is likely to be:

A) high because the group is well balanced.
B) low because the group cannot control its members' behaviors.
C) low because the group fails to change dysfunctional norms.
D) high because the group is satisfied.
E) high because the group is cohesive.

Question 77

The set of behaviors and tasks that a member of the group is expected to perform because he/she is a member of the group is known as:

A) a group role.
B) virtual teamwork.
C) group polarization.
D) a group norm.
E) groupthink.

Question 78

A marketing manager who is a member of a task force for new product development is expected to represent the marketing department's concerns to the task force.Which of the following best describes the expectation?

A) Group norm
B) Group role
C) Groupthink
D) Group cohesiveness
E) Group polarization

Question 79

When a member of the group fails to act consistently with a group norm,which of the following has occurred?

A) Synergy
B) Deviance
C) Groupthink
D) Group polarization
E) Social loafing

Question 80

The members of a task force have disagreements because some members do not want to do what some of the other members want them to do.This stage of group development is known as:

A) forming.
B) norming.
C) performing.
D) storming.
E) adjourning.