Deck 11: Effective Team Management

Question 1

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

Answer 1

True
Explanation: Virtual teams are teams whose members rarely or never meet face-to-face but,rather,interact by using various forms of information technology such as e-mail,text messaging,computer networks,telephone,fax,and videoconferences.

Question 2

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

Answer 2

False
Explanation: Cross-functional teams are composed of members from different departments.Cross-cultural teams are composed of members from different cultures or countries.

Question 3

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

Answer 3

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

Question 4

The use of teams generally leads to higher turnover.

Question 5

All teams are groups and all groups are teams.

Question 6

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

Question 7

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

Question 8

Task forces are sometimes referred to as standing committees.

Question 9

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

Question 10

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

Question 11

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

Question 12

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

Question 13

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

Question 14

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

Question 15

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

Question 16

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

Question 17

In order to have command groups that help an organization gain a competitive advantage,managers not only need to motivate group members to perform at a high level but they also need to be effective leaders.

Question 18

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

Question 19

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

Question 20

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

Question 21

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

Question 22

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

Question 23

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

Question 24

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

Question 25

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

Question 26

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

Question 27

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 28

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 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

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 31

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

Question 32

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

Question 33

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

Question 34

Managers can motivate members of groups and teams to achieve organizational goals by making sure the members themselves benefit when the group or team meets the budget requirements.

Question 35

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

Question 36

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

Question 37

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

Question 38

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

Question 39

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 40

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

Question 41

The group who is responsible for developing the strategies that result in an organization's competitive advantage is the ____________.

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

Question 42

The strategic planning committee at Comfort Fabric Clothing Company 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 43

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 44

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 45

To take advantage of the potential for synergy in groups,managers should:

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

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 periodic face-to-face meetings for all team members.
E) When selecting members of the team,select only people who are already friends.

Question 47

A group of managers work very hard to be sure that they agree on important issues instead of working toward an accurate assessment of the situation.This scenario describes:

A) a fundamental attribution error.
B) self-serving bias.
C) lack of synergy.
D) groupthink.
E) social loafing.

Question 48

Command groups are also known as:

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

Question 49

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 50

Daniel is the vice president of an insurance company that sells workers' compensation insurance.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.This team is an example of a:

A) functional group.
B) cross-divisional assembly.
C) virtual assembly.
D) command group.
E) task force.

Question 51

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 52

Joanna,a manager,is responsible for organizing a team for the development of a new product.To be successful in creating synergy in the team,Joanna's top priority is to:

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 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

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 55

Paul,the HR Manager,has worked with other managers over the years to set up groups and teams to handle issues.One of the recent groups,which is also a team,is the:

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

Question 56

In an attempt to promote innovation in a work group,the supervisor should:

A) provide little guidance to the group,and let the group members self-guide themselves.
B) provide detailed procedures to the group.
C) let group members self-coach within the group.
D) provide for only outside the organization resources for the group.
E) provide information for only outside the organization assistance for the group.

Question 57

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

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

Question 58

A major problem that self-managed work teams can encounter is:

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 59

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 60

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 61

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 to increase tolerance for deviance?

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 62

To ensure that the group can control their members' behavior and channel them in the direction of high performance and group goal accomplishment,the group should require:

A) groupthink.
B) conformity.
C) deviance.
D) dispositional attribution.
E) social loafing.

Question 63

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 64

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 65

A task force submits its report supporting its recommendation(s)on the project that the group has been working on.At which stage is this group operating?

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

Question 66

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 67

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 68

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 69

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 70

Deviance is functional for a group when:

A) a group member gets punished for not acting consistently with the group norm.
B) a group member gets away with 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 group member changes his/her behavior in accordance with the group norms.

Question 71

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 72

To ensure that dysfunctional norms are discarded and replaced with functional ones,with the group members,the group should require:

A) deviance.
B) social loafing.
C) group polarization.
D) conformity.
E) groupthink.

Question 73

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 74

When a member of a group fails to act consistently with a group norm,this is known as:

A) synergy.
B) deviance.
C) groupthink.
D) group polarization.
E) social loafing.

Question 75

A high performing group is most likely the result of ___________.

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 76

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.

Question 77

Tom,the 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.Tom and his involvement with the task force describes ____________.

A) a group norm
B) a group role
C) groupthink
D) group cohesiveness
E) group polarization

Question 78

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 79

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 80

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)_____________ group.

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