BUS_128 Team Communication in the workplace

Ash is planning a nationwide project, and knows that effective team communication will be critical to its success. Setting up meetings for people in several time zones will be key to the planning process. Which software might Ash use first with this project?

Doodle

Maria is looking for software to be able to communicate with her remote team. She needs the ability to chat, get instant feedback, and also have time flexibility with responses. What communication tool would best suit Maria's needs:

Webex

task force

a temporary team or committee formed to solve a specific short-term problem involving several departments

Estelle was the solo writer of a collaborative writing project. A few of her team members created the outline for the document, while all the others were involved in editing and proofreading. Who should get credit for writing the document:

all members

compromise

an agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions.

Teams and Team Dynamics Disadvantages

dealing with different personalities and personal agendas is a common challenge, poor leadership, a lack of focus, dominant personalities, bad communication, groupthink, social loafing.

note taker or scribe

get a team up to date with past notes, so little time is wasted remembering where the conversation left off. the scribe can keep all members of the team equally informed.

Understanding group dynamics is essential for large organizations to communicate well with employees. What is key to cultivating good group dynamics:

good relationships

Some teams are thought of as smaller companies within the larger company. What is this type of team called:

self-managed team

One way to develop good relationships on a team is to assign different roles to members. Which of the following roles would be considered essential on a team:

someone who brings up alternative perspectives and ideas

Customer and installer complaints are on the rise due to shipments that seem to either have the wrong cables, missing cables, or too many cables. Which type of team is best suited to solve this problem?

task force

Virtual teams

teams that use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal

Groupthink

the tendency of group members to conform, resulting in a narrow view of some issue

Luis is on a team with people who live in different time zones and countries. Just like other types of teams, members are expected to be accountable for their work, but Luis' favorite part is that he doesn't have to worry about his appearance during meetings. What type of team is Luis most likely on:

virtual team

Henry believes that everyone should have a voice in the decision making process. And whatever the majority decides, he is willing to accept it, even if he disagrees with the choice. What decision making process does Henry prefer:

voting

Cassie is at a company event out of town, where she doesn't know anyone very well. She looks around for an available person to network with, but everyone seems engaged in conversation and no one notices her. What would be an appropriate action for her to take next:

Approach a group and say, "Hi, I'm Cassie from the Seattle office. May I get your name?"

Matt doesn't enjoy company events very much. He has trouble meeting new people and feels awkward when everyone else knows each other. What would be appropriate behavior for Matt while attending a company social event:

Approach a group and say, "Hi, I'm Matt from the Buffalo office. What's your name?"

The team has completed their travel and research, and now they are ready to write a summary for review by upper management. There was one leader, but each of the four team members has expertise in various topics that must be addressed by the report. Which is the best choice of action for writing their report?

Divide and conquer. Each person should write a section and then they should all take part in the review

Maya's team needs to find a collaborative tool. Each member of the team is creating and editing their own document, without collaboration from other members. When each member finishes their document, they need a tool that will allow them to share their documents to be viewed by other members. Editing and commenting is not necessary, but lots of storage space is. What collaborative tool would best suit Maya's team's needs:

Dropbox

The community board meeting included a terse exchange between two members. "You can't keep spending that much on landscaping year after year!" said one member. "We need to plan on that much because things die every year, said the other member. "We told our members that dues might go up," said another member. These statements indicate that there is a problem to be solved. Which of the following statements may be the most helpful as the board solves this problem?

Perhaps we should create a 5-years landscape planning document

Rochelle is putting together a working group to generate new product ideas for her company. Which of the following statement represents her best strategy?

She should select people who come from different backgrounds and represent a range of positive personality traits.

In the last few decades, the need for effective communication on teams at work has increased. What is one of the main reasons for this:

There has been an increase in organizations becoming more virtual.

There are several collaborative technologies available today. These technologies have made digital collaborations become simpler and more convenient. Of all the choices available, what features make wikis different from other social and collaborative technologies:

They are highly collaborative and based on open editing.

Asynchronous communication tools have many advantages, including low cost and ease of use. What is one of the drawbacks of asynchronous communication tools:

They lack the ability to give immediate feedback to other members.

Nazneen prefers a less structured, more ambiguous work structure. She is detail-oriented and can come up with innovative ideas, as long as she has enough time and information to analyze a problem. What most likely is Nazneen's decision-making style:

analytical

four aspects of a good relationship:

constructive, productive, mutual understanding and self-corrective.

Large organizations have a harder time than smaller organizations when it comes to disseminating information and communicating with employees. Understanding group dynamics is essential in this process. Which of the following is key to cultivating good group dynamics?

good relationships

self-managed team

group of employees that is responsible and accountable for all or most aspects of generating a product or delivering a service.

Sally had never enjoyed office parties. She tended to stay only as long as she had to, and then left before things got a little crazy. But last week, Sally was promoted, and her co-workers threw her an impromptu office celebration. But, this time Sally decided to join in. At first, her colleagues seemed happy Sally was enjoying a few drinks. But, after a while, some people began hinting it was time to go home, or asked if they could call her a cab. Sally didn't notice the hints, and was the last one present, hugging each person as they left. The next day, she couldn't remember everything from the party, but she was happy with her behavior. How would you describe Sally's behavior at the party:

inappropriate

social cohesion

social bonds; how well people relate to each other and get along on a day-to-day basis to survive and prosper

Sandra has noticed that the team she leads has become less productive lately. They've shown early signs of apathy and she's concerned this could lead to more problems with morale. What can Sandra do to respond to this situation:

Acknowledge the conflict and address it openly with the team.

Zoya is leading a team that can't seem to come to an agreement. The heated battle is between employees who feel customers want easy access to the fruit and produce and those who believe customers prefer easy access to the cooler and freezer goods. This discussion has been going on for the last four meetings, and they can't decide on a resolution. Zoya keeps asking for more data before letting the team vote. Which quadrant of the Rowe and Boulgarides Decision Style does Zoya's situation fit into?

Analytical

Individual contributors receive which of the following advantages for improving their communication skills in the workplace:

Both the individual and the organization become more successful.

Tobias has just been offered an internship with a government agency. He was excited for the internship, but he wasn't sure what his soon-to-be boss, Cassie, had meant when she said they were "pretty casual" in their office. Which outfit might NOT be a good idea for Tobias's first day?

Brand new jeans and a flannel shirt

Jennings is increasingly frustrated with the final steps of this project. Each team member is writing part of the final report. There is one Microsoft Word document that they keep emailing to each other. Just yesterday, Jennings had to rewrite part of his corrections because he'd been working in an old copy of the file. Which of the following would help solve this problem?

Compare Documents feature

One concern during collaborative writing projects is duplication of some content, while leaving out other important information. In the "divide and conquer" method, what can a team do to avoid these problems:

Create a strong outline for the whole document.

Lauren has been growing frustrated lately because she feels her manager is increasingly out of touch with the needs of her team. She recently received an email from her boss that outlined a new process for submitting vacation times. She deleted the email without reading it, assuming the idea was impractical. What is the source of this conflict:

Differences with management.

In different cultures, appropriate ways to make eye contact can vary. What would be considered appropriate eye contact in an American workplace:

Direct your look to the top of the other person's nose, and occasionally glance around.

Nimra was very excited to be leading the team managing a move to a new office with four of her favorite coworkers. The group of five seemed to agree on everything. However, when their manager asked for an update, it went poorly, as the manager asked many questions Nimra and her team had not thought to ask one another. Which team dynamic issue likely contributed to this outcome?

Groupthink

Freny's team tends to repeat mistakes from past projects, and also seems to forget past successes. What suggestion should Freny make to the team leader to break out of this pattern:

Have one member track outcomes of meetings and projects.

Anton is organizing an Employee Appreciation Day. Which of the following will be most helpful?

He needs a team to organize the event

Karen's team used to have trouble working together. To remedy this, they focused on improving their relationships, which led to members being assigned specific roles. Which pitfalls should Karen's team be aware of that may get in the way of her team's new effectiveness:

Hindrances to team dynamics.

Lessons-learned tracker:

Identify positive and negative outcomes of meetings and projects. This individual can solicit input from other members. Documenting what everyone thinks went well and why, and what did not go well and why, can keep a team productive by not repeating past mistakes.

Many people try and avoid conflicts in interpersonal communication. But, conflict on a team can also be helpful at times. How can conflict help make a team more productive:

It can help reduce groupthink and apathy.

Brent and his team are collaborating on a written project. They require a collaborative tool that will allow them to highlight the changes each user makes, while also noting who made the change. Since these writing projects often produce many edits, they also want to be able to see the original document next to the edited document, to get some perspective on the changes. What tool would best suit Brent's team's needs:

MS Word

Leilah and her team are located in different cities across the world. They are writing and editing a marketing plan for their upcoming product launch. They require a tool that will allow each user's changes to be highlighted and noted by the user. They also want the ability to see the original document next to the edited document. What tool would best suit her team's needs:

MS Word

Teams and Team Dynamics Advantages

Motivation Efficiency in product development Cross training

On every team, there are people with different skills and levels of expertise. So, it's not always necessary for everyone in the group to write every word of a document in a collaborative writing process. One person may be tasked to do the majority of the writing. What are other contributions team members can make to support the solo writer:

Other team members can review, edit, and even rewrite the document.

Gretchen walked in to the corporate awards dinner meeting room. There was a bar in each corner, two long tables of appetizers, and about 50 people milling about. None of these people were from her region. What should Gretchen do?

Put a smile in her face and move toward someone new to meet

Devil's advocate:

Teams need to embrace conflict and different points of view. A devil's advocate is a person who brings up alternatives or objections to other's ideas.

Lucy is the CFO of her company. She's known to overbook her time and is often late for meetings. Right now, she is thirty minutes late for a meeting with one of her junior colleagues. How could the junior colleague appropriately handle this situation:

Text Lucy to reschedule.

This start-up company is no longer the "nimble little company" first reported on in the business section of the newspaper. They have grown from three people in a basement to 25 people in a simple office. Why are they now getting hit with so many orders with errors? And why are various employees, all of whom have email, keep saying "nobody told me"?

The communication network has grown too complex

collective efficacy

a group's perception of its ability to successfully perform well

cross-functional team

a team composed of employees from different functional areas of the organization

Group Leader:

a team must be prepared to assign the role of leader to: keep the team focused, mediate conflicts, a ensure that individuals are held accountable.