Chapter 3 : Groups, Teams, & Powerful Meetings

In an organization, a homogeneous group is one in which group members _____.

have a lot in common

A bigger group in an organization will make sense when _____.

individuals can work independently most of the time

In an organization, a group of people tends to be less influential than one strong personality acting alone.

False

True or false: A meeting is appropriate when a supervisor wants a group to participate in decision making.

True

The term _____ refers to patterns of behavior related to employees' positions in a group.

Roles

A cohesive group in an organization has members who _____.

want to stay with the group even during periods of stress

Most employees in an organization, welcome the opportunity to be part of informal groups because these groups _____.

Help satisfy social needs

The most important reason for supervisors in an organization to call for a meeting is to _____.

convey news to a group of people when their feedback is important

Norms

- Brandon is being pressured by other members of his group to quit telling jokes and stay on topic during meetings. -Yuchao is always on time to group meetings, finishes assigned work on time and up to the expected quality, and is respectful of the others in the group. The other members of the group behave similarly.

Identify the ways in which a supervisor can make the most of the potential benefits of working with a group.

- By supporting the group when it wants to voice legitimate concerns to higher management - By conveying the limitations of the group to the group members - By informing the group about what is happening in the organization

True or false: A team leader who acts as a coach for his or her team criticizes team members when they make mistakes.

False

True or false: The norming stage of team development is characterized by a number of conflicts among team members.

False

Match the types of meetings that takes place in organizations (in the left column) to their descriptions (in the right column).

Formal Meetings - they have agendas an usually take place at a scheduled time Informal Meetings - they occur spontaneously and do not have a distributed agenda

In the _____ stage of a team development process, the team members become acquainted with one another and oriented to the idea that they are part of a team.

Forming

Identify a true statement about team leaders who act as coaches for their teams.

They focus on how team members interact.

Which of the following is true of task groups in an organization?

They may operate for years with no definite end date

Identify a true statement about formal groups in an organization.

They result from the management function of organizing.

Identify an advantage of teamwork in organizations.

They serve as motivators for employees.

A common personal reason for individuals in an organization to join a group is to _____.

achieve their personal objectives

In the forming stage of team development, it is important for supervisors to _____.

allow time for thorough exploration of team members' roles

When a supervisor is prepared to lead a meeting, but others are unprepared to participate, the supervisor should _____.

consider rescheduling the meeting

In the context of communication, an effective team leader should _____.

create a climate of openness and trust among team members

A feature of small groups in an organization is that they _____.

rely less on formal rules and procedures

During the performing stage of team development, team members _____.

solve organizational problems and meet assigned challenges

The initial forming stage of team development is often accompanied by _____.

stress and uncertainty

Identify the activities that are involved in a team building process.

- Allocating work - Analyzing what needs to be done - Examining the relationships among team members - Setting goals

A list of topics to be covered at a meeting is known as a(n)

Agenda

Match the most common personal reasons for individuals to join a group in an organization (in the left column) to their descriptions (in the right column).

Closeness - being members of a group in an organization helps with the building of ties among people Strength in Numbers - being associated with other members in an organization provides individuals with a sense of confidence Common Goals -achieving a goal in an organization becomes easier when other members have similar goals

_____ is the extent to which group members stick together in an organization.

Cohesiveness

Identify a true statement about organic organizations.

Each employee is flexible and multi-talented.

Employees who participate in planning and decision making are less likely to take responsibility for the quality of what they do.

False

_____ are groups set up by management to meet organizational objectives.

Formal groups

The term _____ refers to the extent to which the members of a group in an organization are the same.

Homogeneity

Groups that result when individuals in an organization develop relationships to meet personal needs are known as _____.

Informal groups

Identify a characteristic of an informal meeting.

It does not have a distributed agenda.

The term _____ refers to group standards for appropriate or acceptable behavior in an organization.

Norms

A(n) _____ organization is one in which there is very little hierarchy.

Organic

_____ is the fourth stage of team development in an organization wherein a team becomes productive.

Performing

In an organization, _____ are set up to carry out a specific activity and are disbanded when that activity has been completed.

Task groups

The process of developing the ability of team members to work together to achieve common objectives is known as _____.

Team building

Wendy mentions that she must rely on Bernard's work efforts in order to get her tasks done. This is an example of

Team interdependence

If James asks team members to reply to each other within 24 hours during regular business hours, he would be instituting a(n)

Team norm

For a growing number of organizations, _____ is the means to employee involvement.

Teamwork

For a supervisor in an organization, what is the most important characteristic of a group?

The group's effectiveness

A frequent complaint about meetings is that they waste time because participants stray from the main topic and go off on tangents.

True

People can satisfy personal need by joining a group.

True

Supervisors can foster cohesiveness within the group by encouraging competition with other groups.

True

When participants digress from the main topic during a meeting, supervisors should try steering the discussion back on course by _____.

paying attention to the effects of particular kinds of behavior of the participants

In an organization, when a member of a group violates a norm, the group responds by _____.

pressuring the individual to conform

In the context of team leadership, enabling refers to _____.

providing employees with the resources they need to do their job

Which of the following are true of a formal meeting in an organization?

- it is a scheduled meeting - it typically has a agenda

During the norming phase of team development, team members _____.

feel as though their voices have been heard by other members

During the forming stage of team development, team members attempt to _____.

grasp what their role is on the team

The storming phase of team development in an organization is often perceived to be stressful because _____.

group members largely delineate exactly what each member's specific role will be

In an organizational context, a true statement about a formal meeting is that _____.

its agenda is shared with all attendees

One of the strategies that supervisors can use to make sure meetings are fruitful is to _____.

summarize key points at the end of each agenda item

Cohesiveness

- Corina is in a group where the members each recognize that they are members of an elite group working on an important project. - Ahmed is on a team that has had a history of success achieving their goals.

Team Building

- David is engaged in setting goals, analyzing what needs to be done and assigning work to the various group members. - Chelsea is meeting with group members one-on-one and in groups to make sure each member is absolutely sure about his or her responsibilities, roles, and place in the group.

Communicating

- Diana has noticed that there has been some growing conflict. Rather than ignoring the conflict and hoping it will work itself out, Diana actively acknowledges the disagreement. - Bryant encourages each team member to express his or her viewpoint during team meetings.

Size

- Dongxue is in a group where members find it easy to reach quick decisions, do not need to rely on lots of rules, and even the quietest members participate in meetings. - Melanie is the leader of a group that consistently takes too much time to reach decisions. The solution is to divide the group into several subgroups.

Identify the characteristics that a team leader should possess.

- Excellent communicaiton skills - Good rapport with team members - Patience - Fairness

rewarding

- Following an especially productive week, Braden gets tickets to a concert for every team member. - Guadalupe talks with each member to find out what they are interested in and then develops a set of rewards that includes as many of the employees' interests as possible.

Roles

- Jeff is a team member on one team and a team leader in another group - Jess has always been the person to lighten up the mood when others are upset, depressed, or involved in conflict

Identify the requisites of a complete agenda.

- Objectives of a meeting - A meeting's date - A meeting's time and location - The start and end times of a meeting

Identify the factors that have an effect on a group member's status in an organization.

- Race - Age - Gender - Education level

Selecting

- Ryan is actively seeking employees who work well with others and have a team focus. - Michelle is making calls and scheduling meetings with other supervisors to discuss which employees work best on team projects.

Coaching

- Sergio has noticed that one team member has low levels of interpersonal skills and arranges for additional training for that team member. - Instead of criticizing the team when it has had a failure, Camille encourages team members to discuss how to improve on the next attempt.

homogeneity

- Stephanie is currently working in a new company started by a group of individuals who all went to the same schools, came from the same social background, and are all about the same age. - Nick is the leader of a group made up of individuals from Brazil.

Identify the tactics that a supervisor in an organization can use to make the most of the potential benefits of working with a group.

- The supervisor should motivate the group to take part in problem solving. - The supervisor should make good choices when assigning members to the group. - The supervisor should treat all employees impartially and fairly.

Storming

- both want to be team leader and each disagrees strongly with the other as to the direction the team should take and the processes it should use - as supervisors, feel it is important for members to get their feelings out in the one. They also stress the long term goals of the team

Forming

- calls a group meeting specifically to tell each member why he or she was chosen for this team and why each is important to the achievement of the team goals - has a BBQ at her home for her new work team. Everyone discusses their background, skills, and personal goals

Norming

- is pleased that the team has developed the habit of making decisions by consensus rather than majority rule - agrees about most things, finds few things that cause conflict, and are developing values to help achieve their goals

Performing

- is the leader of a command group and now must ensure that the group members continue to be motivated - as the leader of a self-managing work team, she makes sure team members are empowered and have enough responsibility ad autonomy now

Adjourning

- submits the final report prepared by his task force with recommendations for improving emergency response procedures - recognizes that the team members feel sad now that the project is over and hosts a dinner to thank the team members for all their hard work on the project

Stages in Team Development

1. Forming 2. Storming 3. Norming 4.Performing 5. Adjourning

Rob is a supervisor in the production unit of a company. The unit includes individuals of different ethnicities. Which of the following actions should he avoid to foster cohesiveness in the unit?

Encouraging competition within the unit

An increasing number of organizations are expanding group efforts by _____.

Forming teams

A(n) _____ refers to two or more people who interact with one another, are aware of one another, and think of themselves as a unit.

Group

Identify a guideline that supervisors should adhere to in order to ensure that meetings are fruitful.

Rephrasing ideas that participants express

Maya is appointed as the supervisor in the public relations department of a textile company. She notices that the members of the department often engage in conflict with each other and fail to achieve their targets. In this scenario, identify a step that should be taken by Maya to foster cohesiveness in the department.

She should make the department members aware of their common goals.

In an organizational setting, _____ refers to a group member's position relative to others in the group.

Status

_____ is the second stage of team development in an organization.

Storming

Identify a factor that results in an individual taking on a role in an organization.

The individual's belief about how he or she is expected to behave

Identify a true statement about cohesive group members.

They abide by group norms even when under pressure to follow other norms.

Identify a true statement about big groups in an organization.

They are effective when a lot of work needs to get done.

When a team member derails a team meeting by discussing an unrelated topic, the supervisor should criticize the participant to discourage other participants from straying from the main topic.

True

True or false: For a supervisor, informal groups need to be effective only to the extent that they support organizational goals.

True For a supervisor, informal groups need to be effective only to the extent that they support organizational goals.

A basic benefit of using work teams is that they _____.

enable an organization to increase its usage of expertise of all its employees

A team leader who can stimulate high-quality performance is one who focuses on _____.

enabling team members to do their best

During the forming phase of team development, team members will _____.

explore the different strengths of other team members

At the beginning of the meeting, Kira does not properly lead the team during the ______ stage of team development. Therefore, the team was stuck in the ______ stage.

forming and storming

Identify a true statement about small groups.

They tend to reach decisions faster.

True or false: An effective way of communication for team leaders is to acknowledge disagreement from team members.

True