MGMT 311 - Chapter 7 questions

Which of the following is NOT one of the five basic group performance factors? a. cooperation b. informal leadership c. cohesiveness d. composition

a. cooperation Cooperation is affected by factors such as composition (a homogeneous group encourages cooperation), but cooperation is not one of the five basic group performance factors.

Which of the following factors is associated with a high level of group cohesiveness? a. external threats b. individualism c. large size d. recent composition

a. external threats Competition or the presence of an external threat can focus members' attention on a clearly defined goal and increase their willingness to work together.

Elliot finds himself in a discussion about politics and current events in a group meeting. Everyone else joins in because they want to understand more about each other and share opinions. In which stage of group development is this most likely to occur? a. mutual acceptance b. control and organization c. motivation and productivity d. communication and decision making

a. mutual acceptance Also called the forming stage, this is when members get to know each other by sharing information about themselves, discussing unrelated subjects, and testing one another.

What term refers to the performance improvements that occur because people work together rather than independently? a. process gain b. process loss c. cohesiveness d. team efficacy

a. process gain This is the goal of working in teams—people working together doing more and doing it better than would be possible working alone.

Changing the shape of a team is known as __________. a. structural intervention b. managerial intervention c. adaptation d. social facilitation

a. structural intervention Social interaction and working can be structured to engage everyone on the team.

What distinguishes a command group from an affinity group? a. A command group is impermanent and isn't required to report until its work is done. An affinity group is permanent and each of its members has a special role. b. A command group is permanent and has a formal reporting relationship. An affinity group is permanent but isn't really part of the formal organization structure. c. A command group is permanent and has a formal reporting relationship. An affinity group is impermanent and meets whenever members choose to. d. A command group is impermanent and has an informal reporting relationship. An affinity group is permanent but isn't really part of the formal organization structure.

b. A command group is permanent and has a formal reporting relationship. An affinity group is permanent but isn't really part of the formal organization structure Command groups and affinity groups are workgroups, formal groups established by the organization to do its work.

You are worried about some of the costs associated with shifting to a team approach. Which of the following factors is a legitimate concern? a. Managers may take their desirable new skills as coaches to a competitor. b. Some employees may feel concerned that their jobs are in jeopardy. c. Teams take a fair amount of work but have a relatively short lifespan. d. It can be hard to attract younger workers, who tend to prefer workplaces with traditional manager-based systems.

b. Some employees may feel concerned that their jobs are in jeopardy. Managers and technicians may feel as if they are working themselves out of a job as team members take over directing and technical tasks.

The Green River Furniture Company has a group comprised of the managers of the sales, warehousing, manufacturing, and shipping departments. It has a group manager and is not included in the company's organization chart. This type of group is known as a __________. a. command group b. affinity group c. common interest group d. functional group

b. affinity group Affinity groups are groups of employees who share roles, responsibilities, duties, and interests, representing horizontal slices of the normal organizational hierarchy.

Implementation of teams is a five-phase process. At one phase in the process, there is a danger that a team will become so internally focused that it may stop communicating with other teams or even develop rivalries with other teams. At which step is this likely to occur? a. reality and unrest b. tightly formed c. start-up d. leader-centered

b. tightly formed During this fourth phase of team implementation, teams may be extremely confident of their ability to do everything but may reduce their communication with external teams.

Angelina is trying to decide how large a group she should put together to address a fairly complex problem her company faces. Which of her following assumptions is correct? a. If Angelina chooses a larger group size, there's likely to be less social loafing and more productivity. b. Complex problems are solved more effectively with homogeneous groups due to lack of conflict. c. A culturally similar group will get off to a smoother start and require less management attention. d. A large group will be the most efficient because members will set agendas and follow them.

c. A culturally similar group will get off to a smoother start and require less management attention. Compared to a heterogeneous group, a homogeneous group will tend to have less frequent changes in membership.

After management at Cascade Geotechnical decided to adopt a teams approach to problem solving, the firm benefitted in many ways. Which of the following items was an organizational benefit? a. Employees had the opportunity to be self-determining. b. Absenteeism and turnover both declined significantly. c. It eliminated redundant layers of bureaucracy. d. There was less use of employee assistance programs.

c. It eliminated redundant layers of bureaucracy. An organizational benefit is that use of teams can flatten the hierarchy in large organizations.

A team of Americans and Koreans are working on resolving problems at Korean Air. Tim, an American and a team leader from Houston, understands in advance that there will be cultural challenges in this arrangement. What should he be sensitive to in dealing with his Korean counterparts? a. The Koreans will be willing to directly answer questions about their preferences. b. The Koreans are more likely to bypass senior managers and freely express their ideas. c. The Koreans may not openly disagree with Tim because of his position of authority. d. The Koreans will want to get closure each day and move on to the next agenda item.

c. The Koreans may not openly disagree with Tim because of his position of authority. Korea's traditional culture values hierarchical distance between employees, so a worker may be uncomfortable challenging his or her boss.

Which of the following is a core strength of problem-solving teams? a. They save the company money by communicating using the Internet and other information technologies. b. They can come up with creative products and solutions by operating semi-autonomously. c. They take advantage of employees' expertise by grouping employees who do the actual work. d. Employees can bond from long-standing relationships.

c. They take advantage of employees' expertise by grouping employees who do the actual work. Putting employees on teams responsible for solving problems puts their expertise to work.

Informational diversity has a __________ impact on team performance; demographic diversity often has a __________ impact. a. negative, positive b. positive, positive c. positive, negative d. negative, negative

c. positive, negative Informational diversity has a positive impact on team performance, enhancing creativity and problem solving, whereas demographic diversity often has a negative impact because team members are not able to work effectively with different others.

At what phase of team implementation is performance usually above prior levels? a. phase 1 b. phase 2 c. phase 3 d. phase 4

d. phase 4 In phase 4 teams are beginning to experience the real potential of teamwork and are producing above their prior levels.