Intro to Management- Chapter 10: Managing Teams

Project team

A group formed specifically to design a new product or service. The members are assigned by their managers on the basis of their abilities to contribute to the team's success. The group normally disbands after the task is completed.

Cross-functional team

A group staffed with a mix of employees from an organization's marketing, production, engineering departments, and so forth. It is formed to accomplish a specific objective.

Virtual team

A team with geographically and/or organizationally dispersed members who may meet face to face only rarely or never. The team relies on telecommunication and technology to communicate and achieve its goals.

Employee involvement group

Employee involvement groups generally have a bit more autonomy than traditional work groups and provide management with advice and suggestions, but they do not have the authority to make decisions.

Self-designing team

Highest autonomy Self-designing teams have the highest level of autonomy, with the same privileges of a self-managing team but also the power to control the design, membership, and purpose of their team.

Which type of situation is created when team members feel pressured to go along with the group's ideas and decisions? a. Groupthink b. Minority domination c. Social loafing d. Cross-training

a

Your team's task is vital to your bank's compliance with federal law and survival. Given its importance, you will want to make sure you have only the most talented people available on the team. In other words, you will want: a. A high team level b. A diverse team c. An individualistic team d. A low team level

a

A ________ involves experts from a variety of business areas, such as accounting, marketing, operations, and strategy. a. traditional team b. cross-functional team c. virtual team d. project team

b

A ________ is created when two or more individuals are assigned to execute a specific task and share their work with managers who will then make decisions and solve problems. a. employee involvement group b. traditional work group c. self-managing team d. self-designing team

b

A ________ opportunity is created when team members learn and practice the responsibilities of other team members. a. groupthink b. cross-training c. social loafing d. minority domination

b

A team's ________ is (are) the agreed-on standards that regulate a team's behavior. a. conflict b. norms c. size d. cohesiveness

b

A(n) ________ executes tasks and provides advice or suggestions to their immediate supervisors, who will then make decisions and solve problems. a. self-managing team b. employee involvement group c. semi-autonomous work group d. project team

b

Becky works for a large technology company that sponsors an intramural soccer league. Becky has been on a soccer team with the other software engineers for her product for several years, and they are very good. Team members rarely miss practices and never miss games, they know each other's strengths and weaknesses on the field, and they play together so well they have won the company championship two years in a row. When the team was first formed, however, the players did not seem very committed, team cohesion was not very good, and the team took a very long time to decide on which plays and strategies to use. After making a change midway through the first season that led to increased cohesion, team performance improved dramatically. What is the likely change that Becky's team made midway through its first season? a. A-type conflict was encouraged over c-type conflict. b. The team's size was reduced. c. The team's size was increased. d. Team norms were abolished.

b

Company training should address interpersonal skills, such as listening, communicating, questioning, and what else? a. Practicing technical skills b. Providing feedback c. Receiving gainsharing d. Earning skill-based pay

b

Imagine that you are an executive at a large bank. You have been tasked with overseeing your company's implementation of an entirely new mortgage review and approval process that must comply with complex, new federal laws. Creating and implementing this new process will require intimate knowledge of the entire mortgage application and approval process, technology, the new legislation, bank operations, and more. To work on this task, you are asked to assemble a self-managing team with the stretch goal to complete the process overhaul within six months. The team will be given nearly unlimited control over the budget and resources it needs to do the job, but it must still go through the normal approval process from management to make changes. In addition, the team will not be able to make changes to the bank's structures, policies, or practices without management approval. Given the nature of your team's task, what type of diversity will probably be most important to consider when selecting employees to serve on the team? a. Diversity of management experience b. Diversity of expertise c. Diversity of personality d. Diversity of skill level

b

What disadvantage involves team members withholding their contributions in the interest of allowing others to take responsibility for tasks? a. Cross-training b. Social loafing c. High turnover d. Minority domination

b

What stage of development is present when a team begins to build cohesion? a. Forming b. Norming c. Storming d. Performing

b

Which type of team possesses significantly more autonomy than traditional work and employee involvement groups, and solves problems for major production/service tasks? a. Project team b. Semi-autonomous work group c. Virtual team d. Cross-functional team

b

Imagine that you are an executive at a large bank. You have been tasked with overseeing your company's implementation of an entirely new mortgage review and approval process that must comply with complex, new federal laws. Creating and implementing this new process will require intimate knowledge of the entire mortgage application and approval process, technology, the new legislation, bank operations, and more. To work on this task, you are asked to assemble a self-managing team with the stretch goal to complete the process overhaul within six months. The team will be given nearly unlimited control over the budget and resources it needs to do the job, but it must still go through the normal approval process from management to make changes. In addition, the team will not be able to make changes to the bank's structures, policies, or practices without management approval. Your team must still go through normal approval processes, indicating that it does not have ______________ , which will likely impede its ability to reach the stretch goal.

bureaucratic immunity

A ________ involves individuals that are accountable to one another in working toward a common mission. a. work audit b. reward structure c. work team d. cross-training

c

A team's ________ goals clearly identify priorities for the team's work. a. diversity b. structural accommodation c. S.M.A.R.T d. bureaucratic immunity

c

Becky works for a large technology company that sponsors an intramural soccer league. Becky has been on a soccer team with the other software engineers for her product for several years, and they are very good. Team members rarely miss practices and never miss games, they know each other's strengths and weaknesses on the field, and they play together so well they have won the company championship two years in a row. When the team was first formed, however, the players did not seem very committed, team cohesion was not very good, and the team took a very long time to decide on which plays and strategies to use. After making a change midway through the first season that led to increased cohesion, team performance improved dramatically. At what stage of development does Becky's soccer team appear to be in currently? a. Storming b. Forming c. Performing d. Norming

c

Since this team will be new, your bank has decided to compensate the team members initially with nonfinancial rewards. By working well together, members could be part of a permanent team focused on improving operational efficiency. What type of team compensation system would work best for them? a. Skill-based pay b. Team member of the month program c. Gainsharing d. Nonfinancial rewards

c

To aid the process of selecting members for the team, you review the results of several personality and teamwork tests to aid your decision. You decide to select only employees who are extroverted collectivists. Why might this selection strategy be problematic? a. Collectivists do not make good team members. b. Extroverts do not make good team members. c. The team may not be diverse enough. d. The team may be too diverse.

c

What concept describes the team's focus on interdependence and welfare of all team members? a. Bureaucratic immunity b. Structural accommodation c. Collectivism d. Individualism

c

What is present when teams are empowered with decision making and authority? a. Employee involvement group b. Traditional work group c. Autonomy d. Virtual team

c

What term refers to a situation in which a few individuals dominate the ideation and decision making of the group? a. Cross-training b. Groupthink c. Minority domination d. Social loafing

c

What term refers to a team that connects workers that are geographically or organizationally dispersed? a. Project team b. Employee involvement group c. Virtual team d. Traditional work group

c

What term refers to the degree to which a team member tends to put their interests before the welfare of the team? a. Gainsharing b. Collectivism c. Individualism d. Diversity

c

A company should use teams when what type of perspective is needed for a project? a. Similar b. Simple c. External d. Diverse

d

A team's _____ refers to the variances or differences in ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team. a. compensation b. collectivism c. individualism d. diversity

d

A team's ________ is the ability to change organizational forms, policies, and practices in order to meet stretch goals. a. skill-based pay b. bureaucratic immunity c. individualism-collectivism d. structural accommodation

d

A team's________ focus(es) on problem-related differences of opinion. a. cohesiveness b. affective conflict c. norms d. cognitive conflict

d

If a company uses work teams, it may experience what disadvantage initially? a. Cross-training b. Emerging leaders c. Service changes d. High turnover

d

If a team has the ability to make changes without first receiving approval from managers or other parts of the organization, what is present? a. Nonfinancial rewards b. Structural accommodation c. Individualism-collectivism d. Bureaucratic immunity

d

If a team is motivated to engage in and remain part of a work team, what is created? a. Norms b. Size c. Conflict d. Cohesiveness

d

Last summer, Julia decided to join a bowling league with some colleagues from work. They formed a team and bowled together several times to get to know one another better. The week before the league started, the team had to come up with a name. During a meeting to discuss this, Julia and her teammate Clancy got into a heated debate because Julia wanted their name to be "The Lucky Strikes," whereas Clancy wanted the team name to be "The Pin City Pimps." While screaming at each other, it became clear that Julia thought she should be the team manager because she formed the team. Clancy felt equally strongly that he should be team manager because he is the more experienced bowler. Which of the following methods would help resolve the conflict about the name of the team? a. Appoint one person to decide what the team name should be. b. Debate the two names until the entire team comes to a consensus. c. Avoid needless discussion about the team's goals and priorities and focus on selecting a name. d. Have the entire team come up with several more alternative names to consider.

d

Many students dislike working on group projects for class because they know some members of the group will not contribute much to the group, knowing that other members will pick up their slack. This is called: a. High turnover b. Crossover slacking c. Groupthink d. Social loafing

d

Which type of development is apparent when team performance begins to decline as the size, scope, goal, or members of the team change? a. De-storming b. Performing c. Forming d. De-norming

d

Hackman suggests that a deviant can improve a group's innovation by opening up discussion of new ideas. This corresponds to a reduction in __________ , which is desirable, but can also result in meetings that are ______________.

groupthink, lengthy and unproductive

When Hackman refers to "the tendency to want too much homogeneity," he is referring to ___________ , a potential disadvantage of teams caused by _________________ .

groupthink, pressure to agree on solutions

Gainsharing

is a compensation system whereby an organization shares the financial value of performance gains (such as those from increased productivity, improved operational efficiency, and cost savings) with its workers. It is most appropriate for relatively stable environments with teams focused on such performance gains.

Not all teams are easily defined by their level of autonomy. For example, a ________ team is specifically designed to create a new product or service and disbands after that task is accomplished, but its level of autonomy can vary depending on its purpose and structure.

project

What type compensation rewards employees for learning additional skills or knowledge that is valuable to the team and organization? a. Nonfinancial rewards b. Skill-based pay c. Gainsharing d. Structural accommodation

b

Which type of team is designed to complete a specific task in a given timeframe and involve workers essential to accomplishing the initiative? a. Self-designing b. Project c. Virtual d. Cross-functional

b

Semi-autonomous work group

Lowest autonomy Semi-autonomous work groups have more autonomy than traditional work groups, with the ability to both provide advice to management and make decisions about major tasks.

Self-managing team

Moderate autonomy Self-managing teams have a relatively high level of autonomy, with the ability to control all of the major tasks associated with producing their product or service.

Self-managing team

Self-managing teams have a relatively high level of autonomy, with the ability to control all of the major tasks associated with producing their product or service.

Traditional work group

Traditional work groups typically have the lowest level of autonomy of any type of work team. They have control over completing their assigned tasks but little else.

A ________ increases communication, responsibility, and accountability for each member. a. work team b. groupthink c. minority domination d. social loafing

a

Last summer, Julia decided to join a bowling league with some colleagues from work. They formed a team and bowled together several times to get to know one another better. The week before the league started, the team had to come up with a name. During a meeting to discuss this, Julia and her teammate Clancy got into a heated debate because Julia wanted their name to be "The Lucky Strikes," whereas Clancy wanted the team name to be "The Pin City Pimps." While screaming at each other, it became clear that Julia thought she should be the team manager because she formed the team. Clancy felt equally strongly that he should be team manager because he is the more experienced bowler. As Julia and Clancy argue about the team name, what stage of development does their bowling team seem to be in? a. Storming b. Forming c. Norming d. Performing

a

Which category of quality improves with the use of teams? a. Product b. Individual c. Distribution d. Competitor

a

Which type of compensation occurs when a company shares the financial value of its performance gains? a. Gainsharing b. Structural accommodation c. Bureaucratic immunity d. Skill-based pay

a

Nathan recently joined his company's softball team, which plays in a competitive city league. After the first game of the season, Nathan went straight home to rest his weary body in a bath while the rest of the team went to a local bar to celebrate their victory. The next day at work, one of Nathan's softball teammates chastised him for not going out after the game. "It's expected, and it appears as if you don't want to be on the team when you don't go," his teammate said. From that day forward, Nathan joined his teammates at the local bar after each game. The tradition of the entire team going to a local bar after each game appears to be what? a. Groupthink b. Minority domination c. Social loafing d. A team norm

d

Nathan recently joined his company's softball team, which plays in a competitive city league. After the first game of the season, Nathan went straight home to rest his weary body in a bath while the rest of the team went to a local bar to celebrate their victory. The next day at work, one of Nathan's softball teammates chastised him for not going out after the game. "It's expected, and it appears as if you don't want to be on the team when you don't go," his teammate said. From that day forward, Nathan joined his teammates at the local bar after each game. What is the likely purpose of this team tradition? a. To balance the power of the team b. To promote a-type conflicts over c-type conflicts c. To move the team into the de-storming stage d. To improve team cohesiveness

d

What kind of team possesses responsibility for decision making, problem-solving, and design control of teams, tasks, and membership? a. Employee involvement group b. Traditional work group c. Self-managing team d. Self-designing team

d

What term describes the stage of development when members engage in relationship building and learning what behaviors are accepted in the group? a. Storming b. Norming c. Performing d. Forming

d

What term refers to having the discretion, freedom, and independence to decide how and when to accomplish a job? a. Virtual team b. Project team c. Involvement d. Autonomy

d