OB - Chapter 10
Which of the following statements is true regarding self-managed work teams? Self-managed work teams typically consist of forty to fifty employees. Self-managed work teams typically manage conflicts well. Members of self-managed work teams typically report lower job satisfaction. Self-managed work teams are typically composed of employees from different departments who work independent of each other. In the case of self-managed work teams, supervisory positions take on decreased importance.
In the case of self-managed work teams, supervisory positions take on decreased importance. Self-managed work teams are groups of employees (typically ten to fifteen in number) who perform highly related or interdependent jobs and take on many of the responsibilities of their former supervisors. Supervisory positions take on decreased importance and are sometimes even eliminated. Self-managed teams do not typically manage conflicts well. Members of this team report higher levels of job satisfaction than other individuals. LO: 10.3: Contrast the five types of team arrangements.
Which of the following is true with regard to use of individuals and teams? Teams and individuals can be used interchangeably for all kinds of jobs without any significant impact seen on effectiveness. Teamwork requires less time and resources when compared to individual work. Individuals have increased communication, supervision, and conflict-management demands when compared to teams. Individuals are bound by a collective common purpose that is organizationally determined, and this typically reduces their performance. Task complexity and requirement of different perspectives must be used as criteria when assigning work to teams over individuals and vice versa.
Task complexity and requirement of different perspectives must be used as criteria when assigning work to teams over individuals and vice versa. Teamwork takes more time and often more resources than individual work. Teams have increased communication demands, conflicts to manage, and meetings to run. A good indicator is the complexity of the work and the need for different perspectives. Simple tasks that don't require diverse input are probably better left to individuals. LO: 10.6: Decide when to use individuals instead of teams.
Which of the following is most likely to increase team efficacy? providing vast and generic goals helping the team achieve small successes creating a team such that it has diverse members ensuring that team goals are substantially difficult reducing the number of members on a team drastically
helping the team achieve small successes Efficacy means that a team believes it can succeed in the job and goal that is placed before them. There are two ways to increasing efficacy: 1) provide training to improve skills and increase confidence, and 2) help the team achieve small, incremental successes. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
The team effectiveness model classifies the key components of effective teams into three general categories: context, composition, and process. Which of the following variables belongs to the composition category? adequate resources conflict level team efficacy performance evaluation system personality of team members
personality of team members The personality of team members is a key component that affects the effectiveness of teams and it belongs to the composition category. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
A team consists of employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving the work environment but they do not have the authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggestions. This is most likely to be a(n) ________ team. cross-functional virtual self-managed work problem-solving independent
problem-solving In a problem-solving team, members share ideas or suggest how work processes and methods can be improved; they rarely have the authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggestions. LO: 10.3: Contrast the five types of team arrangements.
Which of the following types of teams allows for collaboration between team members who are physically dispersed? problem-solving teams self-managed work teams task teams virtual teams command teams
virtual teams Virtual teams use computer technology to unite physically dispersed members and achieve a common goal. LO: 10.3: Contrast the five types of team arrangements.
Araceli is a team member in a large corporation. She never speaks in team meetings because she has seen members talk behind each other's backs after the meetings. Members are constantly monitoring the other members' work and looking for mistakes to point out in a meeting. According to the information provided, which contextual factor is lacking in Araceli's team? adequate resources climate of trust team structure performance evaluations leadership
climate of trust Araceli doesn't contribute because she does not feel like the group has a climate of trust. Interpersonal trust facilitates cooperation, reduces the need to monitor each other's behavior, and bonds members around the belief that others on the team won't take advantage of them. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
Which of the following pairs of personality dimensions contribute to high team effectiveness? introversion and reflexivity type A and type B reflexivity and submissiveness conscientiousness and openness to experience perfectionism and rule consciousness
conscientiousness and openness to experience Many of the dimensions identified in the Big Five personality model are also relevant to team effectiveness; a review of the literature identified three. Specifically, teams that rate higher on mean levels of conscientiousness and openness to experience tend to perform better, and the minimum level of team member agreeableness also matters. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
To retain its edge in the organic health food market, Natura has established a high-priority team comprised of senior executives from the company's production, marketing, and research divisions. These employees work together closely to study consumer attitudes about organic health foods and come up with a closely monitored development and marketing strategy for new products. This ensures that each division is informed of the specific needs, timelines, and expected outcomes of the strategy. It also makes Natura a company that adapts to changes in market trends swiftly. The team Natura uses here is of the ________ type. problem-solving self-managed work cross-functional traditional departmental
cross-functional Cross-functional teams are teams made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level but different work areas who come together to accomplish a task. LO: 10.3: Contrast the five types of team arrangements.
Which of the following is not a common characteristic of an effective team? The team has adequate resources. The team has effective leadership. The team has a climate of trust. The team has a performance and evaluation system that reflects team contributions. The team is the right size for the task—about 15-20 people.
The team is the right size for the task—about 15-20 people. Effective teams have common characteristics. They have adequate resources, effective leadership, a climate of trust, and a performance evaluation and reward system that reflects team contributions. Effective teams also tend to be small—with fewer than 10 people, preferably of diverse backgrounds. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
Which of the following statements is true regarding size of teams? The most effective teams have twelve to fifteen members. When teams have excess members, cohesiveness declines. As team size increases, social loafing decreases. When teams have excess members, mutual accountability increases. Members of large teams coordinate work better when pressed for time.
When teams have excess members, cohesiveness declines. Generally speaking, the most effective teams have five to nine members. When teams have excess members, cohesiveness and mutual accountability decline, social loafing increases, and more people communicate less. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
Which of the following accurately differentiates between workgroups and work teams? Workgroups are used by top-management employees, while work teams are used by lower-level workers. Workgroups are used for functions relating to areas of the external environment, while work teams are exclusively used for departmental problems and issues. Workgroups involve members who have complementary skills, while work teams use employees who have random and varied skills. Work teams generate a potential for an organization to generate greater outputs with no increase in inputs, while workgroups cannot perform this function. Work teams represent the mere accumulation of individual efforts, while workgroups generate a positive synergy within the organization.
Work teams generate a potential for an organization to generate greater outputs with no increase in inputs, while workgroups cannot perform this function. A work team generates positive synergy through coordinated effort. The individual efforts result in a level of performance greater than the sum of those individual inputs. Work teams aim at the goal of collective performance, apply complementary skills, and promote individual and mutual accountability for group results. LO: 10.2: Contrast groups and teams.
According to the concept of organizational demography, if team members have dissimilar experiences, it will lead to ________. increased employee satisfaction decreased level of conflicts higher employee motivation higher employee turnover higher team efficacy
higher employee turnover Organizational demography suggests that attributes such as age or the date of joining should help us predict turnover. The logic goes like this: turnover will be greater among those with dissimilar experiences because communication is more difficult. Conflict and power struggles are more likely and are more severe when they occur. Increased conflict makes membership less attractive, so employees are more likely to quit. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
A team that has a good plan but is also willing to adjust its master plan and adapt when conditions call for it demonstrates high ________, an important variable in successful team processes. goal specificity goal congruency conformity diversity reflexivity
reflexivity Reflexivity is the team characteristic of reflecting on and adjusting the master plan when necessary. It is considered part of the process variables. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
When individuals engage in ________, they coast on the group's effort because their particular contributions cannot be identified. task conflicts gainsharing retaliating process gains social loafing
social loafing When individuals engage in social loafing, they coast on the group's effort because their particular contributions cannot be identified. Effective teams undermine this tendency by making members individually and jointly accountable for the team's purpose, goals, and approach. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
Effective teams translate their common purpose into ________ goals. universal generic vast specific diverse
specific Successful teams translate their common purpose into specific, measurable, and realistic performance goals. Specific goals facilitate clear communication. They also help teams maintain their focus on getting results. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
When teams are performing nonroutine activities, ________ stimulate discussion, promote critical assessment of problems and options, and can lead to better team decisions. task conflicts disciplinary conflicts relationship conflicts resource allocation conflicts discriminatory conflicts
task conflicts When teams are performing nonroutine activities, disagreements about task content stimulate discussion, promote critical assessment of problems and options, and can lead to better team decisions. Such conflicts are called task conflicts. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
The belief that effective teams have in their ability to succeed is called ________. goal specificity reflexivity mental model common purpose team efficacy
team efficacy Effective teams have confidence in themselves; they believe they can succeed. This is called team efficacy. LO: 10.4: Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
Work should be performed by an individual if ________. the work is complex and requires different perspectives the work creates a common purpose or set of goals for the people in the group that is more than the aggregate of individual goals the work is simple and does not require diverse input several tasks that are interdependent are to be performed for completing the work performing the work requires learning a new technology or understanding a new system
the work is simple and does not require diverse input If the tasks are simple and do not require diverse input, then individuals must be used to complete them. A team should be used when the work creates a common purpose or set of goals for the people in the group that is more than the aggregate of individual goals. Using teams makes sense when there is interdependence between tasks—the success of the whole depends on the success of each one, and the success of each one depends on the success of the others. LO: 10.6: Decide when to use individuals instead of teams.
What is the primary purpose of a workgroup? to generate positive synergy to improve collective performance to inculcate a climate of trust to share relevant information to enhance team efficacy
to share relevant information A workgroup is a group that interacts primarily to share information and make decisions to help each member perform within his or her area of responsibility. They are characterized by neutral synergy, individual accountability, and the presence of random and varied skill sets. LO: 10.2: Contrast groups and teams.
