BAMG Midterm 2

condition of certainty

Manager knows what the outcomes of each alternative of a given action will be and has enough information to estimate the probabilities of various outcomes

rational decision-making approach

A systematic, step-by-step process for making decisions

cross-functional teams

A team whose members come from different departments or functional areas

constructive conflict

Adaptive, positive conflict (also called functional conflict)

teams

An interdependent collection of at least two individuals who share a common goal and share accountability for the team's as well as their own outcomes

administrative model of decision making

Argues that managers use bounded rationality, rules of thumb, suboptimizing, and satisficing in making decisions

prospect theory

Argues that when people make decisions under a condition of risk they are more motivated to avoid losses than they are to seek gains

friendship groups

Is relatively permanent and informal and draws its benefits from the social relationships among its members

preparation

Usually the first stage in the creative process, includes education and formal training

feedback

a check on the success of the communication

compromising

a conflict management style in which each side sacrifices something in order to end the conflict

collaborating

a conflict management style reflecting a desire to give both parties what they want

accommodating

a cooperative conflict management style

nonprogrammed decision

a decision that recurs infrequently and for which there is no previously established decision rule

task conflict

a disagreement about the task or goals

conflict

a disagreement through which two or more parties perceive a threat to their interests, needs, or concerns

Delphi Technique

a method of systematically gathering judgments of experts for use in developing forecasts

creativity

a person's ability to generate new ideas or to conceive of new perspectives on existing ideas

ethics

a person's beliefs about what constitutes right and wrong behavior

negotiation

a process in which two or more parties make offers, counteroffers, and concessions in order to reach an agreement

command group

a relatively permanent, formal group with functional reporting relationships and is usually included in the organization chart

mediation

an impartial third party (the mediator) facilitates a discussion using persuasion and logic, suggesting alternatives, and establishing each side's priorities

coalition

an informal alliance of individuals or groups formed to achieve a common goal

intuition

an innate belief about something without conscious consideration

distributive negotiation

any gain to one party is offset by an equivalent loss to the other party

noise

anything that blocks, distorts, or changes in any way the message the sender intended to communicate

suboptimizing

knowingly accepting less than the best possible outcome to avoid unintended negative effects on other aspects of the organization

motivation and productivity stage

members cooperate, help each other, and work toward accomplishing tasks

communication and decision making stage

members discuss their feelings more openly and agree on group goals and individual roles in the group

groupthink

occurs when a group's overriding concern is a unanimous decision rather than a critical analysis of alternatives

information push

occurs when information is received that was not requested

information pull

occurs when someone receives requested information

process loss

performance decrements that occur when a team performs worse than the individual members would have if they had worked alone

competing

pursuing one's own interest at the expense of the other party

group cohesiveness

the extent to which a group is committed to staying together

verification

the final stage of the creative process, the validity or truthfulness of the insight is determined

control and organization stage

the group is mature; members work together and are flexible, adaptive, and self-correcting

channel

the medium used to send the message

process gain

the performance improvements that occur because people work together rather than independently

decision making

the process of choosing from among several alternatives

social network

the set of relationships among people connected through friendship, family, work, or other ties

problem-solving teams

Teams established to solve problems and make improvements at work

virtual teams

Teams of geographically and/or organizationally dispersed coworkers who communicate using the Internet and other information technologies

condition of risk

The decision maker cannot know with certainty what the outcome of a given action will be but has enough information to estimate the probabilities of various outcomes

condition of uncertainty

The decision maker lacks enough information to estimate the probability of possible outcomes

group

Two or more people who interact with one another such that each person influences and is influenced by each other person

body language

A body movement such as a gesture or expression that conveys information to others

programmed decision

A decision that recurs often enough for a decision rule to be developed

workgroups

A formal group formed by an organization to do its work

informal leader

A person who engages in leadership activities but whose right to do so has not been formally recognized by the organization or group

mutual acceptance stage

Characterized by members' sharing information about themselves and getting to know each other

nonverbal communications

Communications that are not spoken or written but that have meaning to others

information conflict

Conflict that occurs when people lack necessary information, are misinformed, interpret information differently, or disagree about which information is relevant

escalation of commitment

Occurs when a decision maker stays with a decision even when it appears to be wrong

norm

a standard against which the appropriateness of a behavior is judged

decision rule

a statement that tells a decision maker which alternative to choose based on the characteristics of the decision situation

functional teams

a team whose members come from the same department or functional area

team efficacy

a team's shared belief that it can organize and execute the behaviors necessary to reach its goals

brainstorming

a technique used in the idea-generation phase of decision making that assists in development of numerous alternative course of actions

conciliation

a third party builds a positive relationship between the parties and directs them toward a satisfactory settlement

arbitration

a third party is involved and usually has the authority to impose a settlement on the parties

integrative negotiation

a win-win negotiation in which the agreement involves no loss to either party

Evaluate the following statement: The terms "team" and "group" refer to similar concepts, but they differ in that groups are more likely to have a common performance goal. a. The statement is inaccurate because teams are more likely to have a common performance goal. b. The statement is inaccurate because the terms "team" and "group" have widely differing meanings in the study of OB. c. The statement is inaccurate because both teams and groups have common performance goals. d. The statement is accurate.

a. The statement is inaccurate because teams are more likely to have a common performance goal.

Benny spends approximately two hours every work day hanging out by the water cooler chatting with three of his friends. Benny's water cooler gang is an example of a(n) _____ group. a. friendship b. command c. affinity d. interest

a. friendship

Social loafing is most common in a _____ group. a. large b. highly cohesive c. small d. norm-less

a. large

Each of the following is a feature of teams that is not necessarily a feature of groups EXCEPT: a. members influence and are influenced by each other. b. members share accountability for individual and collective outcomes. c. members share a common goal. d. members are interdependent with respect to information, resources, and skills.

a. members influence and are influenced by each other

______ teams are established to tackle challenges and make improvements at work. a. problem-solving b. self-directed c.virtual d.venture

a. problem solving

Which of the following is NOT one of the five categories of important leadership skills in a virtual project team or distance management situation? a. Promoting self-reliance by setting more vague goals and not holding team members as accountable b. Communicating effectively and matching technology to the situation c. Establishing a clear and motivating shared vision, team purpose, goals, and expectations d. Building community among team members based on mutual trust, respect, affiliation, and fairness

a. promoting self-reliance by setting more vague goals and not holding team members accountable

Compared with managers from other countries, U.S. managers like to make decisions _____ and with _____ analysis. a. quickly; relatively little b. slowly; relatively little c. quickly; a lot of d. slowly; a lot of

a. quickly; relatively little

What is the most dangerous cost of shifting to a team-based structure? a. The slowness of team development b. Employees feeling threatened c. Premature abandonment d. Managers feeling unsure of their new roles

a. the slowness of team development

Which of the following is NOT true about many team meetings? a. they boost morale b. they accomplish too little c. they take to long d. they are poorly run

a. they boost morale

contingency plans

alternative actions to take if the primary course of action is unexpectedly disrupted or rendered inappropriate

Increasing the diversity of a group is likely to decrease its: a. informal leadership. b. cohesiveness. c. size. d. heterogeneity.

b. cohessiveness

Leo, a software developer, spends about 15 hours a week working on various projects with a team consisting of himself, a quality assurance tester, a technical writer, a web designer, and a marketer. This is an example of a(n) _____ team. a. dysfunctional b. cross-functional c. affinity d. functional

b. cross-functional

Which two types of team-based reward systems are most similar to each other? a. skill-based pay and gain-sharing programs b. gain-sharing programs and team bonus plans c. team bonus plans and skill-based pay d. none of the team-based reward systems bear any similarity to each other

b. gain-sharing programs and team bonus plans

The group forms and members get to know one another by sharing information about themselves in the _____ stage. a. motivation and productivity b. mutual acceptance c. communication and decision-making d. control and organization

b. mutual acceptance

Communication in _____ cultures is typically indirect, and a listener _____. a. Western; has to infer preferences and priorities from changes, or the lack of them, in the other person's counterproposal. b. non-Western; has to infer preferences and priorities from changes, or the lack of them, in the other person's counterproposal. c. Western; does not need to know much about the context or the speaker to interpret it d. non-Western; does not need to know much about the context or the speaker to interpret it

b. non-Western; has to infer preferences and priorities from changes, or the lack of them, in the other person's counterproposal.

Miko and Indira each have a paper to write for sociology class. When they get together to work on their papers, they gossip and play video games for two hours. This scenario illustrates: a. social facilitation. b. process loss. c. team efficacy. d. process gain.

b. process loss

_____ teams set their own goals and pursue them in ways decided by the team. a. Problem-solving b. Self-directed c. Virtual d. Venture

b. self-directed

The final phase of team implementation is the ______ team. a. reality and unrest b. self-managing c. leader-centered d. tightly formed

b. self-managing

Which of the following is NOT a concern faced by large groups? a. there may be increased absenteeism b. too few resources may be available c. the group may have difficulties reaching agreement d. too much time may be spent on administrative duties

b. too few resources may be available

active listening

becoming actively involved in the process of listening to what others are saying and clarifying messages' meaning

Which of the following groups is likely to have the lowest cohesiveness? a. A group whose members are mostly the same age and have the same cultural background b. A small group with a large presence of informal leadership c. A group whose members have a wide range of ages and cultural backgrounds d. A medium-sized group with well-established group norms

c. a group whose members have a wide range of ages and cultural backgrounds

Vladimir is skilled at executing an integrative negotiation strategy, wherein everyone comes out a winner. Vladimir most clearly exhibits strong _____ abilities. a. planning and task resolution b .communication c. conflict resolution d. goal-setting and self-management

c. conflict resoultion

Lena forms a board game club at the consulting company she works for. The club meets every other week to play strategy board games. Lena's club is an example of a(n) _____ group. a. affinity b. command c. informal d. task

c. informal

A team's performance reaches that of its start-up phase during the _____ phase. a. tightly formed b. reality and unrest c. leader-centered d. self-managing

c. leader-centered

Managing a virtual team is generally _____ managing a traditional team. a. less difficult than b. as difficult as c. more difficult than d. very similar to

c. more difficult than

During the communication and decision-making stage, groups typically establish the _____ that enable(s) members to behave in a manner acceptable to the group. a. homogeneity b. cohesiveness c. norms d. composition

c. norms

Making fewer errors, filing fewer worker compensation claims, and reducing absenteeism and turnover are examples of: a. organizational enhancements. b. employee benefits. c. reduced costs. d. enhanced performance.

c. reduced costs

Miko and Indira have a project due in programming class. They don't know how to do the project, but they are confident in their ability to figure it out. This scenario illustrates: a. social facilitation. b. process loss. c. team efficacy. d. process gain.

c. team efficacy

affinity groups

collections of employees from the same level in the organization who meet on a regular basis to share information, capture emerging opportunities, and solve problems

trust

confidence that other people will honor their commitments, especially when it is difficult to monitor or observe the other people's behavior

process conflict

conflict about how to accomplish a task, who is responsible for what, and how things should be delegated

values conflict

conflict arising from perceived or actual incompatibilities in belief systems

relationship conflict

conflict due to incompatibility or differences between individuals or groups

conflicts of interest

conflict due to incompatible needs or competition over perceived or actual resource constraints

structural conflict

conflict resulting from structural or process features of the organization

vertical conflict

conflict that occurs across different hierarchical levels in the organization

encoding

converting a thought, idea, or fact into a message composed of symbols, pictures, or words

low-context cultures

cultures that rely on words to convey meaning

Groups often reexamine assumptions, adopt new perspectives on the work, and make dramatic progress: a. during the mutual acceptance stage. b. during the first third of their development. c. as the group is being created. d. approximately halfway through the projected life of the group.

d. approximately halfway through he projected life of the group

Each crew member aboard Sean's submarine knows what he or she has to do. Task assignments are made fluidly, and problems are approached creatively and flexibly. The submarine runs smoothly and rarely encounters any difficulties. Sean's team reflects the _____ stage of group development. a. motivation and productivity b. mutual acceptance c. communication and decision-making d. control and organization

d. control and organization

Improved productivity, quality, and customer service are examples of: a. organizational enhancements b. employee benefits c. reduced costs d. enhanced performance

d. enhanced performance

Leo, a software developer, spends about 25 hours a week working on various projects with a team consisting entirely of software developers. This is an example of a(n) _____ team. a. dysfunctional b. cross-functional c. affinity d. function

d. functional

A well known problem some groups face is group think, which can occur when a group: a. has a high degree of informal leadership b. is high heterogeneous c. has a large size d. has high cohesiveness

d. has high cohesiveness

Demographically diverse groups tend to have _____ cohesiveness and _____ conflict than homogenous ones. a. less, less b.more, less c. more, more d. less, more

d. less, more

Miko and Indira are studying for the same math test. When they study together, they get their studying done faster and each learn the material better than when they study alone. This scenario illustrates: a. social facilitation. b. process loss. c. team efficacy. d. process gain.

d. process gain

What type of technologies allow real time communication and interaction? a. Pseudo-synchronous b. Asynchronous c. Semi-synchronous d. Synchronous

d. synchronous

_____ teams are teams that operate semi-autonomously to create and develop new products, processes, or businesses. a. Problem-solving b. Self-directed c. Virtual d. Venture

d. venture

roles

define the behaviors and tasks each team member is expected to perform because of the position they hold

dysfunctional conflict

destructive conflict focused on emotions and differences between the two parties

post-decision dissonace

doubt about a choice that has already been made

satisficing

examining alternatives only until a solution that meets minimal requirements is found

risk propensity

extent to which a decision maker is willing to gamble when making a decision

problem solving

finding the answer to a question

nominal group technique

group members follow a generate-discuss-vote cycle until they reach a decision

social facilitation

happens when people are motivated to look good to others and want to maintain a positive self-image

filtering

how we reduce the amount of information being received to a manageable amount

bounded rationality

idea that decision makers cannot deal with information about all the aspects and alternatives pertaining to a problem and therefore choose to tackle some meaningful subset of it

avoiding

ignoring the conflict or denying that it exists

alternative dispute resolution

involving a third party in a negotiation to overcome a stalemate between the parties

informal groups

is established by its members

interest groups

is relatively temporary and informal and is organized around a common activity or interest of its members

high-context cultures

situational and nonverbal cues are used to convey meaning

ombudsman

someone who investigates complaints and mediates fair settlements between aggrieved parties

venture teams

teams that operate semi-autonomously to create and develop new products, processes, or businesses

self-directed teams

teams that set their own goals and pursue them in ways decided by the team

global teams

teams with members from different countries

evidence-based management (EBM)

the commitment to identify and utilize the best theory and data available to make decisions

group composition

the degree of similarity or difference among group members on factors important to the group's work

verbal intonation

the emphasis given to spoken words and phrases

message

the encoded information

organizational communication

the exchange of information among two or more individuals or groups in an organization that creates a common basis of understanding and feeling

insight

the stage in the creative process in which all the scattered thoughts and ideas that were maturing during incubation come together and produce a breakthrough

incubation

the stage of less intense conscious concentration during which a creative person lets the knowledge and ideas acquired during preparation mature and develop

group polarization

the tendency for a group's average post-discussion attitudes to be more extreme than its average pre-discussion attitudes

social loafing

the tendency of some members of groups to put forth less effort in a group than they would when working alone

communication

the transmission of information from one person to another to create a shared understanding and feeling

decoding

translating the message back into something that can be understood by the receiver

selective perception

when we selectively interpret what we see based on our interests, expectations, experience, and attitudes rather than on how things really are

team contract

written agreement among team members establishing ground rules about the team's processes, roles, and accountabilities