chapter 10 and 15 business

Which of the following is a potential disadvantage associated with the use of work teams? a. commitment to finding an ideal solution that does not exist b. initially high employee turnover c. lack of creativity in decision making d. decreased employee satisfaction e. all of these

b

occurs when workers withhold their efforts and fail to perform their share of the work

b. social loafing

A local hospital ran into a funding problem when it tried to build a new state-of-the-art pediatric unit. The hospital management asked a group of physicians, hospital volunteers, and administrative staff to develop and implement a plan to raise the necessary money. This group of people with complementary skills formed a(n) . a. semi-structured team b. autonomous unit c. work team d. functional department e. venture team

c

A work team is a small number of people who have been assigned responsibility for pursuing a common purpose, achieving performance goals, and improving interdependent work processes.

false

Once teams have made it to the performing stage, they no longer need fear a decline in performance.

false

Since teams that get stuck in the storming stage will be strained but productive, it is important for team leaders to focus the team on balancing cognitive and affective conflict.

false

The autonomy continuum shows how five kinds of teams differ in terms of autonomy. The correct sequence from low team autonomy to high team autonomy is (1) traditional work groups, (2) employee involvement groups, (3) semi-autonomous work groups, (4) self-designing teams, and (5) self-managing teams.

false

The most common type of training provided to members of work teams is training in leadership skills.

false

A preference for teamwork (i.e., collectivism), team level, and team diversity can help companies choose the right team members.

true

Autonomy is the degree to which workers have the discretion, freedom, and independence to decide how and when to accomplish their jobs.

true

Cognitive conflict is strongly associated with improvements in team performance, and affective conflict is strongly associated with decreases in team performance.

true

In general, skill-based pay is most effective for managing the performance of self-managing and self-directing teams.

true

Allen-Edmonds is keeping its shoe manufacturing business in the United States by investing in new machinery and creating new processes. The strategy is a gamble and the outcome is uncertain. To cut costs and improve efficiency, the company's old assembly line is being replaced by a system of employees working in groups, with each person doing several jobs, and each trained to do the others' tasks. Allen-Edmonds is using ____.

c. work teams

According to the text, a(n) is a small number of people with complementary skills who hold themselves mutually accountable for pursuing a common purpose, achieving performance goals, and improving interdependent work processes. a. work team b. venture group c. semi-structured team d. autonomous unit e. ad hoc team

a

An organization engaged in its work team members is training them in how to do all or most of the jobs performed by the other team members. a. cross training b. job enlargement c. job specialization d. Venn training e. overlapping training

a

. How are organizations using teams to help increase customer satisfaction? a. by instituting a system of increased formalization throughout the organization b. by creating problem-solving teams to study ways to improve customer satisfaction and make recommendations for improvements c. by creating outsourcing opportunities that improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency by creating economies of scale d. by developing ideal solutions to organizational problems through the use of information management systems (most notably expert systems) e. by taking direct responsibility for service quality

b

E-Lab (the "E" stands for experience) has project teams perform field research for its clients. These project teams are composed of students of theology, actors, and musicians as well as the more traditional marketing experts and statisticians. Each member of the group is trained to conduct observational research, interview clients, and understand the marketing impact of what they learn. E-Lab uses to make its project teams more efficient. a. synergistic goals b. stretch goals c. cross training d. vestibule training e. OJT training

c

When teams are used properly and in the right settings, work teams can . a. help organizations respond to specific problems and challenges b. dramatically improve company performance c. instill a sense of vitality in the workplace that is otherwise difficult to achieve d. increase customer satisfaction and service quality e. do all of these

e

Which of the following is a reason teamwork can be more satisfying than traditional work? a. Teamwork often allows teams to receive proprietary business information that is only available to managers. b. Teamwork provides team members with unique work opportunities. c. Teamwork gives workers a chance to improve their skills. d. Teamwork gives workers unique leadership responsibilities which enable them to build individual leadership skills. e. All of these are reasons why teamwork can be more satisfying than traditional work.

e

Which of the following statements describe an advantage teams have over individuals in the decision-making process? a. teams can identify problems more efficiently and more quickly b. teams are able to view problems from multiple perpectives c. teams generate more commitment to making the decisions work d. teams generate more alternative solutions e. all of the above

e

A company engaged in cross training is using individual team members to teach other members how to do all or most of the jobs they can perform.

false

As teams develop and grow, they pass through three stages of development. These three stages are 1) perceived team, 2) felt team, and 3) manifest team.

false

Cohesiveness refers to the extent to which members of a team are experiencing job satisfaction.

false

Employee involvement teams not only provide advice and suggestions to management but also have the authority to make decisions and solve problems related to the major tasks required to produce a product or service.

false

In general, gainsharing is most effective for self-managing and self-directing teams performing complex tasks, while skill-based pay works best in relatively stable environments where employees can focus on improving the productivity, cost savings, or quality of their current work system.

false

One of the disadvantages of project teams is their lack of flexibility.

false

Since teams should be an end in themselves, it is appropriate to use them in most situations.

false

The three significant disadvantages that teams and teamwork are prone to are initially high turnover, social loafing, and legal risk.

false

Companies are making greater use of teams because teams have been shown to increase (1) customer satisfaction, (2) product and service quality, (3) speed and efficiency in product development, and (4) employee job satisfaction.

true

Conflicts and disagreements often characterize the second stage of team development, which is called storming.

true

Cross-functional teams are purposefully composed of employees from different functional areas of the organization.

true

In many industries, teams are growing in importance because they help organizations respond to specific problems and challenges.

true

In the decision-making process, teams can do a much better job than individuals in defining the problem and generating alternative solutions.

true

Norms are informally agreed-upon standards that regulate team behavior. They are valuable because they let team members know what is expected of them.

true

Self-designing teams have all the characteristics of self-managing teams, but they can also control and change the design of the teams themselves, the tasks they do and how they do them, and who belongs to the teams.

true

Sincere attempts to reach agreement on a difficult issue can quickly deteriorate from cognitive to affective conflict

true

Structural accommodation means giving teams the ability to change organizational structures, policies, and practices if it helps them meet their stretch goals.

true

Team norms may be associated with either positive or negative outcomes for the company.

true

Teams are typically required when tasks are complex, require multiple perspectives, or require repeated interaction with others to complete.

true

The presence of someone with expertise in a group will often cause other group members to withhold efforts.

true

To enhance work team effectiveness, managers should carefully set team goals and priorities and take care when selecting, training, and compensating team members.

true

Virtual teams are often, but not necessarily, temporary teams that are set up to accomplish a specific task.

true