Chapter 9 - Groups and Teams

Explanation: A) Shared responsibility for goals is one factor that teams have but groups don't.

1) Groups and teams differ primarily on which factor? A) Shared responsibility for goals B) Basic unit of coordinating work in organizations C) Accomplish tasks that can't be effectively performed by an individual D) Operate within organizations

Explanation: A) Organizations can provide many sources of support for their groups such as coaching, designing rewards and recognition systems, and increasing their autonomy.

10) Which of the following is not an organizational source of support for groups? A) Diversity B) Coaching C) Rewards or recognition D) Increasing autonomy

Explanation: C) As with other skills and abilities, the ability to function effectively as a team member is a competency that is learned.

11) The ability to function as a team member is a competency that is ________. A) Innate B) Natural C) Learned D) Emergent

Explanation: B) Norms serve an important social and psychological function in many ways and this can influence the individual's behavior.

12) Individuals change their behavior to conform to group norms because norms serve an important ________ and ________ function. A) Group; social B) Psychological; social C) Interactive; influential D) Physiological; belonging n.

Explanation: D) Trust is an important interpersonal or maintenance norm that facilitates presenting new ideas and believing that teammates will fulfill their commitments.

13) If a team lead wants their group members to share ideas more freely and share in a sense that their teammates will follow through with their commitments, which interpersonal or maintenance norm should they develop within the team? A) Task B) Accountability C) Creativity D) Trust

Explanation: B) As groups progress through the levels of Tuckman's five-stage model, development involves a relatively predictable sequence of changes in group norms.

14) According to Tuckman's model, what changes at each level of group development? A) Feelings of interconnectedness B) Group norms C) Group satisfaction D) Leader workload

Explanation: C) One major criticism of Tuckman's five-stage model of group development is that group development doesn't conform to a specified timeline and does not account for the pressure of deadlines and other project constraints.

15) Which of the following is a major criticism of Tuckman's five-stage model of group development? A) It only explains the psychological factors that impact group development B) It doesn't describe how psychological norms develop in groups C) Group development doesn't conform to a specified timeline D) Groups may get stuck at the Storming stage

Explanation: A) A strength of Tuckman's five-stage is the explanation of how psychological norms develop and change in a group over time.

16) Which of the following does Tuckman's five-stage model explain particularly well? A) Explain how psychological norms develop in a group B) Explain how behavior changes over time spent working together C) Predict behaviors and contributions of group members at different points in the project D) Explains how group members influence one another over time

Explanation: D) Phase 2 of the punctuated equilibrium model of group development is characterized by high productivity at least partially caused by a looming deadline. Productivity will increase even more at the very end of Phase 2 to meet expectations of external parties.

17) According to the punctuated equilibrium model, in which step/phase is group productivity the highest? A) Norming B) Adjourning C) Phase 1 D) Phase 2

Explanation: B) The Delphi technique requires the leader to coordinate from among the different group members, so this method is structured well for employees working from remote locations.

18) Which decision making process is structured to work best for employees working remotely? A) Virtual decision making B) Delphi technique C) Brainstorming asynchronously D) Nominal group technique

Explanation: A) The polarization effect predicts that groups make riskier or more conservative decisions than would their individual members working alone. The polarization effect uses peer pressure to explain this change in behavior.

19) Which effect predicts that you will make riskier or more conservative decisions in a group than you will on your own? A) Polarization B) Peer pressure C) Groupthink D) Majority rules

Explanation: A) A team is always a group but a group isn't always a team. The definition of a team can be viewed as a group plus additional factors such as shared goals and accountability.

2) Which of the following statements about groups and teams is correct? A) A team is always a group but a group isn't always a team B) A group operates independently but a team almost always operates in the larger organizational context C) A team will have an assigned leader but a group will have an emergent leader D) A group's function is social while a team's function is work

Explanation: C) This group seems to be suffering from groupthink because they don't explore alternate plans or listen to dissenting viewpoints.

20) You strongly disagree with the course of action your group has decided on but when you speak up in the first meeting, you are hushed. Your group never explores alternate plans or attempts to identify flaws in the plan they have chosen. After being hushed, you don't feel that you can express your dissent, and even if you do, it won't matter because you're sure you won't be heard. The group seems to be suffering from ________. A) The fallacy of principle belief B) Poor communication C) Groupthink D) Primary choice favoritism

Explanation: D) Psychological safety is even more important for virtual teams because they don't communicate or interact on a regular basis or have the chance to build trust.

21) Because of their structure and the lack of regular meetings, ________ becomes even more important for virtual teams than for more traditionally structured teams. A) Face-to-face meetings B) Frequent virtual communications C) Extraversion D) Psychological safety

Explanation: B) Both the social loafing and free riding effects are based on one or more people doing less work than other group members because the accountability for the completed result is not theirs alone. Instead, others are willing to take on more work themselves to accomplish the work instead of holding the loafer accountable for completing their portion within the group.

22) Why do the social loafing and free rider effect say that the same individual will do less work in a group than on their own? A) The more talented people in the group don't want them to drag them down so they push them aside B) There is no one else to take responsibility or be held accountable for your work when you are working on your own C) Everyone does less work in a group than on their own because there are more people to distribute the tasks D) Peer pressure doesn't exclude them when they are working individually

Explanation: C) A group that recognizes that each person has their own contribution to make based on their diverse background is least likely to suffer from the common-knowledge effect as a barrier to effective decision making. Each individual member's viewpoint is valued in order to pool the group's knowledge as the decision is made.

23) A group that embraces the individual diversity of its members and encourages each member to contribute their own ideas is least likely to experience which effect? A) Peer pressure effect B) Polarization effect C) Common-knowledge effect D) Groupthink effect

Explanation: D) The factor missing in these groupthink situations is critical thinking. Peer pressure prevents dissenters from presenting their views and the group's critical thinking is severely compromised.

24) History has numerous examples of groupthink occurring with catastrophic consequences. What was the common factor to be found missing in many major disasters involving groupthink such as the Shuttle Challenger explosion? A) Peer pressure B) Polarization C) Brainstorming D) Critical thinking

Explanation: B) The teams used by this design firm are project teams because each contract is a separate project with a specific focus on one client's needs.

25) A graphic art firm that designs billboards assigns one team to work on each client contract. What type of team does this firm use? A) Management B) Project C) Implementation D) Production

Explanation: D) Three sets of factors relate to group effectiveness: purpose and type, context and composition, and internal factors.

3) Which of the following is not a factor that relates to group effectiveness? A) Purpose and type B) Context and composition C) Internal factors D) Experience and leadership

Explanation: B) Coaching and support are two factors external to the group that is associated with success in groups.

4) What are two external factors associated with success in groups? A) Production and action B) Coaching and support C) Training and leadership D) Effective communication and good interpersonal dynamics

Explanation: C) This would be an example of a project team because their work has a specific time bound purpose which is to demolish a building within the contracted time period.

5) A demolition crew's job is to bring down old buildings. The employees work together in a coordinated effort to clear the site of the building within the time specified in their contract. This demolition crew is an example of what type of team? A) Executive B) Deconstruction C) Project D) Production

Explanation: B) Firefighters responding to an emergency are classified as an action and performance team. Their job focuses on a single performance, the emergency situation at hand, and they work together using their skills to be able to respond to the task before them. The coordination required is immense and must be done very quickly.

6) Firefighters have to work together using their highly specialized skills to respond to each unique emergency situation effectively. Firefighters are an example of what type of team? A) Project B) Action and performance C) Short-term D) Parallel

Explanation: A) Production teams focus on improving the production or operational performance via increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of ongoing operations. Service teams focus on addressing the ongoing needs of customers. The common element between service teams and production teams is that they address ongoing issues in the organization instead of short-term projects.

7) In what way are production teams and service teams similar? A) They both focus on improving ongoing aspects of the business B) They both focus on improving aspects of employee interactions C) They both focus on meeting short-term goals of the business D) The names can be used interchangeably

Explanation: B) The three major types of coaching are process, behavioral, and developmental.

8) What are the three major types of coaching? A) Initial, ongoing, turnover B) Process, behavioral, developmental C) Storming, norming, performing D) Positive, neutral, negative

Explanation: B) A group with members holding diverse key characteristics such as gender, education level, functional specialty, and age, is a heterogeneous group.

9) What kind of group is composed of members who differ on gender, education level, functional specialty, and age? A) Analogous B) Heterogeneous C) Homologous D) Homogenous