BUAD309 Exam 2

Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, an European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy can help them overcome and even profitably use this opportunity for hiking fares. Which of the following statements, if true, would denote the occurrence of groupshift in Joe's opinions during the meeting?

Joe determined that the best strategy would be to slash prices and minimize all fringes that are used for customer service.

Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, an European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy can help them overcome and even profitably use this opportunity for hiking fares. Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument that Joe experienced groupshift during the meeting?

Joe suggested adding a fuel surcharge to all tickets for commercial flights with immediate effect.

Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, an European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy can help them overcome, and even profitably use, this opportunity for hiking fares. Which of the following statements, if true, would denote the occurrence of groupshift in Mark's opinions during the meeting?

Mark proposed that the prices be hiked and additional customer service measures be included so costumers have the best experience flying with EuAir.

Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, an European airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in 2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy can help them overcome and even profitably use this opportunity for hiking fares. Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument that Mark experienced groupshift in the meeting?

Mark stated that the company should increase operations but at lower fares so they can regain control over the market share.

Hank Murphy was selected to develop an advanced personal communication device with his own self-managed work team. Hank was assured that resource allocation and timelines were flexible for this project provided the work was a cut above that provided by the rest of the employees. As a part of the project guidelines, Hank included the demand that the device being developed by the team should also be marketed exclusively by them without resorting to franchising or cobranding. This was to ensure that customers recognized the product as reflecting the values of their company. Work on this project began with a lot of vigor and once the device was developed, Hank's team implemented their marketing strategy. However, even three months after the product's release, visibility remained low in the market and many reviewers did not consider the device to be much of an innovation. Which of the following statements, if true, would indicate a lack of reflexivity in Hank's self-managed work team?

The device was later marketed as a part of a national level tie-up with E-store outlets and did remarkably well in its second stint in the market.

ICE is a non-profit organization that runs awareness campaigns and research programs that provide data to initiate the process of legislative changes on various aspects of the environment like forest cover, nuclear fuel, endangered species and others. The ICE operates through networks of grass-root level researchers who are grouped into flexible project teams whose roles and duties change with each new project. The ICE believes its employees to be like family and an informal environment pervades its functioning without any compromises being made in the efficiency. Recently, the project manager of the rainwater harvesting pilot project in the suburbs has been informed of two delays in the project. When the third extension request came to him, he looked into the matter by speaking individually with the five team members. Which of the following complaints by the team members, if true, would indicate the presence of social loafing in the team?

Two of the most experienced employees on the team reported having to shoulder a disproportionate amount of the current workload and asked for an internal transfer.

which of the following is true with regard to the five-stage group development model?

a positive social focus may aid a group in reaching the performing stage more rapidly

which of the following statements best defines a work group?

a work group interacts primarily to share information, rather than to engage in work that requires joint effort

according to the status characteristics theory, which of the following factors does not determine status?

ability to conform to group norms

when _____ is of importance in decision making, group decisions are preferred to individual decisions

acceptance of solution

Jean Wills, a trainer with Leverage Inc., is infuriated because the conference hall that she had booked for her morning session with a new batch of trainees will be occupied by the HR team for the day. Jean feels that the company only superficially commits to training and that it is not a priority as this lack of facilities for training is a recurring phenomenon. Recently, she had asked the HR department to supply printed copies of her material for the orientation and training modules to the new trainees, and HR refused, saying the soft copies available on the systems would suffice. Which of the following contextual areas is the source of problem between the training department and the HR department in this scenario?

adequate resources

with reference to the expectancy theory, which of the following examples indicates a weak rewards-personal goals relationship?

an employee works hard in order to be relocated to the paris office but instead is transferred to beijing

which of the following statements is true regarding the effect of size of the group has on the performance of the group?

as compared to smaller groups, larger groups are better in problem solving

Jason Jones has been asked to assemble an eight-member self-managed work team of experienced employees to work on a project that combines the functional areas of research, production, marketing, and distribution. Jason is apprehensive about managing a team so large; he knows from prior experience that larger teams do not always result in greater productivity. Jason has also been informed by the management that this team is being established as the project must progress according to the predetermined timeline. The work lagging behind by one division will cause a cumulative delay in all the successive stages of the project's execution. Which of the following measures, if adopted by Jason, would best ensure that the team members are working efficiently?

assigning the specific tasks of the project to each member by keeping in mind their preference and abilities

Like many other marketing strategy specialists, Mark Fritz relies heavily on creativity and originality. Members of his team are selected on the basis of their ability to think divergently, and Mark often conducts activities to ensure that this ability is developed. For instance, before any new project, Mark invites his team to sit together and churn out possible ideas about the new product, its theme, and ways in which it can be projected best in the market. These sessions usually provide him with a bank of potential ideas from which the team selects some strong concepts and develops them into a campaign. To encourage freedom in these sessions, Mark has a no-evaluation policy. This is an example of ________.

brainstorming

which of the following statements is true regarding brainstorming?

brainstorming can overcome the pressures for conformity

Araceli is a team member in a large corporation. She never speaks in team meetings because she has seen members talk behind each others' 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?

climate of trust

with reference to the team effectiveness model, which of the following is one of the key components of an effective team, included under the category of contextual factors?

climate of trust

_____ refers to the degree to which members are attracted to each other and motivated to stay in the group

cohesiveness

which of the following is not one of the key components of effective teams?

company reputation

when _____, the result is role conflict

compliance with one role requirement may make it difficult to comply with another

_____ refers to the adjustment of one's behavior to align with the norms of the group

conformity

people scoring high on _____ are valuable in teams because they're good at backing up fellow team members and at sensing wen their support is truly needed

conscientiousness

which of the following pairs of personality dimensions contribute to high team effectiveness

conscientiousness and openness to experience

which of the following represents the three general categories into which the key components of effective teams are grouped?

context, composition, and process factors

GoAir, a low-cost airline, has created a team made up of employees from production, planning, quality control, tooling, design engineering, and information systems to automate the company's C-17 program. This team is most likely to be an example of a ________ team.

cross-functional

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.

cross-functional

which of the following teams is more likely to be made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level but different work areas?

cross-functional

which of the following statements is true regarding a cross-functional team?

cross-functional teams are used for developing new ideas and coordinating complex projects

which of the following is true with regard to the impact of diversity on team effectiveness?

cultural diversity serves as an asset for tasks that call for a variety of viewpoints once the team has worked out its differences

which of the following represents the major determinants of group development and functioning as depicted by the punctuated-equilibrium model?

deadlines and time constraints

which of the following terms best represents voluntary actions that violate significant organizational norms and, in doing so, threaten the well-being of the organization of its members?

deviant workplace behavior

the existence of dissimilar mental models is likely to lead to _____

disagreements over the methods to be applied for task completion

which of the following is a contributing factor with regard to social loafing

dispersion of responsibility

With a deadline approaching, all seven members of Sharon's product development team were working round-the-clock and still the work was not completed in time. After the project was completed, Sharon spoke individually with the members to determine the cause for this delay. Many members complained saying the work given to them was not in accordance with their roles, some were unclear about which team member to approach when faced with a problem, and many underestimated the time and effort the project demanded. This team is characterized by ________.

dissimilar mental models

_____ is defined as the extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different from, one another

diversity

which of the following statements is true regarding the norming stage of group development?

during this stage, the group develops a common set of expectations of what defines correct member behavior

Jason Jones has been asked to assemble an eight-member self-managed work team of experienced employees to work on a project that combines the functional areas of research, production, marketing, and distribution. Jason is apprehensive about managing a team so large; he knows from prior experience that larger teams do not always result in greater productivity. Jason has also been informed by the management that this team is being established as the project must progress according to the predetermined timeline. The work lagging behind by one division will cause a cumulative delay in all the successive stages of the project's execution. Jason plans to implement a group-based incentive that he feels would motivate each of the team members to work efficiently. Which of the following is an assumption made by Jason in implementing this plan?

each employee in the team is motivated to work equally hard to ensure that the group's performance is satisfactory

which of the following statements is true with regard to team processes?

effective teams invest time and effort to discuss and agree on a purpose that belongs to them both collectively and individually

ABL is one of the largest consumer goods companies in the country and it recently held its annual conference where members of all regional divisions were invited. Since the company is vast and rarely finds all its employees together in such a manner, it used this opportunity to present to them certain new ideas they had regarding various aspects of their functioning. Large meetings with each regional team were held to provide them with information about the proposed changes and to obtain their anonymous votes through computers. This helped the company speed up the decision-making process and consolidate the results immediately. Which of the following group decision techniques did ABL use here?

electronic meeting approach

the adviser role in a team is responsible for

encouraging the search for more information

which of the following is desirable when a crucial project is delegated to a virtual team?

engaging in close monitoring of the work being done by the team throughout the project

which of the following is an effective means of countering social loafing?

ensuing that individual contributions to the group's outcome are identified

the controller role in a team is responsible for

examining details and enforcing rules

role _____ is defined as the way others believe you should act in a given context

expectation

the determination of the behavioral patterns and assumptions through which the group approaches the project is a function of the _____ phase in the punctuated-equilibrium model

first meeting

which of the following statements is most likely to be true regarding the performing stage?

for permanent work groups, performing is the last stage in development

which of the following differentiates between formal and informal groups?

formal groups involve clearly defined tasks and roles, while informal groups are neither formally structured nor organizationally determined

which of the following stages of the five-stage group development model is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the group's purpose, structure, and leadership?

forming

an informal group is characterized by the _____

fulfillment of the need for social contact

which of the following reward systems is likely to reinforce team effort and commitment

gainsharing

which of the following statements is true regarding a culturally diverse team?

generally, newly formed culturally diverse teams underperform as compared to newly formed culturally homogenous teams

the extensive use of work teams benefits organizations by _____

generating a potential for creating greater outputs without increasing inputs

groupshift is seen when _____

group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions they hold when discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving at a solution

The HR department at Bailey Services is considering offering telecommuting as an option to some experienced employees. At a meeting to formalize the move, the heads of the different departments met with Laura Watson, the HR manager. Laura, who thought this meeting would be a short one, was proven wrong when all the members, who had previously agreed that telecommuting would work in their company, began coming up with divergent views. By the end, two divisions claimed having major concerns about allowing employees to telecommute, and those in favor of it were equally vocal. This scenario depicts the operation of ________.

groupshift

in discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving at a solution, group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions they hold. this phenomenon is called _____

groupshift

Sonia Soans is corporate trainer. One of her favorite ways to start a training program is to present a case study and encourage members to think of the case in depth and discuss it amongst each other. Using the results of the activity she understands the baseline measures of the group's functioning. During one of her recent sessions, she observed that the group came to a consensus very quickly. However, when asked to present their views, the team members were not too confident and appeared to be under an illusion of unanimity. From the scenario, we can say that this group experienced ________.

groupthink

_____ is defined as a phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action

groupthink

which of the following is most likely to increase team efficacy?

helping the team achieve small successes

according to the concept of organizational demography, if team members have dissimilar experiences, it will lead to _____

higher employee turnover

which of the following statements is true regarding team composition?

in successful teams, members should be selected to ensure all the various roles are filled

which of the following statements is true regarding self-managed work teams?

in the case of self-managed work teams, the supervisory positions take on decreased importance

Aaron Dias was working on the last shift for the day at All Needs, a retail store owned by an Asian man, when he opened the cash register and stole some money thinking that nobody would witness him stealing. However, one of the customer attendants watched him steal the money and reported it to the manager the next day, following which Aaron was terminated. Subsequently, the manager became extremely strict with all his Caucasian employees and was often heard abusing them saying "you guys are all the same." This scenario depicts ________.

in-group favoritism

At Milton farms, where a large part of the management comes from the same sociocultural background, many employees of diverse ethical or cultural origins are hired only to ensure legal compliance with laws relating to diversity at the workplace. The company's day-to-day functioning leaves much to be desired in terms of promoting diversity. Recently, the owner's cousin was promoted to the post of a branch manager while three suitable candidates hailing from a different cultures were blatantly overlooked. This is an example of ________.

in-group favoritism

_____ is defined as the tendency to see members of the group of which we are a part of as better than other people

in-group favoritism

which of the following is an advantage of group decision making when compared to individual decision making?

increased diversity of views

A software development firm has witnessed substantial growth and seeks to expand and reorganize its structure to meet the demands from clients in a better manner. HR has been given a clear directive that one of the major criteria for selection of recruits would be the candidate's ability to function as a team player. This is because the company is revamping all its major functions from the traditional departmental model to an arrangement of flexible teams. Joe Sanchez is one of their oldest and most experienced employees who demonstrated considerable ability in developing the best programs but the problem with him is that he prefers to work alone. The company does not wish to lose resources like him and others who lack the ability to work in groups but team work is essential in their reorganization. Which of the following strategies will help rectify this problem?

informing all employees that ability to work in teams will be major determinant for promotions and bonuses

Hubert Gray needs an instruction manual developed for his new product. This is the last step of the project and he has severe budget constraints. He needs a small team of technical writers to work together closely to write the manual on fairly short notice. He needs them to communicate ideas quickly, creatively, and affordably. Which of the following group techniques should Hubert consider?

interacting and brainstorming

the work of your group would be better done in teams if the members of the team are

interdependent

the second stage of the five-stage group development model is characterized by _____

intragroup conflict within the group

which of the following statements is true with regard to the punctuated-equilibrium model of group development?

it characterizes groups as exhibiting long periods of inertia interspersed with brief revolutionary changes

which of the following is true with regard to the social identity theory?

it proposes that people have emotional reactions to the failure or success of their group because their self-esteem is tied into the group's performance

which of the following is an example of a task conflict?

linda and dorothy had a disagreement over which of their employees should be assigned to work on a high-priority project

virtual teams are characterized by _____ in comparison to teams which interact face-to-face

low social rapport and direct interaction

Shane Dermott is a manager at a software design firm that develops software programs for clients using multiple teams of specialists. One of his most successful teams has been performing very well for years and so it came as a surprise to Shane when he noticed a sharp drop in the team's performance. He decided to speak with the team individually and find a solution. After interviewing all 7 team members, he determined that one of the team members performed routine administrative tasks that were hardly visible to any of the other team members and understood that this was a case of social loafing which demotivated the entire group. Which of the following would most likely improve the performance of the employee who was social loafing?

making him individually responsible for definite and crucial tasks

_____ are defined as organized cognitive representations of the key elements within a team's environment that team members share

mental models

in which of the following teams is leadership of most importance to coordinate the efforts of various teams in order to produce a desired outcome?

multiteam systems

which of the following will be useful in creating team players?

negotiation training

Bonnie Patterson is a manager for seven years at Wayne and Watson, a legal consultancy firm. A good part of her work day involves holding meetings and she likes to get work on a time-bound schedule. For this reason, members of her team receive the agenda at the beginning of the meeting, followed by some time to contemplate over the issue at hand individually. Subsequently, the team members present their ideas one after the another, the group discusses them together, and lastly, a ranking is done to choose the most favored idea. This represents the ________ approach of group decision making.

nominal groups

a group decision-making method in which individual members meet face-to-face to pool their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion is the _____ technique

nominal groups

which of the following represents the acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group's members?

norms

which of the following terms describes the degree to which members of a work unit share a common demographic attribute, such as age, sex, race, educational level, or length of service?

organizational demography

role perception is defined as _____

our view of how we are supposed to act in a given situation

which of the following statements is true regarding the effect of status on conformity pressure?

people in high-status jobs have especially negative reactions to social pressure exerted by people in low-status jobs

when the group energy is focused on the task at hand and the group is fully functional, it is said to be in the stage of _____

performing

MBO provides individual employees with _____

personal performance objectives

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?

personality of team members

organizational demography suggests that attributes such as age or the date of joining should help the organization in _____

predicting employee turnover in the company

The supervisors of the production division of one of the branches of Georgia Mills have been informed of some irregularities noticed in inventory of raw materials by some trusted subordinates. To get a clearer picture, the supervisors had a quick meeting with the subordinates who reported the matter over lunch. The subordinates recommended rotating the schedule of employees who account for the incoming and used up stock so as to pinpoint the defaulting employee. The supervisors agreed that this was a good strategy but admitted that the matter must be escalated to the production manager before such a change can be implemented. They followed up this meeting with subsequent sessions to evaluate how the change worked. The supervisors and subordinates form a(n) ________ team in this scenario.

problem-solving

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 going to be a(n) _____ team

problem-solving

problem-solving teams can _____

provide recommendations after a discussion amongst department members

the important groups to which an individual belongs or hopes to belong are known as _____ groups

reference

Jonas Wilkes has struggled for many years with tight finances at home. Throughout school and college, he worked really hard, earned the best grades, and prepared himself for a better life. By a better life, he meant a house in the uptown Wellington Road and a membership in the Diamond District Club where he envisions himself playing golf on weekends. The residents of Wellington Road and the members of Diamond District Club serve as a ________ for him.

reference group

While discussing their marketing campaign for a new product, the members of the cross-functional team responsible for Carver Inc. realized that a couple of changes relating to their prior plan would be beneficial. The offer of a franchising that had earlier been brushed off by the company head was discussed thoroughly and it was decided that it would be implemented on a trial basis initially, and on full scale if found to work well. From the information provided, it can be concluded that this cross-functional team has a high degree of ________.

reflexivity

a team that has a good plan, but is also willing to adjust their master plan and adapt when conditions call for it demonstrates high _____, an important variable in successful team processes

reflexivity

which of the following must be avoided if one wants to create and maintain an effective team?

relationship conflicts

diversity is an asset for teams where tasks _____

require a variety of viewpoints

A local government work crew cleans up parks and other public spaces. In this crew the dirtiest jobs are generally given to the newest members, while the more senior members of the crew tend to do little except draw their pay. Which of the following classes of norms encompasses arrangements like this?

resource allocation norms

Michael is devout and very active in his church. He is also a very dedicated employee. His manager offers him a promotion but the new role will require him to work Sundays. Michael would like the promotion, but realizes that it would force him to miss some church activities. In this situation, Michael is most likely to experience ________.

role conflict

most people assume that a police officer should behave in a lawful manner, refrain from demonstrating favoritism to any particular group, and do their best to uphold the law. which of the following terms best represents these beliefs??

role expectation

Janice Cooper has recently joined a hospital as a part of the internship program prescribed by the nursing school she attends. Janice, who was inspired to take up this profession by the story of Florence Nightingale, had very strong ideals about how she should behave as a nurse. She felt that as a nurse, she must be gentle, pleasant, and caring at all times so she could serve her patients well, and she often went to great lengths as an intern by putting in extra hours at the hospital and so on. The scenario reflects Janice's ________.

role perception

if we consider maslow's hierarchy of needs in the context of japan, greece, and mexico, where uncertainty-avoidance characteristics are strong then _____ needs would be on top of thehierarchy.

security

which of the following steps can be taken by a manager so as to minimize groupthink?

seeking input from employees before the group leader presents his opinions

which of the following needs in maslow's hierarchy refers to the drive to become what one is capable of becoming?

self-actualization

_____ refers to an individual's belief that he or she is capable of performing a task

self-efficacy

Nick, the director of manufacturing at a large electronics company, has created a team of eleven employees from quality control for working on high priority projects. Nick gives the team members the responsibility of planning and scheduling their own work, and making all functional decisions. Also, members of this team evaluate each other's performance. This is an example of a ________ team.

self-managed work

_____ teams are defined as groups of employees who perform highly related or interdependent jobs and take on many of the responsibilities of their former supervisors

self-managed work

the goal of work groups is _____

sharing relevant information

the _____ norms dictate behavior such as with whom group members eat lunch and friendships on and off the job

social arrangement

our tendency to take personal pride or offense for the accomplishments of a group we are a part of, is the territory of the _____ theory

social identity

Gerald Murphy is a manager at Wright & Wayner, a publishing house which is a very employee-friendly company. The demarcation between managers and subordinates is flexible and the nature of these reporting relationships is flexible and informal. Gerald recently assigned five of eight of his subordinates to work on a new publication project with a fairly tight deadline because he believed that these efficient employees would function even better with each other's support. A week before the deadline, however, Gerald realized that the group had been shirking work as each of the members thought that the project was not just his/her responsibility. Additionally, under the guise of working together, the team was actually doing their personal work, surfing the Internet, or just socializing. This scenario reflects ________.

social loafing

When faced with a number of tight deadlines, Mandy Moore often delegates work collectively. Recently she chose some fairly experienced employees to work on a high-priority project. She was heartened to see that the selected group of employees was having numerous meetings and working hard. However, when she went to check on their progress at the halfway mark in the project schedule, she was shocked to see how little the team had done in the past three weeks. This scenario reflects ________.

social loafing

_____ illustrates a process loss from using teams

social loafing

when individuals engage in _____, they coast on the group's effort because their particular contributions cannot be identified

social loafing

which of the following terms indicates the tendency of individuals to spend less effort when working collectively?

social loafing

which of the following is true with regard to social loafing?

social loafing is witnessed less in collectivist cultures where people take pride in group performance

status refers to the _____

socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others

effective teams translate their common purpose into _____ goals

specific

group decision making has a disadvantage in the area of _____, when compared to individual decision making

speed

Alberto's team is developing a database for the water pollution data of three cities. Before he begins on this intensive project, he wants to improve the team efficacy of his team. Which of the following actions can Alberto take to increase team efficacy before the project starts?

spend considerable time evaluating team members and allocating proper roles for each

by the end of the stage of _____, a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership within the group is established

storming

which of the following represents the second stage in the five-stage group development model?

storming

which of the following is true with regard to use of individuals and teams?

task complexity and requirement of different perspectives must be used as criteria when assigning work to teams over individuals and vice versa

when teams are performing nonroutine activities, _____ stimulate discussion, promote critical assessment of problems and options, and can lead to better team decisions

task conflicts

according to the team effectiveness model, which of the following is a process variable that influences effectiveness of a team?

team efficacy

the belief that effective teams have in their ability to succeed is called

team efficacy

in the context of the social identity theory, distinctiveness refers to the _____

tendency of in-group members to notice and emphasize identities that reflect how different they are from other groups

status is a characteristic under the social identity theory that reflects the _____

tendency of people to link themselves to groups of higher social standing in an attempt to define themselves favorably

uncertainty reduction is a dimension of the social identity theory that manifests itself in the _____

tendency of people to use the group as a means of understanding who they are and how they fit into the world

Similarity is a characteristic under the social identity theory that manifests itself in the _____

tendency of people who have greater uniformity in values and characteristics to have greater group identification as well

a work team is characterized by _____

the availability of complementary skills among members

Elle Appliances has recently released its "Elite" cooking range. The cooking appliances were advertised extensively with offers for early-bird buyers and assured refunds if the goods were found defective. This resulted in a lot of hype surrounding the goods and high levels of projected demand in the market. However, after its release in the market, the products failed to substantially add to the company's profits. When the venture failed to recover even the minimum projected returns, the marketing manager blamed the production department for the delays in production, while the production manager claimed that he was doing his best to dispatch stock on the predetermined days. Which of the following best explains the failure of this venture by Elle?

the company followed a low inventory system

the first phase of group development for temporary groups involves _____

the determination of the group's direction

work groups are characterized by _____

the goal of sharing information among members

during the third stage of group development _____

the group demonstrates cohesiveness

which of the following is an example of performance norms?

the manner in which a job must be done

which of the following statements represents a strategy that is desirable for making effective teams?

the preference of individual members to work as a part of groups must be considered when forming teams

work should be performed by an individual if _____

the work is simple and does not require diverse output

which of the following is true regarding formal groups?

they are market by stipulated behaviors in pursuit of organizational goals

the current popularity of teams can be attributed to the fact that _____

they represent a better way to use employee talents

Tabby Tolman is a project coordinator at Tristar Solutions. Whenever a new project comes her way, she holds a project meeting and follows it up with repeated meetings to address any concerns the team may have and to monitor their progress. However, with the peak of the business season arriving, she has been holding just one project initiation meeting for every project to save on time. She has become increasingly worried about the team's progress with no inputs coming from the members and she has had no time to check with them. With two weeks left to go for a high priority project of a month's duration, she has now begun to see some work coming through and is relieved. This development reflects that the group is at the stage of ________.

transition following the halfway mark in the timeline

Diane Fielding, owner of the famous "Mint" chain of restaurants, planned to revamp the whole concept and structure of her outlets. With this purpose in mind, she selected five managers from her existing outlets based on their performance in relation to targets, experience, and motivation. Each manager was asked to take up an aspect of the restaurant's functioning like menu, décor, and customer service measures. Diane was sure that this group of high performers possessed a clear understanding of the ground realities which made them the best candidates to contemplate and implement the required changes. In order to reward them, she announced a hefty bonus for their collective performance. Six months later, after the changes were implemented, Diane realized that the group had made many questionable decisions which were resulting in problems. Which of the following, if true, would best explain this outcome?

typically, these managers viewed each other as competition as diane only rewarded the highest earning outlet with incentives

which of the following types of teams allows for collaboration between team members who are physically dispersed?

virtual teams

which of the following statements is true regarding the effect of group cohesiveness and performance norms on group productivity?

when both cohesiveness and performance norms are high, productivity will be high

which of the following statements is true regarding size of teams?

when teams have excess members, cohesiveness declines

which of the following is true with regard to deviant workplace behavior?

widespread deviant workplace behavior depends on the accepted norms of the group

which of the following accurately differentiates between work groups and work teams?

work teams generate a potential for an organization to generate greater outputs with no increase in inputs, while work groups cannot perform this function

which of the following statements is true regarding a work team?

work teams generate positive synergy through coordinated effort