Chapter 18: Managing Work Groups and Teams

Imagine you want to use conflict in a positive way. You decide to create a sense of competition among your team members. Which of these tactics could create competition? Require top producers to share their commissions with their teammates. Throw a company party. Acknowledge top performers in the company newsletter. Hire an outsider to assess performance.

Acknowledge top performers in the company newsletter.

Two of your group members are at odds. They've disagreed so long that the conflict is a chronic problem for your group. Now they want you to referee. What's the best way for you to resolve their conflict in an effective way? Dispute resolution Firing one of the members Smoothing Avoidance

Dispute resolution

Which of the following factors would positively influence a team's sense of cohesion? The group has experienced difficult shared situations. The group is large. The team agrees on goals. Members compete with each other for rewards.

The team agrees on goals.

3M wants to manage processes such as accounting more efficiently. If you were the chief financial officer, what type of group would you form to address this ongoing need? Informal Interest Task Functional

Functional

Lily and Jessica are both members of the account management group at Calabrio. They disagree on the best process to adopt for ongoing client communications. Which form of conflict is their team likely to experience as a result? Interpersonal conflict Interorganizational conflict Personality clash Intergroup conflict

Interpersonal conflict

If you've experienced groups that were close and loyal and groups that weren't, you know how important _____________________ can be to group performance.

cohesiveness

You'll need a team to help you. While your number one goal is to complete the float, you know some of your team members will seek to ______________________________ by using the opportunity for leadership experience.

meet another goal

At Tate & Associates, employees generally work a standard workweek of Monday through Friday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Since you commute from a long distance, you recognize you could work more hours if you could work from home. You and your manager must come to an agreement that meets your needs and those of the organization. You will have to engage in the process of ________________________.

negotiation

John, your group's informal leader, doesn't trust Alicia, the group's communications manager. John feels Alicia tends to overemphasize her own beliefs in group documents, and Alicia believes John is micromanaging the team. This is a classic case of ________________________________.

personality clash

Your teacher asks you to complete a team project. The due date is in 5 weeks, but beyond that, you don't have details on the project deliverables. You are experiencing _________________________.

role ambiguity

IDEO is tasked with developing ideas for new extensions for the company's product. The new group has gotten to know each other, but there are frequent arguments among group members. Jack, the team leader, recognizes that this team can't move forward until it finishes the ________________________process.

storming

Apple and Samsung both claim to have created innovations in smartphone technology. Although Samsung is both Apple's competitor and its partner (supplying parts for Apple products), this situation is laced with interorganizational conflict. Which situation is different? Dell founder Michael Dell vied against a major shareholder to win the right to purchase shareholder stock. Google and Bing operate competing businesses with similar services. Spanx sells its products in its own stores as well as in department stores like Macy's. Amazon demands that manufacturers ensure that Amazon can offer lower prices than any other retailer—even if that lowest price is below the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).

Dell founder Michael Dell vied against a major shareholder to win the right to purchase shareholder stock.

When people negotiate, much of the negotiation is simply beyond control. You can't necessarily control how much power you have or the setting of the actual negotiation. To which type of negotiation approach does this relate? Situational characteristics Cognitive approach Game theory approach Anchoring

Situational characteristics

You are heading the task force from your labor union. The issue? The company doesn't want to offer raises, but the labor union believes employees deserve them. Unfortunately, the employees have few alternatives to their current jobs, meaning the company "holds all the cards." Which approach to negotiation are you facing? Individual differences Situational characteristics Cognitive approach Game theory

Situational characteristics

3M allows employees to spend 15% of their working time on projects that they feel passionate about. Sometimes there is more interest than roles to play on the respective project teams. If, as a manager of one of these special teams, you chose to make volunteers compete for the right to work on your team, which conflict management approach would you be using? Resolving conflict. Eliminating conflict. Controlling conflict. Stimulating conflict.

Stimulating conflict.

At The Martin Agency, employees dress casually on most days. But if a client or prospective client will be on site, professional dress is expected—that is, except for the creative department. They only appear in jeans. This is an example of _______________________________.

norm variation