Mgt 3023: Understanding Work Teams

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

Teams dominated with high cultural status individuals improve performance for every member.

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.

Which of the following is not part of the process of the team effectiveness model?

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

The controller role in a team is responsible for ________.

examining details and enforcing rules

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 work team is characterized by ________.

the availability of complementary skills among members

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 regarding self-managed work teams?

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

________ 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

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

When teams have excess members, cohesiveness declines.

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

Work teams generate positive synergy through coordinated effort.

Work groups are characterized by ________.

the goal of sharing information among members

The adviser role in a team is responsible for ________.

encouraging the search for more information

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

helping the team achieve small successes

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, one of the firm's oldest and most experienced employees, has demonstrated considerable ability in developing the best programs, but he prefers to work alone. The company does not wish to lose resources like Sanchez and others who lack the ability to work in groups, but teamwork is essential to its reorganization. Which of the following strategies will help rectify this problem?

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

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

task conflicts

Work should be performed by an individual if ________.

the work is simple and does not require diverse input

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

virtual teams