Chapter 11 Quiz

Which of the following are benefits of brainstorming when compared to nominal group technique?

Brainstorming is more fun. Brainstorming can create a positive organizational climate. Brainstorming can encourage talented and highly skilled employees to remain in an organization

Joshua, a member of your dorm council, has been a very disruptive group member-- speaking out of turn, dominating discussions, making inappropriate remarks, and quarreling with other council members. Which of the following are recommendations for dealing effectively with Joshua?

Confront Joshua about his disruptive behavior after the council meeting Be unconditionally constructive; refuse to be sidetracked

Which of the following is an effective technique for dealing with troublesome group members?

Confront the person directly

Consensus decision-making has which of the following disadvantages?

It is time consuming to arrive at a consensus

Disadvantages of majority rule include all of the following EXCEPT

It is time consuming to arrive at a majority decision

Which of the following statements about synergy is/are true?

Synergy is more likely to occur in groups with diversity in skills and abilities than groups with little diversity Synergy is the product of group members who are highly motivated to achieve a strongly desired common goal

Which of the following regarding roles and teams is/are true?

The leader role in teams is usually designated in advance

Which of the following are necessary conditions for group problem solving?

a cooperative expectation relaxing deadlines promoting creativity

Achieving consensus (the unanimity rule) requires

a state of mutual agreement among members of a group where all legitimate concerns have been addressed full discussion of issues

Consensus decision making means that

all members agree to the final decision or group choice all legitimate concerns of group members are addressed

Janis offers all of the following suggestions to prevent groupthink EXCEPT

assign several leaders to the team

Ways to diminish or eliminate social loafing include

choose meaningful tasks confront the loafer

The state of mutual agreement among members of a group where all legitimate concerns have been addressed to the satisfaction of the group is

consensus

When juries make decisions in most criminal trials they employ which of the following decision-making rules?

consensus

Which of the following are specific methods for problem solving and brainstorming?

encourage freewheeling idea generation

Team creativity can be promoted in which of the following ways?

establishing challenges for the team

Groupthink occurs because of

excessive cohesiveness and excessive concurrence seeking. discouragement of disagreement and dissent

Diverse groups lead to better decision-making

false

Essentially there are no differences between a small group and a team

false

Every group is a team, but not every team is a group

false

Every team is a group and every group is a team

false

Goals established by outsiders or a team leader usually gain greater commitment than those established by team members

false

Group creativity is enhanced by establishing a competitive atmosphere

false

Majority rule ensures an equal dispersion of power

false

Social loafing is a symptom of shyness

false

Synergy is the sum of individual efforts in a group

false

Team creativity is enhanced by unstructured methods of problem solving

false

The most popular decision-making strategy in the United States is consensus

false

The nominal group technique offers, in addition to the generation of creative ideas, more benefits than brainstorming

false

Virtual groups are effective because they require less rigidity and norms than face-to-face groups

false

Suggestions to help guide a team toward achieving consensus include:

follow the standard agenda

Brainstorming can be used as a credible way to solve problems. Rules for effective brainstorming include all of the following EXCEPT

freewheeling should be discouraged

Social loafing

increases as the size of a group becomes larger

Majority Rule

is the most popular method of decision making used in the U.S. could lead to a competitive power struggle within the group may lead to making a decision too quickly

Chief drawbacks of the unanimity rule (consensus) include all of the following EXCEPT

it is not relevant for important decisions

Sally has been elected to the search committee for the Dean of the College of Communication. After reading resumes and interviewing candidates the committee forwards its comments on to the president of the university where she works. The president then makes the final decision. This is what type of decision making?

minority rule

Cooperative goals

necessitate a "We-orientation" can be more challenging for groups in individualist cultures require putting aside personal agendas

Asking questions such as "Could the problem be described in any other way?" or "Why are these the only choices?" are examples of which type(s) of creative problem solving?

reframing

Characteristics of a social loafer include all of the following EXCEPT:

shyness

A member of your group rarely participates during discussions, often is tardy, and never pulls his weight on group projects. He is a

social loafer "bad apple" group member.

Social loafing is

the tendency of team members to reduce their work effort [when they join groups]

Any step that creates a competitive, defensive environment is unlikely to motivate social loafers

true

Competitive goals internal to a group discourage teamwork

true

Consensus grows increasingly unlikely as groups grow larger

true

Goals for a team work best when they are clearly stated and limited in number

true

Reframing a problem in a group setting as an opportunity for progress is one way to break a deadlock

true

Research indicates that the behavior of a disruptive group member (bad apple) can be contagious. That is, the bad behavior can encourage other group members to act badly

true

Research shows that groups composed of members who have substantial variation in task-relevant skills, knowledge, and abilities have greater potential to produce synergy than groups with little diversity

true

Social loafing is more common in an individualist culture than it is in collectivist cultures

true

Teams usually exhibit higher levels of cooperation and cohesion than do standard small groups

true

The essence of a team is common commitment

true

The nominal group technique is more impersonal than brainstorming and less fun

true

The advantage(s) of the consensus decision-making process include(s) which of the following?

Full discussion of issues is required Commitment from all group members to a final decision is likely Group satisfaction is normally high

Which of the following are benefits of self-managed work teams?

greater attraction to the organization

All of the following are characteristics of groupthink EXCEPT

having strongly structured decision processes

Groupthink could be the result if a group

stresses cohesiveness and agreement emphasizes members being "team-players"

The ability of groups to complete work more effectively than individuals could complete the same tasks is called

synergy

When the work of group members yields a greater total effect than the sum of individual group members' efforts, you have:

synergy

It is more challenging and difficult to develop teamwork in an individualist culture than in a collectivist culture

true

Groupthink can occur after a decision has been made

true