Fundamentals of Management, 7e (Robbins/DeCenzo/Coulter) Chapter Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams 1) A group consists of individuals who share specific goals Answer: TRUE Explanation: A group is defined as a collection of interacting individuals who are dependent on one another and share specific goals Diff: Page Ref: 242 Objective: 9.1 2) Formal groups tend to form around friendships and common interests Answer: TRUE Explanation: Informal, rather than formal groups tend to form around common interests and friendships Formal groups are usually organized by an organization for a specific purpose Diff: Page Ref: 242 Objective: 9.1 3) To be considered a group, a gathering must include at least five people Answer: FALSE Explanation: The minimum number for a group is two Any number of individuals two or greater constitutes a group Diff: Page Ref: 243 Objective: 9.1 4) Groups tend to go through five stages as they develop Answer: TRUE Explanation: The five typical stages of development are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning Diff: Page Ref: 243 Objective: 9.1 5) The forming stage of group development begins when members consider themselves a part of the group Answer: FALSE Explanation: The forming stage ends, rather than begins, when members feel that they are a part of the group Diff: Page Ref: 243 Objective: 9.1 6) Managers should try to avoid conflict especially during the storming stage of group development Answer: FALSE Explanation: During the storming stage of group development, managers should expect conflict, rather than try to avoid it Diff: Page Ref: 243 Objective: 9.1 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 7) In the norming stage of group development, the group becomes cohesive Answer: TRUE Explanation: During the norming stage the group's identity increases and a common set of group expectations is established Diff: Page Ref: 243 Objective: 9.1 8) The group is likely to work on its primary task during the adjourning stage of group development Answer: FALSE Explanation: The group works on its primary task during the performing, not the adjourning stage of group development During the adjourning stage, the group prepares to disband Diff: Page Ref: 244 Objective: 9.1 9) Group norms have little to with how hard a group member works Answer: FALSE Explanation: Group norms are the primary way in which the group enforces its standards on an individual How hard a group member works depends largely on the standards, or norms, set by the group Diff: Page Ref: 244 Objective: 9.2 10) The studies by Solomon Asch show that group norms are a powerful force Answer: TRUE Explanation: Asch's studies showed that group norms were strong enough to make people go along with something that they knew was wrong Diff: Page Ref: 245 Objective: 9.2 11) A group of five working collectively would be certain to out-produce five workers working individually Answer: FALSE Explanation: In groups, individuals often work less hard and produce less than they would working individually So the group would not at all be certain to out-produce five individual workers Diff: Page Ref: 247 Objective: 9.2 12) As a group expands, individual productivity tends to decline Answer: TRUE Explanation: Social loafing typically causes individual productivity to drop as individuals enter a group Within a group, individuals tend to hide behind the collective effort and get less done individually Diff: Page Ref: 247 Objective: 9.2 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 13) High cohesiveness always results in a productivity increase Answer: TRUE Explanation: In a situation in which group goals are aligned with organizational goals, productivity rises when groups are cohesive However, when group goals conflict with organization goals, productivity actually drops in cohesive groups Diff: Page Ref: 248 Objective: 9.2 14) More than 80 percent of all Fortune 500 companies use teams Answer: TRUE Explanation: Within those companies, 50 percent or more of employees are members of teams That means that fewer than 20 percent of Fortune 500 companies have fewer than 50 percent of employees working as members of teams Diff: Page Ref: 248 Objective: 9.3 15) Teams and groups are the same thing Answer: FALSE Explanation: Teams and groups are definitely not the same thing Work groups typically not share a common specific goal, while work teams share a goal Diff: Page Ref: 249 Objective: 9.3 16) Accountability for a work team is strictly on an individual basis Answer: FALSE Explanation: Within a team, accountability is both individual and shared with the team Within a group, on the other hand, accountability is strictly individual Diff: Page Ref: 249 Objective: 9.3 17) The problem with many problem-solving teams is that they don't have the authority to act on their decisions Answer: FALSE Explanation: Problem-solving teams often come up with good ideas, but lack the managerial authority to implement their ideas Many people feel that problem-solving teams don't allow team members to make decisions that have impact Diff: Page Ref: 250 Objective: 9.3 18) A self-managed team is responsible for both completing tasks and managing itself Answer: TRUE Explanation: A self-managed team is responsible for managing itself as well as carrying out the tasks it has been given Typically, no supervisor is assigned to oversee a self-managed team because it supervises itself Diff: Page Ref: 250 Objective: 9.3 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 19) A problem-solving team is likely not to have a supervising manager to oversee it Answer: FALSE Explanation: A self-managed team is likely not to have a supervisor, not a problem-solving team Diff: Page Ref: 250 Objective: 9.3 20) In an electronics company, a cross-functional team is likely to have an engineer, a designer, a software specialist, and a marketing specialist all working on the same project Answer: TRUE Explanation: A cross-functional team brings together specialists with different skills who each can contribute to the team effort Diff: Page Ref: 250 Objective: 9.3 21) Members of a virtual team never actually communicate with one another Answer: FALSE Explanation: Virtual team members communicate electronically What they may not is meet on a personal basis Diff: Page Ref: 251 Objective: 9.3 22) An effective team leader is often more of a coach than a manager Answer: TRUE Explanation: Team leaders often have to focus on helping team members get the best out of themselves with respect to performance This puts them in the role that is similar to that of a coach Diff: Page Ref: 252 Objective: 9.3 23) Conscientiousness seems to be a key ingredient in successful teams Answer: TRUE Explanation: When team members care about results, team performance typically rises Diff: Page Ref: 252 Objective: 9.3 24) Disagreeable team members rarely decrease team performance Answer: FALSE Explanation: One or more disagreeable team members are known to drag down the performance of an entire team Diff: Page Ref: 252 Objective: 9.3 25) On successful teams, individuals rarely play more than one role Answer: FALSE Explanation: Nine roles have been identified for teams Since teams often have fewer than nine members they frequently need to function with team members taking on multiple roles Diff: Page Ref: 252 Objective: 9.3 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 26) Diversity tends to have a positive effect on team performance Answer: TRUE Explanation: Though initially performance seems to suffer when teams are formed with highly diverse individuals, as time passes studies show that diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams Diff: Page Ref: 251 AACSB: Diversity Objective: 9.3 27) The team role of linker initiates creative ideas in a team Answer: FALSE Explanation: A linker coordinates and integrates the team The creator-innovator is the one that initiates creative ideas Diff: Page Ref: 254 Objective: 9.3 28) A team's upholder-maintainer would likely submit the team's request for a large increase in resources to top management Answer: TRUE Explanation: The upholder-maintainer represents the team and its interests to the outer world, so she would be likely to take a request for more resources to top management Diff: Page Ref: 254 Objective: 9.3 29) The "two pizza" rule states that the best teams should be small enough so that they can be satisfied with no more than two pizzas Answer: TRUE Explanation: Amazon follows the two-pizza rule, typically limiting team size to five to seven team members Diff: Page Ref: 254 Objective: 9.3 30) An effective team must have a whole and identifiable task Answer: TRUE Explanation: Having a discrete task to perform increases team coherence and motivation, which ultimately results in increased team effectiveness Diff: Page Ref: 255 Objective: 9.3 31) Effective teams should avoid conflict at all costs Answer: FALSE Explanation: Good teams usually thrive on conflict, as long as it is not of a personal nature Conflict over tasks and goals tends to bring out the best arguments in people in supporting their positions Diff: Page Ref: 255 Objective: 9.3 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 32) There is no way to reduce social loafing within a team Answer: FALSE Explanation: Social loafing probably cannot be eliminated, but it can be reduced by monitoring team performance carefully and holding team members accountableindividually as well as collectivelyfor their output Diff: Page Ref: 255 Objective: 9.3 33) The behaviors required for successful team performance cannot be gained through training Answer: FALSE Explanation: Over time, careful training does tend to produce successful team members Some team members cannot pick up necessary skills to function within the team, so those individuals typically need to be dismissed Diff: Page Ref: 256 Objective: 9.3 34) Selection is important in the success of a team Answer: TRUE Explanation: Selecting the right employees to be members of a team often can determine how successful the team will be Teams that have been selected carefully with the right skills, knowledge, and attitudes are highly likely to be successful Diff: Page Ref: 256 Objective: 9.3 35) Rewards for team members should be distributed strictly on team performance Answer: TRUE Explanation: Team performance should be an important element in rewarding team members However, the contributions of individuals should not be ignored Diff: Page Ref: 256 Objective: 9.3 36) Asch's findings suggest that Chinese members of a global team might be expected to conform easily to the team's norms Answer: TRUE Explanation: As a collectivist society, one would assume that Chinese team members would pose no problem when it comes to conforming to team norms Diff: Page Ref: 257 AACSB: Diversity Objective: 9.4 37) A Latin American team member would be more likely than a North American team member to afford status to an individual who comes from a powerful family Answer: TRUE Explanation: Latin American societies tend to place more importance on family and official status than North Americans, so this statement is true Diff: Page Ref: 257 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 38) A Japanese manager with the biggest office is likely to have the most power within an organization Answer: FALSE Explanation: In Japan, office size does not correlate to company prestige, so the person with the largest office would not necessarily have the highest rank in an organization Diff: Page Ref: 257 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 39) Collectivist societies tend to have an enormous problem with social loafing Answer: FALSE Explanation: Social loafing is less common in collectivist societies than individualistic societies, so this statement is false Diff: Page Ref: 258 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 40) Diversity within a group typically makes reaching consensus easier Answer: FALSE Explanation: Diversity has many virtues, but it tends to make arriving at consensus harder, not easier Diff: Page Ref: 258 AACSB: Diversity Objective: 9.4 41) Some organizational tasks are better done individually than in a team or group Answer: TRUE Explanation: To find out whether a task is best performed by a group or an individual, three tests are recommended, using the following questions: (1) Can the work be done better by a single person? (2) Does the work include a common set of goals that a group can share? (3) Will the tasks involved rely on interdependence among individuals? Diff: Page Ref: 258 Objective: 9.4 42) Many managers in today's business world have restructured work A) around individuals rather than teams B) around teams rather than individuals C) around both individuals and teams D) around groups rather than teams Answer: B Explanation: B) The trend in today's dynamic global business environment is to focus work around teams rather than hierarchies of individuals, making that the correct response This shift to teams has also served to make organizations more decentralized, since teams are often decision-making entities, and more organic as teams take some authority away from the top managers Note that teams rather than groups are the trend, reflecting that teams are more taskoriented Diff: Page Ref: 242 Objective: 9.1 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 43) Of the following, which is NOT thought to be an advantage of teams within an organization? A) increased organizational coherence B) employee job satisfaction C) more innovation D) new products developed faster at lower costs Answer: A Explanation: A) Use of teams has definitely been associated with job satisfaction, innovation, and faster turnaround in developing new products, eliminating these choices as correct responses for this question Teams not typically bring various organizational parts together, making increased organizational coherence the only item that is not true, and therefore causing it to be the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 242 Objective: 9.1 44) Formal groups A) meet at a regular time and place B) are defined by an organization's structure C) include people who share a common interest D) include people who eat lunch together each day Answer: B Explanation: B) Formal groups are groups that are officially defined and recognized by the organizational hierarchy, making that the correct response The meeting time of a group does not determine whether the group is formal or not, making that an incorrect choice People who meet for lunch or share a common interest are forming informal, not formal groups Diff: Page Ref: 242 Objective: 9.1 45) This kind of work group is brought together to accomplish a specific job or single activity, such as the development of a new product A) command group B) formal group C) informal group D) task group Answer: D Explanation: D) A group that is brought together for a specific task is called a task group, making that the correct response A command group refers to whether or not a work group has been formed as a part of the company structure, ruling it out as a correct response A task group is typically a formal work group, but task groups are not defined by whether they are formal or informal, eliminating formal and informal groups as correct responses Diff: Page Ref: 242 Objective: 9.1 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 46) This kind of work group brings individuals together from different work disciplines with different knowledge and skills A) formal group B) cross-functional team C) command group D) self-managed team Answer: B Explanation: B) The key to a cross-functional team is not that it is formal, which it likely is, or a type of command group, which means it is part of the organizational hierarchy, or that it manages itself, making it a self-managed team What defines a cross-functional team is that it brings together workers with different skills and abilities to complement one another and work on a single project or goal This makes cross-functional team the best answer for this question and eliminates the other three choices Diff: Page Ref: 242 Objective: 9.1 47) The stage of the group development process is complete when members begin to think of themselves as part of a group A) forming B) storming C) norming D) performing Answer: A Explanation: A) The forming stage of the group development process is the first stage of the process It begins with group members getting together to establish group goals, structure, and purpose The forming stage is considered complete when members feel like they are official members of the group This makes forming the correct response and rules out all other responses Diff: Page Ref: 243 Objective: 9.1 48) This stage involves the most conflict during the entire group development process A) forming B) storming C) norming D) performing Answer: B Explanation: B) The storming, or second stage of the group development process, is characterized by a struggle for control of the group and a search by members for their roles within the group When storming is complete, a fairly orderly hierarchy will be evident within the group These factors make storming the correct response and rule out all other responses Diff: Page Ref: 243 Objective: 9.1 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 49) Norming is a stage of group development that occurs when A) the group struggles for leadership B) the group defines its purpose C) the group develops cohesiveness D) the group defines its goals Answer: C Explanation: C) The group defines its purpose and goals during the forming, not the norming stage, so the choices regarding purpose and goals are both incorrect Group members vie for leadership during the storming, not the norming stage, making the choice regarding leadership incorrect Norming is characterized by a strong sense of group cohesiveness, group identity, and camaraderie, making the choice regarding cohesiveness the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 243 Objective: 9.1 50) In the group development process, the group carries out its primary work during this process A) storming B) forming C) norming D) performing Answer: D Explanation: D) Forming, storming, and norming are all preludes for the performing stage of the group development process The group forms, identifies its goals, figures out how it will operate, and then it is finally ready for performing—to carry out the task it was created for, whether it is developing a new product or achieving some other organizational goal This makes performing the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 244 Objective: 9.1 51) Permanent work groups are not likely to go through this stage A) storming B) adjourning C) forming D) norming Answer: B Explanation: B) The adjourning stage of the group development process takes place only in groups that are disbanding That means that permanent work groups don't typically go through an adjourning stage of the group development process, making that the correct response, and eliminating all other responses Diff: Page Ref: 244 Objective: 9.1 10 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 109) A team that lacks discipline needs someone to fulfill this team role A) controller-inspector B) linker C) explorer-promoter D) upholder-maintainer Answer: A Explanation: A) The team role that provides discipline and enforces rules is the controllerinspector, making that the correct response for this question Rather than enforce rules and discipline, a linker coordinates the team, an explorer-promoter champions new ideas for the team, and an upholder-maintainer fights outside battles for the team, making those three answers all incorrect choices Diff: Page Ref: 254 Objective: 9.3 110) Work teams that perform at a high level typically fill different team roles A) six B) eight C) nine D) ten Answer: C Explanation: C) Nine different team member roles have been identified as important to successful team performance, making that the correct response Roles include a linker, who coordinates and integrates team activities, a creator-innovator, who initiates ideas for the team, an explorer-promoter, who champions specific ideas, an assessor-developer, who analyzes options to help the team make decisions, a thruster-organizer, who provides team structure, a concluder-producer, who provides team direction, a controller-inspector, who enforces team rules, an upholder-maintainer, who defends the team against outside interests, and a reporteradviser, who seeks data and information for the team Diff: Page Ref: 253-254 Objective: 9.3 111) A team that is suffering attacks by managers from another division needs someone to fulfill this team role A) reporter-adviser B) controller-inspector C) thruster-organizer D) upholder-maintainer Answer: D Explanation: D) The team role that defends the team against outside interests is the upholdermaintainer, making that the correct response for this question Rather than defend the team against outside interests, a controller-inspector enforces team rules, a thruster-organizer provides structure for the team, and a reporter-adviser searches for data and information for the team, so these three responses are all incorrect choices Diff: Page Ref: 254 Objective: 9.3 31 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 112) Autonomy is a factor that contributes to team effectiveness A) work design B) context C) process D) composition Answer: A Explanation: A) Context factors involve the situation in which the team functions, not how team members go about their jobs, so context is not a correct response Process factors involve how well the team works together and who does what, not how team members go about their jobs, so process is not a correct response Composition factors are about who makes up the team, not how team members go about their jobs, so composition is an incorrect response Work design factors involve how workers go about their jobs so autonomy, how much independence workers have, is a work design factor, making work design the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 255 Objective: 9.3 113) Team efficacy is a measure of how a team is A) efficient B) cooperative C) confident D) skilled Answer: C Explanation: C) Team efficacy is ultimately a measure of how confident a team feels that it can succeed, making confident the correct response How efficient, cooperative, or skilled a team is can of course affect team efficacy since each of these factors can increase or decrease how confident the team is However these three choices are incorrect because they only indirectly affect team efficacy, while confidence directly affects it Diff: Page Ref: 255 Objective: 9.3 114) A certain amount of this is usually required for effective teams A) conflict B) dysfunction C) social loafing D) distrust Answer: A Explanation: A) Surprisingly, a modicum of conflict is an important ingredient for successful teams, making conflict the correct response To be constructive and have beneficial effects, team conflicts should be healthy disagreements over task issues, not personal rancor or disagreements Though dysfunction, social loafing, and distrust are ever-present in teams, they nothing to increase team productivity so they are all incorrect responses for this question Diff: Page Ref: 255 Objective: 9.3 32 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 115) Which of the following should a team try to completely eliminate, if possible? A) conflict B) disagreement C) social loafing D) individual accountability Answer: C Explanation: C) A small amount of conflict and disagreement are inevitable, unavoidable, and often beneficial in successful teams, so it would be unwise to try to eliminate these things Individual accountability is something that teams actively require, so it should definitely not be eliminated Social loafing, though also often inevitable, nevertheless serves no constructive purpose, so teams should try to totally eliminate it, if possible, making social loafing the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 255 Objective: 9.3 116) The best way to eliminate social loafing is to make sure that team members are for the team's goals A) individually accountable B) jointly accountable C) both individually and jointly accountable D) not accountable Answer: C Explanation: C) To get rid of social loafing, teams should make sure that all team members are accountable for both their own individual goals and the team's goals, making that the correct response Individual accountability alone might cause team members to ignore team goals, while group accountability without individual accountability encourages social loafing Not being accountable at all is the worst option and would promote both social loafing and overall team failure Diff: Page Ref: 255 Objective: 9.3 117) Specific goals are a factor that contributes to overall team effectiveness A) context B) work design C) process D) composition Answer: C Explanation: C) Context factors involve the situation in which the team functions, not how well it coordinates toward a common goal, so context is not a correct response Work design factors involve how workers go about their jobs, not how well the team coordinates toward a common goal, so work design is not a correct response Composition factors involve who team members are, not how well team members coordinate toward a common goal, so composition is not a correct response Identifying specific goals is a process factor since it gives all team members an objective, making process the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 255 Objective: 9.3 33 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 118) When assembling a team, managers should look for individuals who A) can fulfill team roles and have team skills B) have required job skills C) are team players D) have both team and job skills Answer: D Explanation: D) When putting a team together, a manager must first look for individuals who have two things, job skills and team skills, making that the correct response For individuals who lack team skills or team experience, managers can work to see if the person can be brought up to speed with respect to fulfilling team roles These factors eliminate the other three choices since none of these choices identifies both job and team skills Diff: Page Ref: 256 Objective: 9.3 119) Team skills A) are inborn B) can be learned C) can never be learned D) cannot be picked up through training Answer: B Explanation: B) Learning to function as a part of a team involves a set of behaviors that can be learned through careful training This makes it the correct answer Skills being inborn and never being learned can be ruled out because both maintain that team skills are innate, intrinsic skills that cannot be learned Skills not being picked up through training can be ruled out because it indicates that training cannot impart team skills to an employee, a position that is manifestly untrue Diff: Page Ref: 256 Objective: 9.3 120) An organization that is composed predominantly of teams should reward employees primarily for A) individual efforts B) competitive efforts C) being team leaders D) cooperative efforts Answer: D Explanation: D) The focus of rewards for an organization that consists mostly of teams should be on cooperation Individuals should be rewarded primarily, but not exclusively, for how much they helped their team succeed, rather than themselves individually This makes cooperative efforts the correct response The other three choices can be ruled out as correct answers because they lack a cooperative element Diff: Page Ref: 256 Objective: 9.3 34 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 121) One way to emphasize team cohesion is for employers to distribute rewards based on a team's productivity to A) selected team members B) all teams C) the entire team D) the team leader Answer: C Explanation: C) Lockheed Martin uses this approach—rather than reward all teams, individual team leaders, or selected team members, the company bases rewards on the entire team's performance This sends out the message that team performance is the company's most important goal, and gives employees the incentive to make the team succeed first, followed by their own individual success Diff: Page Ref: 256 Objective: 9.3 122) A major drawback of using global teams is A) personality differences B) knowledge differences C) cultural differences D) skill differences Answer: C Explanation: C) Global teams have no higher incidence of such things as personality clashes, skill differences, or knowledge differences than any team If the team is assembled correctly, those problems are not likely to be any more frequent than they are with domestic teams Cultural differences, on the other hand, can pose a real problem in global teams, causing misunderstanding and misinterpretation of actions and statements, making cultural differences the correct response here Diff: Page Ref: 257 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.4 123) A member of a global team from a country that has high uncertainty avoidance may have problems dealing with this A) risk B) authority C) following orders D) sharing information Answer: A Explanation: A) High uncertainty avoidance cultures tend to shy away from risky and unpredictable situations, making them likely to be more risk-averse than other team members This makes risk the correct response Uncertainty avoidance should not negatively influence a team member's ability to follow orders, deal with authority, or share information so those choices are incorrect Diff: Page Ref: 257 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 35 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 124) In a global team, team members should guard against , which can be a source of discord and resentment among team members A) ambiguity B) risk C) stereotyping D) diversity Answer: C Explanation: C) Ambiguity and risk can cause concerns for a team, but they are highly unlikely to foster hard feelings or resentment among team members, so these two choices can be ruled out as correct responses Diversity, for the most part, cannot be avoided in a global team, so it is highly unlikely to be a source of bad feelings Stereotyping, on the other hand, can easily arise in diverse groups, so group members should guard against its corrosive effects, making it the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 257 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 125) Asch's findings show that cultures tend to be more conformist than North American cultures A) individualistic B) capitalistic C) collectivistic D) affluent Answer: C Explanation: C) Asch's studies show no tendency for wealthy or capitalistic cultures to be excessively conformist Individualistic cultures tend to be less conformist than other cultures, ruling it out as a correct response Collectivist cultures, on the other hand, probably by nature tend to be agreeable in groups, so conformity can be a major influence when dealing with individuals from a conformist society, making collectivist the correct response for this question Diff: Page Ref: 257 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 126) Research shows that a great deal of tension and difficulty arises in global teams due to A) groupthink B) miscommunication C) diversity D) time zone differences Answer: B Explanation: B) Groupthink and diversity are benefits of global teams, not drawbacks, so those choices cannot be the correct answer Time zone differences conceivably could be the source of difficulties; however, studies not identify time zone differences as a problem A major problem that does arise in global teams is miscommunication, due to language and cultural differences, making miscommunication the correct response for this question Diff: Page Ref: 257 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 36 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 127) A major benefit of global teams is A) minimal distrust B) groupthink C) idea diversity D) little stereotyping Answer: C Explanation: C) Global teams tend to show little groupthink and a great deal of distrust and stereotyping, making those three choices all incorrect A positive feature of global teams is the diversity in ideas the group gets from having members from different cultures These diverse views often allow team members to see points of view they would otherwise not see and employ ideas that they wouldn't have otherwise come up with Diff: Page Ref: 257 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 128) A Latin-American member of a global team might show undue respect to another team member because of that member's A) age B) physical ability C) ethnicity D) family heritage Answer: D Explanation: D) Such things as age, ethnicity, and physical ability have no more influence over people from a Latin-American culture than from a North American culture However, status and family heritage seem to carry weight in Latin societies, making family heritage the correct answer to this question Diff: Page Ref: 257 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 129) A global team member from Israel would be to engage in social loafing as a team member from Canada A) somewhat more likely B) less likely C) equally likely D) much more likely Answer: B Explanation: B) As a collectivist society, social loafing is frowned upon in Israel, so a team member would be less likely to engage in social loafing than a person from individualistic Canada, making "less likely" the correct answer and ruling out all other choices Diff: Page Ref: 258 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 37 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 130) A global team member from China would be likely to be A) less productive in a team than on his own B) equally productive on his own and on a team C) more productive in a team than on his own D) more productive on his own than in a team Answer: C Explanation: C) People from collectivist cultures like China often perform better and more productively within a group than on their own, making that the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 258 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 131) This is one thing that global teams usually fail to attain A) team cohesiveness B) consensus C) team goals D) organizational goals Answer: A Explanation: A) Global teams are at least as successful at reaching team goals, organizational goals, or consensus in decision making as are non-global teams Where global teams tend to fall is in achieving a sense of cohesiveness Studies show that global teams are usually driven by mistrust, miscommunication, and stress, all of which function to limit cohesiveness Diff: Page Ref: 258 AACSB: Globalizations Objective: 9.4 38 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc The Retreat (Scenario) The first-line managers of ELH Inc were sent on a retreat to Silver Falls for their inaugural strategic planning meeting Few people knew each other, but their task was clear: design a new performance appraisal system for subordinates that would be effective and usable The first day little was accomplished except for the jockeying to see who would be the official leader Finally, Jim seemed to wrangle control and helped provide the first real direction for the group By the second day, the group seemed to begin working well They spent the morning determining group standards with respect to how they would make decisions within the group and how to manage the idea-generation process On the third and fourth days, the managers got down to work and moved amazingly quickly, with ideas flowing freely By the end of the fourth day, they had a workable system developed, and they felt satisfied That night they all signed off on a new document to be presented to the regional manager the next day They all felt a twinge of regret at having to break up the group and return to normal work life 132) The official forming stage of the group development process wasn't complete until group members A) experienced conflict B) introduced one another C) felt themselves a part of the group D) got acquainted with one another Answer: C Explanation: C) The end of the forming stage of the group development process is marked not by conflict, introductions, or a sense of knowing one another but rather by a sense of belongingness to the group that members feel This makes "feeling themselves a part of the group" the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 243-244 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.1 39 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 133) The group was in the stage when they were competing to see who would lead the group A) performing B) storming C) forming D) adjourning Answer: B Explanation: B) The stage of the group development process that is marked by conflict is the storming stage During the storming stage, group members struggle over who will lead the group and what the direction of the group will be This makes storming the correct response and rules out all other choices Diff: Page Ref: 243-244 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.1 134) When the management group was determining standards and establishing how they would make decisions, they were in the stage of group development A) norming B) storming C) forming D) adjourning Answer: A Explanation: A) During norming, the group becomes cohesive as it establishes the rules and standards it will operate by This stage is clearly norming because group members are devising rules by which the group will function Diff: Page Ref: 243-244 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.1 135) In the third and fourth days of the retreat, the managers were in the stage of group development A) performing B) storming C) forming D) adjourning Answer: A Explanation: A) In the third and fourth days of the retreat, managers were actively working on the task they had set out to accomplish The stage of the group development process that involves working actively and directly toward the group's goals is the performing stage, making this the correct response Diff: Page Ref: 243-244 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.1 40 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 136) When the management team left Silver Falls to return to their own teams and departments, they had just completed the stage of group development A) performing B) storming C) forming D) adjourning Answer: D Explanation: D) The disbanding of a group is termed the adjourning stage, making this the correct response Note that not all groups go through an adjourning stage If the group is going to stay together for future tasks, it will not go through the adjourning stage of group development Diff: Page Ref: 243-244 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.1 137) In a short essay, discuss the first stage of group development Answer: The first stage, forming, has two aspects First, people join the group Once the group's membership is in place, the second part of the forming stage begins: the task of defining the group's purpose, structure, and leadership This phase is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty Members are "testing the waters" to determine what types of behavior are acceptable This stage is complete when members begin to think of themselves as part of a group Diff: Page Ref: 243-244 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.1 138) In a short essay, discuss the second stage of group development Answer: The storming stage is one of intragroup conflict Members may accept the existence of the group but resist the control that the group imposes on individuality Furthermore, there is conflict over who will control the group and what direction the group will take when it becomes functional and begins to address its goals When the storming stage is complete, there will be a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership within the group and agreement on the group's direction Diff: Page Ref: 243-244 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.1 139) In a short essay, discuss the third stage of group development Answer: The third stage of group development, the norming stage, is one in which close relationships develop and the group demonstrates cohesiveness There is now a strong sense of group identity and camaraderie among group members During the norming stage the group establishes its norms—expectations and standards that both group members and the group as a whole will adhere to This norming stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct member behavior Diff: Page Ref: 243-244 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.1 41 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 140) In a short essay, discuss the last two stages of group development Answer: The fourth stage of the group development process is the performing stage The group structure at this point is fully functional and accepted Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each other to performing the task at hand Performing is the last stage in the development of permanent work groups Temporary groups that have a limited task to perform have a fifth stage, adjourning In the adjourning stage, the group prepares to disband High levels of task performance are no longer the group's top priority Instead, attention is directed at wrapping up activities Diff: Page Ref: 244 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.1 141) In a short essay, compare work groups and work teams Answer: Work teams are different from work groups and have their own unique traits Work groups primarily interact to share information and to make decisions that help each member his/her job more efficiently and effectively These groups have no need or opportunity to engage in work that requires joint effort and a collective goal or task Work teams are groups whose members work intensely on a specific, common goal All efforts in a work team are directed toward achieving this goal Members of a work team focus entirely on the team goal rather than on their own individual goals In a successful work team, the combined individual efforts of team members result in a level of performance that is greater than the sum of those individual inputs Diff: Page Ref: 249 Objective: 9.3 142) In a short essay, describe the characteristics of a problem-solving team Answer: Problem-solving teams are teams from the same department or functional area of an organization who are involved in efforts to improve work activities or to solve specific problems In problem-solving teams, members share ideas or offer suggestions on how work processes and methods can be improved However, these teams are rarely given the authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggested solutions to problems, so they are not as effective at problem solving as they could be Diff: Page Ref: 250 Objective: 9.3 143) In a short essay, describe the characteristics of a self-managed team Answer: Self-managed teams are formal groups of employees who operate without a manager and are responsible for a complete work process or segment A self-managed team is responsible for getting its work done and for managing itself This usually includes planning and scheduling of work, assigning tasks to members, collective control over the pace of work, making operating decisions, and taking action on problems Diff: Page Ref: 250 Objective: 9.3 42 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 144) In a short essay, describe the characteristics of cross-functional teams Answer: A cross-functional team combines individuals who have skills or expertise in various areas who work together on a task or tasks A cross-functional team whose task is to come up with a new sports video game, for example, might include an artist, a story writer, a computer programmer, a marketer, and an athlete All of these team members lend their skills to accomplish the goal of creating the new game Diff: Page Ref: 250 Objective: 9.3 145) In a short essay, describe the characteristics of virtual teams Answer: Virtual teams use computer and electronic technology to link physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal In a virtual team, members collaborate using communication links such as wide area networks, screen-sharing technology, videoconferencing, email, and websites to communicate and collaborate with one another In a virtual team, team members may never meet one another in person even though they can be close collaborators on an ambitious and complex project Diff: Page Ref: 250 Objective: 9.3 146) In a short essay, discuss how the work of Solomon Asch might affect managerial behavior Answer: Asch's work showed that individuals have a strong desire to conform to a group, even in the event that the group is wrong in some respect Knowing this tendency to conform, managers can seek out ways to encourage employees to state their true feelings, not the feelings they feel pressured into adopting by the group To encourage openness, managers might foster a climate in which no idea or viewpoint is deemed "weird" or inappropriate Tolerance and encouragement of unconventional thinking can help managers and teams "think outside the box" and come up with creative and innovative solutions to problems rather than be stuck with conforming to conventional points of view Diff: Page Ref: 246 AACSB: Reflective Thinking Objective: 9.2 43 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 147) In a short essay, discuss how social loafing can affect a team and how it can be combatted Answer: Social loafing is a very natural response to a special situation—when individuals join a group they tend to "take cover" from the group and rather than work hard to distinguish themselves, coast on the merits and accomplishments of the group The result of social loafing is that while a team may be productive, its average output per team member is less than the output would be for those same team members individually This affect of decreasing individual productivity gets more pronounced as group size increases: the larger the group the less productive individual group members tend to be Since it is such a natural inclination, social loafing is hard to combat To minimize social loafing managers should focus on recognizing the contributions and accomplishments of group members both in an individual and in a group sense For example, managers can urge group members to constantly evaluate themselves with respect to pulling their own weight and repeatedly ask themselves: What did I to help the group? Am I truly pulling my own weight? Diff: Page Ref: 247 AACSB: Reflective Thinking Objective: 9.2 148) In a brief essay, discuss how managers can use selection to shape team behavior Answer: Selection is a natural place to start in shaping team behavior, as some individuals already possess the interpersonal skills to be effective team players before they join the team When assembling a team, a manager should look for two things—the technical skills to carry out the task, and the team skills to function successfully within the team If the prospective team member has technical skills but not team skills, the manager may choose not to hire the person, or to hire on a provisional basis, requiring that the applicant demonstrate team skills before he or she is officially included as part of the team In either case the manager can use her discretion to include individuals who enhance, rather than detract from the team A team with members that have requisite technical skills that can function efficiently as a unit has a very high probability of successfully achieving its goals Diff: Page Ref: 256 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.3 149) In a brief essay, discuss how managers can use training to shape team behavior Answer: Managers can rely on training to shape team behavior in the event that team members lack either technical or team skills Training specialists can spend time working with new team members on technical deficiencies to get them up to the level they will need for team function Training can also be used to teach employees about teams and teamwork Workshops typically cover such topics as team problem solving, communications, negotiations, conflict resolution, and coaching skills Diff: Page Ref: 256 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.3 44 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc 150) In a brief essay, discuss how managers can use rewards to shape team behavior Answer: To shape behavior, managers can use a reward system that encourages cooperative efforts that help achieve team goals rather than competitive efforts that help achieve team goals Promotions, pay raises, and other forms of recognition should be given to employees who are effective collaborative team members Taking this approach shouldn't ignore individual contribution, but rather managers should try to balance individual recognition with recognition of efforts that further the team Examples of behaviors that should be rewarded include training new colleagues, sharing information with teammates, helping resolve team conflicts, and mastering new skills in which the team is deficient Diff: Page Ref: 256 AACSB: Communication Objective: 9.3 45 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc ... Explanation: B) The storming, or second stage of the group development process, is characterized by a struggle for control of the group and a search by members for their roles within the group... match the performance of individuals in every kind of task B) outperform individuals in many tasks C) match the performance of individuals in many tasks D) outperform individuals in every kind of. .. An effective team leader is often more of a coach than a manager Answer: TRUE Explanation: Team leaders often have to focus on helping team members get the best out of themselves with respect