British Columbia Institute of Technology

BUSA 1305

Chapter 11 Developing Groups

1)___is two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to

achieve particular objectives

1. 1. A formal group
   2. An informal group
   3. A group
   4. A formal team
   5. An informal team

2.                                                          are workgroups established by the organization and given designated work assignments and established tasks.
   1. Task force teams
   2. Formal groups
   3. Teams
   4. Informal groups
   5. Groups

3. Many formal workgroups are merely individuals who sporadically interact but who

                                                                that requires joint efforts.

1. 1. have no technical skills
   2. share a common interest
   3. have no collective commitment
   4. have no responsibility
   5. have few mutual goals

4.                                       are groups which are natural formations that appear in the work environment in response to the need for social contact.
   1. Teams
   2. Cliques
   3. Social groups
   4. Formal groups
   5. Informal groups

5. By joining a group, individuals can reduce the insecurity of “standing alone, which helps them to feel

stronger, have fewer self-doubts, and                                           .

1. 1. achieve more
   2. attain goals
   3. feel less insecure
   4. be more resistant to threats.
   5. absences

6.                                          is not a reason employees join groups.
   1. Money
   2. Security
   3. Self-esteem
   4. Affiliation
   5. Power

7. For many people, on-the-job interactions are their primary means of fulfilling their need for

                                     .

1. 1. teamwork
   2. intellectual stimulation
   3. creativity
   4. affiliation
   5. achievement

8.                                       is one of the appealing aspects of groups because what often cannot be achieved individually becomes possible through group action.
   1. Greater financial rewards
   2. Social interaction
   3. The chance to improve quality
   4. Power
   5. The opportunity to learn something new

9. Groups can be a vehicle for fulfillment for people with a high need for                                                .
   1. power

1. 2. communication
   3. achievement
   4. affiliation
   5. social interaction

10. Briefly explain why formal workgroups are not teams.

Answer: Formal workgroups are not the same as teams. Many formal workgroups are merely individuals who sporadically interact but who have no collective commitment that requires joint efforts. That is, the group’s total performance is merely the summation of the individual group members’ performance.

A team has members who are committed to a common purpose, has a set of specific performance goals, and holds itself mutually accountable for the team’s results. Teams, in other words, are greater than the sum of their parts.

11. Golfers don’t speak while their partners are putting on the green, and employees generally don’t criticize their bosses in public. These are examples of                                              .
    1. rules
    2. traditions
    3. civil behaviors
    4. norms
    5. good manners
12. The most widespread norms in organizations are related to                                                       .
    1. departmental structures
    2. loyalty
    3. effort and performance
    4. corporate policies
    5. those set by human resources

13. Workgroups typically provide their members with explicit cues. Of the following, which is NOT one of those typical explicit cues?
    1. Whether to join a union or not
    2. How hard to work
    3. What level of output to have
    4. When to look busy

1. 5. When it’s acceptable to goof off

14. Which norm explains why ambitious candidates to positions of greater authority in an organization willingly take work home at night, come in on weekends, and accept transfers to cities where they would otherwise not prefer to live?
    1. The career norm
    2. The loyalty norm
    3. The aspiration norm
    4. The conformance norm
    5. The achievement norm

15. Explain what effect norms have on an individual’s tendency to conform. What can result from the need to conform? How can supervisors diminish this effect?

16.                                              is the degree to which members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.
    1. Goal directedness
    2. Mutual attractive
    3. Teamwork
    4. Cohesiveness
    5. Team focus

17. Some workgroups are more cohesive. Of the following, which is NOT one of the typical reasons for more cohesiveness?
    1. Members have spent a long time together
    2. They have a long history of working in start-ups
    3. The group has a history of previous success
    4. They survived a threat, which brought them closer
    5. The group is small with high interaction

18. Explain the statement “Studies consistently show a group’s cohesiveness and productivity depend on the performance-related norms they establish.”

19. Leaders frequently emerge within workgroups, yet they have no formal authority in the organization. These are known as                                                      .
    1. emergent leaders
    2. unofficial supervisors
    3. workgroup managers
    4. designated supervisors
    5. workgroup leader

20. Wise supervisors should identify the                                                     within workgroups and build ties with them.
    1. workgroup managers
    2. designated supervisors
    3. emergent leaders
    4. unofficial supervisors
    5. workgroup leaders

21.                                             pass on information to others and tend to be central links in the informal

communication chain

1. 1. Supervisors
   2. Emergent leaders
   3. Managers
   4. Workgroup leaders
   5. Informal leaders

22. People with                                      and those with important but scarce knowledge about the organization or technical aspects of the group’s work may be emergent leaders.
    1. non-technical knowledge
    2. networking contacts
    3. management connections
    4. charismatic traits
    5. business skills

23. Every organization—no matter how well it’s structured—has voids. Discuss how informal groups can be helpful in “filling the holes.”

24. If performance-related norms are low, and hindering your department’s performance, you can consider doing a few things. Of the following, which is NOT among those things that you should consider?
    1. Request transfers for one or more of the group’s members
    2. Reward department members who act against the dysfunctional norms
    3. Restrict paid time off until performance improves
    4. Give preferred work assignments
    5. Praise employees who don’t restrict their work output

25.                                                    become more readily evident when supervisors consistently reiterate formal

departmental goals and make clear which behaviors are consistent with achieving those goals.

1. 1. Potential high performance behaviors
   2. Informal group leaders
   3. Positive team behaviors
   4. Emergent leaders
   5. Dysfunctional behaviors

26. Briefly discuss the steps a supervisor can take to overcome the low-performance-related norms of informal groups in a department.

27. Because teams                                  when the tasks being done require multiple skills, judgment, and experience, teams are becoming the prime vehicle around which work is being designed.
    1. get better results
    2. typically outperform individuals
    3. function at higher levels
    4. are widespread through organizations
    5. contain emergent leaders

28. Teams are more flexible and responsive to changing events than other forms of permanent groupings. Of the following, which is NOT one of the advantages of using teams?
    1. Quickly assembled
    2. Quickly disbanded
    3. Quickly deployed
    4. Quickly off-shored
    5. Quickly refocused

29. Many organizations have restructured work processes around teams because supervisors are looking for the positive synergy that will                                                                     .
    1. help the organization improve its performance

1. 2. deploy better technical solutions
   3. attract top talent
   4. resolve vendor and customer issues easily
   5. make employees top performers

30. The extensive use of teams creates the potential for an organization to generate greater outputs

                                             .

1. 1. per employee
   2. with greater increases in manufacturing outputs
   3. with no increase in inputs
   4. with no increase in offshoring
   5. with fewer team members

31. Management’s emphasis has been on creating self-managed teams. This action is                                                       .
    1. resulting in more self-managed teams
    2. resulting in shifts toward employee autonomy
    3. resulting in much greater productivity
    4. pushing companies to consider more offshoring
    5. redefining the supervisor’s managerial role

32. Teams from the same department or functional area involved in efforts to improve work activities or address specific issues are:
    1. Problem-solving teams
    2. Self-managed work teams
    3. Virtual teams
    4. Cross-functional teams
    5. Off-shored teams

33. Work teams composed of individuals from various specialties and used by many organizations are:
    1. Problem-solving teams
    2. Self-managed work teams
    3. Virtual teams

1. 4. Cross-functional teams
   5. Off-shored teams

34. A formal group of employees operating without a manager, but with responsibility for a complete work process or segment is a:
    1. Problem-solving team
    2. Self-managed work team
    3. Virtual team
    4. Cross-functional team
    5. Off-shored team

35. Teams fall into three categories. Briefly identify and discuss these three team categories.

36. A                                                  is merely a group of individuals who interact primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each other perform within a given area of responsibility.
    1. virtual team
    2. potential team
    3. real team
    4. pseudo team
    5. working group

37. A                                           is not a team, because it doesn’t focus on collective performance and members have no interest in shaping a common purpose.
    1. virtual team
    2. potential team
    3. real team
    4. pseudo team

1. 5. working group

38. A                                                  recognizes the need for higher performance and is really trying hard to achieve it, but its purpose and goals need greater clarity or the team may need better coordination.
    1. virtual team
    2. potential team
    3. real team
    4. pseudo team
    5. working group

39. A                                  is the ultimate goal and is a unit with a set of common characteristics that lead to consistently high performance.
    1. virtual team
    2. potential team
    3. real team
    4. pseudo team
    5. working group

40. For effective performance, a team requires all of types of skills including                                 
    1. project management
    2. decision-making
    3. writing
    4. speaking
    5. technical

41. Broader than any specific goals,                                           have a common and meaningful purpose that provides direction, momentum, and commitment for members.
    1. virtual teams
    2. potential teams
    3. real teams
    4. working groups
    5. high-performing teams

42. Studies have shown that when teams focus only on group-level performance targets, and ignore individual contributions and responsibilities, team members often engage in                                                              .
    1. dysfunctional behaviors
    2. social loafing.
    3. internal strife
    4. goal disagreement
    5. power struggles

43. Groups tend to pass through developmental stages as they mature. List and briefly discuss the five stages of the popular group development model created by Tuckman and Jensen in 1977.

44.                                             is one of the critical obstacles that can prevent teams from becoming high performing.
    1. Lack of small wins
    2. No external support
    3. Lack of trust

D Lack of mutual trust

E. Lack of team-building training

45. High-performance teams have both a                                                       and a belief that the goals embody a worthwhile or important result.
    1. desire to hire only the best people
    2. clear understanding of their goals
    3. sense of determination
    4. create regular channels of communications
    5. focus on excellence

46. Teams can pose challenges for supervisors. Why did critics warn U.S. managers that the team approach was destined to fail in the United States? Were the critics correct?

47. The strongest case for                                   is when teams are engaged in problem-solving and decision- making tasks.
    1. continuous improvement
    2. diversity
    3. work groups
    4. performance improvement
    5. teamwork

48.                                              requires management to encourage employees to share ideas and to act on what the employees suggest.
    1. Continuous improvement
    2. Cultural diversity
    3. Performance improvement
    4. Quality management
    5. Global team organizations