Management, Hitt, Black, Porter, Test Bank, Vahdi Boydaş, Mensur Boydaş,

CHAPTER 11: GROUPS AND TEAMSMultiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following statements is NOT true?a. In the flatter, leaner organizations of the twenty-first century, groups and teams

are even more important than in the past.b. Organizations of all types and sizes are less likely to use groups and teams now

than even a few years ago.c. Utilizing teams and groups requires a change in the mindset of managers and their

subordinates.d. Not all individuals adapt equally well to a group-oriented environment.

2. Which of the following is NOT true regarding groups?a. A group is a set of people, limited in number.b. All teams are groups; likewise, all groups are teams.c. Groups involve some degree of mutual interaction and shared objectives.d. Most people who work in organizations are a part of at least one group.

3. According to your textbook, the members of a team _____. a. rely on unilateral actionb. rarely identify with team objectivesc. take personal responsibility for specified outcomesd. have some degree of interaction and shared objectives

4. As the basic work units of an organization, _____ consist of a supervisor or manager and all those who report to that person. a. committeesb. command groupsc. project groupsd. task forces

5. All of the following pertain to command (supervisory) groups EXCEPT _____.a. they are relatively enduring.b. group membership changes relatively slowly.c. once the project has been completed, the group will disband. d. they consist of a supervisor/manager and those who report to that person.

6. Which of the following is true regarding the “Group” oval in the Individuals-to-Group-to-Team Continuum?a. It intersects with the “Individuals” oval.b. It does not intersect with any oval.c. It intersects with the “Individuals” oval and the “Team” oval.

189Copyright © (2009) Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as (Prentice Hall)

d. It intersects with the “Team” oval.

7. A marketing group for an office supply company meets with their supervisor on the first Friday of every month to review advertising programs and create special promotional activities. This group is probably a _____.a. committeeb. command groupc. project/task forced. self-managed work group

8. ICE, Inc. has called upon a group of MIS employees to oversee the design and implementation of a new companywide information system. This group is an example of a _____. a. committeeb. command groupc. project/task forced. cross-functional team

9. ABC Enterprises plans to assign the duty of reviewing its quarterly budget to six of its employees. These employees will be members of a _____.a. committeeb. task forcec. work groupd. command group

10. Which of the following is NOT a formal group?a. an ad hoc committeeb. an autonomous groupc. a compensation committeed. a friendship group

11. _____ are designated, created, and sanctioned by the organization to carry out its basic work and fulfill its overall missiona. Formal groupsb. Informal groupsc. Workplace groupsd. Process groups

12. _____ influence the formation of groups in an organization.a. The goals of the organization


b. The opportunities for interacting and sharing knowledgec. The psychological needs of potential group membersd. all of the above

13. During the _____ of group development, members cautiously exchange information and conflicts begin to emerge.a. forming stageb. storming stagec. norming staged. performing stage

14. During the _____ of group development, a consensus about the group’s issues and norms begins to emerge. a. forming stageb. storming stagec. norming staged. performing stage

15. Which of the following is NOT an essential structural feature of a group?a. normsb. compositionc. differentiated rolesd. differentiated status

16. A review of studies conducted in the United States found that as groups got larger members’ satisfaction levels _____ and leaders’ behaviors became _____. a. decreased; more task-orientedb. increased; more people-oriented c. remained constant; less task-orientedd. decreased; more people-oriented

17. The optimal size for a group in the workplace _____. a. is the largest number of people who can do the taskb. has a neutral effect on each member’s level of participationc. varies based on the types of tasks facing the groupd. increases exponentially as the organization grows

18. “Social loafing” in work groups is_____.a. unrelated to the size of the group


b. prevalent in collectivist culturesc. less likely to occur in individualistic cultures d. less evident when individual contributions are easy to identify

19. According to Hitt, Black, and Porter, when do process costs increase?a. when interpersonal conflicts increase within a groupb. when the cost of raw materials increasesc. when the cost of employee benefits risesd. when groups become larger

20. Although _____ groups may demonstrate fewer conflicts because the members possess fewer differences, _____ groups may produce more creative work because the members consider a wider range of options.a. heterogeneous; homogenousb. homogenous; heterogeneousc. permanent; temporaryd. temporary; permanent

21. The potential affective consequences of diversity on a group or team would include all of the following EXCEPT _____.a. satisfactionb. conflict within the groupc. identification with the groupd. amount and quality of new ideas

22. The types of diversity in groups can be classified as _____.a. observable attributes and underlying attributesb. relationship consequences and affective attributesc. cognitive consequences and process attributesd. social attributes and communication-related consequences

23. According to “A Manager’s Challenge: Diversity,” the interactions of the randomly assigned Logica crew in an around-the-world yacht race illustrate that _____.a. the crew was highly dysfunctionalb. the crew began as a group then became a teamc. crew members performed more efficiently as a group than as a teamd. the crew enjoyed a high degree of interaction but shared few objectives


24. Which of the following does NOT exemplify the impact of increased diversity on the functioning and performance of a group?a. It promotes the discussion of a wider range of opinions and ideas. b. It leads to increased frequency of communication within the group. c. It has somewhat negative effects on reactions and interactions in the group.d. It reduces the frequency of communication with people outside the group.

25. How can managers decrease role ambiguity in groups?a. enforce homogeneity in all work groupsb. define clearly expected behaviors for group membersc. discourage the development of group normsd. all of the above

26. Alice Jones finds it difficult to spend ample time with customers when she is also required to meet a quota of customers during her shift. She is experiencing _____.a. role reversalb. role conflictc. role ambiguityd. role overload

27. Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding status issues in groups?a. Status differences can strongly influence group interactions.b. Members with higher status tend to receive more communications than members

with lower status receive.c. Lower-status members often defer to higher-status members when groups are

making decisions.d. Extreme status differences expedite communication and decision making.

28. Which of the following is NOT a valid statement about group norms?a. Norms do not necessarily apply to all group members.b. Norms vary in the degree to which group members accept them.c. Norms are usually established to address minor issues in the group.d. Norms vary in how much deviation members are permitted in following them.

29. Because of illness, the chairperson of a budget committee yields his position to a new hire who had served many years on the budget committee in her previous organization. The new chair’s first act is to email a new set of committee procedures to other members. In this case, the committee’s norms are about to be affected most clearly by _____ and _____.


a. early behaviors; critical eventsb. early behaviors; explicitly stated standardsc. explicitly stated standards; imported behaviorsd. imported behaviors; early behaviors

30. When “rate busters” work faster than group members think they should, they are not _____ group norms.a. aware ofb. acknowledgingc. conforming tod. responding to

31. Which of the following will tend to increase conformity in a group?a. limited communicationb. close adherence to the norms of the groupc. divergent actions by members of the groupd. disagreement over the relevance of the group’s norms

32. What is the most important factor in developing group cohesion?a. small group sizeb. a high level of competition with other groupsc. successful past performance of the groupd. strong interpersonal attraction among group members

33. In NASA’s Challenger disaster, one group ignored the recommendations of another. This demonstrates the danger of _____.a. formal groupsb. groupthinkc. process costsd. relationship conflict

34. High levels of group cohesion can lead to _____.a. potential decrease in intergroup cooperationb. strengthened adherence to group normsc. increased quality and quantity of group interactionsd. all of the above


35. A/An_____ has no formally appointed supervisor; however, the group manages itself on behalf of the organization’s objectives, and its members usually appoint their own informal leaders. a. command groupb. informal workgroupc. self-managed workgroupd. none of the above

36. Within the context of global teams, _____ build on their differences and use them to enhance creativity, whereas _____ channel their efforts into unproductive conflicts and interpersonal attacks. a. destroyer teams; equalizer teamsb. creator teams; destroyer teamsc. creator teams; equalizer teamsd. equalizer teams; destroyer teams

37. In order to develop new financial instruments for sale to its clients, a bank brings together a cross-functional team, consisting of members from finance, legal, marketing, and other units. Which of the following is a problem that is likely to arise from such a cross-functional team?a. The widely varying initial perspectives of team members can increase conflicts.b. The team will not have sufficient responsibility to complete the project. c. The team will not have sufficient technical knowledge for the project.d. The diverse backgrounds of team members will stifle creativity.

38. A team was set up by a group of Asian, Australian, and North American universities in order to allow students to transfer easily between each institution. However, the team achieved little, with the members from different nations accusing each other of being bullying, insensitive, and unprofessional. Which one of the following terms characterizes this global team?a. creatorsb. paralyzersc. equalizersd. destroyers

39. Within the context of teamwork competencies, all of the following EXCEPT _____ are examples of skills.a. shared vision and mutual trustb. adaptability and flexibilityc. decision making and problem solvingd. coordination and task integration


40. Members of virtual teams are often geographically dispersed, so _____.a. communication can be incomplete and subject to misinterpretationb. trust among team members may be hard to develop c. management supervision may be more difficult than in a typical group d. all of the above

41. A _____ is probably the most difficult type of team to manage.a. project teamb. command teamc. virtual teamd. project/task team

42. As noted in “A Manager’s Challenge: Technology,” researchers associated with the University of North Carolina found that the forming-storming-norming-performing description of a group’s lifecycle _____. a. was well adapted to the development of virtual teamsb. had limited applicability to the development of virtual teamsc. was irrelevant to the development of virtual teamsd. was somewhat relevant to the development of virtual teams

43. _____ can be beneficial to a group, especially for less routine or more complex tasks.a. Task conflictb. Intergroup conflictc. Relational conflictd. Process conflict

44. _____ arises when group members possess divergent ideas or approaches to attaining goals.a. Task conflictb. Emotional conflictc. Relational conflictd. Process conflict

45. Conflict arises in a corporate training firm between sales staff and the educational designers. The sales staff wants courses to be customized according to each client’s specifications, while the designers prefer to produce general courses that can be sold


to a wide range of companies. Which of the following would probably be the best way to reduce the conflict between these groups?a. Focus both groups on an issue that they have in common, such as improving

customer satisfaction. b. Require everyone to attend company-sponsored anger management classes. c. Give managerial support to the group whose goals best fit the overall strategic

direction of the company.d. Focus on relational conflicts, rather than relevant substantive differences.

46. All of the following EXCEPT _____ are potential causes of task and process conflicts in groups. a. scarcity of resources to accomplish group goalsb. ambiguities regarding the task to be accomplishedc. differences in the interpersonal styles of group membersd. differences in goals, objectives, and perspectives among group members

47. Where does intragroup conflict occur?a. between groupsb. within groupsc. between departmentsd. across the organizational hierarchy

48. _____ discourages rather than encourages group members from considering multiple points of view and openly discussing ideas and solutions. a. Task conflictb. Substantive conflictc. Relational conflictd. Process conflict

49. Which of the following is NOT a significant indicator of group effectiveness?a. The group’s outputs are highly valued by those who use them.b. The group’s capacity for cooperation increases over time.c. Group members experience satisfaction from group membership.d. Group members are well compensated in financial returns.

50. Which of the following is NOT necessary for groups to be effective?a. high inter-group competition b. adequate effort to accomplish tasksc. appropriate strategies to accomplish tasksd. sufficient knowledge to accomplish tasks


Short Essay Questions

51. Discuss the four stages of group formation in an organizational context.

The stages of group formation are as follows: forming, storming, norming, and performing. The forming stage has unique challenges. One challenge presents itself when group members are not used to a group-oriented approach to work. The storming stage may last for some time, depending on the nature of the group and its tasks. In this stage, members learn what is expected of them, how to behave in an acceptable way, and how well they relate to each other. In the norming stage, a consensus about group issues emerges, as well as a degree of individual identity with the group and its goals. In the performing stage, the group is able to perform like a team and take actions as a logical entity. The group is able to influence individual members’ attitudes and cope with divergent opinions among group members. Furthermore, others within, or outside, the organization are being affected by the group’s actions.

52. What is social loafing? How can it be minimized?

Social loafing occurs when individuals in larger groups “sit back” and assume that others will “carry the load.” Social loafing can be minimized when a manager structures tasks to encourage full participation in the group. The key is being able to identify each member’s contributions. Other research indicates that social loafing in groups is less likely to occur in collectivist cultures.

53. What are “norms” within a group?

Norms are shared standards that guide the behavior of a group’s individual members. It would be difficult, for groups to function without norms. Each person’s behavior would be too unpredictable for coordinated action to take place. Norms also reduce ambiguity; they provide members with cues and guidelines about how to behave.

54. What are the characteristics of group norms?

Group norms can be understood by reviewing their main features. First, norms are usually established for the more important issues of concern to the group. Second, norms do not necessarily apply to all members of the group; some apply to certain members, usually based on the status or role of those members. Third, norms vary in their degree of acceptance by group members; some norms are accepted by virtually all members, others by only a majority. Fourth, norms vary in how much deviation members are permitted in following them; that is, some norms are flexible and some are more restrictive.


55. How might norms be developed within a group?

Norms do not appear spontaneously. Instead, they arise out of the interaction of group members. Norms may be developed through early behaviors. Typically, initial behaviors, especially in newly formed groups, establish standards for subsequent behavior. Norms may also be developed through imported behaviors. Group members often bring with them standards of behavior that were prominent in their former groups. Critical events can shape norms. For example, a sudden challenge to a group can create specific and vivid responses that form the basis for how members should be expected to respond in the future. Finally, norms can be created through explicitly stated standards. Leaders and high status members of a group may assert, “This is how we do it around here!”

56. Define and discuss the three types of group conflict.

Whenever people work together in groups, there is always the potential for conflict. The effects of group conflict can often be negative; however, some types of conflict can have positive effects. Conflict can be classified in three ways: task, process, and relationship conflict. Task conflict focuses on differences in ideas about the nature of the issues facing the group and the group’s objectives. Some task conflict can be positive, especially for less routine or more complex tasks; or if it is introduced deliberately, as in the use of a “devil’s advocate.” Process conflict involves differences of opinion about the procedures a group will use to achieve its goals. It may also have positive effects. Relationship conflict involves interpersonal differences. It distracts group members from their tasks, and discourages the consideration of multiple points of view and open discussion of ideas and solutions. Therefore, this type of conflict is usually dysfunctional.

57. What are the characteristics of highly effective groups?

One of the primary experts on group effectiveness, Richard Hackman, says that there are three major indicators of group effectiveness. First, any product or service they develop is highly desired and valued by customers. Second, increased cooperation among group members is encouraged and achieved. Third, group membership increases each person’s feelings of satisfaction, personal growth, and overall well-being.
