tb17

CHAPTER 17: MANAGING WORK TEAMS

Test Correlation Table Question Types/Level of Difficulty

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Easy Moderate Difficult

1. Explain the importance of work teams.

TF 1, 8 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 2

MC 1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 16 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18

2, 12, 15

ES 2 1 —

2. Identify four types of work teams. TF 12 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 18

11, 15, 17

MC 20, 22, 25, 31 19, 23, 24, 28, 32, 35, 36, 37

21, 26, 27, 29, 30, 33, 34

ES — 3 —

3. State the meaning and determinants of team effectiveness.

TF 19 20 21

MC — 38, 39, 41 40, 42, 43

ES — — 4

4. Describe the internal team processes that can affect team performance.

TF 24, 31 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29

28, 30

MC 49, 57, 60, 61, 64, 67

44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 59, 62, 63, 66, 68

46, 58, 65, 69

ES 8 5, 6 7

5. Explain how to diagnose and remove barriers to poor team performance.

TF 33, 43, 44, 46, 47

32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42,

45

38, 41, 48

MC 74, 75, 78 70, 71, 72, 76, 77, 79, 81, 82, 85, 86, 87, 90,

92

73, 80, 83, 88, 89, 91, 93

ES — 9, 11, 12, 14 10, 13

455


455


True/False Questions

Learning Objective 1

1. A team is a special type of group.

ANSWER: T, Knowledge, Easy, p. 480

2. Researchers estimate that 50 percent or more of the employees work in teams at 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies.

ANSWER: T, Knowledge, Difficult, p. 481

3. Many top managers report spending close to 10 percent of their time in team meetings.

ANSWER: F, Knowledge, Moderate, pp. 481–482

4. A committee is another name for a work team.

ANSWER: T, Knowledge, Moderate, p. 481

5. Some informal groups may actually be opposed to organizational goals.


6. Companies such as Toyota and Honda, known for their product development skills, require as many as 1,000 engineers working in teams for one to two years to develop a new car.


7. In a recent study, half the managers responding believed that improving teamwork processes to focus on customers was the strategic initiative with the greatest potential for ensuring their organizations’ success.


8. Microsoft employees dislike working in teams because face-to-face communication and problem solving at its headquarters is seldom possible.

ANSWER: F, Knowledge, Easy, p. 483


9. A work team may vary from short term to permanent.


10. A problem-solving work team usually consists of employees from different areas of the organization.

456



11. Not all problem-solving teams have indefinite life spans.


12. Quality circles are also known as TQM teams.


13. Quality circles, used at Navistar International and Johnson & Johnson, look for and propose solutions to quality-related problems continually.


14. Signicast Corporation, suppliers of metal parts for Harley Davidson and John Deere, use task forces to solve problems.


15. A functional work team brought together as a task force to look at a specific issue or problem would disband as soon as it had completed its specific assignment.


16. Task forces differ from multidisciplinary work teams in one important way: Task forces are the primary vehicles for accomplishing the core work of the organization.

ANSWER: F, Knowledge, Moderate, p. 486

17. Pharmaceutical companies use product development teams, which are different from multidisciplinary work teams.

ANSWER: F, Knowledge, Difficult, p. 486

18. A self-managing work team normally consists of employees who meet once a week to make managerial decision for their unit.



19. The first step in fostering team effectiveness involves stating what effectiveness means.


20. Effectiveness is determined by one main set of influences: the external context in which the team operates.


457


21. Jeanie Duck with the Boston Consulting Group advises new teams to get past the startup phase quickly so that the team can focus on performance.



22. According to the stages of team development, no specified period of time is required for a team to progress from one stage to the next.


23. All groups, according to the stages of team development, reach their performance potential.


24. During the forming stage of team development, a work team focuses on orientation to its goals and procedures.


25. The storming stage of team development is characterized by increased tension among members while increasing output at the same time.


26. Harmony and conformity occur in the performing stage of team development.


27. Members who have achieved trust and openness among themselves are entering the norming stage of team development.


28. As members of a team experience turnover, some recycling through earlier development stages rather than adjournment may occur. Staggered terms of appointment can minimize the amount of recycling required.


29. The greater the degree to which trust, openness, freedom, and interdependence are present, the higher is the level of group cohesiveness.


30. Feelings refer to the negative emotional experiences of the individual team members.

ANSWER: F, Knowledge, Difficult, 494

458


31. One of the criteria for a performance norm is that rewards and punishments are used.



32. The use of subteams to compensate for the problem of having too large a team is considered inappropriate by management experts.


33. Increasing the team size demands greater attention by the leader.


34. As work teams become larger, the team's tolerance of direction from the leader diminishes.


35. Understaffed teams tend to outperform overstaffed teams.


36. For innovative decision making, the ideal work team size is probably between five and nine members.


37. Intrapreneurial teams frequently set up skunkworks operations in a remote location, away from distractions.


38. Virtual work teams are typically multidisciplinary teams and rarely functional teams.


39. Sabre found that technical skills were the primary essential requirement for virtual team members.


40. In some cultures, such as China, Malaysia, and Thailand, societal values support avoiding open conflict and instead strive for harmony and cohesiveness.


41. U.S. and Canadian cultures are individualistic and the workers are much more comfortable with conflict than workers from many other countries.

459



42. In individualistic cultures, employees working in self-managing teams often report being very satisfied with their work.


43. Team training usually involves the performance of a variety of tasks that enhance team cohesiveness.


44. The greater the degree of self-management, the less the team has authority for making decisions.


45. The more self-managing a team is, the more important it is for team members to receive training that will enhance all their management competencies.


46. Consensus means that the team leader's decision is final.


47. Both experiential training and formal training are needed to develop successful team management.


48. Team rewards are fairly easy to design because most organizations assign workers to one primary full time team.

ANSWER: F, Knowledge, Difficult, pp. 504–505

Multiple Choice Questions

Preview 1. Until four years ago, Roche had its scientist divided into teams that were __________.

a. focused on common goalsb. competing with each other for resourcesc. unable to produce a blockbuster drugd. collaborating with other pharmaceutical companies

ANSWER: B, Knowledge, Easy, p. 480

2. Competitive teams at Roche led to all of the following except __________.a. multidisciplinary structureb. reluctance to share expertisec. project commitmentd. competition for resources

460


ANSWER: A, Knowledge, Difficult, p. 480


Work Teams and Other Groups3. A __________is two or more individuals who come into personal and meaningful

contact on a continuing basis.a. groupb. teamc. unitd. division

ANSWER: A, Knowledge, Easy, p. 480

4. Teams and groups are __________.a. essentially the same thingb. divided between informal and formal functionsc. both important, but for different reasonsd. defined by either work or leisure

ANSWER: C, Knowledge, Moderate, p. 480

5. Nicole Summers works in the payroll department at Emerson Electric. She is part of a(n) __________.a. informal groupb. work teamc. formal groupd. task force

ANSWER: C, Application, Moderate, p. 480

6. To be a team, the members must have all of the following characteristics except __________.a. formal leadershipb. shared goalsc. communicationd. collaboration


7. A __________ consists of a small number of employees with complementary skills who work together on a project, are committed to a common purpose, and are accountable for performing tasks that contribute to achieving an organization’s goals.a. formal groupb. work unitc. work teamd. task force

ANSWER: C, Knowledge, Easy, p. 480

461


8. A study that compared traditional repair garages to team-based garages found that __________.a. team workers were more satisfiedb. customers did not fully understand the team conceptc. team-based garages were fasterd. team-based garages were more profitable

ANSWER: D, Knowledge, Moderate, p. 481

9. The importance of teams is reflected in the amount of time that managers and others spend in team meetings. All of the following statements correctly support this except:a. many top managers report spending 50 percent or more of their time in team

meetings.b. first-line managers and professionals may spend between 20 and 50 percent of their

time in team meetings.c. team meetings are varied in purpose, style, length, format, and technology.d. all of the above

ANSWER: D, Knowledge, Moderate, pp. 481–482

10. A(n) __________ consists of a small number of individuals who frequently participate together in activities and share feeling for the purpose of meeting their mutual needs.a. teamb. informal groupc. formal groupd. social club


11. Six individuals who are employed by the City of Dayton regularly seek each other out and almost always eat lunch together. Their interactions have become meaningful and the individuals have developed expectations for each other's behavior. These individuals are known as a(n) __________.a. lunch groupb. work group c. informal team d. informal group

ANSWER: D, Application, Moderate, pp. 482–483

12. CommonHealth wanted to facilitate teamwork in every possible way when it renovated its three buildings. All of the following worker-friendly spaces were provided except __________.a. alcovesb. meeting roomsc. workout roomsd. bistros

ANSWER: C, Knowledge, Difficult, p. 482

462


13. CommonHealth designed workspace during their renovations that included a cappuccino bar in order to __________.a. keep workers from leaving the building for breaksb. encourage workers to congregate informallyc. create a formal discussion area for team membersd. energize workers who are stuck in cubicles all day

ANSWER: B, Knowledge, Moderate, p. 482

14. What airline's pilots described in the text banded together in informal groups at major hubs across the country and agreed to refuse to fly overtime?a. United Airlinesb. Southwest Airlinesc. Northwest Airlinesd. Continental Airlines

ANSWER: A, Knowledge, Moderate, p. 483

15. Half the managers responding to one study believed what factor presents the greatest potential for ensuring their organizations’ success?a. innovation and on-time delivery of servicesb. communication and cooperation among employeesc. improving team processes to focus on customersd. networking and career growth for employees


16. What challenges must management meet in order to assure the success of teams? a. figuring out how to cope with the mountains of work involvedb. integrating the efforts of the individuals working on the projectsc. organizing employees into numerous work teamsd. all of the above

ANSWER: D, Knowledge, Easy, p. 483

17. Teams increase the speed of product development by adopting the use of what type of development?a. serialb. prototypingc. paralleld. research


463


18. Which of the following statements correctly describes Jostens’ success with implementing self-managing teams? a. Productivity increased from 6 rings per employee per day to 16 rings per employee

per day.b. Jostens includes peer evaluations in their teamwork plan.c. The entire process, from order receipt to shipping, was shortened from 30 calendar

days to just 10 calendar days.d. Jostens publishes Ring Wear magazine and a Web site to enhance communication

with the team members.



Types of Work Teams19. All of the following are the types of work teams found in organizations except

________.a. functionalb. informalc. problem-solvingd. self-managing


20. Work teams differ in many respects. What are the key differences among work teams?a. the education level of membersb. the longevity of their workc. the membership of the teamd. both b and c are correct


21. What is the unique feature characterizing NASA’s mission control team?a. It has a membership that includes both suppliers and customers.b. Its goal focuses on product development.c. The work team has been in existence for several decades.d. It is a functional work team brought together as a task force to complete a particular

mission.


22. A(n) __________ team usually consists of employees from different areas of a department who consider how something can be done better.a. cross-functional b. eclectic c. employee participationd. problem-solving


464


23. Mark Hansen is a member of a manufacturing quality circle team. His team meets one or two hours a week on a continuing basis to discuss ways to improve quality, safety, and productivity. Mark would accurately describe and categorize his team as a type of __________ team.a. cross-functional b. problem-solving c. eclectic d. employee participation

ANSWER: B, Application, Moderate, p. 484

24. A __________ is a group of employees who meet regularly to identify, analyze, and propose solutions to various types of workplace problems.a. quality circleb. problem-solving work teamc. TQM teamd. both a and c are correct


25. A __________ is a team that is formed to accomplish a specific, highly important task for an organization.a. multidisciplinary teamb. task forcec. functional work teamd. TQM team


26. What managerial competency did Signicast use when it adopted a team-based organizational design in the manufacture of precision metal parts?a. communication competencyb. strategic action competencyc. global awareness competencyd. self-management competency

ANSWER: B, Application, Difficult, p. 485

27. What type of team did Signicast Corporation use when it developed plans for a new facility?a. Signicast’s executives involved the employees in a functional work team.b. The employees were placed in a multidisciplinary work team.c. A problem-solving task force was developed.d. Despite implementing the team-based approach, Signicast discontinued the use of

teams because of unanticipated negative side effects such as lingering unproductive conflicts and turnover.


465


28. A team brought together as a task force to look at a specific problem __________. a. disbands when its assignment is complete b. endures as long as the organization maintains its basic structurec. includes a manager and subordinatesd. is essential for accomplishing the core work of the organization

ANSWER: A, Knowledge, Moderate, p. 486

29. ConAgra, a diversified international food company, uses a team whose members are the purchasing manager and the purchasing agents in the department. Their goals include minimizing costs and ensuring that beef supplies are available to stores when needed. To achieve their goals, these work team members coordinate their activities constantly, sharing information on price changes and new products. What type of team is ConAgra likely using?a. functional work teamb. self-managing work teamc. problem-solving work teamd. task force

ANSWER: A, Application, Difficult, p. 485

30. All of the following statements are true concerning multidisciplinary work teams except:a. the teams may consist of employees from various functional areas and sometimes

several organizational levels.b. the use of such teams is spreading rapidly and crosses all types of organizational

boundaries.c. product development teams are a common type of multidisciplinary work team.d. the main disadvantage of this kind of team is the deliberate and slow rate of activity

that often occurs.

ANSWER: D, Knowledge, Difficult, p. 486

31. A(n) __________ team exists only for the period of time required to bring a product to market.a. customer needs b. functionalc. product developmentd. new production


32. __________ is not one of the competitive advantages of multidisciplinary work teams.a. Creativity b. Speedc. Productiond. Differentiation


466


33. Tracie Corbin is a member of a work team that schedules members’ work and vacations, rotates job tasks and makes assignments, and sets production goals. What type of team is Tracie likely a part of?a. self-managing work teamb. cross-organizational teamc. problem-solving teamd. functional team

ANSWER: A, Application, Difficult, pp. 486–487

34. The use of self-managing work teams has fundamentally changed how work is organized, making an enormous impact on how businesses are run. All of the following correctly describe the impact of self-managing work teams except:a. each member frequently will learn and rotate the multiple skills and assignments

performed by the team.b. these teams may rotate team leadership. c. typically these teams require one or more managerial levels to be added to the

organization.d. teams have a strong commitment to the organization’s mission.

ANSWER: C, Knowledge, Difficult, pp. 486–487

35. A __________ team normally consists of employees who work together daily to produce an entire good or service.a. cross-organizationalb. quality circlec. life cycle d. self-managing


36. What type of team does Lockheed Martin use to design new technology, meet with customers and suppliers, and develop new products for the U.S. Navy?a. problem-solvingb. high performancec. multidisciplinary d. temporary


37. When truly empowered, a self-managed team does all of the following except:a. sees the final outcome of its efforts.b. makes its own decision on when to disband.c. has a strong commitment to the organization's mission.d. has autonomy over its own activities.


467



A Framework for Team Effectiveness38. Which of the following is not a key component of a model of work team functioning?

a. external context in which the team operatesb. informal behaviorsc. team designd. internal team processes


39. According to the model of work team functioning, effectiveness is determined by __________.a. the external context in which the team operatesb. the design of the teamc. the internal team processesd. the interaction of all of the above determine team effectiveness.


40. The first step in fostering team effectiveness involves __________.a. knowing about the various complaints that team members are likely to haveb. stating what effectiveness isc. knowing how to reward team members for getting their work doned. stating how the team will be disbanded when the goal is met

ANSWER: B, Knowledge, Difficult, p. 488

41. All of the following are typical effectiveness criteria for teams except __________.a. speedb. creativityc. disciplined. accuracy


42. The second step in achieving team effectiveness involves __________.a. knowing how to assess the effectiveness of each team memberb. knowing the factors that determine how well the team is doing with respect to the

effectiveness criteriac. knowing the internal conflicts among team membersd. knowing the leader of the team and how decisions are made


468


43. Internal team problems would include __________, according to the model of team function.a. too much conflictb. lack of a leaderc. a heavy work loadd. changing technology

ANSWER: A, Knowledge, Difficult, p. 489


Internal Team Processes44. __________ refer(s) to the activities that enable a team to cooperate and coordinate the

efforts of team members, including the development of the team over time, personal feelings, and behavioral norms.a. Formation processesb. External supportsc. Internal processesd. Team culture


45. Bobby Bradford has just received the results from the Team Assessment Survey that each team member was required to complete. Bobby should take all of the following actions except __________.a. compute the team’s average score for each question b. provide feedback to the teamc. identify the team member with the lowest scored. after awhile, reassess the members to measure if satisfactory progress has been

made


46. Ayako Liyama of Northern States Power Company has just administered the Team Assessment Survey to each of the individual team members in his group. All of the following are likely benefits of this survey except:a. Liyama and the individual team members can learn how to manage more effectively

the work team’s internal processb. Liyama can use the survey to pinpoint problems that the team needs to addressc. Liyama can provide feedback acknowledging what the team seems to be doing well

and identifying the things that need to be improved d. all of the above

ANSWER: D, Application, Difficult, p. 491

469


47. All of the following statements are true concerning the developmental stages that teams commonly go through except:a. work teams’ time together is a key factor in determining team functioning.b. work teams develop from immaturity to maturity.c. work teams are measured on a scale of low responsibility to high responsibility.d. work teams develop from first encounter to adjournment.

ANSWER: C, Knowledge, Moderate, pp. 491–492

48. Angela Cunningham is a member of a work team and has begun to develop a sense of belonging and commitment. She feels that the rules of behavior are widely shared and enforced by the member of the work team. What stage of team development has Cunningham’s team reached? a. forming stageb. performing stagec. norming staged. storming stage


49. What is the earliest stage of team development?a. forming stageb. norming stagec. storming staged. performing stage

ANSWER: A, Knowledge, Easy, pp. 492–493

50. According to the stages of team development, a team that focuses on becoming oriented to its goals and procedures is in the __________ stage.a. stormingb. normingc. formingd. performing


51. The __________ stage, the second step in the stages of team development, is when competitive or strained behaviors of team members emerge.a. normingb. formingc. performingd. storming


470


52. A production team has recently been formed at Goodman Manufacturing. The team seems more focused on interpersonal fighting than on the assigned production tasks. According to the stages of group development, the team is in the __________ stage.a. developingb. formingc. stormingd. infighting


53. During the __________ stage of team development, team members become increasingly positive about the team as a whole, the other members as individuals, and what the group is doing.a. socializingb. performingc. advancementd. norming


54. A production team was formed last month at Carolina Textile Mills. The team went through a period of infighting and now is beginning to sort out task-related and member roles. According to the team development model, the team is in the __________ stage.a. performingb. optimizingc. normingd. resolving


55. If a team reaches the __________ stage of team development, members usually have come to trust and accept each other.a. formingb. normingc. reformingd. performing


56. A production team was formed last year at Spartanburg Manufacturing. The team went through a period of infighting and then a period where these conflicts were resolved. Presently, the team seems to focus on getting things done and building interpersonal relationship. According to the group development model, the team is now in the __________ stage.a. performingb. normingc. formingd. none of the above

ANSWER: A, Application, Moderate, p. 493

471


57. During the __________ stage of team development, the team is involved with terminating task behaviors and disengaging from relationships.a. disengagingb. adjourningc. dissolvingd. resolving


58. Dr. Dana Valich is a member of a work team at a large HMO. He has just presented a “wild” idea about patient services and was put down by other members of the team he thought had come to trust and accept him. Clearly, Dr. Valich thought this team was in what stage of team development?a. norming stageb. storming stagec. performing staged. adjourning stage

ANSWER: C, Application, Difficult, pp. 493–494

59. Which of the following is not a feeling likely to influence work team effectiveness and productivity?a. trustb. opennessc. freedomd. all of the above


60. __________ refers to the emotional climate of a group.a. Cohesivenessb. Feelingsc. Behavioral normsd. Groupthink


61. The greater the degree to which trust, openness, freedom, and interdependence are present, the higher is the level of group __________. With this attribute, groups can work effectively for or against organizational goals.a. cohesiveness b. competitionc. self-fulfilling prophesyd. independence


472


62. __________ are the informal rules of behavior that are widely shared and enforced by the members of a team.a. Cohesiveness b. Group social structuresc. Interactionsd. Behavioral norms


63. A performance norm exists when all of the following criteria have been met except:a. there is a standard of appropriate behavior for the team.b. members generally agree on the standard.c. members are aware that the team supports the particular standard through a system

of rewards and punishments.d. all of the above


64. A team member is engaged in __________ when not contributing fully to team performance but still shares in team rewards.a. anarchy b. antisocial behavior c. free ridingd. regressive behavior


65. As it acquires companies, Michael Foods likes to do all of the following except:a. allow the acquired company to remain autonomous.b. create an environment of open communication.c. preserve the entrepreneurial qualities of the acquired company.d. transfer its business practices to the new division.

ANSWER: D, Knowledge, Difficult, pp. 494–495

66. A new culture arose when Michael Foods fully integrated the Papetti group that they had acquired. One of the first goals was to __________.a. get rid of managers who were resistant to changeb. identify the best practices in each divisionc. bring the two divisions together in one production facilityd. all of the above


67. __________ is an agreement-at-any-cost mentality that results in ineffective team decision making and possibly poor solutions.a. Accentuation b. Teamthinkc. Groupthinkd. Zero-sum thinking

473



68. __________ occurs when team members value different points of view and seek to draw them out to facilitate creative problem solving.a. Groupthinkb. Productive controversyc. Team effectivenessd. Team performing


69. Falling between the extremes of all-out warfare and groupthink are teams with norms that support productive controversy. When is productive controversy not likely to occur?a. when team members value different points of viewb. when members facilitate creative problem solvingc. when members establish ground rules to keep them focused on people rather than

task issuesd. when members follow procedures that equalize sharing of power and responsibility



Diagnosing the Causes of Poor Team Performance70. Important features of the external system are all of the following except __________.

a. cultureb. diagnosis of problemsc. team member selectiond. reward system


71. Design choices involved in creating a work team include all of the following except __________.a. team goalsb. team locationc. team terminationd. team membership


72. What is the optimal team size for innovative decision making?a. less than 5 membersb. 5 to 9 membersc. 15 to 20 membersd. 25 members or more


474


73. As a team’s size increases, changes occur in the decision-making process. Which of the following is not one of the effects of increasing team size?a. demands on leader time and attention are greaterb. the team’s tolerance of direction from the leader is greaterc. the team’s decision making becomes more decentralizedd. the team atmosphere is less friendly


74. The purpose of __________ is to encourage all team members to share ideas when analyzing problems, information, and alternative solutions.a. subteamsb. proximityc. empowermentd. a standard operating procedure


75. __________ refers to the location of a team’s members relative to the organization and relative to each othera. Subteamsb. Proximityc. Team empowermentd. Spatial culture


76. Two aspects of team location are proximity to other work teams and __________.a. proximity to the competitorsb. proximity to the taskc. proximity to each otherd. proximity to global opportunities


77. Which of the following companies described in your textbook benefits from teams sharing close proximity to each other?a. Lincoln Power Systemsb. Black and Deckerc. Microsoftd. none of the above


475


78. Verifone, a worldwide supplier of transaction automation software and communications systems, uses work teams that meet and do tasks without everyone being physically present in the same place or even at the same time. What type of work team does Verifone likely employ?a. proximity-based teamb. virtual work teamc. e-teamd. technical work team

ANSWER: B, Application, Easy, p. 498

79. Because Sabre's virtual team members do not see each other very often, the company has designed their jobs with all of the following except:a. classroom training before a team's launch.b. a small group of senior team managers who meet frequently.c. setting of objectives and clarification of roles.d. CD-ROM training modules.


80. Sabre invested in development of new measures for team effectiveness, which include __________.a. customer satisfaction ratingsb. electronic monitoring of team discussionsc. 360-degree performance assessmentsd. all of the above


81. Eric Sorensen is developing rules and establishing practices for managing a new virtual work team at his new company Soccer for Stars. Eric should adopt all of the following practices except __________.a. use a variety of communication technologiesb. pay attention to the quality of the communication transmissionsc. monitor the discussions of each memberd. encourage team members to discuss cultural differences


82. Tonia Brown has been a member of a virtual work team for several years. Which of the following principles should Tonia’s team adopt?a. Resist the temptation to hold a face-to-face meeting.b. Assemble the team members to visit others only when all members are present.c. If meetings are necessary, limit them to only one or two a year.d. Schedule periodic face-to-face meetings to refresh connections.

ANSWER: D, Application, Moderate, p. 500

476


83. The __________ is likely to influence whether informal groups form to either embrace or undermine organizational goals and authority relationships.a. activities of the group b. group social structure c. co-optation systemd. organizational culture

ANSWER: D, Knowledge, Difficult, pp. 500–501

84. Differences in norms for team behavior often reflect differences in national culture. All of the following countries have strong societal values that support striving for harmony and avoiding open conflict except __________.a. Chinab. Canadac. Malaysiad. Thailand


85. Of the managerial competencies listed, __________ is essential for working in all types of teams.a. self-awarenessb. communicationc. strategic actiond. planning and administration


86. To be a successful job candidate hired for the GE/Durham plant, 11 skills are required and include all of the following except __________.a. FAA certificationb. coachingc. flexibilityd. all of the above


87. Which of the following is true concerning NASA’s team training?a. The teams work together for six months before their space mission.b. Due to the scientific nature of their work, formal training is emphasized more than

informal team training.c. NASA understands that individual needs come before effective teamwork.d. None of the above correctly describe NASA’s team training program.

ANSWER: D, Knowledge, Moderate, pp. 501–502

477


88. Work teams of all types are being empowered to perform tasks that previously were not employees’ responsibility. Which of the following tasks requires the highest level of team self-management and the most advanced competency for handling the task?a. sharing leadership tasksb. scheduling vacations and shiftsc. monitoring spendingd. dismissing team members

ANSWER: D, Application, Difficult, p. 502

89. Work teams of all types are being empowered to perform tasks that previously were not the responsibility of employees. Which of the following tasks requires the lowest level of team self-management and the least advanced competency for handling the task?a. selection of new membersb. production schedulingc. cross-training of team membersd. disciplining members

ANSWER: C, Application, Difficult, p. 502

90. __________ is an interactive, computer-based system that combines communication, computer, and decision-making technologies to support group meetings.a. GSAb. GDSSc. TQMd. None of the above


91. Employees of Chrysler’s Evart Glass Plant were required to participate in a one-day camplike program as a part of team training and team building. What teamwork lesson was taught by having the members juggle several objects such as tennis balls, simultaneously, as a team?a. Each member has different strengths and bringing these strengths together leads to

task success.b. Things that may seem impossible can be achieved when people work together.c. Although everyone has a different role, each person touches and affects the

outcome.d. Teams must find and use each individual’s hidden strengths.

ANSWER: C, Application, Difficult, p. 504

92. As a team leader choosing ways to reward your work team, you should ask all of the following questions except:a. How can nonmonetary rewards be used to recognize excellent team performance?b. Should all members of the team receive equal rewards?c. Who should be responsible for the allocation of rewards among team members?d. All of the above should be asked.

ANSWER: D, Application, Moderate, p. 505

478


93. Which of the following correctly describes the reward systems for teams?a. In the United States, the formal compensation systems in most organizations have

been designed to reward team performance.b. Bonuses should be distributed based on the team success, and commissions should

reward individual performance.c. Close to half of all companies currently offer “small group incentives.”d. Most experts agree that different team structures call for different reward systems.


Essay Questions


1. Explain the importance of work teams.

The popularity of team-based organizational structures reflects the belief that teamwork offers the potential to achieve outcomes that couldn’t be achieved by individuals working in isolation. Several strategic objectives lead organizations to design their structures around work teams, including customers’ demands for innovation, faster response times, better quality, and lower prices.

Moderate, pp. 480–484

2. What is a group? Briefly describe the two types of groups within an organization.

a. A group is two or more individuals who come into personal and meaningful contact on a continuing basis.

b. A formal group consists of people who jointly have and work toward goals that relate directly to the achievement of organizational goals.

c. An informal group consists of a small number of individuals who frequently participate together in activities and share feelings for the purpose of meeting their mutual needs.

Easy, pp. 480–483


3. Briefly describe three of the four most common types of organizational teams.

a. Functional work teams include members from a single department who jointly consider issues and solve problems common to their area of responsibility and expertise.

b. Problem-solving work teams usually consist of employees from different areas of a department who consider how something can be done better.

c. Multidisciplinary work teams may consist of employees from various functional areas and sometimes several organizational levels who collectively work on specific tasks.

d. Self-managing work teams normally consist of employees who work together daily to make an entire product or deliver an entire service.


479



4. State the meaning and determinants of team effectiveness.

The primary components of a model of work team functioning are the external context in which the team operates, team design, internal team processes, and criteria for assessing the team’s effectiveness. These four components are highly interrelated and must be considered together in order to understand fully how a particular team functions.

Effectiveness criteria measure the outcomes achieved by individual members and the team as a whole. A particular work team may be effective in some respects and not in others. A team's external context comprises outside conditions and influences that exist before and after the team is formed. Its components include the societal and organizational culture, member selection, team training, and reward system.

Difficult, pp. 488–489


5. Describe the internal team processes that can affect team performance.

Teams tend to develop over time, moving through several developmental stages. These stages include forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. Teams may move through these stages in a variety of ways. In effective teams, members develop feelings of trust, openness, freedom, and interdependence. These feelings allow team members to cooperate and coordinate their actions. Behavioral norms also develop within a work team. They function to regulate and standardize behaviors within the team. Norms concerning how to handle conflict and controversy are especially important for effective team decision making.


6. Describe three of the five stages of team development.

a. Forming occurs when a group focuses on orientation of its members to its goals and procedures.

b. Storming occurs when competitive or strained behaviors emerge, usually the result of resistance to or impatience with the lack of group progress.

c. Norming occurs when members of the group become increasingly positive about the group as a whole, the other members as individuals, and what the group is doing.

d. Performing occurs when members usually have come to trust and accept each other and a diversity of viewpoints is supported and encouraged. This is a stage that not all groups fully reach.

e. Adjourning involves the termination of task behaviors and disengaging from relationships.


480


7. Identify four characteristics that lead to high levels of team performance.

a. Members direct their energies toward the twin goals of getting things done (task behaviors) and building constructive interpersonal ties and processes (relationship behaviors).

b. Members use procedures for making decisions, including how to share leadership.c. Members trust each other and are open among themselves.d. Members receive help from and give help to one another.e. Members are free to be themselves while feeling a sense of belonging with others.f. Members accept and deal with conflicts.g. Members diagnose and improve their own functioning.

Difficult, p. 493–494

8. Identify the four feelings most likely to influence work team effectiveness and productivity and determine its significance.

The feelings are trust, openness, freedom, and interdependence. The greater the degree to which the four feelings are present, the greater is the level of group cohesiveness.

Easy, p. 494


9. Explain how to diagnose and remove barriers to poor team performance.

When teams are ineffective, the source of the problem may be internal team processes. However, poor internal processes may be caused by factors in the team’s external system. Managers who accurately diagnose the causes of work team problems will be able to take appropriate corrective actions.

Moderate, p. 497

10. Identify what the external system comprises.

The external system comprises outside conditions and influences that exist before and after the team is formed. These external influences may include team design, culture, team member selection, team training, and the reward system.

Difficult, p. 497

481


11. Identify three effects caused by increasing the team size.

a. Demands on leader time and attention are greater. The leader becomes more psychologically distant from the other team members.

b. The team’s tolerance of direction from the leader is greater, and the team's decision making becomes more centralized.

c. The team atmosphere is less friendly, the communications are less personal, more cliques form within the team, and in general, team members are less satisfied.

d. The team’s rules and procedures become more formalized.e. The likelihood of some members being free riders increases.

Moderate, p. 497

12. Identify four general guidelines that all virtual work teams should follow to function effectively.

a. Whenever possible, use a variety of communication technologiesb. Pay attention to the quality of the communication transmissions.c. Encourage the team members to discuss culture differences.d. Be sure that someone is responsible for facilitating the communication process.e. Encourage team members to interact one on one, without feeling obligated to copy

every e-mail message to the entire team.f. Train team members to match their choice of technology to the task.

Moderate, p. 500

13. Managers should consider several questions when designing work team rewards. Identify four of these questions or choices managers must face.

a. How can nonmonetary rewards be used to recognize excellent team performance?b. What portion of a person's total monetary rewards should be linked to performance

of the team?c. If rewards are to be linked to results, which effectiveness criteria should be used to

evaluate team results? Individual results?d. How should rewards be distributed among members of a team? Should all

members of the team receive equal rewards?e. Who should be responsible for the allocation of rewards among team members?f. For global teams, how should cultural differences among members of the team and

the pay systems used in different countries be addressed?

Difficult, p. 505

482


14. Describe how Chrysler’s Evart Glass Plant division developed its use of teams and identify what competency its training emphasized.

Because most organizations cannot afford to give work team members a year or two of training before the teams begin working on their tasks, many organizations use experientially based, adventure training to develop team cohesiveness. Evart Glass Plant, a division of Chrysler Corporation, involved its entire 250-person staff in such training as a way to prepare them for working in self-managed work teams. The training teams were cross-functional and included union members and managers alike. Challenging activities requiring team efforts were designed to teach lessons in teamwork and to develop planning and administration competencies such as problem-solving, organizing projects, and time management.


483

tb17

Education

problemsolving work

functional work team

types of work teams

work teams11

team meetings

poor team

problemsolving teams

work teamstruefalse