Chapter 10 HW

Which of the following is a difference between employee involvement teams and semi-autonomous work groups?

Employee involvement teams do not have the authority to make decisions, whereas semi-autonomous groups have the authority to make decisions.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of work teams?

Initially high turnover.

Which of the following statements is true of the members of self-managing teams?

They manage and control all of the major tasks directly related to production of a product or service without first getting approval from management.

Which of the following signs indicates that a team’s size needs to be changed?

If a few members dominate the team.

Identify a true statement about team norms.

They bestow stronger organizational commitment.

Gillian, a salesman, has completed his day’s tasks and is about to leave. Marsha, his supervisor, realizes that there is a task pending and assigns it to Gillian. Gillian refuses to complete the task by stating that he has finished his share of work. He suggests Marsha to assign the task to someone else. Marsha states that if he refuses to complete the task, he would have to look for a different job. Gillian now becomes more cooperative and agrees to work on the task. Which of the following kinds of team does this case exemplify?

A traditional work group.

Which of the following is most likely a result of minority domination?

Team members do not feel accountable for the decision and actions taken by their teams.

Which of the following is a declining stage when teams are not effectively managed?

De-forming.

In which of the following ways can teams have healthy conflicts?

By focusing on issues rather than personalities.

Which of the following is true of the right team size for good performance?

A team must be large enough to take advantage of team members’ diverse skills and knowledge.

Which of the following statements is true of a work team?

A work team consists of a small number of people with complementary skills.

Which of the following is a characteristic of cognitive conflict?

Reconciliation.

Which of the following is true of employee involvement teams?

They offer advice and suggestions to management concerning specific issues.

The finance team of a company conducts a meeting to discuss the worthiness of investing its funds in the local share market. Although most of the team members support the idea, one member, Mikhail, feels that the proposed investment is risky as the stock prices of many companies in the market has been erratic. However, Mikhail does not voice his opinion fearing that his dynamics with the team would be affected. The phenomenon that reflects Mikhail’s psychology is called _____.

Groupthink.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of a large team?

In a large team, team members find it difficult to get to know one another.

Which of the following is an advantage of cross-training?

It allows a team to function normally even in the absence of a member.

Which of the following statements is true of team norms?

They regulate the everyday actions that allow teams to function effectively.

Onyx Inc., a manufacturer of home appliances, received consumer complaints about its product demonstration and installation services. Marshall, the company’s chief executive officer, ordered investigation to determine the reasons for these complaints. It was found that employees who were hired to demonstrate and install the products lacked experience. Marshall immediately formed a team who were trained by technicians to improve their skills. Subsequently, all the consumers who had previously filed complaints were given effective demonstration. Eventually, the customer service desk started receiving appreciations and the sales improved. In this scenario, the work team improved _____.

Customer satisfaction.

Which of the following statements is true of affective conflict?

It relates to the emotional reactions that can occur when disagreements become personal rather than professional.

Unlike cognitive conflict, affective conflict:

Undermines team performance by preventing teams from engaging in the kinds of activities that are critical to team effectiveness.

Vanessa is appointed as the project manager for a project on new product development at Glacier Inc. After selecting employees from different functional areas to work as a team, she conducts a meeting with the new team members so that they can get to know each other. Following a brief interaction session, Vanessa presents the team norms to them. This scenario illustrates that Vanessa’s team is in the _____ stage of team development.

Forming.

Carmine Inc. is a software firm that caters to the requirements of its clients. The company follows an employee-friendly workplace culture. Team members can access all vital and confidential data that is normally accessible only by managers. This helps in motivating the teams and keeping them well informed. This scenario illustrates that teamwork increases _____.

Employee job satisfaction.

Which of the following statements is true of compensation?

Nonfinancial awards tend to be most effective when teams or team-based interventions are first introduced.

In the context of work teams, which of the following increases employee job satisfaction?

Being involved in decision-making processes.

Which of the following is an advantage of project teams?

They reduce communication barriers.