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Excellence in Business Communication, 12e (Thill/Bovee)
Chapter 2 Collaboration, Interpersonal Communication, and Business Etiquette
1) As an approach to resolving conflict during team activities, a ________ proposes that both
sides can satisfy their goals (at least to some extent) and seeks to minimize losses for everyone
involved.
A) fair play strategy
B) lose-lose strategy
C) win-win strategy
D) break-even strategy
E) proactive behavior strategy
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
2) In participative management
A) employees are involved in the company’s decision making.
B) all top-level managers participate in profit sharing.
C) teams are discouraged in favor of individual achievement.
D) an authoritarian management model is used.
E) managers have exclusive control.
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
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3) During the group development process, the ________ phase is reached when a consensus is
reached and the team finds a solution that all members are willing to support.
A) orientation
B) emergence
C) brainstorming
D) reinforcement
E) conflict
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Synthesis
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
4) A ________ usually has a long life span and typically deals with regularly recurring tasks.
A) task force
B) work group
C) committee
D) problem-solving team
E) groupthink team
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
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5) Which one of the following is an indication of a dysfunctional team role?
A) Encouraging
B) Compromising
C) Coordinating
D) Initiating
E) Diverting
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
6) Groupthink refers to
A) the willingness of individual group members to withhold contrary or unpopular opinions,
even when those objections are legitimate, and to favor majority opinion.
B) the four-step decision-making process in groups.
C) software programs that help groups make decisions.
D) the basic rules that underlie a group’s behavior and guide the group to make its decisions.
E) putting others first instead of being selfish.
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
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7) A hidden agenda refers to
A) a meeting agenda that is not revealed to others outside the meeting group.
B) individuals harboring motives, which they conceal from the rest of the group.
C) an agenda that members must look for before they can attend a meeting.
D) an approach to group dynamics that helps facilitate group functioning.
E) an agenda that is not shared until the meeting begins.
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
8) One member of a task force on which you serve is particularly good at helping other members
get along and work through their differences. This individual plays a(n)
A) team-maintenance role.
B) task-oriented role.
C) self-oriented role.
D) coordinating role.
E) empathic role.
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Application
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
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9) During the ________ of the group-development process, the members of a problem-solving
team would begin to discuss their positions and become more assertive in establishing their roles.
A) emergence phase
B) reinforcement phase
C) orientation phase
D) brainstorming phase
E) conflict phase
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
10) ________ refers to working together to meet complex challenges.
A) Collation
B) Collaboration
C) Gathering
D) Dictating
E) Conspiring
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Easy
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
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11) ________ are informal standards of conduct that members share and that guide member
behavior.
A) Norms
B) Expectations
C) Dynamics
D) Responsibilities
E) Robert’s Rules of Order
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
12) In the ________ phase of team evolution, team members reach a decision and find a solution
that is acceptable enough for all members to support (even if they have reservations).
A) orientation
B) reinforcement
C) conflict
D) brainstorming
E) emergence
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
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13) Cross-functional teams perform several roles, even though they contain employees from the
same department or division.
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
14) In the phenomenon of groupthink, the team may arrive at poor-quality decisions and even act
unethically.
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
15) Group members who play team-maintenance roles help everyone to work better together.
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Analytic thinking
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
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16) Briefly explain why the ability to work effectively in teams is so important in business.
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
17) What are three potential disadvantages of working in teams?
of effective teams, and highlight four key issues of group dynamics.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
18) Writing for websites often involves the use of ________, which organize and control content
and support teamwork.
A) wikis
B) shared workspaces
C) word processing software
D) content management systems
E) social networks
technologies, and explain how to give constructive feedback.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
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19) When composing collaborative messages, the best strategy is to
A) assign the writing task to one person or divide larger projects among multiple writers.
B) begin by letting all members “do their own thing” and then seeing what they all produce.
C) let all members use their own preferred software.
D) make the team as large as possible so that every possible area of expertise will be covered.
E) compose as a group.
technologies, and explain how to give constructive feedback.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Difficult
Classification: Critical Thinking
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
20) “Virtual offices” that give everyone on a team access to the same set of resources and
information are called
A) instant messaging software.
B) videoconferencing systems.
C) shared workspaces.
D) extended databases.
E) wikis.
technologies, and explain how to give constructive feedback.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
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21) Social networking technologies can help a company create virtual communities of practice
that
A) allow employees to develop new workplace skills.
B) encourage disgruntled employees to vent their frustrations.
C) discourage socializing so that individual employees can get their work done.
D) discourage teamwork so individual employees can reach their full potential.
E) link employees to others with similar professional interests throughout the organization.
technologies, and explain how to give constructive feedback.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication
22) ________ focuses on the process and outcomes of communication, whereas ________
delivers criticism with no guidance to stimulate improvement.
A) Intuitive feedback; rational feedback
B) Circular feedback; linear feedback
C) Open feedback; closed feedback
D) Constructive feedback; destructive feedback
E) Constructive feedback; linear feedback
technologies, and explain how to give constructive feedback.
AACSB: Written and oral communication
Difficulty: Moderate
Classification: Conceptual
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices in team and interpersonal communication