Experience Communication, 2e (Child)
Chapter 8 Organizational and Small-Group Communication
1) Imagine that after graduation you are seeking a job with a large information technology firm.
You are not sure if this firm is a good fit for you. During your visit, you notice the language that
employees use and the stories they tell. This is a valuable source of information for you in
evaluating the firm.
2) Differentiation and specialization increase uncertainty in an organization.
3) A convenience store is owned by two brothers, and they employ many family members. This is
probably a strongly hierarchical organization.
4) If you worked in a fast-food restaurant while attending high school or college, you probably
experienced a high degree of differentiation and specialization of tasks.
5) An organization in which all information comes from “corporate” and is disseminated among
supervisors and then among the employees is using upward communication.
6) The first step in an effective decision-making process is brainstorming because a group cannot
make decisions without numerous ideas on the table.
7) Most groups prefer laissez-faire leaders because they offer the most structure to group members.
8) When you listen with empathy, you are engaged in supportive communication.
9) The president of the United States is considered a leader, while the White House chief of staff is
considered a manager.
10) Your co-worker can be said to have expert power because she knows more about software
development than any other person in your department.
11) If Ivan wanted to investigate the prominent cultural markers in his new company’s
organizational culture, which question would he ask?
A) Does professional status determine the location or size of members’ offices?
B) How are members disciplined or rewarded?
C) What terms or “lingo” does the group commonly use?
D) Which topics do members avoid talking about at work?
12) Eleanor asks a few questions about the people at her workplace. The general consensus is that
Arman is a superstar because he takes charge and makes sure he gets his way. What does this tell
Eleanor about her workplace culture?
A) Her organization values people who push for new opportunities.
B) Her company frowns on people mingling personal and professional business.
C) Her workplace culture is relaxed.
D) Her co-workers fear management.
13) Mentoria asks the associates at her new job if people usually e-mail each other or speak
face-to-face when there is a question or an issue. Which aspect of the company’s culture is
Mentoria investigating?
A) symbols and artifacts
B) prominent cultural markers
C) established rituals and routines
D) language use and storytelling
14) Which item below is the best example of an organizational ritual or routine?
A) The group comes to accept the new chief executive officer (CEO) as the boss of the
organization.
B) The members of the group all use the same jargon when describing their product.
C) The organization has a weekly casual lunch get-together called “soup Wednesday.”
D) The members of the group decide that e-mail is the best way for them to communicate.
15) Which of the following is the best illustration of a prominent cultural marker?
A) The bosses all have offices with windows on the top floor, while the workers have windowless
cubicles.
B) The employees are not allowed to talk about why the previous boss was fired.
C) The employees have all heard the story about when the boss came downstairs to discipline a
secretary who had not answered his phone call.
D) The employees have decided that they prefer face-to-face communication over e-mail or
texting.
16) You are trying to understand the culture of an organization, so you approach several people
and say, “Who in the organization is often discussed as a hero or role model?” With this question,
you are trying to understand the organization’s
A) symbols and artifacts.
B) language use and storytelling.
C) established rituals and routines.
D) prominent cultural markers.
17) Which method would best help you find out about an organization’s treatment of women and
their prospects for promotion?
A) Ask a woman who has worked in the organization.
B) Read the organization’s mission statement.
C) Ask a male executive.
D) Listen in on the gossip in the break room.
18) In Organization X, the CEO supervises the vice presidents, who in turn supervise the division
chairs, who are in charge of the line workers in the plant. This organization illustrates
A) interdependence.
B) maintenance functions.
C) a military approach.
D) a hierarchy.
19) Which term below best describes the approach of an organization that has a very thick manual
revealing pages of rules, regulations, requirements, prohibitions, and expectations?
A) stratification
B) formalization
C) differentiation
D) specialization
20) What term best describes the role of the auto assembly worker whose sole job is to put on the
wheel bolts and the fast-food employee whose sole task is to produce hamburgers?
A) specialization
B) organization
C) hierarchy
D) formalization
21) Which of the following metaphors is NOT commonly used to describe an organization?
A) a family in which everyone cares for each other
B) a well-oiled machine with all the moving parts operating together
C) an organism, a living being that constantly needs customers to sustain its life
D) a beehive with the queen doing little and the workers doing much
22) Organizational charts tend to show all of the following communication flows EXCEPT
A) diagonal communication.
B) downward communication.
C) upward communication.
D) horizontal communication.
23) If you are hired by an organization that intentionally avoids placing employees in highly
differentiated and specialized roles, you will see what it is like to work in a setting following a
model of
A) cohesiveness.
B) strategic ambiguity.
C) upward communication.
D) horizontal communication.
24) Informal networks—for example, the company “grapevine”—are often
A) 80-90% accurate.
B) 50% accurate.
C) intentionally misleading.
D) highly inaccurate.
25) Gabrielle wants her employees to engage in small group communication to achieve an
interdependent goal. Which configuration of her employees would qualify as being able to engage
in small group communication?
A) Bob working with Andrea
B) Emilio working with the ten-person design team
C) Maurice, Tom, Linda, and Venus working together
D) Herb leading three five-person teams
26) A group formed specifically to find a solution to a problem is classified as being
A) communication-oriented.
B) relationship-oriented.
C) task-oriented.
D) diversity-oriented.
27) Management assigns Garland the task of monitoring the water level in the local river and
reporting on the river’s level at the company’s weekly environmental team meeting. What type of
role is Garland serving in on the environmental team?
A) positional
B) informal
C) behavioral
D) spontaneous
28) Which of the following is NOT a requirement of a well-functioning small group?
A) interdependence
B) interaction
C) task functions
D) consensus
29) When you form a study group with friends to prepare for an exam, that is a(n) ________ small
group.
A) assigned
B) emergent
C) democratic
D) designated
30) Eight women get together on Wednesdays at noon to discuss anything they wish. This type of
group is called a(n)
A) relationship-oriented group.
B) task-oriented group.
C) assigned group.
D) support group.
31) Which item below is NOT an example of how norms function in a small group?
A) The group draws up a contract explicitly stating expectations for group participation.
B) The company requires the group to meet at 8:00 a.m. on Mondays.
C) The team expects members to share responsibility as well as credit for their accomplishments.
D) Individuals who do not regularly contribute to the group must explain why.
32) Another term for formal role in small-group communication is ________ role.
A) behavioral
B) positional
C) normative
D) emergent
33) Group member roles can be classified by their function. Which of the following is NOT one of
the three classifications?
A) task
B) maintenance
C) self-centered
D) routine
34) The leader of the small group says, “Emily, you have been very quiet but thoughtful about this
issue. Can you tell us what you think?” The leader is fulfilling which function?
A) self-centered
B) routine
C) maintenance
D) behavioral
35) Which type of small-group function includes blocking, withdrawing, and recognition seeking?
A) self-centered
B) task
C) maintenance
D) routine
36) Which quotation below is the best example of gatekeeping?
A) “I think we need to stop now and take a vote.”
B) “I’m still concerned that Maria has not had a chance to speak.”
C) “Let’s look at the list of tasks we still need to complete.”
D) “This argument has taken enough of my time; I’m out of here.”
37) A group that regards its decisions as invulnerable, that believes everyone in the group is in total
agreement, and that disregards any alternative solutions is likely experiencing
A) groupthink.
B) normative behavior.
C) cohesion.
D) interdependence.
38) The individual players were not high draft choices, but they made up for their second-place
ratings with such strong cooperation and caring that they turned out to be champions. The
characteristic exhibited by this team is
A) groupthink.
B) cohesiveness.
C) normative behavior.
D) strategic ambiguity.
39) The emotional tone or atmosphere members create within the group is called
A) normative behavior.
B) supportiveness.
C) cohesiveness.
D) group climate.
40) Which of the following is a defensive statement?
A) “I agree with Juan, and I have an example of how it might work.”
B) “I think that we pretty much agree that we should proceed.”
C) “This plan will never work. We’d be better off doing nothing.”
D) “I like the idea of completing our task today, but is anyone else as tired as I am?”
41) Problem orientation, spontaneity, and provisionalism are all examples of
A) supportive behaviors.
B) defensive behaviors.
C) normative behaviors.
D) groupthink.
42) Which item below accurately represents the first three steps in small-group problem solving, in
the correct order?
A) brainstorm, establish criteria for acceptable solutions, evaluate alternatives
B) establish criteria for acceptable solutions, brainstorm, evaluate alternatives
C) brainstorm, establish criteria for acceptable solutions, evaluate outcomes
D) establish criteria for acceptable solutions, evaluate alternatives, brainstorm
43) Many work and school groups now include members for whom English is a second language.
Which of the following statements about such groups is supported by research?
A) Cohesiveness is not compromised as long as individuals interact actively.
B) Members tend to become impatient with each other, and cohesion breaks down.
C) Most English-as-a-second-language members become withdrawn, and major decisions are
made without them.
D) Multiple-language groups make superior decisions compared with single-language groups.
44) In the list below, which represents a leadership function?
A) The person makes sure that employees show up on time, work throughout their shifts, and
check out on time.
B) The person meets often with others on the work team to ensure harmony in the workplace.
C) The person envisions a new method of product development and promotes it throughout the
company.
D) The person takes responsibility for payroll, taxes, and inventory.
45) Stacia wants a leadership role at work. Her boss agrees to give her an opportunity and offers
her four choices of available tasks. Which one would actually put Stacia in a leadership role?
A) calling a shipping company to make sure her company’s boxes can be shipped without paying
special fees
B) introducing a new shipping policy that uses a different company and new packaging to ship
oversized merchandise
C) sending Tiger around to make sure each department is stocked up on shipping supplies
D) spot checking packages leaving the facility to make sure everything is being packaged
according to company standards
46) Ava is very positive. She puts her best effort into everything, and she tries to help everyone.
She makes people feel good when she enters the room, she is fascinating to speak to, and people go
out of their way to help her succeed if she needs a hand. She usually gets what she wants at work
because people are drawn to her. What type of power does Ava have?
A) legitimate power
B) expert power
C) punishment power
D) referent power
47) Atticus runs a construction company. When one of his crew leaders, Sherry, comes to him
asking how to remove some large rocks near the foundation of a new building they are
constructing, Atticus says, “Hey, I trust you. You folks always figure it out. Surprise me!” What
leadership style does Atticus use?
A) autocratic
B) democratic
C) laissez-faire
D) coercive
48) The boss’s son graduates from college and is placed in charge of the vice presidents in the
company, who together work as a small group. The boss’s son is a(n) ________ leader.
A) designated
B) emergent
C) democratic
D) authoritarian
49) When followers endorse a leader out of respect and admiration—as is the case with many
religious leaders—they are responding to the leader’s ________ power.
A) emergent
B) referent
C) expert
D) reward
50) Which type of leader takes the most hands-off approach?
A) democratic
B) autocratic
C) laissez-faire
D) sympathetic
51) Whenever there is a conflict on her team, Minae usually gives something to the other person,
often without receiving anything in return, just to please the other person and smooth things over.
Minae manages conflict through
A) compromise.
B) collaboration.
C) avoidance.
D) appeasement.
52) The term ________ is used to describe a feeling of psychological closeness among members of
a group.
A) immediacy
B) sympathy
C) emergent power
D) group climate
53) Listening without judging, validating the feelings of others, providing informative and
relational messages, and maintaining confidentiality are all qualities of
A) intimacy.
B) immediacy.
C) supportiveness.
D) avoidance.
54) Which item below is NOT a recommended method for resolving conflicts in small groups?
A) collaboration
B) compromise
C) accommodation
D) classification
55) Which instance is an example of quid pro quo sexual harassment?
A) Jasper repeatedly calls Jill sweetie and cutie.
B) Juanita’s boss has a large photo of a female nude behind his office door.
C) Fred offers a positive merit review if Sara will go out with him.
D) Sabrina consistently undermines the work of the men she supervises.