79) A high level of team cohesiveness can be detrimental when
A) team members experience lower rates of tension.
B) team norms are contrary to the overall productivity of the organization.
C) team members become interdependent.
D) the team is making measurable progress toward its goal.
80) Which of the following would NOT be likely to increase cohesiveness in a group?
A) competing individual goals
B) progress toward group goals
C) shared norms and values
D) competition from outside the group
81) You are likely to feel a strong sense of cohesiveness with your group when
A) the members of your team are competing against each other to win the “best idea of the year”
award.
B) the assignment your team is working on is complex, so you need to rely on research done by
other team members.
C) you dress more professionally than the rest of the group members.
D) your team missed its deadline for submitting your marketing proposal.
82) Groupthink refers to
A) a desirable condition in which each member of the group engages in critical thinking.
B) a desirable condition, because the group is able to make decisions quickly, guided by the
members with the most expertise.
C) an undesirable condition, because members feel too intimidated to express the dissent they feel
about proposals.
D) an undesirable condition, because groups that spend too much time listening to members’
various ideas are too slow to take action.
83) Which is NOT a symptom of groupthink?
A) a commitment to examine ideas critically
B) group pressure to conform
C) censoring yourself so you don’t question the status quo
D) an illusion of invulnerability
84) All of the following are signs of groupthink EXCEPT
A) a lack of deliberation on the issues.
B) freedom to voice dissenting ideas.
C) a false illusion that the group agrees unanimously.
D) a belief that our group is superior to competitors.
85) When there is a crisis or urgent deadline, members of a group that has succumbed to
groupthink are likely to
A) ponder possible drawbacks of the group’s proposed solution.
B) encourage members to voice a variety of opinions.
C) seek outsiders’ opinions.
D) be closed to new and difficult ideas.
86) Which of the following is NOT an antidote to groupthink?
A) Appoint a devil’s advocate.
B) Encourage members to voice a variety of opinions.
C) Examine the ethical consequences of your team’s decisions.
D) Promote self-censorship.
87) Which is NOT true about risky shift?
A) Highly cohesive groups tend to make decisions that are more extreme than the members would
choose on their own.
B) Risky shift refers to a strategy for asking hard-hitting questions, thereby preventing groupthink.
C) When risky shift occurs, teams may take unsafe risks that are not justified.
D) When risky shift occurs, team members often like and respect each other.
88) Workers with effective teamwork skills are typically considered to be more valuable
employees than talented and innovative solo players.
89) It is better to assign a task to individuals than to a group if the group’s participants tend to be
“social loafers.”
90) A twosome is classified as a small group.
91) Experts agree that the bigger the group, the more work it can get done.
92) The optimal size for a small group is 10 members.
93) One important characteristic of groups is interdependence of members.
94) In highly successful teams, members primarily work independently; they collaborate only
when necessary.
95) Virtual teams have the ability to transcend boundaries of location and time.
96) An important advantage of virtual teams is that they level status differences.
97) Contingency approaches to leadership are based on the idea that each manager should develop
one style of leadership and stick with it.
98) The situational leadership model proposes that a leader should vary his or her style based on
the ability of the person or group that is being led.
99) The leader-member exchange (LMX) theory teaches that the quality of leader-member
relationships is set during the first week of acquaintance, and that once expectations are formed,
they cannot be changed.
100) A highly assertive group member who expresses strong, unwavering opinions is most likely
to emerge as the group leader.
101) “Lateral leadership” is exemplified by a median style of leadership, halfway between the
extremes of doing nothing or taking charge and bossing others.
102) The power to punish others is called coercive power.
103) The functional perspective of leadership allows us to diagnose a troubled group to see which
functions are not being filled and then take steps to fill those functions.
104) The “direction giver” is a functional role in groups.
105) Having too many people fill a functional role while leaving other roles unfilled detracts from
effective group communication and function.
106) Sometimes the individual’s goal in a group is identical to the group’s shared goal.
107) When you first enter an established group, it is a good idea to watch the way group members
interact and to ask knowledgeable members about appropriate ways of behaving.
108) Compatibility refers to the degree to which group members consider themselves to be a part
of the group.
109) Research shows that a high level of cohesiveness will ensure a high degree of productivity
toward organizational goals.
110) Groupthink is a term that means “a group’s optimal level of cohesion.”
111) Risky shift refers to groups taking positions that are more extreme than members would take
on their own.
112) To prevent groupthink, influential leaders should state their opinions at the beginning of the
group’s discussion.
113) Identify five conditions that indicate it is best to assign a task to a team rather than to
individuals. Illustrate each condition with an example.
114) Describe five significant characteristics that distinguish work-centered groups from an
“assembly of people.” In your description, explain why each characteristic is significant.
115) In their book Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong, Larson and LaFasto
describe eight characteristics that characterize highly successful teams. Identify any four of these
characteristics. Choose a team you are familiar with, and explain how this team could implement
your chosen characteristics.
116) What is virtual teamwork? Discuss advantages and disadvantages of virtual teamwork.
117) Why did scholars eventually abandon the trait approach and the style approach to studying
effective leadership? Describe one of the contingency approaches. What does it suggest about
effective leadership?
118) Summarize key points of the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory. In your summary, also
explain what this theory teaches us about the roles the effective group members.
119) You are present at the formation of a new group. You want to be considered for leadership in
this group. Describe four or five behaviors you could pursue that would encourage the group to see
you as a leader. For each behavior, tell why it would likely have the desired effect.
120) Define, describe, and give an example of four of the types of power.
121) What are the differences between task functions and relational functions in a group? Give two
examples of essential task functions and two examples of essential relational functions. For each
example, explain its benefit for the group.
122) Describe the relationship among individual goals, group goals, and hidden agendas. How do
these different types of goals influence how the group functions? How would you recommend a
group leader handle conflicts that arise between individual and group goals?
123) Compare and contrast: group norms, group cohesion, and groupthink.
124) Imagine you are a member of a group that exhibits very little cohesiveness and disagrees on
most issues. Identify three actions you would recommend to promote greater cohesion and explain
why you would recommend these particular actions.
125) Discuss key characteristics of groupthink. Then identify guidelines a group could follow to
discourage groupthink from occurring.