45) Which of the following does not describe the “majority vote” method of decision-making?
A) A substantial minority may feel resentful after the decision is made.
B) The group can be railroaded into accepting a plan.
C) Majority vote is the best method for deciding important issues in small groups.
D) Decisions can be made quickly.
46) The minority decision method of decision-making
A) can work well if the larger group has confidence in the minority group.
B) should be avoided whenever possible because it is undemocratic.
C) takes advantage of the creativity of the entire group.
D) builds unanimous support from every member.
47) At a manufacturing company, the three CEOs meet each year to decide which product lines
they will continue making and which will be retired. All of the other company employees have
faith that the CEOs will make the right decisions, so they willingly go along. This is an example of
A) majority vote.
B) minority decision.
C) consensus.
D) unanimity.
48) Calista works as an IT manager for an engineering firm. When it comes time to replace the
company’s computers, the firm’s president gives Calista a budget and tells her to pick computers
that will best suit the company’s needs. This is an example of making a decision through
A) consensus.
B) majority vote.
C) minority decision.
D) expert opinion.
49) Which of the following is true of expert opinion?
A) It can be difficult to tell who is actually an expert.
B) It requires someone with specialized training.
C) It is the same thing as minority decision.
D) It still requires a majority vote.
50) Which of the following is not a cardinal rule for brainstorming?
A) Do not follow a set speaking order.
B) Strive for quantity.
C) Avoid evaluating ideas.
D) Let the boss speak first.
51) Which of the following describes the brainstorming process?
A) Focus on quantity, not quality, of ideas.
B) Briefly evaluate each idea as soon as it is stated.
C) Discard ideas that are not immediately approved by all group members.
D) Do not combine ideas.
52) Which of the following discussion methods tends to result in unbalanced participation?
A) nominal group technique
B) a loosely structured informal meeting
C) asking questions that draw out silent members
D) having members take turns
53) Nominal group technique (NGT) is a method designed to
A) end meetings on time.
B) prevent democratic leadership.
C) generate many high-quality suggestions.
D) enforce Robert’s Rules of Order in meetings.
54) Which of the following statements about nominal group technique is true?
A) Participants write down their ideas anonymously.
B) Ideas are critiqued before they are ranked.
C) A participant must make a motion to present an idea.
D) Items are ranked by a single member with specialized training.
55) When a group uses the nominal group technique method
A) ideas, along with their authors, are posted for all to see.
B) evaluation of ideas is conducted orally.
C) each member privately rank-orders the ideas that have been posted.
D) the final decision is made by majority rule.
56) Every Monday, Leeandra hosts a meeting to get an update from her management team on
current projects, discuss upcoming projects, and address any issues. She always concludes the
meeting by asking, “Does anyone have anything else they need to discuss before we stop for
today?” This is an example of a(n) ________ question.
A) direct
B) reverse
C) overhead
D) relay
57) When Jose asked a question, Debbie repeatedly jumped in and voiced her opinion, cutting off
other group members before they had a chance to speak. As a result, Jose decided to aim his
questions at specific individuals to allow for more sharing of information across the group. Jose
was using _______ questions.
A) overhead
B) direct
C) reverse
D) relay
58) What type of questions would most likely encourage comments from normally quiet people?
A) overhead questions
B) direct questions
C) reverse questions rephrased as overhead questions
D) relay questions
59) Which of the following is true of a reverse question?
A) A reverse question is ideal when a group member appears to have something to say but doesn’t
want to be direct.
B) A reverse question is when the leader repeats a question asked by one member and refers it to
the entire group.
C) A reverse question is an ideal way to draw out quiet members.
D) Reverse questions are only useful if all members of the team respond to them.
60) Which of the following best exemplifies a reverse question?
A) Can anyone tell me why the Cooper project is so far behind schedule?
B) Marco has just asked an interesting question. Does anyone have a good answer for him?
C) Anya, can you tell me what each team’s sales numbers were for February?
D) That is a great question, Fatima. What system would you suggest we implement?
61) If Estella refers questions from individual group members back to the entire group instead of
answering them herself, she is using ________ questions.
A) overhead
B) direct
C) reverse
D) relay
62) Which of the following statements about asking questions during a meeting is true?
A) It is wise to switch from overhead questions to other types of questions if a few people are
dominating the discussion.
B) Direct questions are good for initially establishing an open atmosphere.
C) Overhead questions prevent overly talkative members of a group from dominating the
conversation.
D) Reverse questions should be used when a leader senses that a member does not know what is
going on.
63) Which of the following is a useful suggestion for keeping discussions on track?
A) Remind team members of time pressures.
B) Discuss the pros and cons of irrelevant ideas before returning to the task at hand.
C) Explore all good ideas immediately before they are forgotten.
D) Suggest that team members take 10 minutes to discuss ideas among themselves.
64) Relevancy challenges are appropriately used when
A) a committee member feels strongly about the subject under discussion.
B) a member gets off the subject.
C) no agenda exists.
D) the group is unable to reach consensus.
65) The recommended method for responding to an apparently stupid idea is to
A) ask others to enhance its value by building on it.
B) explain why the idea will not work.
C) critique the idea.
D) take an immediate vote on the idea.
66) If a team member makes a comment or suggestion that seems terrible, a good way to respond is
to
A) point out why the comment or suggestion is inferior.
B) pretend that the team member did not say anything.
C) have other team members critique the comment or suggestion.
D) ask the person for clarification.
67) The Japanese process of nemawashi means
A) ironing out issues in a series of one-to-one sessions prior to conducting a problem-solving
meeting.
B) saving face by giving wishy-washy answers to controversial questions.
C) taking turns conducting the meeting.
D) a volatile exchange of competing ideas.
68) All of the following are guidelines for constructive reframing except
A) asking the complainer to be quiet until they have something nice to say.
B) restating personal attacks so the focus is on issues instead.
C) pointing out that individual concerns are also group concerns.
D) turning complaints about the past into hopes for the future.
69) All of the following are appropriate reasons for concluding a meeting except
A) controversy has arisen about how to proceed.
B) the agenda has been covered.
C) the scheduled closing time has arrived.
D) group members need additional information in order to make meaningful decisions.
70) Which is the recommended approach for concluding a meeting?
A) Stop talking, pause for a moment, use a buzzer to indicate that the meeting has ended, and ask
team members to go back to their usual tasks.
B) Hand out an agenda for the next meeting, and instruct team members to assign themselves
topics to research.
C) Acknowledge your accomplishments as the group’s leader, thank everyone for attending, and
leave the room.
D) Point out that the meeting is close to completion, summarize the group’s accomplishments,
outline future actions, and thank members for having attended.
71) When a meeting’s scheduled ending arrives, the last thing you should do as the leader is
A) summarize the meeting’s accomplishments.
B) thank members for participating.
C) signal that time is almost up.
D) hand out meeting minutes.
72) Post-meeting follow-up activities should include all of the following except
A) chastising members who were not present at the last meeting.
B) building an agenda for the next meeting.
C) checking to see if assigned tasks are being performed.
D) completing your own preparation for the next meeting.
73) Which of the following is not a characteristic of an effective set of minutes?
A) They should be written concisely.
B) They should provide a detailed account of each speaker’s opinions.
C) They should present a record of specific action items.
D) They should include enough relevant information for someone who was not at the meeting.