Chapter 10
Team
Development
Interventions
TEST QUESTIONS
True/False Questions
1. Basketball is more of a team sport than baseball because each basketball player is
likely to be physically close to and contact any of their own players. In baseball,
however, players are physically separated from one another.
2. The terms “team building” and “team development” have distinctly different
meanings and should not be used interchangeably.
3. The application of laboratory learning theories is the historical base for team
building.
4. Team building examines group concerns such as culture, structure, goals, and
interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, team development is more concerned
with training of individuals.
5. Problems that get in the way of effective team operations include interpersonal
conflicts and lack of clear objectives.
6. The term “virtual teams” applies to teams that have no goals, objectives, or purpose.
7. Because of time constraints and the need to move quickly on changes, there is a
decrease in the use of committees and project teams.
8. An important and fundamental concept of organization effectiveness is that no matter
what the work situation, team member interaction and team development is a
complex activity recommended by OD practitioners for all work situations.
9. Team development should be required even in situations in which members of a
division may only occasionally consult with colleagues and do not involve others in
their work. The logic of this position is that team development can only help and can
do no harm.
10. Team development is more appropriate when the problem in question is not in the
area of just one person but rather when the problem is clearly in the area of more than
one person.
11. Problem situations in an organization require a higher degree of team member
interaction than complex and simple situations.
12. Isolates is a term used to describe group members who have little to do with the other
members and seem to have little interest in and need for observing the group norms.
13. A work team that consists of 15 to 30 members is generally considered the most
effective size as it is large enough so that any one member will not be able to take
over and dominate the team.
14. The term “group cohesiveness” refers to a team that operates in close physical
proximity to one another and therefore requires a high degree of team building.
15. Illusion of morality, a characteristic of groupthink, refers to a group viewing an
opposing group as being too uninformed or unsophisticated to be capable of
reasonable negotiations to resolve differences.
16. Mind guards are a way for a group to pressure its members from thinking in ways
counter to the group’s position.
17. Conflict can be healthy in work teams when the conflict is related to the issues and
not the personalities of team members.
18. Conflict in work teams is unnatural and managers should be able to recognize the
types of conflict and prevent it from occurring.
19. Team development is an activity that typically occurs once a week for the first
month, then once a month for the next 11 months, and one time a year thereafter.
20. Team development works best when the OD practitioner makes process interventions
and the team members concentrate on their task while avoiding the observations of
the practitioner. This method provides a good source of data that can be part of a
diagnosis at a future time.
21. The procedure for team development training meetings follows a typical three-step
process: (1) collect data, (2) analyze the data, and (3) conduct the meeting.
22. One of the purposes of the team development training meeting is to allow the team to
develop specific action plans for improving the ways it uses to reach its organization
goals.
23. The initial team development meeting usually lasts 2 to 3 hours in the manager’s
office or a conference room.
24. The learning that takes place at outdoor laboratory training normally provides
participants with insights into their leadership and interpersonal styles.
25. It is not important in outdoor laboratory training for the practitioner to take the time
to help the participants make the connection between the outdoor experiences and the
work site as the learning is obvious to most participants.
26. Due to the popularity of outdoor labs, especially among large corporations, the
positive effects of the labs are clearly documented.
27. Role analysis and role negotiation are terms that explain similar team building
interventions: meetings that strive to clarify role expectations.
28. Role conflict can occur when team members disagree as to what their individual
contributions and work responsibilities are.
29. Role analysis meetings typically entail a two-step process where the role incumbent
describes his or her role in the team and then others describe what they expect of the
role incumbent.
30. During role negotiation meetings, team members frankly discuss what they want
from each other and explain why.
Multiple-Choice Questions
31. A group of individuals depending on each other for the accomplishment of a common
goal is _____.
a. dependent iterations
b. independence
c. normally not desired in an organization since each individual should be
technically qualified for their job
d. a team
e. a natural and automatic process of a team
32. According to the text, _____ is more of a team sport than _____ and _____.
a. tennis; golf; badminton
b. football; baseball; track
c. football; baseball; basketball
d. baseball; basketball; golf
e. basketball; football; baseball
33. Organizations study sports teams because _____.
a. sport teams show how to compete
b. professional sport teams are also corporations attempting to make a profit
c. many businesses have company-sponsored sport teams which help
improve morale and operating efficiency
d. sport teams can serve as a model to understand the function of teams in
other types of organizations
e. all of the above
34. Teamwork in a group is most important when _____.
a. interdependence exists between members
b. all members have common personal objectives
c. members are from different areas of the organization
d. mind guards are present in the team
e. none of the above
35. The objectives of team building include _____.
a. increased communication
b. more cooperation of efforts
c. increased productivity
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
36. Team building grew out of the application of _____.
a. role negotiation
b. the Johari Window
c. transaction analysis
d. role analysis technique
e. laboratory learning
37. What is a major OD technique that is used for increasing the communication,
cooperation, and cohesiveness of work units?
a. team development
b. team planning
c. team objectives
d. groupthink
e. role identification
38. It is important to use team development in order to improve organization
effectiveness because _____.
a. organizations typically have managers who are unaware of group
processes
b. work-group problems are often sources of inefficiency
c. the work-group is the basic unit of the organization
d. all of the above
e. answers b and c only
39. Team development places an emphasis upon _____.
a. getting members together
b. exploring the team’s functioning and processes
c. increasing productivity and profitability
d. identifying how members can become better managers
40. Which of the following are problems work groups may have?
a. disagreement of objectives
b. authority disputes
c. difficulty in reaching decisions
d. personality clashes
e. all of the above
41. Committees represent _____.
a. a teamwork approach
b. a new way of problem solving
c. all functional areas of the organization
d. a non-leadership approach
e. a significant misuse of organization resources
42. A team composed of representatives from various divisions to conduct a feasibility
study for a one-time computer purchase and installation is a _____.
a. natural work team
b. technical intervention
c. temporary work team
d. prime candidate for outdoor experiential laboratory training
e. none of the above
43. Work teams are of the following two basic types:
a. technical team and project team
b. natural work team and temporary task team
c. practical team and test team
d. development team and operating team
e. mindguard team and project team
44. People joining together because of related jobs or because the structure of the
organization design are called _____.
a. conflict management
b. a conglomeration
c. natural work teams
d. Johari Windows
e. none of the above
45. Teamwork is not appropriate when _____.
a. there is no available time
b. people have no interest in the issue
c. there is an obvious correct answer
d. others will not be able to contribute
e. all of the above
46. The type of situation in an organization which requires the highest degree of team
member interaction is a(n) _____.
a. simple situation
b. interactive situation
c. problem situation
d. complex situation
e. answers c and d only
47. Work groups can have common operating problems such as _____.
a. maintaining focus on a common objective
b. interpersonal differences
c. too many members
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
48. Decisions are generally implemented more effectively when _____.
a. they are voted upon
b. affected members use consensus rules
c. all members compromise on some element of the decision
d. members of the team are highly compatible with one another
e. groupthink is present
49. The work team size that is generally considered the most effective is _____.
a. 2 or 3 members
b. 5 to 7 members
c. 25 to 30 members
d. 12 members
e. uncertain as the size really does not matter because a team development
program will result in an effective team no matter what the size
50. Groupthink is _____.
a. more effective in a brainstorming session
b. diverse opinions of reality
c. a method to describe the problems of group cohesiveness
d. how one should think as a member of a team
e. the best way to solve a problem
51. Groupthink _____.
a. may occur when members adopt a soft line of criticism to others’ ideas
b. usually results in improved group decisions
c. can result from group cohesiveness
d. all of the above
e. answers a and c
52. A broad objective of team development is to allow _____.
a. each area of the organization to be represented
b. everyone to participate equally
c. members to integrate their personal goals with the goals of the
organization
d. no one to be a “hot dog”
e. answers b and c
53. Team development techniques are used to _____.
a. clarify goals and priorities
b. examine decision and communication functioning
c. recognize how individual differences influence output
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
54. A type of team development activity that is aimed at identifying problems of the team
is _____.
a. the Gold Badge Team
b. the role conflict team meeting
c. family group diagnostic meeting
d. shared stereotypes identification training
e. none of the above
55. The first step in a team development training meeting is _____.
a. conduct the meeting
b. set objectives
c. collect data
d. plan the meeting
e. initiate the team development meeting
56. Which of the following are the basic steps for team development?
a. the need for new organizational forms, the focus on cultural change, and
the increase in social awareness
b. the definition of objectives, selection of key factors, selection of data-
gathering methods, implementation of the method, analysis of data, and
evaluation of the effectiveness of data collection
c. initiating the meeting, setting objectives, collecting data, planning the
meeting, conducting the meeting, and evaluating the team development
process
d. become aware of problems, gather data, initiate the team development
meeting, determine the solutions to the problems, finalize the
interventions
e. none of the above
57. Of the following, which has been documented to be the most effective OD
intervention?
a. groupthink
b. Johari Window Model
c. team building
d. role analysis
e. all of the above
58. Outdoor laboratory training should have participants reflect upon the team process
and how the training applies to their normal work _____.
a. after an exercise
b. at the end of the day
c. before returning to the work place
d. all of the above
e. none of the above because participants will automatically reflect on team
process and their normal work
59. Role conception is _____.
a. others’ expected or prescribed behaviors about the role incumbent
b. a person’s ideas about their own appropriate behavior
c. a person’s desire to please team members
d. a team members idea of the role of others in the team
e. all of the above
60. Role ambiguity is _____.
a. the focal person’s own ideas about appropriate role behavior
b. telling the incumbent too much at one time
c. the role incumbent understanding but not carrying through his or her role
d. the role incumbent lacking sufficient knowledge of the expectation of
others
e. the result of not properly reading or fully understanding formal job
descriptions
61. Role analysis is used to _____.
a. clarify role discrepancies
b. investigate role perceptions of bosses and subordinates
c. give rewards to group members
d. all of the above
e. answers a and b
62. Those behaviors of one member (role incumbent) expected or prescribed by other
group members is _____.
a. interface
b. role conflict
c. role ambiguity
d. role expectation
e. none of the above
63. Role negotiation involves _____.
a. negotiation between participants for certain types of performance
b. arbitration where a neutral party makes decisions
c. a functional approach to dealing with conflict
d. working with the team in an outdoor setting
e. none of the above
Essay Questions
64. Compare team development in an organization to sports such as baseball, football,
and basketball.
65. Explain under what circumstances may teamwork NOT be appropriate.
66. Explain in what circumstances teamwork tends to be more appropriate.
67. Explain what role analysis technique is including the terms role ambiguity and role
conflict.
Role analysis techniques is a team development intervention designed to clarify