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56) Which of the following terms indicates the tendency of individuals to spend less effort when
working collectively?
A) groupthink
B) collective efficacy
C) social loafing
D) groupshift
E) social facilitation
57) When faced with a number of tight deadlines, Mandy Moore often delegates work
collectively. Recently she chose some fairly experienced employees to work on a high-priority
project. She was heartened to see that the selected group of employees was having numerous
meetings and working hard. However, when she went to check on their progress at the halfway
mark in the project schedule, she was shocked to see how little the team had done in the past
three weeks. This scenario reflects ________.
A) groupthink
B) collective efficacy
C) social loafing
D) groupshift
E) ingroup favoritism
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58) Which of the following is a contributing factor with regard to social loafing?
A) difficult task assignments
B) high collective efficacy
C) severe time constraints
D) diffusion of responsibility
E) heavy workload
59) Which of the following is an effective means of countering social loafing?
A) increasing the rewards the group is given if it succeeds
B) increasing the amount by which the group's progress is monitored
C) ensuring that individual contributions to the group's outcome are identified
D) increasing the size of the group
E) increasing the group's workload
60) Which of the following is true with regard to social loafing?
A) Social loafing decreases when rewards are added for collective performance of the group.
B) Social loafing reflects the drastic rise in employee performance when employees work
collectively.
C) Social loafing involves the cumulative rise in productivity when teams increase in size.
D) Social loafing is a result of the emphasis on individual outcomes over shared outcomes.
E) Social loafing is witnessed less in collectivist cultures where people take pride in group
performance.
61) ICE is a non-profit organization that runs awareness campaigns and research programs that
provide data to initiate the process of legislative changes on various aspects of the environment
like forest cover, nuclear fuel, endangered species and others. The ICE operates through
networks of grass-root level researchers who are grouped into flexible project teams whose roles
and duties change with each new project. The ICE believes its employees to be like family, and
an informal environment pervades its functioning without any compromises being made in the
efficiency. Recently, the project manager of the rainwater harvesting pilot project in the suburbs
has been informed of two delays in the project. When the third extension request came to him, he
looked into the matter by speaking individually with the five team members. Which of the
following complaints by the team members, if true, would indicate the presence of social loafing
in the team?
A) A team member complained that the residents of the suburb in which they were working were
uncooperative and did not accept their most cordial requests for helping in data collection.
B) Nancy, one of the new team members, reported that she felt the team was not cohesive
enough.
C) Two of the most experienced employees on the team reported having to shoulder a
disproportionate amount of the current workload and asked for an internal transfer.
D) The scarcity of funds was one of the major concerns that all the team members mentioned.
E) The team members were dissatisfied with the compensation package as they felt they were
putting in a lot of work and being paid relatively less.
62) According to the status characteristics theory, what are the three sources of status?
63) Social loafing appears to have a Western bias.
64) An individual's personal characteristics, like good looks or friendly personality, represent
one of the dimensions of the status characteristics theory.
65) High-status individuals may be more likely to deviate from norms when they have low
identification (social identity) with the group.
66) Discuss effectiveness and efficiency in the context of group decision making.
67) How can social loafing be prevented?
68) ________ refers to the degree to which members are attracted to each other and motivated to
stay in the group.
A) Assertiveness
B) Social dominance
C) Authoritativeness
D) Cohesiveness
E) Diversity
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69) Which of the following statements is true regarding the effect of group cohesiveness and
performance norms on group productivity?
A) When cohesiveness is low and performance norms are also low, productivity will be high.
B) The productivity of the group is affected by the performance norms but not by the
cohesiveness of the group.
C) If cohesiveness is high and performance norms are low, productivity will be high.
D) If cohesiveness is low and performance norms are high, productivity will be low.
E) When both cohesiveness and performance norms are high, productivity will be high.
70) ________ is defined as the extent to which members of a group are similar to, or different
from, one another.
A) Homogeneity
B) Diversity
C) Conformity
D) Civility
E) Universality
71) Surface-level diversity refers to attitudes, values, and opinions which are different in diverse
groups.
72) Which of the following is an advantage of group decision making when compared to
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individual decision making?
A) increased ambiguous responsibility
B) increased conformity pressures
C) increased diversity of views
D) increased dispersion of accountability
E) increased pace of decision making
73) When ________ is of importance in decision making, group decisions are preferred to
individual decisions.
A) acceptance of a solution
B) speed
C) efficiency
D) clear responsibility
E) legitimacy
74) When compared to individual decision making, group decision making has a disadvantage in
the area of ________.
A) diversity
B) creativity
C) acceptance of final solutions
D) speed
E) accuracy
75) ________ is defined as a phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the
realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.
A) Groupshift
B) Social loafing
C) Ingroup favoritism
D) Cyber loafing
E) Groupthink
76) Sonia Soans is a corporate trainer. One of her favorite ways to start a training program is to
present a case study and encourage members to think of the case in depth and discuss it amongst
each other. Using the results of the activity, she understands the baseline measures of the group's
functioning. During one of her recent sessions, she observed that the group came to a consensus
very quickly. However, when asked to present their views, the team members were not too
confident and appeared to be under an illusion of unanimity. From this scenario, we can say that
this group experienced ________.
A) diversity
B) groupshift
C) role conflict
D) groupthink
E) social loafing
77) Which of the following steps can be taken by a manager to minimize groupthink?
A) increase the group size
B) encourage group leaders to develop a stronger sense of group identity
C) prevent all team members from engaging in a critical evaluation of ideas at the beginning
D) ask the group members to first focus on the positives of an alternative rather than the
negatives
E) seek input from employees before the group leader presents his or her opinions
78) In discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving at a solution, group members tend to
exaggerate the initial positions they hold. This phenomenon is called ________.
A) social desirability bias
B) groupshift
C) halo effect
D) social loafing
E) ingroup favoritism
79) Groupshift is seen when ________.
A) group members view themselves in better light when compared to members of the out-group
B) group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions they hold when discussing a given set
of alternatives and arriving at a solution
C) group members notice and emphasize identities that reflect how different they are from other
groups
D) group members tend to prefer and endorse the products, ideas, and aspects of someone else's
culture over their own
E) group members fail to express alternative opinions and deviant views under the influence of
the norm for consensus
80) The HR department at Bailey Services is considering offering telecommuting as an option to
some experienced employees. At a meeting to formalize the move, the heads of the different
departments met with Laura Watson, the HR manager. Laura, who thought this meeting would
be a short one, was proven wrong when all the members, who had previously agreed that
telecommuting would work in their company, began coming up with divergent views. By the
end, two divisions claimed they had major concerns about allowing employees to telecommute,
and those in favor of it were equally vocal. This scenario depicts the operation of ________.
A) conformity
B) groupshift
C) role conflict
D) groupthink
E) social loafing
81) Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, a European
airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel
prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly
impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly
the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in
2000-2001 and have not been stable since. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy
could help them overcome this challenge, and that they could even use the situation to hike fares
and generate additional revenues. Which of the following statements, if true, would denote the
occurrence of groupshift in Mark's opinions during the meeting?
A) Mark thought that EuAir should suspend some of its less profitable flights in the short run in
favor of the routes that have greater demand among consumers.
B) Mark proposed that this was an opportunity for EuAir to use its brand name effectively and
diversify into other products and services.
C) Mark agreed with Joe's opinion that providing the best service possible, even if it meant
incurring a loss in the short run, would be the best strategy.
D) Mark proposed that the prices be hiked and additional customer service measures be included
so costumers have the best experience flying with EuAir.
E) Mark encouraged the top-management team to consider laying off surplus employees and
rightsizing EuAir to enhance its efficiency and lower costs.
82) Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, a European
airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel
prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly
impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly
the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in
2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy could help them overcome this
challenge, and that they could even use the situation to hike fares and generate additional
revenues. Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument that Mark
experienced groupshift in the meeting?
A) Mark argued that implementing a price rise was necessary to recover the costs in operating
the flights.
B) Mark stated that the company should increase operations but at lower fares so they can regain
control over the market share.
C) Mark believed that most of their clientele was not price sensitive.
D) Mark stated that oil suppliers were going to pressure them even more in the future and the
company had to resort to alternatives like bio fuels.
E) Mark recommended that the company should establish a fuel hedging contract with its key
suppliers to ensure protection from fuel price rises.
83) Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, an European
airlines, were preparing for a meeting to discuss strategies to combat the recent rise in fuel
prices. Before the meeting began, Joe and Mark were discussing how oil prices significantly
impact the health of the world economy. Joe spoke of how higher oil prices since 1999, partly
the result of OPEC supply management policies, contributed to the global economic downturn in
2000-2001. Mark agreed but added that the right kind of strategy could help them overcome this
challenge, and that they could even use the situation to hike fares and generate additional
revenues. Which of the following statements, if true, would denote the occurrence of groupshift
in Joe's opinions during the meeting?
A) Joe proposed that the company should invite price quotes from new suppliers to reduce their
dependence on their current fuel suppliers.
B) Joe determined that the best strategy would be to slash prices and minimize all fringes that are
used for customer service.
C) Joe convinced the top management team to decrease the capacity of the flights.
D) Joe recommended that the prices for business class fares be increased as they represent a less
price-sensitive group of customers.
E) Joe claimed that aviation fuel was their second largest expense and this was the time to
contemplate obtaining a few futures contracts with suppliers.
84) Groups lead to increased acceptance of a solution.
85) Individual decisions are more time consuming than group decisions.
86) Amy Jones has to come up with a strategy to regulate the excessive use of the Internet by her
employees in such a way that they accept and commit to the solution themselves. It is advisable
for her to use group decision making rather than individual decision making in this situation.
87) Groupthink is a phenomenon that relates to the consensus norms.
88) Describe cohesiveness as a property of groups. How can a group be made more cohesive?
89) What is the relationship between performance norms, cohesiveness, and group productivity?
90) Groupthink is most commonly seen in the group decision-making approach using ________.
A) reference groups
B) nominal groups
C) brainstorming
D) interacting groups
E) electronic meeting groups
91) Like many other marketing strategy specialists, Mark Fritz relies heavily on creativity and
originality. Members of his team are selected on the basis of their ability to think divergently,
and Mark often conducts activities to ensure that this ability is developed. For instance, before
any new project, Mark invites his team to sit together and churn out possible ideas about the new
product, its theme, and ways in which it can be projected best in the market. These sessions
usually provide him with a bank of potential ideas from which the team selects some strong
concepts and develops them into a campaign. To encourage freedom in these sessions, Mark has
a no-evaluation policy. This is an example of ________.
A) ingroup favoritism
B) groupshift
C) brainstorming
D) groupthink
E) social loafing
92) Which of the following statements is true regarding brainstorming?
A) Brainstorming encourages criticizing an idea as early as possible.
B) Brainstorming overcomes the problem of "production blocking."
C) Brainstorming can overcome the pressures for conformity.
D) Research consistently shows that a group in a brainstorming session generates more ideas
than an individual working alone.
E) Brainstorming fails to develop group cohesiveness.
93) A group decision-making method in which individual members meet face-to-face to pool
their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion is the ________ technique.
A) reference groups
B) nominal groups
C) brainstorming
D) interacting groups
E) ingroup
94) For seven years, Bonnie Patterson has been a manager at Wayne and Watson, a legal
consultancy firm. A good part of her workday involves holding meetings, and she likes to follow
a well-defined schedule. For this reason, members of her team receive the agenda at the
beginning of the meeting, followed by some time to contemplate the issue at hand individually.
Subsequently, the team members present their ideas one after the other, the group discusses them
together, and lastly, a ranking is done to choose the most favored idea. This represents the
________ approach of group decision making.
A) interacting
B) reference group
C) brainstorming
D) nominal group
E) groupthink
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95) As compared to individual decision making, group decision making is preferable because of
________.
A) conformity pressures associated with groups
B) the domination of one or a few members of a group
C) the ambiguous responsibility associated with group decisions
D) the increased diversity of views in groups
E) the time involved in arriving at group decisions
96) Hubert Gray needs an instruction manual developed for his new product. This is the last step
of the project and he has severe budget constraints. He needs a small team of technical writers to
work together closely to write the manual on fairly short notice. He needs them to communicate
ideas quickly, creatively, and affordably. Which of the following group techniques should
Hubert consider?
A) nominal and electronic
B) brainstorming
C) brainstorming and electronic
D) electronic and interacting
E) interacting and brainstorming
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97) Research consistently shows that a group in a brainstorming session generates more ideas
than individuals working alone.
98) The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it permits the group to meet
formally but does not restrict independent thinking, as does the interacting group.
99) Describe the relationship between groupthink and groupshift.
100) Describe the nominal group technique.
101) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of group decisions as compared to individual
decisions.
102) Discuss the impact of brainstorming on the possibility of groupthink.
103) Explain group polarization.
