85) 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
86) 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
87) 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
88) 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 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.
89) 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.
90) 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.
91) Joe Sullivan and Mark Holland, members of the top management at EuAir, a European
airline, 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 Joe experienced groupshift
during the meeting?
A) Joe stated that the company should cut expenditures on other areas like marketing and
advertising instead of hiking fares to retain their current profit margins.
B) Joe stated that hiking prices would lead to losing market share to the low-cost airlines which
already controlled half the market.
C) Joe stated that precise methods of fuel filling and consumption must be implemented to
efficiently use their current supply of fuel.
D) Joe suggested adding a fuel surcharge to all tickets for commercial flights with immediate
effect.
E) Joe proposed the usage of direct and higher altitude routes that would curtail fuel
consumption.
92) Surface-level diversity refers to attitudes, values, and opinions which are different in diverse
groups.
93) Group decisions are generally less accurate than the judgments of the most accurate
individual in the group.
94) Individual decisions are more time consuming than group decisions.
95) 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.
96) Groupthink is a phenomenon that relates to the consensus norms.
97) Describe cohesiveness as a property of groups. How can a group be made more cohesive?
98) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of group decisions as compared to individual
decisions.
99) Discuss the impact of brainstorming on the possibility of groupthink.
100) 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
101) 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
102) 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.
103) 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
104) 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
105) 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
106) Research consistently shows that a group in a brainstorming session generates more ideas
than individuals working alone.
107) 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.
108) Describe the nominal group technique.