Chapter 10: Managing Teams
TRUE/FALSE
1. A work team consists of a small number of people who have been assigned responsibility for pursuing
a common purpose, achieving performance goals, and improving interdependent work processes.
2. Companies are making greater use of teams because teams have been shown to increase (1) customer
satisfaction, (2) product and service quality, (3) speed and efficiency in product development, and (4)
employee job satisfaction.
3. Teams help firms improve product and service quality by taking direct responsibility for the quality of
the products and services they produce.
4. A company engaged in cross training is using individual team members to teach other members how to
do all or most of the jobs they can perform.
5. In the decision-making process, teams can do a much better job than individuals in defining the
problem and generating alternative solutions.
6. Michele does not approve of her research team’s agreement to accept a government grant to study why
people continue to use tobacco. Since she feels that this type of research has already been overdone,
she is likely to engage in social loafing when it comes time to conduct this study.
7. The three significant disadvantages that teams and teamwork are prone to are initially high turnover,
social loafing, and legal risk.
8. Since teams should be an end in themselves, it is appropriate to use them in most situations.
9. The presence of someone with expertise in a group will often cause other group members to withhold
efforts.
10. Teams are typically required when tasks are complex, require multiple perspectives, or require
repeated interaction with others to complete.
11. Teams do not perform any better when offered extrinsic rewards.
12. Autonomy is the degree to which workers have the discretion, freedom, and independence to decide
how and when to accomplish their jobs.
13. The autonomy continuum shows how five kinds of teams differ in terms of autonomy. The correct
sequence from low team autonomy to high team autonomy is (1) traditional work groups, (2)
employee involvement groups, (3) semiautonomous work groups, (4) self-designing teams, and (5)
self-managing teams.
14. Employee involvement teams not only provide advice and suggestions to management, but they also
have the authority to make decisions and solve problems related to the major tasks required to produce
a product or service.
15. Self-designing teams have all the characteristics of self-managing teams, but they can also control and
change the design of the teams themselves, the tasks they do and how they do them, and who belongs
to the teams.
16. Cross-functional teams are purposely composed of employees from different functional areas of the
organization.
17. Members of virtual teams rarely meet face-to-face; instead, they use e-mail, videoconferencing, and
group communication software.
18. One of the disadvantages of project teams is their lack of flexibility.
19. Norms are informally agreed-on standards that regulate team behavior. They are valuable because they
let team members know what is expected of them.
20. Team norms may be associated with either positive or negative outcomes for the company.
21. Cohesiveness refers to the extent to which members of a team are experiencing job satisfaction.
22. The primary cause of team conflict is disagreement over team goals and priorities.
23. According to the What Really Works, “Cohesion and Team Performance,” cohesive teams never create
problems for an organization.
24. Cognitive conflict is strongly associated with improvements in team performance, and affective
conflict is strongly associated with decreases in team performance.
25. Studies show that managers who cope with cognitive conflict and ignore affective conflict are much
more likely to be successful team managers.
26. Sincere attempts to reach agreement on a difficult issue can quickly deteriorate from cognitive to
affective conflict.
27. As teams develop and grow, they pass through three stages of development. These three stages are
perceived team, felt team, and manifest team.
28. Conflicts and disagreements often characterize the second stage of team development, which is called
storming.
29. Since teams that get stuck in the storming stage will be strained but productive, it is important for team
leaders to focus the team on balancing cognitive and affective conflict.
30. The last stage of team development, where decline is complete, is the de-forming stage.
31. Once teams have made it to the performing stage, they no longer need fear a decline in performance.
32. To enhance work team effectiveness, managers should carefully set team goals and priorities, and take
care when selecting, training, and compensating team members.
33. Structural accommodation means giving teams the ability to change organizational structures, policies,
and practices if it helps them meet their stretch goals.
34. Bureaucratic immunity means that teams have the ability to make changes without first getting
approval from managers or other parts of the organization.
35. A preference for teamwork (i.e., collectivism), team level, and team diversity can help companies
choose the right team members.
36. Team normalization represents the variances or differences in ability, experience, personality, or any
other factor on a team.
37. Companies that successfully use teams need to provide much training to the team members in order to
ensure the team method works.
38. If individuals can work well independently, managers are correct in assuming they can work
effectively in teams and need no training.
39. The most common type of training provided to members of work teams is training in leadership skills.
40. Teams can be compensated for team participation and accomplishments through additional perks,
increased pay, and gainsharing.
41. In general, gainsharing is most effective for self-managing and self-directing teams performing
complex tasks, while skill-based pay works best in relatively stable environments where employees
can focus on improving the productivity, cost savings, or quality of their current work system.
42. In general, skill-based pay is most effective for managing the performance of self-managing and
self-directing teams.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A(n) ____ is a small number of people with complementary skills who hold themselves mutually
accountable for pursuing a common purpose, achieving performance goals, and improving
interdependent work processes.
a.
work team
b.
venture group
c.
semi-structured team
d.
autonomous unit
e.
ad hoc team
2. When a local hospital ran into a funding problem when it tried to build a new state–of-the-art pediatric
unit, it asked a group of physicians, hospital volunteers, and administrative staff to develop and
implement a plan to raise the necessary money. This group of people with complementary skills
formed a(n):
a.
semi-structured team
b.
autonomous unit
c.
work team
d.
functional department
e.
venture team
3. Allen-Edmonds is keeping its shoe manufacturing business in the United States by investing in new
machinery and creating new processes. It’s a gamble and the outcome is uncertain. The president of the
company is hoping a million-dollar refitting will save 5 percent on each shoe; he could save 60 percent
tomorrow if he moved his manufacturing to China. Staying here means average wages of $15 per hour
plus benefits, as opposed to $100 per week if the company moved. To cut costs and improve
efficiency, the company’s old assembly line is being replaced by a system of employees working in
groups, with each person doing several jobs, and each trained to do the others’ tasks. Allen-Edmonds is
using:
a.
semi-structured teams
b.
ad hoc committees
c.
work teams
d.
functional departments
e.
venture teams
4. How are organizations using teams to help increase customer satisfaction?
a.
by instituting a system of increased formalization throughout the organization
b.
by creating problem-solving teams to study ways to improve customer satisfaction and
make recommendations for improvements
c.
by creating outsourcing opportunities that improve organizational effectiveness and
efficiency by creating economies of scale
d.
by developing ideal solutions to organizational problems through the use of information
management systems (most notably expert systems)
e.
by taking direct responsibility for service quality
5. Work teams enhance speed and efficiency when designing and manufacturing new products because
they:
a.
allow departments to work independently of one another
b.
make possible overlapping development phases
c.
fit well with traditional sequential development phases
d.
avoid problems associated with synergy
e.
do all of these
6. An organization engaged in ____ its work team members is training them in how to do all or most of
the jobs performed by the other team members.
a.
cross-training
b.
job enlargement
c.
job specialization
d.
Venn training
e.
overlapping training
7. E-Lab (the “E” stands for experience) has project teams perform field research for its clients. These
project teams are composed of students of theology, actors, and musicians as well as the more
traditional marketing experts and statisticians. Each member of the group is trained to conduct
observational research, interview clients, and understand the marketing impact of what they learn.
E-Lab uses ____ to make its project teams more efficient.
a.
synergistic goals
b.
stretch goals
c.
cross training
d.
vestibule training
e.
OJT training
8. Allen-Edmonds is keeping its shoe manufacturing business in the United States by investing in new
machinery and creating new processes. It’s a gamble and the outcome is uncertain. The president of the
company is hoping a million-dollar refitting will save 5 percent on each shoe; he could save 60 percent
tomorrow if he moved his manufacturing to China. Staying here means average wages of $15 per hour
plus benefits, as opposed to $100 per week if the company moved. To cut costs and improve
efficiency, the company’s old assembly line is being replaced by a system of employees working in
groups, with each person doing several jobs, and each trained to do the others’ tasks. Allen-Edmonds’
teams are using:
a.
cross training
b.
job enlargement
c.
job specialization
d.
Venn training
e.
overlapping training
9. Which of the following is a reason teamwork can be more satisfying than traditional work?
a.
Teamwork often allows teams to receive proprietary business information that is only
available to managers.
b.
Teamwork provides team members with unique work opportunities.
c.
Teamwork gives workers a chance to improve their skills.
d.
Teamwork gives workers unique leadership responsibilities, which enables them to build
individual leadership skills.
e.
All of these are reasons why teamwork can be more satisfying than traditional work.
10. When teams are used properly and in the right settings, work teams can:
a.
help organizations respond to specific problems and challenges
b.
dramatically improve company performance
c.
instill a sense of vitality in the workplace that is otherwise difficult to achieve
d.
increase customer satisfaction and service quality
e.
do all of these
11. The use of work teams in organizations has been shown to increase:
a.
outsourcing
b.
job specialization
c.
effective management of diversity
d.
speed and efficiency in product development
e.
centralization
12. As a result of making even greater use of work teams, many leading companies have experienced:
a.
greater customer satisfaction
b.
increased employee job satisfaction
c.
improved speed and efficiency in product development
d.
improvements in service quality
e.
all of these
13. Which of the following statements describe an advantage teams have over individuals in the
decision-making process?
a.
Teams can identify problems more efficiently and more quickly.
b.
Teams are able to view problems from multiple perspectives.
c.
Teams generate more commitment to making the decisions work.
d.
Teams generate more alternative solutions.
e.
All of these describe advantages teams have over individuals in the decision-making
process.
14. ____ occurs when workers withhold their efforts and fail to perform their share of the work.
a.
Self-limiting behavior
b.
Social loafing
c.
De-forming
d.
Stonewalling
e.
Mental atrophy
15. Which of the following is a potential disadvantage associated with the use of work teams?
a.
commitment to finding an ideal solution that does not exist
b.
initially high employee turnover
c.
lack of creativity in decision making
d.
decreased employee satisfaction
e.
all of these
16. ____ is one of the disadvantages associated with the use of work teams.
a.
Storming behavior
b.
Social loafing
c.
Group negation
d.
Outsourcing
e.
Stonewalling
17. Which of the following statements about social loafing is true?
a.
Social loafing only occurs in organizational settings.
b.
Social loafing affects perceptions of fairness.
c.
Social loafing creates an accommodative decision-making climate.
d.
Social loafing preempts the usefulness of brainstorming.
e.
Social loafing cannot occur if there is a group leader.
18. Teams are typically required when:
a.
tasks are simple
b.
tasks require multiple perspectives
c.
synergy will complicate the problem solution process
d.
the company has very limited resources
e.
any of these conditions are met
19. Which of the following statements describes a circumstance under which teams ought to be used?
a.
Rewards are provided for individual effort and performance.
b.
Ample resources are available.
c.
Management will continue to monitor and influence how work gets done.
d.
The job can be done by people working independently.
e.
All of these describe circumstances under which teams ought to be used.
20. Team rewards that depend on ____ are the key to rewarding team behaviors and efforts.
a.
team performance rather than individual performance
b.
individual efforts rather than team performance
c.
someone taking the role of group leader
d.
the elimination of social loafing
e.
the use of groupthink
21. The least amount of team autonomy is found in:
a.
traditional work groups
b.
employee involvement teams
c.
semiautonomous work groups
d.
self-managing teams
e.
ad hoc committees
22. As a member of a typical of traditional work group, Joshua should expect to be responsible for:
a.
doing what he is told to do
b.
giving advice and making suggestions to management
c.
making decisions and solving problems regarding major production/service tasks
d.
cross training employees who are not part of his work team
e.
creating ideas through processes like brainstorming
23. Which of the following is the only type of responsibility given to traditional work groups?
a.
execute the task
b.
give advice/make suggestions
c.
make decisions and solve problems
d.
manage and control all major production tasks
e.
receive and process organizational information
24. ____ do NOT have the authority to make decisions.
a.
Self-designing teams
b.
Employee involvement teams
c.
Semiautonomous work groups
d.
Self-managing teams
e.
Sequential teams
25. Boeing’s operation in Macon, Georgia, was named one of the 10 best manufacturing plants in North
America by IndustryWeek magazine. The company maintains an employee involvement team to track
the plant’s goals and performance metrics. This team:
a.
determines who belongs to the team
b.
provides advice to management concerning areas that needed change or improvements
c.
has the authority to solve problems related to marketing and manufacturing issues
d.
controls all of the major production tasks at Boeing
e.
does none of these
26. Many orthopedic parts are almost identical in size and shape. Stryker Howmedica Osteonics in New
Jersey used a semiautonomous work group to develop Product Recognition Technology that makes
sure parts are identified correctly and orders are filled correctly. This group:
a.
provided advice to the company’s functional departments
b.
controlled all of the major production tasks for manufacturing orthopedic parts
c.
controlled the design and membership of the team
d.
had the authority to solve problems related to the correct identification of orthopedic parts
e.
did all of these
27. In the autonomy continuum (which shows how five kinds of teams differ in terms of autonomy), the
correct sequence, from low team autonomy to high team autonomy, is:
a.
employee involvement teams, traditional work groups, semiautonomous work groups,
self-managing teams, and self-designing teams
b.
traditional work groups, employee involvement teams, self-managing teams,
semiautonomous work groups, and self-designing teams
c.
traditional work groups, employee involvement teams, self-designing teams, and
self-managing teams
d.
traditional work groups, employee involvement teams, semiautonomous work groups,
self-managing teams, and self-designing teams
e.
employer-mandated teams, traditional work groups, employee involvement teams, project
teams, and self-managing teams
28. The highest level of team autonomy is found in:
a.
self-managing teams
b.
self-designing teams
c.
semiautonomous work groups
d.
employee involvement teams
e.
reciprocal work teams
29. Teams can be broadly classified as either:
a.
functional or departmental
b.
local or national
c.
line or staff
d.
centralized or decentralized
e.
functional or cross-functional
30. The kind of team known as a(n) ____ not only provides advice and suggestions to management, but
also has limited authority to make decisions and solve problems related to the major tasks required to
produce a product or service.
a.
traditional work group
b.
employer-monitored group
c.
semiautonomous work group
d.
self-managing team
e.
employee involvement team
31. Which of the following statements about semiautonomous work groups is true?
a.
Semiautonomous work groups are typically not cross-trained.
b.
Semiautonomous work groups have low team autonomy.
c.
Semiautonomous work groups can control and change the design of the team.
d.
Semiautonomous work groups have the authority to make decisions and solve problems
related to the major tasks of producing a good or service.
e.
Semiautonomous work groups are accurately described by none of these.
32. Which of the following types of teams have the authority to change their composition as well as all of
their tasks and work methods?
a.
self-designing teams
b.
sequentially interdependent teams
c.
semiautonomous work groups
d.
self-managing teams
e.
self-autonomous teams
33. The ____ is purposely composed of employees from different functional areas of the organization.
a.
cross-functional team
b.
ad hoc team
c.
semiautonomous team
d.
self-managing team
e.
horizontally organized team
34. The job of the concepts managers at Starbucks is to use a cross-functional team to develop four to six
new beverages annually. Starbucks uses a cross-functional team because it:
a.
allows the company to use employees from various departments with varying perspectives
to attack the task
b.
creates a means for outsourcing new-product development
c.
allows Starbucks to use an aggregated product plan
d.
ensures that Starbucks will always have products in each stage of the product life cycle
e.
allows the company to get input from all of its external stakeholders
35. Leading coatings and paints manufacturer Akzo Nobel established a team that resulted in a significant
increase in plant availability and a decrease in plant downtime. Previously, the plant had lost
considerable time daily because the assembly line had to be cleaned whenever the production schedule
called for a different color, etc. to be produced. This team, which was composed of employees from
several different departments, exemplifies a(n):
a.
multifunctional team
b.
normative team
c.
virtual team
d.
cross-functional team
e.
ad hoc team
36. Once one of the great icons of Japan’s proud industrial tradition, Nissan had become a symbol of
Japan’s bleak economic present by 1999. Then Carlos Ghosn became Nissan’s president. Two weeks
after arriving at Nissan, Ghosn set up nine cross-functional teams to scrutinize Nissan’s businesses.
Each team’s members came from different departments and were picked on the basis not of seniority,
but of their fervor for reform. These cross-functional teams:
a.
did not experience any conflict because they lacked the cohesiveness that comes from
creating an intradepartmental team
b.
ensured that Nissan would be successful in its turnaround
c.
did not need to create any group norms because each member realized the severity of the
problem Nissan was facing
d.
were able to generate more creative ideas than a single individual could working alone
e.
are accurately described by all of these
37. A(n) ____ is defined as a team composed of geographically and/or organizationally dispersed
coworkers who use telecommunications and information technologies to accomplish an organizational
task.
a.
cross-functional team
b.
project team
c.
virtual team
d.
international group
e.
self-managing team
38. The major drawback to the use of virtual teams is:
a.
members must learn to express themselves in new contexts
b.
inflexibility
c.
the absence of autonomy
d.
too much autonomy
e.
the establishment of group norms
39. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the construction of tunnels is one the greatest
challenges encountered during road construction. The technique of tunneling has not kept pace with
the development of other technical fields. The USDOT has created a national team of tunnel experts to
develop road tunnel engineering principles and maintenance practices in the United States through the
use of telecommunications and information technology. This group of tunnel experts will comprise
a(n):
a.
self-directed team
b.
normative team
c.
virtual team
d.
multifunctional team
e.
ad hoc team
40. Virtual teams:
a.
are also called illusionary focus groups
b.
are very flexible
c.
require all communication within the group to go through a senior manager who acts as a
filter
d.
are always self-managing teams
e.
regularly meet face-to-face in informal group meetings
41. A group in Great Britain has been established to improve the employment, retention, and promotion
prospects of black and ethnic minorities and women in the Fire and Rescue Service, which at present
has a largely white, male demographic. This ____ team has two years to gather information and create
a plan.
a.
self-designing
b.
project
c.
virtual
d.
cross-functional
e.
ad hoc
42. Many orthopedic parts are almost identical in size and shape. Stryker Howmedica Osteonics in New
Jersey used a semiautonomous work group to develop Product Recognition Technology that makes
sure parts are identified correctly and orders are filled correctly. This group would be classified as
a(n):
a.
ad hoc committee
b.
virtual team
c.
multifunctional team
d.
project team
e.
product-oriented team
43. Which of the following is a guideline that is useful for successful management of virtual teams?
a.
Pick group members with diverse backgrounds and personalities.
b.
Keep team interaction upbeat and action-oriented.
c.
Avoid asking the team members for their assessment of the team.
d.
Limit feedback.
e.
Establish nonspecific stretch goals to test the creativity of the team.
44. The ____ is created to complete specific, one-time projects or tasks within a limited time.
a.
cross-functional team
b.
project team
c.
virtual team
d.
self-managing team
e.
standing committee
45. Which of the following kinds of team is always temporary?
a.
cross-functional team
b.
project team
c.
standing committee
d.
self-managing team
e.
virtual team
46. Once one of the great icons of Japan’s proud industrial tradition, Nissan had become a symbol of
Japan’s bleak economic present by 1999. Then Carlos Ghosn became Nissan’s president. Two weeks
after arriving at Nissan, Ghosn set up nine cross-functional teams to scrutinize Nissan’s businesses.
Each team’s members came from different departments and were picked on the basis not of seniority,
but of their fervor for reform. One of the ____ was that all team members be enthusiastic about reform.
a.
team procedures
b.
contextual frames
c.
team norms
d.
group tenets
e.
codes of conduct
47. The group composed of medical specialists who work in the neonatal unit of a large teaching hospital
has assumed that one of the ____ they should follow is to explain to students why a specific procedure
is being performed even though no hospital rule tells them to.
a.
heuristics
b.
norms
c.
behavioral policies
d.
codes of ethics
e.
operational guides
48. A group of workers in a medical examiner’s office informally agreed that they would not wear blue
jeans to work because such casual wear seemed unprofessional. The office did not have a dress code.
The workers created a(n):
a.
heuristic
b.
norm
c.
behavioral policy
d.
code of ethics
e.
operational guide
49. Which of the following kinds of teams is defined as a permanent part of the organization’s structure?
a.
cross-functional teams
b.
project teams
c.
virtual teams
d.
employee involvement teams
e.
none of these
50. Which of the following is an advantage associated with the use of project teams?
a.
flexibility
b.
reduction or elimination of communication barriers
c.
increased cooperation among separate departments
d.
faster design process
e.
all of these
51. ____ are informally agreed-on standards that regulate team behavior.
a.
Heuristics
b.
Norms
c.
Behavioral policies
d.
Codes of ethics
e.
Operational guides
52. E-Lab (the “E” stands for experience) has project teams perform field research for its clients. Project
teams at E-Lab have designed a new over-the-counter cold medicine by studying the process of how
people get sick; they have helped create a new station wagon for a major carmaker; and they have
helped backpack maker JanSport to design a completely new way of displaying its products in sporting
goods stores. You can expect E-Lab’s project teams to be:
a.
composed of employees from different functional areas
b.
created to complete specific, one-time projects in a limited time
c.
led by a project manager
d.
flexible in their ability to move to another project
e.
all of these
53. Team norms in an organization can create:
a.
stronger organizational commitment
b.
more trust in management
c.
negative behaviors, such as breaking rules
d.
increased job satisfaction
e.
all of these
54. According to the What Really Works, “Cohesion and Team Performance”:
a.
cohesive groups have a lower probability of success than groups that are not cohesive
b.
the value of work provided by a cohesive group differs only slightly from that performed
by individuals
c.
cohesive groups always have positive group norms
d.
team goals are never allowed to replace organizational goals
e.
none of these is true