Management, 13e (Robbins)
Chapter 13 Creating and Managing Teams
1) It is Black Friday. Several people are waiting outside the popular electronics store for
someone to unlock the doors. These people constitute a(n) ________.
A) formal group
B) informal group
C) social group
D) crowd
2) Which of the following is an example of a formal group?
A) people who assemble in the company library to read
B) a group of employees attending a colleague’s wedding
C) a functional department in an organization
D) a group of employees who meet after work to play basketball
3) Groups that are determined by the organization chart and composed of individuals who report
directly to a given manager are called ________.
A) command groups
B) task groups
C) cross-functional teams
D) self-managed teams
4) David supervises a group of employees who work towards achieving organizational goals.
This group can be called a ________.
A) self-managed team
B) task group
C) command group
D) cross-functional team
5) Every summer ABC Corp. hosts a picnic for employees and their families. The group that
plans and makes all the arrangements for this event would be called a ________.
A) self-managed team
B) task group
C) command group
D) cross-functional team
6) Which of the following refers to independent formal groups whose members, in addition to
their regular jobs, take on traditional managerial responsibilities, such as hiring, planning and
scheduling, and evaluating performance?
A) command groups
B) task groups
C) self-managed teams
D) cross-functional teams
7) Which of the following stages in group development involves defining the group’s structure
and leadership?
A) norming
B) storming
C) performing
D) forming
8) The first group meeting is in progress. The five attendees are exchanging contact information
and getting acquainted. This group is in the ________ stage.
A) forming
B) norming
C) storming
D) performing
9) The ________ stage in the group development process is complete when members begin to
think of themselves as part of a group.
A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) performing
10) During the ________ stage of the group development process, a relatively clear hierarchy of
leadership and agreement on the group’s direction emerge.
A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) performing
11) It became clear that both Cathy and Simon felt they should lead the group. Other group
members began aligning themselves with one or the other. This group is in the ________ stage.
A) forming
B) norming
C) storming
D) performing
12) For a new project, Eldon forms a team of individuals from various functional departments.
After a few days Eldon observes conflicts within the group over who will control it and what the
group needs to be doing. This team is now in the ________ stage of group development.
A) storming
B) forming
C) performing
D) norming
13) Group A has been meeting for one month and is having some difficulty in appointing its
leader. At least three individuals are qualified to keep the group’s focus on its objectives, but the
group has yet to decide which person will lead. Group A is at the ________ stage.
A) forming
B) performing
C) storming
D) norming
14) The ________ stage of the group development process is one in which close relationships
develop and the group becomes cohesive.
A) norming
B) forming
C) storming
D) performing
15) In this meeting, the group is discussing a code of conduct to be observed by all members,
such as arriving on time and not interrupting the speaker. This group is in the ________ stage.
A) forming
B) norming
C) storming
D) performing
16) The ________ stage of group development is complete when the group structure solidifies
and the group has assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct member
behavior.
A) storming
B) forming
C) performing
D) norming
17) Group C has been meeting for two months and seems to be progressing extremely well. You
observe that the group meets every morning and spends the first five minutes chatting. They then
review the decisions of the last meeting followed by a discussion on the status of their current
tasks. Group C is currently at the ________ stage.
A) norming
B) performing
C) storming
D) adjourning
18) In which stage of group development does the group focus its attention on wrapping up
activities instead of task performance?
A) storming
B) adjourning
C) forming
D) norming
19) Group D has been working on developing a product which is now ready to hit the market.
The group members are happy about the work they’ve done on this product. The focus has now
shifted from productivity to tying up loose ends. Group D is at the ________ stage.
A) forming
B) performing
C) norming
D) adjourning
20) Which of the following is considered to be the last stage of group development for
permanent work groups?
A) performing
B) norming
C) storming
D) adjourning
21) Formal groups are work groups that are defined by the organization’s structure and have
designated work assignments and specific tasks directed at accomplishing organizational goals.
22) Task groups are permanent teams that take on special projects.
23) Self-managed teams function in an independent and informal manner.
24) In the group development process, the forming stage is complete when members begin to
think of themselves as part of a group.
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25) Under some conditions, high levels of conflict are conducive to high levels of group
performance.
26) Describe the differences between formal and informal groups, giving examples of each.
27) List and discuss the five stages of group development.
28) Which of the following traits is negatively related to group productivity and morale?
A) unconventionality
B) self-reliance
C) independence
D) sociability
29) Whenever one of her group got within ten feet of her, Christine chirped, “Oh good! You’ve
come to help me.” This group is likely to have low productivity because ________.
A) Christine lacks sociability
B) Christine lacks self-reliance
C) Christine possesses authoritarianism
D) Christine is unconventional
30) This group should have worked well together. Each of them had at least five years seniority
and had scored well on past performance evaluations. They all knew what needed to be done.
But it seemed they were always upset about something. This group probably lacked ________.
A) communication skills
B) independence
C) conflict resolution skills
D) sociability
31) Students often complain that having to work with assigned teammates results in a poorer
group project. They are complaining about a(n) ________.
A) external condition
B) internal condition
C) group member resource
D) group task
32) Behavior patterns expected of someone occupying a given position in a social unit is called a
________.
A) role
B) status
C) norm
D) persona
33) When Fred’s department head explained what was expected of him as a new professor in
terms of maintaining discipline in his classroom and providing students with a challenging
course, he was referring to Fred’s ________ at the university.
A) role
B) status
C) obligations
D) duties
34) The acceptable standards or expectations that are shared by a group’s members are referred to
as ________.
A) affiliations
B) norms
C) criteria
D) morals
35) Which of the following is a negative aspect of group norms?
A) Being part of a group has the ability to increase an individual’s antisocial actions.
B) The most widespread norms are those related to dress codes.
C) Groups become dysfunctional when they maintain strict norms.
D) Norms do not influence employees’ performance.
36) “Slow down, Mary. You’re making us all look bad.” These comments likely came from a
worker concerned about ________.
A) group roles
B) group norms
C) groupthink
D) social loafing
37) Asch’s experiment, which used lines of varying lengths to test group behavior, has shown the
existence of ________.
A) group norms
B) workplace conformity
C) social loafing
D) role conflicts
38) Her instincts told her the group was heading in a very wrong direction but Natalie didn’t want
to cause a scene by disagreeing, especially when she was apparently the only one with
reservations. Natalie has succumbed to ________.
A) group norms
B) social loafing
C) groupthink
D) groupshift
39) The reluctance of George’s group mates to voice their opposition to several issues in order to
maintain group harmony is an example of ________.
A) social loafing
B) group norms
C) groupshift
D) groupthink
40) Which of the following refers to a prestige grading, position, or rank within a group?
A) role
B) status
C) stature
D) membership
41) Age, skill, and experience are examples of ________.
A) formal status categories
B) informal status categories
C) internal status categories
D) external status categories
42) Which of the following is an accurate statement regarding status systems?
A) Anything can have status value if others in the group evaluate it that way.
B) Status is a weak employee motivator even though it has behavioral consequences.
C) Status can only be formally conferred on individuals.
D) Status systems are independent of aspects such as prestige and grading.
43) She was the matriarch of the department, the most senior employee. She always sat
immediately to the right of the manager in all department managers. No one dared take her
chair. That chair was a symbol of her ________.
A) importance
B) age
C) status
D) seniority
44) ________ occurs when a supervisor earns less than his or her subordinates.
A) Informal status
B) Role conflict
C) Role ambiguity
D) Status incongruence
45) In comparison to large groups, small groups ________.
A) have shorter group tenure
B) are faster at completing tasks
C) have longer norming processes
D) are better at obtaining diverse input
46) Large groups consistently get better results than smaller ones, when the group is involved in
________.
A) getting things done
B) routine tasks
C) problem solving
D) long-term projects
47) Individuals have the tendency to expend less effort when working collectively than when
working individually. Which of the following concepts relates most closely to this behavior?
A) social loafing
B) role conflict
C) role ambiguity
D) nonconformity
48) Stacey was invited to become a member of the class project team because the other members
knew she had a high GPA and worked hard on all her individual assignments. Although the
other members worked diligently to complete their parts, Stacey was not giving her best effort to
this team. Which of the following is a possible explanation for Stacey’s behavior?
A) social loafing
B) status incongruence
C) role ambiguity
D) group cohesiveness
49) Which of the following suggestions will help reduce the effect of social loafing in groups?
A) clearly identify individual responsibilities
B) provide group rewards instead of individual rewards
C) increase the overall size of the group
D) form homogeneous groups to increase group cohesiveness
50) A lot is riding on the success of this project. All nine members will share in the rewards. But
Ted just doesn’t have time to complete his assignment so he rationalizes that no one outside the
group will know what he did or did not do anyway. Ted is engaged in ________.
A) nonconventionality
B) group norms
C) groupthink
D) social loafing
51) This group really clicked. They got along well both professionally and socially. While at
work they focused on work. This group is likely to experience ________ in productivity.
A) a strong increase
B) a moderate increase
C) no change
D) a decrease
52) Which of the following statements is true about group decision making?
A) It generates more complete information and knowledge.
B) It takes less time to reach a solution than it would an individual.
C) It prevents any one minority from dominating or influencing the final decision.
D) It is most suitable for matters that need to be critically evaluated.
53) Which of the following is true about group decision making?
A) Groups tend to foster equal participation in decision making.
B) The pressure to conform is low when working in groups.
C) Groups take more time to arrive at a decision.
D) Groups usually make decisions based on incomplete information.
54) Which of the following is true about the effectiveness of individual decision making over
group decision making?
A) Individual decisions tend to be more accurate.
B) Individual decisions are better when dealing with complex issues.
C) Individuals tend to be more creative than groups.
D) Individual decisions are made faster than group decisions
55) The ________ view of conflict management argues that conflicts must be avoided as it
indicates a problem within the group.
A) human relations
B) traditional
C) interactionist
D) obstructionist