Chapter 13
TRUE-FALSE
T F 1. Confrontation and conflict management may be the best way to deal with the
reprehensible member.
T F 2. A team’s image of itself may keep it from dealing with member problems.
T F 3. There’s little a team can do about an incompetent leader.
T F 4. Good teams welcome the challenge when a leader keeps increasing the number of
priorities.
T F 5. A team should not make any special effort when a new leader is taking over.
T F 6. Reaffirming its team image can be important to a team undergoing a transition of
leadership.
T F 7. Humor or gentle teasing doesn’t help to stop distracting behaviors.
T F 8. The leader should do all preparations for a meeting, so team members only have to be
there.
T F 9. An important function of team members is to represent the team to the outside.
T F 10. Different cultural backgrounds can cause members to have different approaches to
meetings.
T F 11. The authors suggest that team members may deal with someone who is irresponsible
by discussing team norms, having a leader or member talk with the individual, or
perhaps even evict the member from the group.
T F 12. It is important that the ethic of the group reflect the values of the dominant members
of the group.
T F 13. When there’s a problem with an individual member, there’s also a problem with the
team.
T F 14. A person who tries to dominate the team is motivated simply by ego and power-
hunger.
T F 15. It is always harmful when any member distracts the team from its work.
T F 16. Sometimes a non-participant wants to be involved but is kept from doing so by
something going on in the team.
T F 17. The “reprehensible” team member is one who dissents from the majority point of
view.
T F 18. New members are essentially strangers who need to be oriented and welcomed to
help them fit in.
T F 19. An important aspect of transactional and task processes is having an intra-group ethic
that incorporates new members and new ideas.
T F 20. When a leader is inadequate, the best thing to do is work out a way of getting rid of
him or her.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. When a team has trouble with a distracting member, the team:
A. Probably needs to ask that person to resign
2. Teams are most frustrated when leaders:
D. All of the above
E. None of the above
3. A group should not call a meeting when:
A. Other means can be as effective
B. There isn’t time to prepare for the meeting
4. When a team has problems with transactional processes:
A. It should wait until it passes through this phase
5. If a team is having trouble with the parent organization:
A. It shouldn’t make waves
6. Using specific styles of speaking and interacting is called:
D. None of the above
7. Ways to help a leader be more effective include:
D. Take over the job yourself, if necessary by going to the parent organization to
complain
8. When a workteam is subject to organizational and leadership changes, all of the following
will help to ease the transition EXCEPT:
D. Try to put yourself on a political inside-track even if it means going against the
team’s interests
9. When the parent organization falls short of its responsibilities, a designated leader may be
critically important. He or she can:
A. Represent the team to the parent organization
B. Negotiate for needed resources or authority with the parent organization
10. The way a team interacts may be related to problems with people who seem difficult in that:
D. All of the above
E. None of the above
ESSAYS
1. Explain what a team needs to consider when there is a problem with an individual member.
What does the team need to identify in terms of causes and effects, behaviors of the member and
of the team, and solutions? Use examples to develop your answer.
2. Suppose you’re on a team. The leader was appointed by management for political reasons.
She/he has no experience in leadership. What can the team do to make its climate and processes
3. A new or different member is a stranger to the team, and his or her interactions with
members are really intergroup communication. Discuss what this means, to the team and to the