Chapter 9 Foundations of Group Behavior Page
Questions for Review
9-1. What are the different types of groups?
Answer: A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and
groups—organizationally determined, represent those working together to
complete a job task. A task group’s boundaries are not limited to its immediate
are also task groups, but the reverse need not be true. An interest group is people
who affiliate to attain a specific objective with which each is concerned.
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in organizations
AACSB: Reflective thinking
9-2. What are the key components of the punctuated-equilibrium model?
Answer: Temporary groups with deadlines have their own unique sequencing of
when the group has used up half its allotted time.
oA transition initiates major changes.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
9-3. How do role requirements change in different situations?
Answer: Different groups impose different role requirements of individuals.
situation.
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expectations of management and employees.
Role Conflict—A situation in which an individual is confronted by
divergent role expectations.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
9-4. How do group norms influence an individual’s behavior?
distinctive about the group’s identity.
There is considerable evidence that groups can place strong pressures on
individual members to change their attitudes and behaviors to conform to the
High-status people are also better able to resist conformity pressures. The
previous findings explain why many star athletes, famous actors, top-performing
norms.
Learning Objective: Demonstrate how norms exert influence on an individual’s behavior
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in organizations
AACSB: Reflective thinking
9-5. How do status and size differences affect group performance?
Answer: Group size does affect performance. More than 12 people are considered
equity concerns or a diffusion of responsibility (free riders). As a manager, you
need to build in individual accountability. To prevent social loafing, a manager
AACSB: Reflective thinking
9-6. How can cohesiveness and diversity support group effectiveness?
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Make the group smaller.
Encourage agreement with group goals.
Physically isolate the group.
characteristics—is faultlines, or perceived divisions that split groups into two or
Learning Objective: Describe how issues of cohesiveness and diversity can be integrated for
group effectiveness
AACSB: Reflective thinking
9-7. What are the strengths and weaknesses of group (versus individual) decision
making?
Answer:
Learning Objective: Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in organizations
AACSB: Analytical skills; Reflective thinking
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Experiential Exercise
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objective: Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of group decision making
Learning Outcome: Describe best practices for utilizing groups and work teams in organizations
AACSB: Reflective thinking
You are a member of a hiking party. After reaching base camp on the first day, you decide
Your Task
Without communicating with anyone else in your group, read the following scenarios and
choose the best answer. Keep track of your answers on a sheet of paper. You have 10
minutes to answer the 10 questions.
9-8. The first thing you decide to do is to build a fire. However, you have no matches,
green wood.
b. A soft green stick is rubbed between one’s hands against a hardwood board.
spark.*
9-9. It occurs to you that you can also use the fire as a distress signal. When signaling
a. 2 fires
b. 4 fires in a square
c. 4 fires in a cross
d. 3 fires in a line*
9-10. You are very thirsty. You go to a nearby stream and collect some water in the
small metal cup you have in your backpack. How long should you boil the
water?
9-11. You are very hungry, so you decide to eat what appear to be edible berries. When
performing the Universal Edibility Test what should you do?
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for 15 minutes.
c. If nothing bad has happened 2 hours after digestion, eat half a cup of the plant
and wait again.
time.*
9-12. Next, you decide to build a shelter for the evening. In selecting a site, what do you
not have to consider?
d. It must be on a hill so you can signal rescuers and keep an eye on your
surroundings.*
9-13. In the shelter that you built, you notice a spider. You heard from a fellow hiker
spider?
a. Its head and abdomen are black; its thorax is red.
b. It is attracted to light.
c. It runs away from light.
9-14. After getting some sleep, you notice that the night sky has cleared, and so you
middle fingers.
d. Follow the line of Orion’s belt.
9-15. You come across a fast-moving stream. What is the best way to cross it?
b. Build a bridge.
c. Find a rocky area, as the water will be shallow and you will have hand- and
footholds.
9-16. After walking for about an hour, you feel several spiders in your pants. You don’t
feel any pain, but you realize some spider bites are painless. Which of these spider
bites is painless?
a. Black Widow
b. Brown Recluse *
c. Wolf Spider
d. Harvestman (Daddy Longlegs)
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9-17. You decide to eat some insects. Which insects should you avoid?
a. Adults that sting or bite
c. Hairy or brightly colored one
d. All the above*
*Correct answer
Group Task
minutes for the group task.
Scoring Your Answers
down, and consult with your group to ensure that these scores are accurate.
(A) Your individual score
(B) Your group’s score
(C) Average individual score in group
(D) Best individual score in group
Discussion Questions
9-18. How did your group perform (B) perform relative to yourself (A)?
in the group (C)?
the group (D)?
of outperforming individuals than others?
9-22. What do these results tell you about the effectiveness of group decision making?
9-23. What can groups do to make group decision making more effective?
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9-24. What circumstances might cause a group to perform worse than its best
individual?
Teaching Notes
(http://www.wimba.com/solutions/higher-education/wimba_classroom_for_higher_education),
(http://go.secondlife.com/landing/education/) and
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-k
e-anna-skipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
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