978-1337116848 Chapter 2 Solutions Manual

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REVIEW QUESTIONS & SUGGESTED ANSWERS

1 When a manager says to the sales staff, “Let’s try to make budget this year,” what are

some of the possible metacommunications?

Some possible metacommunications are as follows: “You didn’t make budget last year, but try to

1. What roles do culture and gender play in nonverbal communication?

Nonverbal messages have different meanings from culture to culture, and men and women from the

2. How is the activity of listening impacted by the particular situation?

3. Discuss six bad listening habits. Which do you think is the biggest challenge for you

personally?

4. What is a possible cause of most conflict between or among groups?

5. How are a group and a team different?

6. Discuss how a flat organizational structure affects communication.

7. What are some factors to consider in deciding whether to hold a face-to-face meeting or

an electronic meeting?

publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

8. Why do some teams never reach the highest stage of team development? What can be

done to overcome the obstacles to peak team performance?

Teams fail to reach the highest performance stage because of lack in one or more of the 4 C’s:

9. Why are records such as agendas and minutes important to group success?

10. Review suggestions for making meetings more effective? Provide examples, if possible,

from your own experience.

FEATURED ASSIGNMENTS

1Assessing the Professional Value of Interpersonal and Group Communication Skills:

2Metacommunication: Keep a journal over a period of two to five days that records events

11. Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Behaviors: Choose a specific country, such as Argentina,

publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

12. Perceptions of Nonverbal Behaviors: Find and observe a speaker. Good sources are television

interviews or speeches or speeches on the internet or You-Tube. Identify and analyze the

speaker’s nonverbal communication. Describe how these nonverbal behaviors affected your

perceptions of the speaker. For example, did you like the person? Why or why not? (Please

remember to focus on his or her nonverbal communication.) Did you trust the person and

believe what he or she had to say? Was he or she interesting? Why or why not?

13. Identifying Deterrents to Group Success: In small groups, discuss negative group situations in

which you have participated. These groups could be related to school, organizations, sports

teams, performing groups, etc. Referring to the chapter information, identify reasons for each

group’s lack of success. Make a list of the most common problems identified in the team.

Compare your list with that of other small groups in the class.

14. Analyzing Group and Team Experiences: As a team, visit the website of the Institute for

Performance Culture at http://teaming-up.com. From the Free Resources menu tab, click on

“Are you a True Team?” and together take the survey. Some of the items may not relate to your

short-term project team but will provide you with ideas of issues faced in real-world work

teams. Discuss the evaluation report produced from your survey. Send your instructor an email

message, summarizing what your team survey revealed and how you will use the information to

improve your team performance.

When student teams take this survey, ask them to click the “Next” tab at the end of the survey.

15. Boosting Team Effectiveness: Research and read a selection of three articles on corporate

teambuilding activities. In class, get into groups of three to five individuals and share the

activities you’ve read about. Then, determine which of the activities has the most potential for

building a high-performance team.

Summarize group responses for class discussion. Responses should focus on addition of off-site

publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

16. Documenting Meeting Activities: Attend a meeting of an organization of your choice, obtain a

copy of the agenda, and prepare minutes of the meeting. Submit your meeting documentation in

class.

17. Analyzing a Meeting for Effective Behaviors: Attend a meeting of an organization of your

choice. Compare the activities of the attended meeting with the “Suggestions for Effective

Meetings” presented in the chapter. Email your instructor, describing the meeting attended and

summarizing how well the meeting reflected the chapter suggestions and how it might have

been more effective.

18. Groupthink: Recall a time when a group of which you were a member suffered from

groupthink. How did you handle it? Were you swept up and afraid to voice a contrary opinion,

or did you speak out with an alternative idea or solution? Email your examples and reactions to

your instructor.

ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENTS

1Nonverbal expressions: Generate a list of phrases and nonverbal expressions peculiar to their

culture that groups from another culture might not understand. Identify any conflict situations

that could arise from the misinterpretation of the collectively understood terms. Consider also

how group norms play a part in the understanding of collective culture. Be prepared to present

one item from your list as the topic for a 5-minute presentation to the class.

2Communicating Nonverbally in a Job Interview: Locate an article on the internet or on one of

your library’s databases that gives useful suggestions for ensuring that your nonverbal

behavior in a job interview makes a favorable impression.

Expand the list of recommended nonverbal messages and their interpretations. Share your list with

publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Additions to the positive behavior list might include:

Using a firm handshake—I am confident in myself and my abilities.

Additions to the negative behavior list might include:

Standing while everyone else is sitting—I am better than you; I have authority over you.

19. Locating Information on Nonverbal Communication in Other Cultures: Locate one or more

articles from library databases or the Internet that discuss nonverbal communication in various

cultures. Compile a list of body language and behaviors that have different meanings among

cultures. Discuss how ignorance of these differences might affect interpersonal communication.

20. Communicating with Diverse Cultures: Choose a culture that differs from your own then

describe your beliefs, attitudes and perceptions about that culture. Now conduct internet

research or interview someone from that culture to find out more about it and its values, beliefs

and practices. After learning more about the culture, what misperceptions did you hold about

it? How might this knowledge help you to improve your communication with people from this

culture?

21. Analyzing Limitations of Electronic Communications: Consider a distance learning

conference or course in which you have participated. How were nonverbal communication,

listening, and other factors different from what you have experienced in traditional class

settings? How do your experiences relate to the conducting of electronic meetings?

22. Maximizing the Effectiveness of Virtual Teams: Consider the significance of this statement

“Certain personality types are more likely to thrive in the virtual team experience.” Develop a

list of personality attributes that would enable a person to work effectively as part of a virtual

team. In a short written or oral report, share your list, justifying your selections with facts and

references.

publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

23. Using Instant Messaging (Chat) to Communicate: Following directions from your instructor,

participate in an online chat with your class about one of the following topics: (a) how to

overcome listening barriers, or (b) guidelines for effective group communication.

CASE ASSIGNMENT

The case for Chapter highlights how eBay is using new concepts in improving customer

satisfaction, promoting teamwork, and performing in the global marketplace to become a company

where $1,400 worth of goods are traded every second.

Growing faster in its first decade than any other enterprise in the history of capitalism,

eBay has exploded as a global online marketplace connecting buyers and sellers 24/7. Founded in

1995, eBay now conducts more transactions every day than the Nasdaq Stock Market and has

annual revenues of more than $4 billion.

EBAY CONNECTS A WORLDWIDE MARKET

EBay has become a marketing phenomenon. It has empowered people to create their own

businesses and has changed the way people think about junk they once might have sold at garage

sales. More importantly, it has demonstrated that trust between strangers can be established over the

Internet. According to eBay spokesperson Hani Durzy, “The Internet has leveled the playing field in

terms of commerce, allowing individuals, small business, and big corporations to all compete

against each other.” As it redefines consumer culture, the tremendously successful auction site stirs

debate over its impact on society. Is it a portal to a new, global society? Does it elevate materialism

above all other belief systems? Does it define who we are as a society?

Growing faster in its first decade than any other enterprise in the history of capitalism,

eBay has exploded as a global online marketplace connecting buyers and sellers 24/7. Founded in

1995, eBay now conducts more transactions every day than the Nasdaq Stock Market and has

annual revenues of more than $4 billion. In the 1990s, people thought e-commerce would be

dominated by big players, but instead the last decade has produced a market driven by individuals

and small businesses.

Nearly 160 million registered users in 33 markets can scan 55 million items at any time,

and about $1,400 worth of goods are traded on the site every second. eBay has also created jobs,

with more than 724,000 Americans saying they earn all or most of their income selling goods online

through eBay. The site has provided people with the opportunity to start their own businesses at

reduced costs by using eBay to buy needed equipment and to sell their goods.

Founder and chairman, Pierre Omidyar, acknowledges that running eBay has never been just about

managing employees. It’s also about guiding and understanding the ever-growing community of

eBay sellers. eBay is known for listening to its customers. The company’s feedback system allows

buyers and sellers to evaluate each other based on the quality of their dealings. PayPal, the part of

eBay that allows individual sellers to accept credit card payments, was a direct result of customer

demand; in the near future, eBay listings, which are now static web pages, will have sound and

video.

publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

EBay continues to expand worldwide. In about 15 percent of current transactions, the buyer

and seller are in different countries. With this ratio steadily increasing, eBay has a tremendous

power to connect the Third World with the industrialized world. Omidyar says that the most

significant lesson demonstrated by eBay is “the remarkable fact that millions of people have

learned that they can trust a complete stranger. That’s had an incredible social impact. People have

more in common than they think.” To be effective in the ever-changing environment of business,

you will need to have an understanding of human behavior and its influences on organizational and

group communication.

Since Meg Whitman joined eBay as CEO in 1998, revenues have exploded, and eBay has

become a household word throughout much of the world. Meg Whitman had never even heard of

eBay when she agreed to interview. She hoped her headhunter would call back with something

more promising. Little did she know that the firm she had never heard of would become one of

history’s fastest growing companies with her at its helm.

Under her democratic leadership, the collective intelligence and enthusiasm of 160 million

customers determine and drive the daily actions of the company’s 9,300 employees. “At eBay, it’s a

collaborative network. You are truly in partnership with the community of users. The key is

connecting employees and customers in two-way communication. We call it “The Power of Us.”

A key belief underlying Whitman’s leadership is that people are basically good and can be

trusted. A second of her guiding principles for management is to never assume you know more than

the marketplace or community, because you don’t. To learn more about the growing community of

Chinese Internet users, Whitman has made several trips to China, listening and trying to understand

how the country actually works.

It’s debatable as to whether great leaders are born or bred, and in Whitman’s case the

mystery continues. Following completion of an MBA at Harvard, Whitman began her career in

brand management at Procter & Gamble, where she learned to always put the customer first.

Through holding positions with several other firms before joining eBay, including Bain, Disney,

StrideRite, and Hasbro, Whitman learned how to get things done in places where she was not well

known or well established. This required listening, learning, collaboration, and building business

relationships. She credits Disney’s late president and chief operating officer, Frank Wells, with

teaching her the importance of executive humility.

Although nurturing, no one mistakes Whitman’s sensitivity for weakness. In fact, she is a

strong believer in maintaining boundaries. An example is her decision to ban the sale of weapons on

eBay. According to Tom Tierney, eBay director, “Meg is a hybrid, and that’s the model for the

future, a decisive general manager with an open-minded influencer.” In 2004, The Wall Street

Journal and CNBC recognized Meg Whitman’s unusual talent by naming her as the business leader

of the future; and in the same year, Fortune named her the most powerful woman in American

business. Whitman sums up her leadership philosophy simply: “Executive leadership is a span of

influence, not of control.”

Sources: Johnson, K. S. (2005, October 21). eBay exec at Tech Week for e-commerce pep talk. The Denver Post, p. C-03;

Meyers, W. (2005, October 31). Keeping a gentle grip on power. U.S. News & World Report, 139(16), 78; Shapiro, S.

(2005, September 4). If everything is for sale, what does it say about us? Internet auction site eBay is both sacred and

profane—and distinctly American. The Baltimore Sun, p. 7F; Maney, K. (2005, March 22). 10 years ago, eBay changed

the world, sort of by accident. USA Today, p. 1B; Meyers, W. (2005, October 31).

Questions

1 Explain what Meg Whitman means by “The Power of Us.”

publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

24. What factors contributed to the leadership style exhibited by Whitman?

25. What does “executive humility” mean?

publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.