The performance of a work group is generally greater than the sum of its inputs from individual members.. most cross-functional team members are comprised of individuals from similar bac
Trang 1Chapter 10 Understanding Work Teams
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Why Have Work Teams Become So Popular?
1 Teams typically outperform individuals when the tasks being completed _
a require multiple skills
b require judgment
c require experience
d all of the above
e none of the above
(d; Moderate; p 338)
2 Which of the following helps explain the current popularity of teams? Teams _
a are easier to manage
b are a way to better utilize employee talents
c are less expensive
d promote socialization
e are very efficient
(b; Easy; p 338)
3 Which of the following does not explain the current popularity of teams? Teams _
a outperform individuals when the tasks require multiple skills
b enable organizations to better utilize employee talents
c are a means to increase employee motivation
d allow employee independence in making operating decisions
e outperform individuals when the tasks require experience
Differences Between Groups and Teams
5 Which of the following statements best defines a work group?
a The performance of a work group is generally greater than the sum of its inputs from individual members
b A work group interacts primarily to share information, rather than to engage in work that requires joint effort
c A work group consists of 3 or more people who take on self-supervising responsibilities
d A work group consists of 3 or more people from across departmental or functional lines
e A work group is a group comprised of 10 or more people
Trang 210 Which of the following types of teams would most likely be assembled to improve the efficiency of
a company’s production process?
Trang 313 Which of the following best demonstrates the effectiveness of self-managed teams?
a an increase in the number of teams required to manufacture a product
b a reduction in the number of employees qualified to participate on the teams
c an increase of complaints from team members regarding the lack of team leadership
d a significant reduction in response time for resolving customer concerns
e an increase in the technology budget for connecting team members
(d; Moderate; p 341)
14 Which of the following statements best characterizes self-managed teams?
a Their team members often have low levels of job satisfaction
b Their team members prefer to work alone
c Their productivity is generally low
d They perform poorly during times of employee layoffs
e They tend to operate best in non-hierarchical societies
a an example of a cross-functional team
b an example of a work group
c a type of management structure for virtual teams
d an example of a task force
e a specialized type of problem-solving team
(a; Moderate; p 342)
18 _teams are an effective way to allow people from diverse areas within an organization to
exchange information, develop new ideas and solve problems, and coordinate complex projects
19 The early stages of development of a cross-functional team are time-consuming because _
a most cross-functional team members are comprised of individuals from similar backgrounds
b members must research the causes of problems which they are assigned to solve
c most cross-functional team members have already established trust
d members have to learn how to perform new functional tasks
199
Trang 4e members must learn to work with diversity and complexity
21 Which is not one of the primary factors that differentiate virtual teams from face-to-face teams?
a the absence of nonverbal cues
b limited social context
c decreased satisfaction with work processes
d the ability to overcome time and space constraints
e limited paraverbal cues
(c; Moderate; p 343)
22 Which of the following is not true about virtual teams?
a There is an absence of paraverbal cues
b Members report greater satisfaction with the group process
c There is limited social context
d They are more task-oriented
e Members are more focused on production
(b; Moderate; p 343)
Creating Effective Teams
23 There are four contextual factors that appear to be most significantly related to team
performance Which of the following is not one of those factors?
a adequate resources
b work autonomy
c effective leadership
d a performance evaluation and reward system that reflects team contributions
e all of the above are contextual factors
(b; Moderate; p 344)
24 Which of the following statements best characterizes the use of work teams?
a Teams are unnecessary if an individual can do the job better
b Teams are necessary for encouraging individuals to work independently
c Within a company, teams perform best if they are structured similarly
d Employees are usually responsible for suggesting that teams be created
e In successful companies, teamwork is always preferable to individual work
(a; Moderate; p 345)
25 Which of the following is not one of the key components of effective teams?
a effective work design
b recognized company identity
c supportive contextual influences
d well-managed team processes
e appropriate team membership
(b; Moderate; p 345)
200
Trang 526 To provide teams with adequate resources, a company must supply which of the following?
a proper equipment
b adequate staffing
c encouragement
d all the above
e none of the above
(d; Moderate; p 345)
27 To succeed in achieving their goals, teams must _
a have strong leadership
b have autonomy
c receive support from management
d all of the above
e none of the above
(c; Moderate; p 345)
28 On traditionally managed teams, which factor(s) seems to be important to team performance?
a the leader’s expectations
b the leader’s mood
c the leader’s trust of the members
d A and B
e all of the above
(d; Moderate; p 345)
29 In addition to evaluating and rewarding employees for their individual contributions, management
should consider using which of the following to reinforce team effort and commitment?
a personalized incentives
b consistent wages for all team members
c individual performance evaluations
d fixed hourly wages
d all of the above
e none of the above
a The most cooperative teams are those that share the greatest amount of trust
b Team members who trust each other tend to spend less time monitoring each other’s behavior
c Regardless of trust level, most individuals resist exposing vulnerabilities to their co-workers
201
Trang 6d Research shows that trust among team members is directly linked to members’ willingness to take risks.
e Teams with the highest trust ratings for their leadership tend to outperform teams with lower leadership trust ratings
(b; Challenging; p 346)
33 One stream of research has identified potential team roles the people prefer to play The “creator”
role is one who _
34 Of the nine key roles on teams, the “promoter” is the group member most likely to _
a develop original ideas
b defend and support newly-developed ideas
c provide structure for the team
d fight battles with those outside of the team
e conflict with other team members
36 You find that in a team situation you prefer to be the one who examines details and is concerned
with enforcing rules and regulations Your role is that of the _
37 On her work team, Michelle develops detailed tasks lists and work flow charts to help her team
members understand the steps involved in each project She also maintains the project calendar and receives periodic updates from each team member to ensure that projects are progressing
on schedule Which role does Michelle most likely fill on her team?
38 Sharon has an assertive personality and naturally tends to stand up for her team in conflicts with
other teams or departments She is a strong defender and is fiercely loyal to the other members
on her team Sharon is most likely suited for which of the following team roles?
a controller
202
Trang 744 Which of the following is most likely to increase team efficacy?
a Providing measurable goals
b Helping the team achieve small successes
c Limiting time spent in training
d Ensuring that team goals are challenging
e Reducing the number of members on a team
(b; Moderate; p 352)
203
Trang 845 Which type of conflict is almost always dysfunctional?
47 Your company is considering implementing work teams in your Vietnam facility You should find
this relatively easy because those employees will have strong _ values
49 If an employee is considered “untrainable” as a team member, he or she most likely _
a will be willing to undergo training in order to learn team skills
b can be successfully transferred from one team to another
c lacks the technical skills necessary for a team position
d will find it difficult to transition to working in teams
e comes from a culture that upholds collectivist values
Teams and Quality Management
51 Employee involvement has been referred to as the linchpin of process improvement In context,
“involvement” most nearly means _
204
Trang 9Differences Between Groups and Teams
56 Unlike work teams, work groups are most effective when their synergy is strongest
60 The extensive use of teams creates the potential for an organization to generate greater outputs
with no increase in inputs
Trang 10(True; Easy; p 340)
63 You are a member of a team of eight individuals from the same department who meet for a few
hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment You are most likely a member of a self-managed work team
68 Individuals on self-managed work teams have lower absenteeism rates than employees in
traditional work structures
71 Cross-functional teams are made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level, but
from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task
Trang 11Creating Effective Teams
79 Work design is more important than team composition for ensuring effective teams
(False; Challenging; p 344-351)
80 To perform effectively, a team requires three different types of skills: technical expertise,
problem-solving and decision-making skills, and interpersonal skills
(True; Moderate; p 346)
81 On a team, the role of the “creator” describes the person who analyzes decision options
(False; Moderate; p 348)
82 The role of the “linker” describes the person within the work team who coordinates and integrates
the work of team members
(True; Moderate; p 348)
83 Your analytical skills are very good and you enjoy the role of integrating creative ideas for your
group You will find that you are most effective in the role of the “promoter.”
(False; Moderate; p 348)
84 Susan is well organized and enjoys providing structure for the group Her role within the work
team may be described as the “maintainer.”
91 “Social loafing” is most likely to occur within a team whenever one team member’s contributions
are invisible to the rest of the team
(True; Moderate; p 353)
Turning Individuals Into Team Players
92 Teams tend to operate well within countries that score high on collectivism
(True; Easy; p 353)
93 Canadians would most likely have more difficulty using work teams than the Japanese
207
Trang 12(True; Easy; p 353)
94 Work teams are easy for American workers because Americans grow up learning the importance
of teamwork through sports
97 Communication and the ability to sublimate one’s personal goals are important for individuals who
are members of work teams
(True; Easy; p 354)
98 Introducing work teams into new organizations will generally be more difficult than introducing
them into more mature organizations
(False; Easy; p 354)
99 A large proportion of people raised on the importance of individual accomplishment can be
trained to become team players
(True; Moderate; p 354)
100 Work teams often provide intrinsic rewards, such as camaraderie
(True; Moderate; p 355)
Contemporary Issues In Managing Teams
101 One of the central components of effective quality management involves using teams to improve
Application of Types of Teams
You are the vice-president of a division of a large, multi-national company that makes electronic equipment for consumers and the military You have several managers that have created some teams Also, there are several projects underway and you need to decide what types of teams to use for each situation
105 Joan, your director of accounting, has created a team of seven employees from the accounts
payable department who meet for three hours a week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment This is an example of a team
208
Trang 13106 Jack, your director of manufacturing, has decided to create a team of eleven employees from
quality control Jack gives the team members the responsibility of scheduling their own work and evaluating each other’s performance This is an example of a _ team
107 Your company has recently landed a contract to design and manufacture a new state-of-the-art
electronic device for the military This will be a very complex project, requiring many different types of skills Which of the following types of teams is most suited for the project?
108 Janice is your director of sales Since her employees are located in Europe, Asia, and North
America, she has decided to use instant messaging to tie her employees together in order to develop a marketing strategy for a new product line This is an example of a _ team
Application of Beware! Teams Aren’t Always The Answer
You are the plant manager of a manufacturing facility Your plant has been experiencing a number of problems and you have been directed to solve these issues One of the problems concerns the low quality of the manufactured product Many products have failed to pass quality inspection, and your superiors feel that the failure rate is unacceptably high Another problem concerns the college recruitment process The current recruitment process has repeatedly brought unqualified candidates to the plant
109 Your management team suggests that the college recruitment process could be improved by
creating a cross-functional team to conduct the on-campus interviews Based on your understanding of team functioning, you reply that this solution is most likely:
a an inappropriate use of teams, because individual interviews are better conducted by one person
b an appropriate use of teams, because recruitment is a quality issue
c an inappropriate use of teams, because interviewing teams rarely have a common purpose
d an appropriate use of teams, because interviewing is a highly complex task
e an inappropriate use of teams, because team interviews risk breaking confidentiality
209
Trang 14(a; Challenging; p 342)
110 Your company’s director of human resources suggests that the problem with the college
recruitment process is not the interviewers, but rather the fact that the interviewers lack a clear understanding of the traits and skills required for each position Which type of team would you be most likely to assemble to compile a list of the required skills?
111 Your manufacturing process is fairly complex, requiring skills drawn from multiple knowledge
areas Given this complexity, which approach would likely be most effective for determining the cause of the quality problems?
a hiring a consultant, because the causes could be better analyzed by one person
b forming a cross-functional team, because of the multiple knowledge areas involved
c forming a homogenous team, to assure an aggressive resolution to the problem
d forming a culturally diverse team, because of the need for team creativity
e forming self-managed team, because of the need for team autonomy
(b; Challenging; p 341-342)
Application of Key Roles on Teams
You have been assigned to a problem-solving team You have never met any of the team members before, but you have been given their resumes It is your job to match the team members to the various roles that are needed for successful completion of your project
Your team consists of the following members Iris is a recent college graduate with a degree in mathematics She likes to keep an eye on the big picture and enjoys coordinating the work of others James has been with the company for 15 years and has had experience in several areas within the company He has a reputation for strong leadership and effective follow-through Betty is highly motivated and intelligent She has several advanced degrees and is able to view situations from differing viewpoints You have decided that you are willing to take on any group role that is handed to you, but you are more comfortable with implementing of ideas than with initiating them
112 The role that might best suit Iris is that of: