ch0012

Student: ___________________________________________________________________________

1.

Team characteristics, such as member diversity, task interdependence, team size, and so forth, have an
impact on team effectiveness.
True False

2.

Team processes are synonymous with "synergy."

True False

3.

Getting more from the team than you would expect given the capabilities of its individual members refers
to process gain.
True False

4.

Process gain is often driven by production blocking.

True False

5.

Coordination loss is a necessary aspect of the team experience.

True False

6.

It is easy to keep an accurate account of the contribution of each member in a team.

True False

7.

Social loafing can hinder a team's effectiveness.

True False

8.

When teams engage in decision making, their activities are focused on generating novel and useful ideas
and solutions.
True False

9.

Organizations no longer use brainstorming because of the problems associated with it.
True False

10. The nominal group technique involves utilizing a combination of individual and team settings to generate
ideas and solutions and arrive at the winning idea.
True False
11. By making people write down ideas on their own, the nominal group technique increases social loafing
and production blocking.
True False
12. Leaders do a better job considering recommendations and making final decisions when they do it together
with the team members.
True False
13. Interpersonal activities that facilitate the accomplishment of the team's work but do not directly involve
task accomplishment itself are termed as creative processes.
True False
14. Teamwork activities that focus on preparation for future work are termed as transition processes.
True False
15. As transition processes are relevant before the team actually begins to conduct the core aspects of its
work, they have no role between periods of work activity.
True False

16. Action processes become important before the team actually begins to conduct the core aspects of its
work.
True False
17. Conflict management is an action process.
True False
18. According to research, task conflict results in increased team effectiveness irrespective of the trust on the
team and the manner in which the conflict is managed.
True False
19. Noise increases the effort that the communicators need to exert to make the communication process
work.
True False
20. In a network structure, where more communication flows through fewer members, the degree of
centralization is higher.
True False
21. According to researchers, a cohesive team is always a good team.
True False
22. Cohesiveness tends to promote higher levels of team performance.
True False
23. Potency has a strong positive impact on team performance.
True False
24. Team potency is promoted in teams that have found success in the past.
True False
25. Team states refer to the effectiveness of teams and the degree to which teams are capable of remaining
together as ongoing entities.
True False
26. Teamwork processes have a negative effect on team performance.
True False
27. Training intended to develop transportable teamwork competencies focuses on and occurs in the context
of an ongoing team experience.
True False
28. The shallowest level of cross-training involves positional modeling.
True False
29. Team process training facilitates the team to function and perform more effectively as an intact unit.
True False
30. _____ is a term that reflects the different types of communication, activities, and interactions that occur
within teams that contribute to their ultimate end goals.
A. Team characteristics
B. Team process
C. Team composition
D. Team interdependence
E. Team ability

31. Getting more from the team than you would expect according to the capabilities of its individual
members is called:
A. process gain.
B. staff validity.
C. decision informity.
D. groupthink.
E. social loafing.
32. Process gain is synonymous with:
A. social loafing.
B. groupthink.
C. synergy.
D. cognitive dissonance.
E. staff validity.
33. In organizational behavior, the phenomenon of a team delivering "less than the sum of their parts" can by
explained by the term:
A. synergy.
B. staff validity.
C. hierarchical sensitivity.
D. process loss.
E. social facilitation.
34. A team of highly skilled and qualified members of an organization failed to perform the team objective
assigned to them. When the reason for this lack of performance was investigated, it was clear that,
although the team members worked hard, they had to wait for their mates to complete a particular task
before they could start their own. Which of the following explains the reason for process loss in this case?
A. Motivational loss
B. Social facilitation
C. Production blocking
D. Groupthink
E. Cognitive dissonance
35. Mark, David, Tia and Ashley are team members in a computer programming class. They have been
assigned the task of creating a computerized payroll system. Mark and Tia worked very hard and created
programs that worked well. David and Ashley, however, did not work as hard as they could and created
programs with numerous errors. This resulted in a payroll system which could not be implemented. The
team's poor performance that was a result of David and Ashley not doing their best can be termed as:
A. groupthink.
B. synergy.
C. social facilitation.
D. hierarchical sensitivity.
E. motivational loss.
36. When members of a team exert less effort when working on team tasks than they would if they worked
alone on those same tasks, the phenomenon is called:
A. groupthink.
B. social loafing.
C. self-serving bias.
D. social facilitation.
E. framing effect.

37. A psychology class has been assigned an individual case study project as well as a group project. The
members of the group will receive the same grade for the group project but will be graded separately for
their individual projects. Drew, Ben, Donna, and Julia are members of one such group. Drew and Donna
worked very hard on the group project. Ben and Julia, however, did not contribute much to the group
project because they felt that Drew and Donna would manage to get good grades for the group project.
They focused their efforts on their individual projects instead. Ben and Julia's behavior is an example
of:
A. groupthink.
B. staff validity.
C. self-serving bias.
D. social loafing.
E. attribution error.
38. When teams engage in _____, their activities are focused on generating novel and useful ideas and
solutions.
A. decision making
B. creative behavior
C. boundary spanning
D. interpersonal process
E. groupthink
39. _____ involves a face-to-face meeting of team members in which each offers as many ideas as possible
about some focal problem or issue.
A. Social loafing
B. Groupthink
C. Brainstorming
D. Scout activity
E. Boundary spanning
40. Five students from KLM School have been selected to form the team that would represent the school in
the National Science contest. These students have been meeting face-to-face after school to come up with
a prize winning scientific model. This activity that the students are engaged in is referred to as:
A. boundary spanning.
B. social loafing.
C. ambassador activity.
D. scouting activity.
E. brainstorming.
41. Brainstorming results in production blocking because:
A. members have to wait their turn to express their ideas.
B. members do not work as hard thinking up ideas as they would if they had to turn in individual ideas.
C. members are hesitant to express ideas that are not well thought-out.
D. members are reluctant to pool good ideas with other ideas that are bad.
E. members have to tendency to social loaf due to lack of accountability.
42. Britney, a manager in an advertising firm, was assigned a team and asked to come up with ideas for an
advertising campaign. Britney briefed her team and outlined the purpose of the brainstorming clearly after
which she asked the members to individually generate ideas and bring their list to the next meeting. In the
second meeting, the ideas were compiled, doubts clarified, and ideas built-on after which the members
were then asked to individually rank the ideas and submit the list to Britney, who tabulated the scores and
created a list of the five best ideas. Britney adopted _____ to generate the ideas.
A. cross-training
B. conflict management
C. positional rotation
D. cognitive bias
E. nominal group technique

43. Nominal group technique decreases social loafing and production blockingproblems with
brainstormingby:
A. making people pool their ideas in a face-to-face meeting.
B. making people write down ideas on their own.
C. discouraging bad ideas in the meeting.
D. making people agree to one idea generated in a face-to-face meeting.
E. making people speak in turns during all face-to-face meetings.
44. _____ reflects whether members possess adequate information about their own task responsibilities.
A. Staff validity
B. Hierarchical sensitivity
C. Boundary spanning
D. Decision informity
E. Groupthink
45. Daniel's team is working on a project to create an effective marketing campaign for a company that
specializes in food processors. Daniel gathers all the necessary information to help his team understand
the product and the desires and needs of the client. He then clearly explains the responsibilities of each
member of the team. He is ensuring that his team has high:
A. decision informity.
B. groupthink.
C. hierarchical sensitivity.
D. staff validity.
E. action learning.
46. Which three specific factors have been found to account for a team's ability to make effective decisions?
A. Groupthink, social loafing, and process rotation
B. Decision informity, staff validity, and hierarchical sensitivity
C. Transactive memory, transformative memory, and decision memory
D. Individual effort, team effort, and boundary spanning effort
E. Decision redundancy, social facilitation, and transactive memory
47. Which of the following refers to the degree to which members of the team make useful recommendations
to the leader?
A. Social loafing
B. Staff validity
C. Hierarchical sensitivity
D. Groupthink
E. Decision informity
48. The marketing team of A.T. International was asked to develop the marketing strategy for the
European market. Members of the team were provided with all the information required to make good
recommendations to the leader, but failed to deliver due to their lack of insight and poor judgment. This
indicates that the marketing team had low:
A. decision infirmity.
B. groupthink.
C. staff validity.
D. production blocking.
E. social loafing.
49. _____ reflects the degree to which the leader effectively weighs the recommendations of the
members.
A. Hierarchical sensitivity
B. Social loafing
C. Staff validity
D. Groupthink
E. Decision informity

50. Rebecca and her students from the drama class have been asked to conduct a play to raise funds for the
school library. To make the play a success, Rebecca consults and enlists the help of the Headmaster
and senior teachers, while her students meet a few theatre artists. They also consult a costume designer
and a dance choreographer who have agreed to help the team with the play. Such activities involving
individuals and groups who are not part of the team, are termed as:
A. social loafing.
B. nominal group technique.
C. staff validity.
D. boundary spanning
E. hierarchical sensitivity.
51. Which of the following activities are boundary spanning activities?
A. Groupthink, social loafing, and staff validity
B. Decision informity, staff validity, and hierarchical sensitivity
C. Transactive memory, transformative memory, and social loafing
D. Ambassador, task coordinator, and scout
E. Decision informity, social loafing, and transactive memory
52. _____ activities refer to communications that are intended to protect the team, persuade others to support
the team, or obtain important resources for the team.
A. Systems monitoring
B. Task coordinator
C. Ambassador
D. Scout
E. Groupthink
53. While performing the boundary spanning process, members who engage in ambassador activities
typically communicate with:
A. people who are in high positions in the organization.
B. vendors and distributors of competitors.
C. front line production supervisors in the industry.
D. their subordinates in the organization.
E. the customers of the organization.
54. Matt, a training coordinator at ARC Technologies, and his team are organizing a workshop for the
employees. Matt is meeting the Vice President (Finance) to get support for an increase in the budget
to accommodate a session by a well known motivational speaker. Matt, in this case, is performing a(n)
_____ activity of the boundary spanning process.
A. groupthink
B. social loafing
C. scout
D. action learning
E. ambassador
55. Leslie, a marketing manager at the Sunshine Spa, is consulting with Tess, a dermatologist at the spa, to
explore the possibility of incorporating certain treatments as part of the spa's package schemes. Leslie is
engaging in a(n) _____ activity of the boundary spanning process.
A. action learning
B. ambassador
C. task coordinator
D. scout
E. staff validity

56. _____ activities refer to things team members do to obtain information about technology, competitors, or
the broader marketplace.
A. Social loafing
B. Task coordinator
C. Action learning
D. Scout
E. Ambassador
57. Noah, a services manager at the Feelwell Health Clinic, consulted an alternative medicine specialist to see
if it is feasible to incorporate certain treatments as part of the clinic's services. Noah is performing a(n)
_____ activity of the boundary spanning process.
A. action learning
B. scout
C. groupthink
D. ambassador
E. staff validity
58. _____ involve communications that are intended to coordinate task-related issues with people or groups
in other functional areas.
A. Groupthink activities
B. Scout activities
C. Social loafing activities
D. Ambassador activities
E. Task coordinator activities
59. In a boundary spanning process, the marketing team member who meets with an engineer to seek
information about new materials is engaging in _____.
A. groupthink activities
B. decision informity activities
C. social loafing activities
D. action processes
E. scout activities
60. Interpersonal activities that facilitate the accomplishment of the team's work but do not directly involve
task accomplishment itself refers to:
A. boundary spanning activities.
B. teamwork processes.
C. staff validity.
D. scout activities.
E. decision informity.
61. Teamwork activities that focus on preparation for future work refers to:
A. groupthink.
B. decision informity.
C. transactive memory.
D. action processes.
E. transition processes.
62. The development of courses of action and contingency plans, and then adapting those plans in light of
changes that occur in the team's environment refers to:
A. mission analysis.
B. goal specification.
C. strategy formulation.
D. scout activities.
E. interpersonal processes.

63. Which of the following are teamwork processes?

A. Nominal technique, social loafing, and staff validity
B. Decision informity, staff validity, and hierarchical sensitivity
C. Transactive memory, transformative memory, and social loafing
D. Ambassador, task coordinator, and scout
E. Transition, action, and interpersonal
64. Which of the following statements is true with regard to transition processes?
A. These processes are important as the taskwork is being accomplished.
B. Transition processes are important between periods of work activity.
C. They involve members going out of their way to help or back up other team members.
D. They involve keeping track of things that the team needs to accomplish its work.
E. They drive toward conformity at the expense of other team priorities.
65. _____ processes are primarily important before and between periods of taskwork, whereas _____
processes are primarily important as the taskwork is being accomplished.
A. Mission analysis; scout activity
B. Transition; action
C. Scout activity; interpersonal
D. Action; transition
E. Interpersonal; transition
66. Monitoring progress toward goals is a type of:
A. transition process.
B. brainstorming process.
C. transactive memory process.
D. action process.
E. interpersonal process.
67. _____ involves keeping track of things that the team needs to accomplish its work.
A. Goal specification
B. Systems monitoring
C. Coordination
D. Helping behavior
E. Strategy formulation
68. Systems monitoring and helping behaviors are examples of:
A. action processes.
B. brainstorming processes.
C. transactive memory processes.
D. transition processes.
E. interpersonal processes.
69. What synchronizes team members' activities in a way that makes them mesh effectively and seamlessly?
A. Goal specification
B. Systems monitoring
C. Coordination
D. Helping behavior
E. Strategy formulation
70. The creative team of a fashion house is racing against a deadline to come up with the spring collection,
and the pressure is leading to frayed tempers, which is hampering the team's progress. This is an example
of poor _____.
A. systems monitoring
B. affect management
C. coordination
D. mission analysis
E. goal specification

71. Motivating and confidence building, conflict management, and affect management are types of:
A. interpersonal processes.
B. action processes.
C. boundary spanning processes.
D. creative behavior processes.
E. transition processes.
72. Expressions that create a sense of urgency and optimism are examples of communications that reflect
which of the following processes?
A. Task coordinator activities
B. Scout activities
C. Boundary spanning
D. Motivating and confidence building
E. Systems monitoring
73. Communications that reflect incompatibilities with respect to personal values or preferences refers to:
A. relationship conflict.
B. goal specificity mismanagement.
C. poor mission analysis.
D. poor coordination.
E. task conflict.
74. _____ can be beneficial to teams if it stimulates conversations that result in the development and
expression of new ideas.
A. Task conflict
B. Relationship conflict
C. Noise
D. Groupthink
E. Social loafing
75. Having a cell phone conversation during a rock concert is difficult because of:
A. lack of communication competence.
B. emotional issues.
C. information richness.
D. network structure.
E. the presence of noise.
76. If you say that the information richness of a communication process is high, it means that:
A. the amount of noise in the communication process is high.
B. the amount and depth of information getting transmitted in the communication process is high.
C. the sender is encoding unnecessary information in the communication process.
D. the receiver is unable to decode the information encoded by the sender.
E. the receiver is transmitting an overload of feedback to the sender.
77. The highest level of information richness is achieved when messages are transmitted through _____.
A. personal notes
B. face-to-face channels
C. computer reports
D. the telephone
E. e-mails
78. The more communication flows through fewer members of the team, the higher the:
A. degree of centralization.
B. degree of socialization.
C. degree of decentralization.
D. degree of attribution error.
E. degree of groupthink.

79. Which type of network structure in communication has the least degree of centralization?
A. All channel network
B. Circle network
C. Y network
D. Wheel network
E. X network
80. Which two network structures fall between the extremes in terms of the level of centralization?
A. All channel and circle network
B. Circle and wheel network
C. Y and wheel network
D. Circle and Y network
E. All channel and wheel network
81. In communication, _____ network is the most effective for teams handling complex tasks.
A. All channel network
B. Circle network
C. Y network
D. Wheel network
E. Y and wheel network
82. _____ refers to specific types of feelings and thoughts that coalesce in the minds of team members as a
consequence of their experience working together.
A. Task conflict
B. Team states
C. Relationship conflict
D. Communication competency
E. Transportable competency
83. When members of a team develop strong emotional bond to other members of the team and to the team
itself, it refers _____, which tends to foster high levels of motivation and commitment to the team.
A. cohesion
B. mental models
C. transactive memory
D. potency
E. boundary spanning
84. In highly cohesive teams, when members try to maintain harmony by striving toward consensus on issues
without ever offering, seeking, or seriously considering alternative viewpoints and perspectives, it refers
to:
A. task conflict.
B. production blocking.
C. boundary spanning.
D. social loafing.
E. groupthink.
85. John F. Kennedy's decision to go forward with the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, NASA's decision to
launch the space shuttle Challenger in unusually cold weather, and Enron's Board of Directors' decisions
to ignore illegal accounting practices are famous examples of _____.
A. information richness
B. potency
C. groupthink
D. boundary spanning
E. mental models

86. One way to potentially prevent problems associated with cohesion is to formally institute the role of
a(n) _____, who would be responsible for evaluating and challenging prevailing points of view in a
constructive manner and also bringing in fresh perspectives and ideas to the team.
A. ambassador
B. scout
C. devil's advocate
D. advisor
E. coach
87. Which of the following refers to the degree to which members believe that the team can be effective
across a variety of situations and tasks?
A. Cohesion
B. Mental models
C. Groupthink
D. Potency
E. Boundary spanning
88. Which of the following refers to the level of common understanding among team members with regard to
important aspects of the team and its tasks?
A. Cohesion
B. Mental models
C. Groupthink
D. Potency
E. Boundary spanning
89. _____ memory refers to how specialized knowledge is distributed among members in a manner that
results in an effective system of memory for the team.
A. Cohesive
B. Normative
C. Transactive
D. Potency
E. Bounded rational
90. In a project team at Kaizen International, everyone member focuses on his or her specialty and what
they do best. Members know exactly where they can go to get information when there are gaps in their
knowledge, and this team produces synergistic results. This shows that the project team at Kaizen has an
effective:
A. staff validity.
B. mental model.
C. transactive memory.
D. potency.
E. hierarchical sensitivity.
91. Which of the following refers to the degree to which teams are capable of remaining together as ongoing
entities?
A. Team states
B. Team viability
C. Team sensitivity
D. Groupthink
E. Transactive memory
92. Teamwork processes have a _____ effect on team commitment.
A. weak positive
B. weak negative
C. moderate negative
D. strong positive
E. strong negative

93. The idea behind _____ is that team members can develop shared mental models of what is involved in
each of the roles in the team and how the roles fit together to form a system.
A. systems monitoring
B. goal setting and performance management
C. cross-training
D. boundary spanning
E. task coordination
94. Cross-training involves instructions at three different levels of depth. These levels are:
A. transactive, transformative, and collaborative.
B. personal clarification, positional modeling, and positional rotation.
C. taskwork, teamwork, and team states.
D. cohesion, potency, and efficacy.
E. transition, action, and interpersonal.
95. Richard's team has been assigned the task of organizing an exhibition for companies selling home
appliances. Richard ensured that each member of the team had an opportunity to observe other members
perform their roles. This type of cross-training is termed as:
A. personal clarification
B. conflict resolution
C. action learning
D. positional modeling
E. positional rotation
96. Which of the following levels of cross-training involves team members observing how other members
perform their roles?
A. Personal clarification
B. Positional rotation
C. Task coordination
D. Positional modeling
E. Conflict resolution
97. The deepest level of cross-training involves _____, which gives members actual experience carrying out
the responsibilities of their teammates.
A. personal clarification
B. positional rotation
C. planning and task coordination
D. positional modeling
E. conflict resolution
98. Which of the following is a type of team process training?
A. Personal clarification
B. Positional modeling
C. Conflict resolution
D. Positional rotation
E. Action learning
99. Which of the following is true about conflict resolution?
A. It coordinates and synchronizes activities among team members.
B. It helps establish specific and difficult goals for the team.
C. It understands communication networks.
D. It can identify situations requiring participative problem solving.
E. It can distinguish between desirable and undesirable conflict.

100.Which of the following competencies coordinates and synchronizes activities among team members?
A. Planning and task coordination
B. Collaborative problem solving
C. Communications
D. Goal setting and performance management
E. Conflict resolution
101.Monitoring, evaluating, and providing performance related feedback is associated with which of the
following competencies?
A. Conflict resolution
B. Collaborative problem solving
C. Communications
D. Planning and task coordination
E. Goal setting and performance management
102._____ is normally conducted by a consultant and intended to facilitate the development of team processes
related to goal setting, interpersonal relations, problem solving, and role clarification.
A. Team building
B. Action learning
C. Positional rotation
D. Position building
E. Personal clarification
103.Scenario: Model Industries, Inc.
Burt, Ryan, and Heather are members of the marketing team at Model Industries, Inc. (MII), responsible
for generating ideas for new marketing strategies. Burt has done a phenomenal job in gathering
information necessary to help the team understand the desires and needs of the client. All things being
equal, Heather has the best record of making good recommendations to Jeremy, vice president of
marketing. Ryan can make some good recommendations, but sometimes his recommendations are
completely off base. Usually, Jeremy pays careful attention to what Heather has to say, but generally does
not pay much attention to what Ryan proposes. In addition to Jeremy, Heather has been meeting with the
vice president of operations and other members of the executive team to gain support for their request to
increase the marketing budget.
According to research, the best way for Burt, Ryan, and Heather to improve their team hierarchical
sensitivity would be to implement _____.
A. brainstorming
B. action learning
C. collaborative problem solving
D. nominal group technique
E. personal clarification
104.Scenario: Model Industries, Inc.
Burt, Ryan, and Heather are members of the marketing team at Model Industries, Inc. (MII), responsible
for generating ideas for new marketing strategies. Burt has done a phenomenal job in gathering
information necessary to help the team understand the desires and needs of the client. All things being
equal, Heather has the best record of making good recommendations to Jeremy, vice president of
marketing. Ryan can make some good recommendations, but sometimes his recommendations are
completely off base. Usually, Jeremy pays careful attention to what Heather has to say, but generally does
not pay much attention to what Ryan proposes. In addition to Jeremy, Heather has been meeting with the
vice president of operations and other members of the executive team to gain support for their request to
increase the marketing budget.
Burt's action would contribute to which factor in effective decision making at MII?
A. Production blocking
B. Staff validity
C. Hierarchical sensitivity
D. Decision infirmity
E. Transactive memory

105.Scenario: Model Industries, Inc.

Burt, Ryan, and Heather are members of the marketing team at Model Industries, Inc. (MII), responsible
for generating ideas for new marketing strategies. Burt has done a phenomenal job in gathering
information necessary to help the team understand the desires and needs of the client. All things being
equal, Heather has the best record of making good recommendations to Jeremy, vice president of
marketing. Ryan can make some good recommendations, but sometimes his recommendations are
completely off base. Usually, Jeremy pays careful attention to what Heather has to say, but generally does
not pay much attention to what Ryan proposes. In addition to Jeremy, Heather has been meeting with the
vice president of operations and other members of the executive team to gain support for their request to
increase the marketing budget.
The decision-making records of Heather and Ryan reflect which factor in effective decision making at
BGI?
A. Cohesion
B. Staff validity
C. Hierarchical sensitivity
D. Decision infirmity
E. Transactive memory
106.Scenario: Model Industries, Inc.
Burt, Ryan, and Heather are members of the marketing team at Model Industries, Inc. (MII), responsible
for generating ideas for new marketing strategies. Burt has done a phenomenal job in gathering
information necessary to help the team understand the desires and needs of the client. All things being
equal, Heather has the best record of making good recommendations to Jeremy, vice president of
marketing. Ryan can make some good recommendations, but sometimes his recommendations are
completely off base. Usually, Jeremy pays careful attention to what Heather has to say, but generally does
not pay much attention to what Ryan proposes. In addition to Jeremy, Heather has been meeting with the
vice president of operations and other members of the executive team to gain support for their request to
increase the marketing budget.
Jeremy's tendency to listen to Heather and ignore Ryan reflects which factor in effective decision
making?
A. Production blocking
B. Staff validity
C. Hierarchical sensitivity
D. Decision infirmity
E. Transition process gain
107.Scenario: Model Industries, Inc.
Burt, Ryan, and Heather are members of the marketing team at Model Industries, Inc. (MII), responsible
for generating ideas for new marketing strategies. Burt has done a phenomenal job in gathering
information necessary to help the team understand the desires and needs of the client. All things being
equal, Heather has the best record of making good recommendations to Jeremy, vice president of
marketing. Ryan can make some good recommendations, but sometimes his recommendations are
completely off base. Usually, Jeremy pays careful attention to what Heather has to say, but generally does
not pay much attention to what Ryan proposes. In addition to Jeremy, Heather has been meeting with the
vice president of operations and other members of the executive team to gain support for their request to
increase the marketing budget.
Heather is engaging in which of the boundary spanning processes?
A. Systems monitoring
B. Task coordinator
C. Coordination
D. Scout activity
E. Ambassador activity

108.Scenario: Surveillance and Rescue Team

A special surveillance and rescue team is being deployed to counter the menace of pirates in the Indian
ocean. Nick, Sid, Leah and Kevin are the core members of the team. Nick was elected as the leader of
the team. Sid is responsible for monitoring the team's progress toward its goals. Kevin took on the role
of a motivator and the confidence builder for the team. This team has worked together before and has
developed a high level of common understanding regarding the team and its mission. Members also
strongly believe that the team can be effective across a variety of situations and tasks. As a standard
practice, before deployment, the team members observe how other members perform their roles by
shadowing and going through simulations.
Sid's role of monitoring the team's progress contributes to which of the following teamwork processes?
A. Brainstorming process
B. Action process
C. Transactive memory process
D. Transition process
E. Interpersonal process
109.Scenario: Surveillance and Rescue Team
A special surveillance and rescue team is being deployed to counter the menace of pirates in the Indian
ocean. Nick, Sid, Leah and Kevin are the core members of the team. Nick was elected as the leader of
the team. Sid is responsible for monitoring the team's progress toward its goals. Kevin took on the role
of a motivator and the confidence builder for the team. This team has worked together before and has
developed a high level of common understanding regarding the team and its mission. Members also
strongly believe that the team can be effective across a variety of situations and tasks. As a standard
practice, before deployment, the team members observe how other members perform their roles by
shadowing and going through simulations.
Beyond his task responsibilities, Kevin's role also consists of behaviors that contribute to:
A. transition processes.
B. brainstorming processes.
C. transactive memory processes.
D. action processes.
E. interpersonal processes.
110.The team's strong belief that they can be effective across a variety of situations reflects which of the
following?
A. Moderate transactive memory
B. Diverse mental models
C. High potency
D. Low cohesion
E. Minimal boundary spanning
111.The team's high level of common understanding refers to which of the following?
A. Potency
B. Cohesion
C. Transactive memory
D. Mental models
E. Boundary spanning
112.The standard pre-deployment practice of the team represents which aspect of cross-training?
A. Positional rotation
B. Positional modeling
C. Action learning
D. Personal clarification
E. Collaborative problem solving

113.Define team process. Differentiate between process gain and process loss.

114.Define brainstorming. Identify the rules used surrounding a brainstorming session. Discuss why
brainstorming does not work as well as individual idea generation.

115.Briefly describe creative behavior and decision making taskwork processes.

116.Discuss three specific factors that account for a team's ability to make effective decisions. How can these
factors be used for improving team decision making?

117.Define boundary spanning and describe the activities involved in this taskwork process. Provide an
example of each activity.

118.Define teamwork process. Describe the three teamwork processes using examples.

119.What factors influence the communication process in teams?

120.What are team states? Identify and briefly describe the various team states discussed in the text.

121.Explain the steps organizations can take to improve team processes.

122.Differentiate between cohesion and potency.

123.How are taskwork processes different from teamwork processes?

124.With the help of a diagram explain the communication process.

125.Explain how information richness influences the communication process?

126.Distinguish between brainstorming and groupthink.

127.Cross-training and training in transportable teamwork competencies focus on individual experiences that
promote individual learning. Explain.

128.Differentiate between positional modeling and positional rotation.

129.Describe the effects of teamwork processes on team performance and commitment?

ch0012 Key
1. (p. 382) TRUE
2. (p. 383) FALSE
3. (p. 383) TRUE
4. (p. 384) FALSE
5. (p. 383-384) TRUE
6. (p. 384) FALSE
7. (p. 384) TRUE
8. (p. 384) FALSE
9. (p. 386) FALSE
10. (p. 386) TRUE
11. (p. 386) FALSE
12. (p. 388) FALSE
13. (p. 388) FALSE
14. (p. 389) TRUE
15. (p. 389) FALSE
16. (p. 389) FALSE
17. (p. 390) FALSE
18. (p. 390) FALSE
19. (p. 392) TRUE
20. (p. 393) TRUE
21. (p. 394) FALSE
22. (p. 394) TRUE
23. (p. 395) TRUE
24. (p. 395) TRUE
25. (p. 394) FALSE
26. (p. 400) FALSE
27. (p. 401) FALSE
28. (p. 401) FALSE
29. (p. 401) TRUE
30. (p. 382) B
31. (p. 383) A
32. (p. 383) C
33. (p. 383) D
34. (p. 384) C
35. (p. 384) E
36. (p. 384) B

37. (p. 384) D

38. (p. 384) B
39. (p. 385) C
40. (p. 385) E
41. (p. 386) A
42. (p. 386) E
43. (p. 386) B
44. (p. 387) D
45. (p. 387) A
46. (p. 387-388) B
47. (p. 387-388) B
48. (p. 387) C
49. (p. 388) A
50. (p. 388) D
51. (p. 388) D
52. (p. 388) C
53. (p. 388) A
54. (p. 388) E
55. (p. 388) C
56. (p. 388) D
57. (p. 388) B
58. (p. 388) E
59. (p. 388) E
60. (p. 388) B
61. (p. 389) E
62. (p. 389) C
63. (p. 389-390) E
64. (p. 389) B
65. (p. 389) B
66. (p. 389) D
67. (p. 389) B
68. (p. 389-390) A
69. (p. 390) C
70. (p. 390) B
71. (p. 390) A
72. (p. 390) D
73. (p. 390) A
74. (p. 390) A

75. (p. 392) E

76. (p. 392) B
77. (p. 392) B
78. (p. 393) A
79. (p. 393) A
80. (p. 393) E
81. (p. 393) A
82. (p. 394) B
83. (p. 394) A
84. (p. 394) E
85. (p. 394) C
86. (p. 395) C
87. (p. 395) D
88. (p. 395) B
89. (p. 397) C
90. (p. 397) C
91. (p. 398) B
92. (p. 400) D
93. (p. 401) C
94. (p. 401) B
95. (p. 401) D
96. (p. 401) D
97. (p. 401) B
98. (p. 401) E
99. (p. 402) E
100. (p. 402) A
101. (p. 402) E
102. (p. 402) A
103. (p. 386) D
104. (p. 387) D
105. (p. 387-388) B
106. (p. 388) C
107. (p. 388) E
108. (p. 389) B
109. (p. 390) E
110. (p. 395) C
111. (p. 395) D
112. (p. 401) B

113. (p. 382-383) Team process refers to the different types of activities and interactions that occur within teams that contribute to their ultimate end
goals. Getting more from the team than you would expect according to the capabilities of its individual members refers to process gain. When you
get from teams "more than the sum of their parts," the teams seem to benefit from process gain. On the other hand, when you get from teams "less
than the sum of their parts," the teams seem to suffer from process loss. Factors that cause process loss include coordination loss and motivational
loss.
There appears to be at least three reasons why brainstorming does not work as well as individual idea generation. 1) social loafing, 2) members
may be hesitant in expressing ideas that may be silly or not well thought-out, and 3) production blocking.
Build on the ideas of others
Do not criticize or evaluate the ideas of others
Go for quantity of ideas rather than quality
Express all ideas that come to mind
Most brainstorming sessions center on the following rules:
114. (p. 385-386) Brainstorming involves a face-to-face meeting of team members in which each offers as many ideas as possible about some focal
problem or issue.

Decision making involves multiple members gathering and considering information that's relevant to their area of specialization, and then making
recommendations to a team leader who is ultimately responsible for the final decision.
115. (p. 384-387) When teams engage in creative behavior, their activities are focused on generating novel and useful ideas and solutions. The team
environment must also be uniquely suited to fostering creative behavior. Creative behavior in teams can be fostered when members participate in a
specific set of activities.

Experienced teams tend to make better decisions because they develop an understanding of the information that is needed and how to use it and
leaders develop an understanding of which members provide the best recommendations. Team decision making may be improved by giving
members feedback about these three variables involved. For example, a team can improve its decision making if the members are told that they
have to share and consider additional pieces of information before making recommendations to the leader.
Hierarchical sensitivity reflects the degree to which the leader effectively weighs the recommendations of the members.
Staff validity refers to the degree to which members make good recommendations to the leader.
Decision informity reflects whether the team members possess adequate information about their own task responsibilities.
116. (p. 387-388) Three factors account for a team's ability to make effective decisions:

Scout activities refer to things team members do to obtain information about technology, competitors, or the broader marketplace.
Task coordinator activities involve communications that are intended to coordinate task-related issues with people or groups in other functional
areas.
Ambassador activities refer to communications that are intended to protect the team, persuade others to support the team, or obtain important
resources for the team.
Boundary spanning involves activities with individuals and groups other than those who are considered part of the team. The three types of
activities are:
117. (p. 388) Students examples will vary.

 Interpersonal processes - whereby team members manage their relationships. Examples - motivating and confidence building, affect
management, and conflict management.
Action processes - are important as the taskwork is being accomplished. Examples - monitoring progress toward goals, systems monitoring, and
helping behavior.
Transition processes - teamwork activities that focus on preparation for future work. Examples - mission analysis, strategy formulation, and goal
specification.
118. (p. 388-390) Teamwork processes refer to the interpersonal activities that facilitate the accomplishment of the team's work but do not directly
involve task accomplishment itself.

(4) Network structure: It is the pattern of communication that occurs regularly among each member of the team. The various network structures are
all channel network, circle network, Y network and wheel network.
(3) Information richness: It is the amount and depth of information that gets transmitted in a message. The appropriate level of information
richness depends on the nature of the team's situation. The greater the level of complexity in the work being accomplished by the team, the more
likely it is that the benefits of information richness outweigh its costs.
(2) Noise: Noise interferes with the message being transmitted. Noise increases the effort that the communicators need to exert to make the
communication process work.
(1) Communicator issues: One important factor that influences the communication process is the communicators themselves. Communicators need
to encode and interpret messages, and it turns out that these activities can be major sources of communication problems.
119. (p. 391-393) The factors influencing communication process in teams are as follows.

Transactive memory refers to how specialized knowledge is distributed among members in a manner that results in an effective system of
memory for the team.
Mental models refers to the level of common understanding among team members with regard to important aspects of the team and its tasks.
Potency refers to the degree to which members believe that the team can be effective across a variety of situations and tasks.
Cohesion tends to foster high levels of motivation and commitment to the team; creates situations of groupthink.
120. (p. 394-397) Team states refer to specific types of feelings and thoughts that coalesce in the minds of team members as a consequence of their
experience working together.

At the team level, it could be team building and team process training such as action learning. Team building is a type of training normally
conducted by a consultant and intended to facilitate the development of team processes related to goal setting, interpersonal relations, problem
solving, and role clarification. Team process training occurs in the context of a team experience that facilitates the team being able to function and
perform more effectively as an intact unit.
121. (p. 400-402) At the individual level, organizations can utilize development of transportable teamwork competencies and cross-training.
Transportable teamwork competencies reflects the fact that trainees can transport what they learn about teamwork from one team context and
apply it in another. Cross training involves training members in the duties and responsibilities of their teammates so that they can develop shared
mental models of what's involved in each of the roles in the team and how the roles fit together to form a system.

Potency refers to the degree to which members believe that the team can be effective across a variety of situations and tasks. When a team has
high potency, members are confident that their team can perform well, and as a consequence, they focus more of their energy on team tasks and
teamwork in hopes of achieving team goals. When a team has low potency, members are not as confident about their team, and so they begin to
question the team's goals and one another.
122. (p. 394-395) Members of teams can develop strong emotional bonds to other members of their team and to the team itself. This emotional
attachment, which is called cohesion, tends to foster high levels of motivation and commitment to the team, and as a consequence, cohesiveness
tends to promote higher levels of team performance.

Teamwork processes refer to the interpersonal activities that facilitate the accomplishment of the team's work but do not directly involve task
accomplishment itself. They are behaviors that create the setting or context in which taskwork can be carried out. They include transition
processes, action processes and interpersonal processes.
123. (p. 384, 388-389) Taskwork processes are the activities of team members that relate directly to the accomplishment of team tasks. Generally,
taskwork occurs any time that team members interact with the tools or technologies that are used to complete their work. In the context of teams,
especially those that engage in knowledge work, three types of taskwork processes are crucially important: creative behavior, decision making, and
boundary spanning.

Feedback: Refer To: Figure 12-3

Communication begins with information being transmitted by the sender. Generally speaking, senders may use verbal and written language, as
well as nonverbal language and cues, to encode the information into a message. This encoded message is transmitted to a receiver, who needs to
interpret or decode the message to form an understanding of the information it contains.
124. (p. 391-392) For the diagram refer to figure 12-3 on page 392.

Higher levels of information richness are preferable to lower levels when the situation or task at hand is complex and difficult to understand.
However, the benefits of information richness may overcomplicate the communication process when the task at hand is relatively simple
and straightforward. The additional information that needs to be interpreted by the receiver increases the chance that some of the cues will
seem contradictory, and when this happens, receivers may feel like they're being sent "mixed messages." In summary, the appropriate level of
information richness depends on the nature of the team's situation: The greater the level of complexity in the work being accomplished by the
team, the more likely it is that the benefits of information richness outweigh its costs.
125. (p. 392-393) Information richness is the amount and depth of information that gets transmitted in a message. Messages that are transmitted
through face-to-face channels have the highest level of information richness, because senders can convey meaning through not only words but also
their body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Face-to-face communication also achieves high information richness because it provides
the opportunity for senders and receivers to receive feedback, which allows them to verify and ensure their messages, are received and interpreted
correctly. At the opposite end of the information richness spectrum are computer-generated reports that consist largely of numbers. Although these
types of reports may include a lot of information, they're limited to information that's quantifiable, and there's an absence of additional cues that
could provide context and meaning to the numbers. A personal written note is a good example of a message with a moderate level of information
richness.

In highly cohesive teams, members may try to maintain harmony by striving toward consensus on issues without ever offering, seeking, or
seriously considering alternative viewpoints and perspectives. This drive toward conformity at the expense of other team priorities is called
groupthink and is thought to be associated with feelings of overconfidence about the team's capabilities.
126. (p. 385, 394) Brainstorming is the best-known activity that teams use to foster creative behavior. Generally speaking, brainstorming involves a
face-to-face meeting of team members in which each offers as many ideas as possible about some focal problem or issue.

A second type of team training involves training members in the duties and responsibilities of their teammates. The idea behind this type of
training, which is called cross-training, is that team members can develop shared mental models of what's involved in each of the roles in the team
and how the roles fit together to form a system.
127. (p. 400-401) One approach to training teams is to help individual team members develop general competencies related to teamwork activities.
This type of training could involve many different forms of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Taken together, such knowledge, skills, and abilities
are referred to as transportable teamwork competences. This label reflects the fact that trainees can transport what they learn about teamwork from
one team context and apply it in another.

Positional rotation gives members actual experience carrying out the responsibilities of their teammates. Although this type of hands-on experience
could expand skills of members so that they might actually perform the duties of their teammates if they had to, the level of training required to
achieve proficiency or certification in many situations may be prohibitive. For example, because it takes years of specialized training to become a
surgeon, it would be impractical to train an operating room nurse to perform this job for the purposes of positional rotation.
128. (p. 401) Positional modeling involves team members observing how other members perform their roles. For example, in surgical teams, the
surgeons might spend a day shadowing operating room nurses as they perform their duties. The shadowing not only helps the surgeons gain a
better understanding of what the job of a nurse entails but also may provide insight into how the activities involved in their respective jobs could
be integrated more effectively.

Feedback: Refer To: Figure 12-7

Research also indicates that teamwork processes have a strong positive relationship with team commitment. In other words, teams that engage in
effective teamwork processes tend to continue to exist together into the future. People tend to be satisfied in teams in which there are effective
interpersonal interactions, and as a consequence, they go out of their way to do things that they believe will help the team stick together.
Teamwork processes have a strong positive effect on Team Commitment. That aspect of team process has a stronger effect on commitment for
teams involved in more complex knowledge work rather than less complex work.
129. (p. 398-399) Research conducted in a wide variety of team settings has shown that teamwork processes have a moderate positive relationship
with team performance. This same moderate positive relationship appears to hold true, regardless of whether the research examines transition
processes, action processes, or interpersonal processes. The interpersonal activities that prepare teams for future work appear to be just as
important as those that help members integrate their taskwork and those that build team confidence and a positive team climate. Researchers have
also found that the importance of team processes to team performance may be more strongly positive in teams in which there are higher levels of
interdependence. Activities that are meant to improve the integration of team members' work are simply more important in team contexts in which
the work of team members needs to be integrated.

ch0012 Summary
Category
AACSB: Analytic
AACSB: Communication
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Blooms: Analyze
Blooms: Apply
Blooms: Remember
Blooms: Understand
Colquitt - Chapter 12
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 1201 What are taskwork processes; and what are some examples of team activities that fall into this process category?
Learning Objective: 1202 What are teamwork processes; and what are some examples of team activities that fall into this process category?
Learning Objective: 12-03 What factors influence the communication process in teams?
Learning Objective: 12-04 What are team states; and what are some examples of the states that fall into this process category?
Learning Objective: 12-05 How do team processes affect team performance and team commitment?
Learning Objective: 12-06 What steps can organizations take to improve team processes?
Topic: Application: Training Teams
Topic: How Important Are Team Processes?
Topic: Team Processes And Communication
Topic: Why Are Some Teams More Than The Sum Of Their Parts?

# of Questions
91
10
29
4
25
63
37
129
62
41
26
54
25
12
19
4
17
17
4
3
106