Deck 7: Working and Writing in Teams

Question 1

The EcoWorld Foundation has recently started a large-scale project on handling climate changes. Team members of the project are currently working on finding numerous possible solutions to tackle the issue. They are debating solutions such as shifting to renewable energy, limiting the use of coal, and promoting the improvement of electric automobiles. The members of the project are most likely in the ________ stage of the life of the team.

A) coordination
B) production
C) finalization
D) formation
E) formalization

Answer 1

A

Question 2

It is important to schedule controversial items toward the end of a meeting because it helps manage time better.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Whenever Kizza's team receives criticism from their supervisor, the team rationalizes the criticism by saying that the supervisor has had a bad day. This rationalization will help make Kizza's team a successful one.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A way to resolve a team conflict in which one person criticizes everything is to ask the person to follow up the criticism with a suggestion for improvement.

Question 5

Active listening is sufficient to reduce the conflict that arises when two people want apparently inconsistent things.

Question 6

One common ground rule of workplace teams is to have only those members with experience and knowledge speak on key issues and procedures.

Question 7

Joshua's team lets Joshua determine all the decisions because he talks the most and is the loudest person on the team. This is an effective team decision-making strategy.

Question 8

Which of the following is a feature of the formation stage of a task team?

A) establishing ground rules for team members
B) seeking numerous solutions to a problem
C) forgetting earlier conflicts that may have existed
D) determining how well the group's decision will be implemented
E) finalizing the work done by the group

Question 9

Positive roles and actions of individuals that help a team achieve its task goals include

A) being silent in meetings so that others have a chance to speak.
B) criticizing other team members while playing the role of devil's advocate.
C) taking every opportunity to be the first to speak.
D) restating major points and summarizing decisions.
E) relieving tensions by making jokes and diverting the team from its activities.

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true about roles in teams?

A) Evaluating is considered a negative role on a team.
B) An individual's role can change during the team's work.
C) Most teams have one person who takes the role of leader.
D) Roles on teams are always positive.
E) Negative roles and actions in a team help the team resolve conflicts.

Question 11

WebEx is software that helps companies conduct online team meetings.

Question 12

Informational dimensions of teams focus primarily on promoting friendliness, cooperation, and team loyalty.

Question 13

Procedural dimensions of teams focus on

A) solutions.
B) methods.
C) people.
D) content.
E) data.

Question 14

Eduardo is a favorite among his company's senior management because of his hard work, initiative, and enthusiasm. Recently, however, his boss was disappointed in Eduardo's behavior at a team meeting. In his boss's words, Eduardo "hurt the team's processes" and prevented the team from coming to conclusions. Which of the following did Eduardo most likely do at the meeting?

A) He made jokes and suggested breaks and fun activities to relieve tension.
B) He asked team members to share their feelings with each other.
C) He openly discussed other people's interpersonal problems in the team and tried to solve them.
D) He took every opportunity to be the first to speak.
E) He called on quieter team members during the meeting.

Question 15

Members of the "Support a Livable Wage" campaign are currently finalizing ways to create public participation on the issue and persuade the state government to change its laws on the minimum wage. Which of the following phases is the campaigning team most likely in?

A) production
B) coordination
C) initiation
D) formation
E) formalization

Question 16

Informational dimensions of teams focus on

A) the cooperation between team members.
B) the promotion of team loyalty.
C) possible solutions to problems.
D) method and process.
E) the decision-making process.

Question 17

Research has found that student teams who voiced disagreements as they analyzed, planned, and wrote a document produced significantly worse documents than those who suppressed disagreement.

Question 18

The longest phase of a team, during which most of a team's work is done, is called

A) production.
B) formalization.
C) formation.
D) coordination.
E) finalization.

Question 19

Alejandra and her team are in the initial stages of a project and are having a team meeting. During the meeting, people volunteer for various roles and the team sets ground rules. They also decide that they will meet twice a week to discuss their progress and any setbacks faced. Alejandra 's team is currently in the ________ stage of the life of a task team.

A) formation
B) coordination
C) finalization
D) formalization
E) interpersonal

Question 20

A management team has made a decision about the year's upcoming holidays by having each team member vote. Although this helped them make the decision quickly, it may have left people in the minority unhappy with and uncommitted to the majority's plan.

Question 21

Which of the following is an advantage of ethnically diverse teams?

A) Members of such teams discover that working styles are similar across cultures.
B) Members of such teams find language barriers easy to overcome.
C) Members of such teams rarely attribute problems in the team to prejudice.
D) Members of such teams produce higher-quality ideas.
E) Members of such teams start giving more importance to cultural differences over time.

Question 22

Professor Sosuke divides his class into two teams to work on an assignment. When he receives the assignment submissions, he notices that while team A was a more hardworking group, Team B was able to submit a more timely and impressive assignment. Which of the following behaviors from Team B was most likely responsible for their greater success?

A) They avoided discussing progress because it wasted crucial time.
B) They undertook their tasks independently instead of together as a team.
C) They rationalized criticism and took individual contributions for granted.
D) They had a large number of passive members and set ambiguous goals.
E) They dealt directly with conflicts and paid attention to members' emotions.

Question 23

Which of the following is a good feedback strategy during team decision making?

A) Feedback should be external, instead of coming from within the team.
B) Feedback should be rare; when it occurs, it should have a higher ratio of negative-to-positive interactions.
C) Feedback should be regular to keep members contributing their share of the work in a timely fashion.
D) Feedback begins to be generated as soon as a team is formed.
E) Feedback should avoid discussing team procedures.

Question 24

Ji-hu is leading a campaign against illegal logging. He ensures that his team meets once a week. Although the campaign has been progressing smoothly, Ji-hu notices various conflicts arising between some team members, which may be affecting their work. Which of the following steps should he take to help reduce the number of conflicts in the team?

A) Discuss the problems with them immediately instead of putting it off.
B) Ignore the problems because conflicts are natural when people work together.
C) Discuss the problems with the team members once the campaign is over.
D) Overlook complaints that some team members are not doing their fair share.
E) Create ambiguous rules that offer flexibility during work and avoid conflict.

Question 25

Which of the following statements best shows you-attitude?

A) You don't seem to have read my report thoroughly.
B) You should check and see if the manager agrees with your assessment of my report.
C) Your directions failed to mention anything about including international effects in my report.
D) I feel that my report is accurate, clear, and thorough based on the directions I was given.
E) I feel angry that your comments about my report are hyper-critical.

Question 26

Which of the following is a repercussion of groupthink?

A) Too many alternatives will emerge, making it impossible to reach consensus.
B) Members will test and analyze their assumptions against those of others in the team.
C) Each person will believe that he or she is right and make it hard to reach consensus.
D) Members will fail to prepare contingency plans to cope with foreseeable setbacks.
E) Members will make decisions that are riskier than the initial inclination of its members.

Question 27

Which of the following is true of the voting process in a team?

A) It is a short and quick process.
B) It ensures people in the minority are content.
C) It makes it easy for all participants to commit to the plan.
D) It occurs after consensus has been arrived at.
E) It should not be used in the decision-making process.

Question 28

A media management team is currently brainstorming for ideas about how to handle some negative publicity the company faces. Some of the members are passionate about certain solutions, while other members disagree. David, the team leader, lists all the ideas on a board and lets each member mark his or her priorities in order of preference, using a different colored circular sticker for each rank. David then picks the idea with the highest priority. Which of the following strategies has David implemented to help the team make a decision?

A) groupthink strategy
B) omnibus strategy
C) 360-degree strategy
D) anchoring strategy
E) dot planning strategy

Question 29

Ahmet is a literary agent and is meeting with his co-workers to discuss different possible ways to market an author's new and controversial book. He willingly opts to play the role of devil's advocate in this meeting. Considering this, Ahmet most likely

A) summarizes the main points in the meeting.
B) challenges the different suggestions put forward to market the book.
C) encourages the participation of co-workers to gather ideas.
D) organizes how the meeting will be run.
E) combines ideas to come up with a unique marketing solution.

Question 30

According to team-building expert Bob Frisch, which of the following helps a team to work through a team-decision deadlock?

A) allowing team members to use a secret ballot to express their opinions
B) ensuring that a decision is arrived at in the least amount of time possible
C) ensuring that all team members make their decisions openly
D) avoiding brainstorming for new solutions that combine the old ones
E) adding pressure on the team for especially complex decisions

Question 31

A team at Jamison, Inc., an advertising agency, is working on a new advertisement for a nutrition bar. The head of the team, Luka, suggests that the advertisement should target primarily the rich. The team thinks this is a bad idea because the manufacturers are targeting a young market, and young people are unlikely to be rich. However, because of Luka's argumentative nature, the team goes along with him, which results in the creation of an advertisement that the client rejects. Which of the following is demonstrated in this scenario?

A) blocking
B) withdrawing
C) group facilitation
D) consensus
E) groupthink

Question 32

Phongtorn is recognized by his team members as having excellent team management skills. Which of the following behaviors does Phongtorn most likely engage in during team meetings?

A) He personally responds to everyone's comments.
B) He is silent during team meetings and does not help others with their work.
C) He disagrees with everything that is proposed to play the role of devil's advocate.
D) He takes every opportunity to be the first to speak.
E) He suggests ways to solve interpersonal problems in the team.

Question 33

To reduce the number of conflicts in a team, it is useful to

A) realize that team members are responsible for each other's happiness.
B) avoid discussing ground rules at the beginning.
C) discuss conflicts only when they become unavoidable.
D) avoid acknowledging problems as they arise.
E) make responsibilities clear at the beginning.

Question 34

Which of the following statements is true of team leaders?

A) A team leader can emerge during the teamwork process.
B) A team leader must be formally designated by the team members.
C) A team leader is responsible for doing all the work.
D) A team leader has the best ideas in the team.
E) A team leader must be the one who can do the best work.

Question 35

Which of the following statements correctly explains the difference between successful and unsuccessful student teams?

A) Successful teams allow sub-groups to make decisions; less successful teams insist that important decisions are made by the entire team.
B) Successful teams try to ignore conflicts that occur; less successful teams deal with all the conflicts that emerge.
C) Successful teams meet and talk through plans face-to-face; less successful teams rely more on email and other electronic communication tools.
D) Successful teams rationalize criticism; less successful teams listen to criticism and try to change their performance on the basis of it.
E) Successful teams respond to words more than emotions; less successful teams pay more attention to what is said and how it is said.

Question 36

Which of the following is a characteristic of successful student teams?

A) They set ambiguous objectives and deadlines to allow flexibility in work.
B) They make decisions together instead of having individuals make decisions.
C) They respond only to words or verbal communication and not to emotions.
D) They expect members to complete their own specific tasks instead of working together.
E) They recognize but do not acknowledge the contribution of every team member to the team's success.

Question 37

Which of the following scenarios shows correct business etiquette?

A) James refills the pot of coffee after emptying it.
B) Jessica borrows her team member's scissors without asking her.
C) Yvette increases the volume on her phone during a team meeting.
D) Darren continues to multitask while discussing a project with a co-worker.
E) Yolande talks loudly on her phone so that others can participate in her conversation.

Question 38

Which of the following demonstrates active listening for a listener when a speaker is discussing a problem?

A) ordering the speaker to look beyond the problem
B) acknowledging the problem with a nod or a frown
C) minimizing the problem by focusing on the bigger picture
D) comparing the problem with someone else's bigger problem
E) providing a quick solution to the problem off the top of your head

Question 39

Team leaders practicing informational leadership are most likely to

A) check if tasks are carried out.
B) check and resolve conflicts.
C) check people's feelings.
D) set the agenda.
E) evaluate text and ideas.

Question 40

Less successful teams are more likely to

A) divide projects into parts to be done totally separately.
B) schedule frequent meetings.
C) respond to emotions as well as words.
D) pay attention to what is said and how it is said.
E) find ways to use members who don't like working in teams.

Question 41

Alisha, a team leader, is facing a problem with her team. She feels like she is the only one who cares about the quality of the work and wants to know how to handle this conflict. Which of the following would help Alisha increase the contribution of the other team members?

A) fitting specific tasks to individual abilities and strengths
B) assigning extra work to members who seem to not care
C) having each person in the team write a draft about why they do not care
D) appointing someone to be a devil's advocate
E) adopting a dominating role to ensure that they work harder, even if they don't care

Question 42

Which of the following is important while planning a collaborative writing project?

A) Make the analysis of the problem, audience, and context vague.
B) Plan the format and style of the document after people have submitted their writing.
C) Ensure that each member complies with one generic style of working.
D) Decide how you will give constructive feedback on each person's work.
E) Make your deadlines firm and inflexible.

Question 43

List the positive roles and actions that help a team achieve its task goals.

Question 44

Vijay is required to arrange an important one-on-one meeting with a subordinate, who is currently posted in another country. Vijay must ensure that he and the subordinate can see each other during the meeting. Which of the following technologies would Vijay most likely use during this meeting?

A) Google Docs
B) Prezi
C) Producteev
D) HipChat
E) Dropbox

Question 45

Which of the following integrates project management with communications and is a free software platform?

A) Wrike
B) Redbooth
C) Google+
D) Basecamp
E) Campfire

Question 46

Explain "groupthink" with the help of an example.

Question 47

Which of the following is the foundation of a good meeting?

A) brainstorming ideas
B) preparing minutes
C) planning the agenda
D) motivating members
E) sharing ideas

Question 48

Which of the following is a difference between formal and informal meetings?

A) In formal meetings, motions are rarely made before a topic can be debated; in informal meetings, motions must be formally made.
B) In formal meetings, minutes are never maintained; in informal meetings, minutes are always maintained.
C) Formal meetings are less common in the workplace than informal meetings.
D) In formal meetings, votes should be avoided if most people seem to agree; in informal meetings, each point is voted on.
E) Formal meetings are better for team building than informal meetings.

Question 49

List and explain the key steps in conflict resolution.

Question 50

When you are responding to criticism, what does paraphrasing help you accomplish?

A) to understand the critic's emotions
B) to break the tension in the conversation
C) to communicate that you are taking the critic's ideas and feelings seriously
D) to highlight the unspoken feelings that may be more important than the voiced criticism
E) to allow you time to think so that you can respond appropriately

Question 51

Kwame is interacting with Mark, an unhappy client, who did not receive the products he ordered on time. Mark says, "This is the second time that your order has arrived late at my factory." Kwame tries to accept this criticism positively by identifying the feelings that Mark seems to be expressing. Which of the following does Kwame most likely say?

A) You are disappointed about the delayed deliveries, am I right?
B) You believe that we have started making late deliveries.
C) Are you saying that the delivery reached you late yesterday?
D) It is true that the delivery reached you after the scheduled time.
E) Please do not be angry. We will deliver on time next month.

Question 52

Mr. Papadakis, the head of a neighborhood watch committee, is in charge of running a meeting of 30 people in which 46 items on the agenda have to be voted on in a two-hour time period. Mr. Papadakis can help the team make these many decisions in the limited time frame by

A) taking individual votes for each item.
B) using an omnibus motion.
C) using parliamentary procedures.
D) starting the agenda with routine items.
E) ensuring that minutes are taken for each vote.

Question 53

A team of six members have been asked to work together on a report. They are deciding whether one of the members should do all the writing while the others gather information, or whether the entire team should work on the writing together. In this scenario, the team is in the ________ stage of their collaborative writing project.

A) proofreading
B) drafting
C) dot planning
D) editing
E) revising

Question 54

While revising a collaborative piece of writing, it is important to

A) evaluate the content and discuss possible revisions as a team.
B) ensure that several good writers make changes for a consistent style of writing.
C) ensure that one team member evaluates the organization for possible revisions.
D) avoid running the document through a spell check because it is never reliable.
E) ensure that it aligns with your writing style irrespective of business writing conventions.

Question 55

Burton's team is currently working on a project to protect the rainforests. The project is at its longest phase and will require a high level of commitment from all members of the team. Explain which stage of the task Burton's team is currently in and the key characteristics of this stage.

Question 56

Lamar is a leader of a team that has been given the task of coming up with ideas for the company's Annual Day. After a week of meeting with his team, Lamar presents a unique problem to his supervisor. He claims that the team refuses to disagree with any suggestions and decides on the first idea provided. As a result, the team is unable to come up with any good ideas. List several options that Lamar can take to resolve this conflict in his team.

Question 57

Which of the following statements about meetings is true?

A) Lengthy minutes of a meeting should never be recorded.
B) A meeting that starts off with routine items is always off to a good start.
C) Highly sensitive topics should not be carried over to a second meeting.
D) At the end of a meeting, the leader should summarize all decisions.
E) Meetings have a single purpose-to share information.

Question 58

A team is involved in the revision of an operational guidelines document, which requires them to make multiple changes. To save time, the team decides not to vote on each item separately. Instead, they vote on many items together and are able to complete the revision within the allotted time. In this scenario, the team has most likely used the

A) dot planning method.
B) omnibus motion.
C) 360-degree feedback method.
D) brainstorming process.
E) veto motion.

Question 59

Annamarie, a project manager, is preparing for a meeting with her team members. Based on the emails her team members have sent her for the meeting, she makes a note of the topics to be discussed, who is introducing each topic, and how long each discussion will take. She then sends out an email containing this information to her team members. In this scenario, Annamarie has

A) written the minutes of the meeting.
B) created an agenda for the meeting.
C) planned an omnibus motion for the meeting.
D) played devil's advocate during the meeting.
E) prepared a groupthink strategy to be used during the meeting.

Question 60

Which of the following actions is most likely to make a meeting effective?

A) ensuring that the leader avoids summarizing the group's consensus if the group does not formally vote
B) scheduling controversial items later in the meeting when energy levels are high
C) paying attention to the task at hand, not to people and processes
D) making information on the agenda specific so that participants can come prepared
E) using an omnibus motion to help a group approve items one at a time

Question 61

Lotte is the leader of a team that has members located in four countries. Give an example of how Lotte can use technology to help her team collaborate.

Question 62

Explain any one strategy of active listening with the help of an example.

Question 63

Benito, a team leader, needs to ensure that the collaborative document he and his team created is revised. While revising, he notices that the document is written well, but it does not meet the conventions of business writing. What steps should Benito take to ensure that he revises the document well?

Question 64

What are some key factors that help a team leader manage her writing team more efficiently?

Question 65

List the key elements for a good team meeting agenda.