Deck 15: Structuration Theory

Question 1

All of the following statements about rules are true EXCEPT

A) rules may be implicitly stated
B) rules limit our ability to create structures in groups and thus increase uncertainty
C) rules may be explicitly stated
D) rules enable members to understand and interact with others

Answer 1

rules limit our ability to create structures in groups and thus increase uncertainty

Question 2

All of the following are assumptions of Structuration Theory (ST) EXCEPT

A) Communication rules serve as both the medium for and an outcome of interactions.
B) Power structures are present in organizations and guide the decision-making process.
C) Groups and organizations are produced and reproduced through the use of rules and resources.
D) In employing the processes of agency and reflexivity, group members are equipped with the ability to articulate reasons for their behaviors.

Answer 2

In employing the processes of agency and reflexivity, group members are equipped with the ability to articulate reasons for their behaviors.

Question 3

Structuration theorists believe that all social interaction in an organization is comprised of a ______________ and ______________ dimension.

A) temporal and spatial
B) cognitive and affective
C) informal and informational
D) reflexive and reflective

Answer 3

temporal and spatial

Question 4

Structuration is defined as

A) the system in which an organization operates and develops its rules and resources for guiding interaction
B) the development of agency and reflexivity as facilitating decision making in organizations and groups
C) the rules and resources that affect organizational members interactions and decisions on a daily basis
D) the process by which systems are produced and reproduced through members' use of rules and resources

Question 5

Rules explain both __________ something is done and __________ a goal may be accomplished.

A) why/how
B) when/where
C) how/why
D) where/when

Question 6

Which approach to knowing characterizes the research undertaken using ST?

A) socio-cultural
B) interpretive/hermeneutic
C) critical
D) positivistic/empirical

Question 7

When you do what your boss asks you to do because you recognize that she has the ability to promote you following next month's performance evaluations, you are acknowledging her

A) favoritism tendencies
B) reward power
C) allocative resources
D) structuration capacity

Question 8

Critics of Structuration Theory are primarily concerned with its

A) heuristic value
B) ability to stand the test of time
C) lack of parsimony
D) logical consistency

Question 9

Alberto is able to get his group members to agree to participate in a late-night meeting in order to decide on a plan of action before the deadline set by the client. While most people typically would not be willing to work such late hours, Alberto's team complies with his request because he is the Manager of Operations for their division of the company. Which of the following types of power is most influential in getting the group to agree to the late-night meeting?

A) expert power
B) referent power
C) reward power
D) legitimate power

Question 10

One's ability to exert influence over others based on his/her ability to penalize group members who do not comply, such as a boss who can require workers who arrive late to do undesirable tasks, is called

A) reward power
B) referent power
C) expert power
D) coercive power

Question 11

In Structuration Theory, the _____ is the group or organization and the behaviors that the group engages in to pursue its goals, and the _____ is the rules and resources used to sustain a group or organization.

A) system/structure
B) collective/structuration
C) structure/system
D) agent/agency

Question 12

With which of the following communication traditions is Structuration Theory associated?

A) semiotic
B) cybernetic
C) rhetorical
D) phenomenological

Question 13

When you are assigned to a group for a class project, your ability to express your thoughts and goals in a language that other group members are able to understand is called

A) practical consciousness
B) authoritative resources
C) discursive consciousness
D) power base

Question 14

The five bases of social power are considered to be _________ resources.

A) allocative
B) authoritative
C) material
D) practical

Question 15

The person who engages in behavior in the group is referred to as the _________ by structuration theorists.

A) agent
B) agency
C) structure
D) authoritative resource

Question 16

Anthony Giddens believes that

A) people are unaware of the influence of others
B) structure and rules restrict behavior
C) communication systems are too complex to completely understand
D) rules are key to an individual's satisfaction

Question 17

A system is a group or organization, not the behaviors the group engages in to pursue its goals.

Question 18

Giddens views all group members as having some sort of power.

Question 19

Structure is the term that is used to refer to the rules and resources that group members use to guide their behavior and sustain their system.

Question 20

Legitimate power is based on a person's ability to exert influence over other group members on the basis of his/her position or title.

Question 21

Poole and his colleagues conclude that the key to understanding groups is through an analysis of the rules that underlie them.

Question 22

Poole and his colleagues contend that small groups are aware of and knowledgeable about the events and activities that take place around them.

Question 23

Another word for social integration in Structuration Theory is reciprocity.

Question 24

Structures are viewed as having both temporal and spatial qualities, and Giddens maintains, in understanding them we must try to ignore the time-space relations inherent in the constitution of all social interaction.

Question 25

Giddens views social structures as a double-edged sword in that they restrict our behavior, but those same rules are necessarily because they enable us to understand and interact with others.

Question 26

Distinguish between the concepts of rules and resources. How does a group utilize each of these concepts in arriving at a decision?

Question 27

Identify the five authoritative resources used by groups in arriving at decisions. Provide an example of each type of power exerted in group decisions in which you were a participant.

Question 28

Identify potential benefits and costs associated with each of the following paths of decision making: unitary path, complex-cyclic path, solution-orientation path.

Question 29

Discuss whether or not you believe Structuration Theory relates to a few, many, or most groups and organizations. Are there some concepts that are more readily applicable than others? Explain.

Question 30

Apply the principles of discursive consciousness and practical consciousness to relationships you have with others. What similarities and differences exist across these relationships?

Question 31

Does Structuration Theory have any utility in helping make class-assigned groups more effective as they work on class projects? If so, which concepts do you feel would be useful to teach students embarking on group work, so that they may better understand group processes that may make the group more or less effective? If not, why not?

Question 32

Select five concepts from Structuration Theory to apply to this school as an organization. Use examples to illustrate each concept. Be sure to explain each concept's role in the larger theoretical framework to show you understand how it relates to the theory.