Question 1

A pharmaceutical company has a weekly meeting.Every week,the meeting starts with a story about a research breakthrough.What is the most likely reason for this tradition?
A) to help the employees get to know each other
B) to encourage employees to relate to senior management
C) to establish a conversational tone
D) to teach employees how to work as a team
E) to remind employees of their common sense of purpose

Accepted Answer

Many companies start their meetings with a tradition that reinforces the core values of their organization.Such traditions create a common sense of purpose (one of the key ingredients of effective teamwork).

Question 2

Karen and her team share ideas about how their team should approach work,and they spend some time debating which ideas to adopt.What stage is the team at?
A) norming
B) forming
C) performing
D) storming
E) reforming

Accepted Answer

In the storming stage of team development,team members open up with their competing ideas about how the team should approach work.This stage is typically the least productive,since team members are attempting to make sense of uncertain roles,goals,and accountabilities.

Question 3

In which of the following situations is a company most likely to need a series of problem-solving meetings that have no preset agenda?
A) planning the annual picnic
B) deciding the work assignments for a project
C) developing a new product proposal
D) discussing the transition to new ownership
E) reviewing a market research report

Accepted Answer

Problem-solving meetings typically involve brainstorming about how to address and solve a particular work problem.Problem-solving meetings involve more fluid issues that are less easily classified as discrete agenda items and that are less easily given time allotments.An ongoing transition such as new ownership would require a series of problem-solving meetings.

Question 4

Abdul is frustrated because his team members come unprepared for meetings.What is the first thing he should do to try to improve the situation?
A) distribute minutes after the previous meeting to remind people of what was covered
B) distribute an agenda ahead of the meeting so people know what to expect
C) distribute homework assignments several days before each meeting
D) criticize people during the meeting if they are not contributing enough
E) criticize people after the meeting to make his point without embarrassing them

Accepted Answer

Agendas provide structure for meetings.For most meetings,preparing and distributing an agenda ahead of time allows each meeting participant to form expectations and prepare.

Question 5

Which of the following is the role of a facilitator?
A) keeping the meeting's minutes
B) ensuring fair discussion of each agenda item in a meeting
C) discouraging debate and dissent
D) steering conversations toward predetermined conclusions
E) presenting counter arguments to ideas or suggestions

Accepted Answer

Each meeting should have a facilitator.The facilitator acts from a neutral position to get each person to participate in the conversation and ensure that each agenda item is properly discussed.

Question 6

Which of the following describes a team in the forming stage of team development?
A) All four members of the team discuss what the team roles and goals should be.
B) Nick and Julie present alternate ways of assigning work,and the team debates the issue.
C) Nick,Julie,Raul,and Ming take turns sharing their background with the others.
D) The four group members work at their assigned tasks efficiently and work together as needed.
E) Nick and Ming draft a work plan,while Raul and Julie write guidelines for the group to consider.

Accepted Answer

In the forming stage of team development,team members focus on gaining acceptance and avoiding conflict.In some ways,this stage is a honeymoon period in which team members get to know one another.

Question 7

Oscar starts his meetings by describing the procedures he wants people to follow while taking part in the discussion and explaining what topics must be kept confidential.By doing this,Oscar is providing
A) agenda items.
B) minutes.
C) consensus.
D) ground rules.
E) action items.

Accepted Answer

The person in charge of the meeting may want to set some ground rules,such as his or her expectations for others to participate,how much time to take with comments,how to deal with differences of opinion,what protocol to follow for the use of disruptive devices,and what information should be kept confidential.

Question 8

Which of the following best describes the performing stage of team development?
A) All four members of the team discuss what the team roles and goals should be.
B) Nick and Julie present alternate ways of assigning work,and the team debates the issue.
C) Nick,Julie,Raul,and Ming each share their background at the company.
D) The four group members work at their assigned tasks efficiently and work together as needed.
E) Nick and Ming draft a work plan,while Raul and Julie write guidelines for the group to consider.

Accepted Answer

In the performing stage of team development,teams operate efficiently toward accomplishing their goals.They have evolved to a level where they can transform disagreement and conflict into consensus for future action.

Question 9

Which of the following is a trait that contributes to the inherent diversity of a team?
A) members with customer service experience
B) members with retail experience
C) members with engineering experience
D) members with different levels of education
E) members with a variety of ethnic backgrounds

Accepted Answer

Inherent diversity involves traits such as age,gender,ethnicity,and sexual orientation.

Question 10

Which statement describes the difference between inherent diversity and acquired diversity?
A) Inherent diversity means that there is little difference between team members.Acquired diversity means pairing people with very different skill sets.
B) Inherent diversity refers to the diversity of a team.Acquired diversity refers to the diversity of the organization as a whole.
C) Inherent diversity involves biological traits.Acquired diversity involves traits gained through experience.
D) Inherent diversity measures the diversity of existing staff.Acquired diversity refers to recruiting diverse candidates.
E) Inherent diversity is present in every organization.Acquired diversity must be carefully cultivated.

Accepted Answer

Diversity comes in two forms: inherent and acquired.Inherent diversity involves traits such as age,gender,ethnicity,and sexual orientation.Acquired diversity involves traits you acquire through experience,such as customer service experience,retail experience,or engineering experience.

Question 11

Which of the following would be the most productive time to schedule a meeting?
A) 2:00 p.m.Thursday
B) 4:00 p.m.Wednesday
C) 10:00 a.m.Tuesday
D) Noon Monday
E) 10:00 a.m.Friday

Accepted Answer

Typically,most employees are at their best performance in the morning.Tuesdays are overwhelmingly considered the most productive day of the week.

Question 12

What is one of the fastest ways to increase trust among team members who don't know each other well?
A) having the team plan an event
B) having members share a workspace
C) keeping the team small
D) limiting the number of meetings
E) encouraging self-disclosure

Accepted Answer

One of the fastest ways to increase trust,particularly among teammates who don't know one another,is through self-disclosure.Self-disclosure is sharing information about yourself,such as goals,aspirations,view and values,and experiences.Teammates often bond emotionally and learn about one another's strengths by opening up or self-disclosing to each other.

Question 13

Erik is a manager who organizes his department into teams at the beginning of September.By December,he worries because the teams are still having conflict and do not seem very productive.What would be the best advice to give Erik?
A) Conclude that his workers are not team-oriented people.Abandon the experiment before work falls further behind.
B) Be patient because the teams are in the storming stage.Give them time to reach the norming and performing stages.
C) Conclude that he made a mistake in the makeup of the teams.Reassign people to new teams and start over.
D) Be patient because the teams are in the norming stage.Give them time to reach the more productive performing stage.
E) Conclude that the teams are spending too little time on work.Start to sit in meetings and direct activities.

Accepted Answer

Under the best of circumstances,teams can take six to seven months to reach the highly productive performing stage.It is normal for teams to still be in the storming stage after three months,which is where Erik's employees are.Erik should be patient and let the teams develop.If he interferes now,the process will just have to start over.

Question 14

Which of the following is characteristic of the norming stage of team development?
A) Team members get to know each other and try to gain acceptance.
B) Team members share competing ideas about the task and roles,and conflict occurs.
C) Team members easily manage to reach consensus even when there is conflict.
D) Team members are still uncertain about what is required of them.
E) Team members agree upon mutual goals and individual responsibilities.

Accepted Answer

In the norming stage of team development,the team arrives at a work plan,including various roles,goals,and accountabilities.

Question 15

What impact does 2-D diversity have on a company?
A) The company is more likely to increase its market share.
B) The company is more likely to experience damaging conflict.
C) The company is less likely to have a "speak-up culture."
D) The company is less likely to have access to a variety of perspectives.
E) The company is more likely to suffer significant financial losses.

Accepted Answer

2-D diversity refers to companies that have both inherent and acquired diversity.Companies with 2-D diversity are more likely to report growth in market share and more likely to capture a new market.

Question 16

Whenever he has to present a proposal to his managers,LeRoy is able to distance himself from his ideas and accept criticism without becoming defensive.What process enables LeRoy to do this?
A) consolidation
B) association
C) disassociation
D) formation
E) reflection

Accepted Answer

Disassociation is a process by which professionals accept critique of their ideas without taking it personally and becoming defensive.Association is the psychological bonding that occurs between people and their ideas.

Question 17

Which of the following scenarios illustrates how an effective team works?
A) Kelly,Bob,and Jill have learned that conflict wastes their time.
B) Ken disagrees with what Rami and Angela are planning,but he decides to keep quiet and see how it works out.
C) Debby,Claire,and Adam are so dedicated to getting the job done that they never have meetings.
D) Leah,Ray,and Ernesto spend time each day talking about their goals and values.
E) Maria,Nirupa,and Glen make sure to spend at least half of their meeting time discussing their favorite baseball team.

Accepted Answer

High-performing teams avoid simply going with the flow.Rather,they frequently,explicitly,and openly discuss the set of values,norms,and goals they share.

Question 18

_____ is the psychological bonding that occurs between people and their ideas.
A) Consolidation
B) Association
C) Disassociation
D) Formation
E) Reflection

Accepted Answer

Association is the psychological bonding that occurs between people and their ideas.Since the purpose of most meetings and team communication is to increase agreement about roles,goals,and accountabilities and to increase the group's sense of purpose,team members should seek association by the end of a meeting or team communication.

Question 19

Teams rapidly develop shared perceptions and commitment during the _____ stage of team development.
A) norming
B) forming
C) performing
D) storming
E) reforming

Accepted Answer

Team culture refers to a set of shared perceptions and commitment to collective values,norms,roles,responsibilities,and goals.Typically,teams rapidly develop such shared perceptions and commitment during the norming stage.

Question 20

Moira has a standard way of running meetings that she has used for a long time.Her meetings tend to be efficient but dry,and people have difficulty feeling engaged.Which of the following techniques should Moira use to solve that problem?
A) distribute an agenda ahead of time
B) have someone take minutes and distribute them afterward
C) make sure to start and end the meeting on time
D) encourage each person to share his or her opinion
E) remain neutral while facilitating the discussion

Accepted Answer

Facilitators should acknowledge,check for understanding,paraphrase and summarize,ask for elaboration,and get everyone involved.Sometimes,this may require using explicit phrases such as "I'd like each person to take two minutes to...".

Quiz 3: Team Communication and Difficult Conversations

A pharmaceutical company has a weekly meeting.Every week,the meeting starts with a story about a research breakthrough.What is the most likely reason for this tradition?

Karen and her team share ideas about how their team should approach work,and they spend some time debating which ideas to adopt.What stage is the team at?

In which of the following situations is a company most likely to need a series of problem-solving meetings that have no preset agenda?

Abdul is frustrated because his team members come unprepared for meetings.What is the first thing he should do to try to improve the situation?

Which of the following is the role of a facilitator?

Which of the following describes a team in the forming stage of team development?

Oscar starts his meetings by describing the procedures he wants people to follow while taking part in the discussion and explaining what topics must be kept confidential.By doing this,Oscar is providing

Which of the following best describes the performing stage of team development?

Which of the following is a trait that contributes to the inherent diversity of a team?

Which statement describes the difference between inherent diversity and acquired diversity?

Which of the following would be the most productive time to schedule a meeting?

What is one of the fastest ways to increase trust among team members who don't know each other well?

Erik is a manager who organizes his department into teams at the beginning of September.By December,he worries because the teams are still having conflict and do not seem very productive.What would be the best advice to give Erik?

Which of the following is characteristic of the norming stage of team development?

What impact does 2-D diversity have on a company?

Whenever he has to present a proposal to his managers,LeRoy is able to distance himself from his ideas and accept criticism without becoming defensive.What process enables LeRoy to do this?

Which of the following scenarios illustrates how an effective team works?

_____ is the psychological bonding that occurs between people and their ideas.

Teams rapidly develop shared perceptions and commitment during the _____ stage of team development.

Moira has a standard way of running meetings that she has used for a long time.Her meetings tend to be efficient but dry,and people have difficulty feeling engaged.Which of the following techniques should Moira use to solve that problem?