Question 1

Which of the following practices helps to increase buy-in from virtual meeting participants?
A) running the meeting efficiently
B) multitasking during meetings
C) taking minutes in real time
D) opening with a contentious question
E) preparing how to state views ahead of time

Accepted Answer

In real-time virtual meetings,you can take minutes in real time so that meeting participants can comment on and correct information during the meeting.This often leads to more accurate recollections of the meeting,more buy-in from team members,and a higher likelihood that action items get accomplished.

Question 2

Janet's team is working on a group document,which they store in a FTP system on the company server.On Friday,Claire and Malik download the document at the same time,and each makes edits.Malik uploads his document first.When Claire uploads her copy of the document,she erases all of Malik's work.What went wrong?
A) Team members did not use the same word processing program.
B) The team did not assign its members clear responsibilities.
C) The team did not have a system to handle version control.
D) Team members were not clear about the purpose of the revision.
E) The team did not consider the needs of the audience.

Accepted Answer

To prevent multiple team members from editing the same document simultaneously,a good version control system is necessary.

Question 3

Which action is most likely to help build trust in a virtual team?
A) be proactively engaged
B) multitask during meetings
C) avoid social conversation
D) work as independently as possible
E) rely mostly on email to communicate

Accepted Answer

Compared to traditional teams,virtual teams typically find it more challenging to maintain trust over the duration of their work together.Professionals in virtual teams rank the following characteristics as most important among virtual teammates: willingly sharing information,being proactively engaged,and collaborating.

Question 4

What do professionals identify as one of the most important characteristics of virtual teammates?
A) ability to make decisions quickly
B) willingness to share information
C) interest in new technology
D) strong leadership skills
E) public speaking experience

Accepted Answer

Professionals in virtual teams rank the following characteristics as most important among virtual teammates: willingly sharing information,being proactively engaged,and collaborating.

Question 5

David has just been appointed leader of a new virtual team.He senses that the team members have doubts about each other's competence.What can he do to alleviate this situation?
A) take time during a meeting to review the company's mission statement
B) encourage the team members to consider stakeholders in every discussion
C) allow team members to choose the people they want to work with more closely
D) schedule a time when people can share their professional accomplishments
E) establish ground rules for their meetings from the very beginning

Accepted Answer

Asking and responding to questions about one another's professional accomplishments,strengths,and weaknesses will help establish competence in the forming stage of virtual teams.

Question 6

Which stage of team development do virtual teams sometimes skip?
A) forming
B) storming
C) norming
D) performing
E) reforming

Accepted Answer

Compared to traditional teams,research has shown that virtual teams far less often go through the storming stage.

Question 7

Jamila is concerned that her virtual teammates are misinterpreting each other's statements because they cannot see facial expressions and gestures.Which of the following possible solutions should Jamila suggest to her team leader?
A) setting up a virtual watercooler
B) opening with a contentious question
C) taking minutes in real time
D) asking team members to avoid multitasking
E) using video during the meetings

Accepted Answer

Using video has many benefits.First and foremost,it allows virtual team members to better interpret one another's verbal and nonverbal cues.

Question 8

Mia's team has been given a group writing assignment.The deadline is three months away.When should the group start working on the project?
A) a week before the deadline
B) two weeks before the deadline
C) in a month
D) in two weeks
E) right away

Accepted Answer

One of the major obstacles to nearly all good writing is not starting soon enough.Developing ideas near a deadline rarely goes well.This is even more problematic when many members of a team have competing views about the direction of a writing project close to a deadline.

Question 9

Ann's team completed the first draft of a group document and asked her to edit it carefully for grammar,punctuation,and spelling.The next day,the group decided to delete part of the document.Ann felt like her efforts were wasted.What did the team do wrong?
A) It did not establish a system for version control.
B) It did not agree on rules for overwriting one another's work.
C) It did not set up guidelines for using comments and track changes.
D) It did not choose a single person to do the final edit.
E) It did not choose an appropriate purpose for each round of revision.

Accepted Answer

Make sure your group is clear about the purposes of each round of revision.Generally,you should first revise with a focus on the strength of your ideas and how well these ideas match the needs of your audience.Then you should focus on how smoothly the various sections of your paper flow together.Next,you should consider issues such as formatting,ease of reading,and language mechanics.Ann's team was not clear about the appropriate order of revision and asked her to work on language mechanics too early in the process,which resulted in wasted work.

Question 10

Which of the following is a reason that organizations use virtual teams?
A) to reduce isolation
B) to resolve conflict more easily
C) to encourage sharing of opinions
D) to save money
E) to avoid time zone differences

Accepted Answer

Virtual teams are often created because they cost less,are more convenient,and help assemble experts who are not located in the same office.

Question 11

Your team is facing an aggressive deadline for a group writing project.Which of the following will be most helpful in ensuring that the project stays on track?
A) investing in good virtual communication technology
B) giving one team member few tasks so he or she can help others
C) trading tasks regularly to keep ideas fresh
D) regularly holding real-time conversations about the project
E) working independently as much as possible to avoid wasting time

Accepted Answer

You'll inevitably need to make some hard decisions as the writing project evolves.These tough decisions are often difficult to manage without holding real-time conversations about the direction and content of your project.

Question 12

When editing a group document,what should be the first thing the team works on?
A) whether the paper is organized logically
B) the transitions between sections
C) whether the main ideas are strong and clear
D) whether the word choices are appropriate
E) the correctness of the grammar and mechanics

Accepted Answer

Make sure your group is clear about the purposes of each round of revision.Generally,you should first revise with a focus on the strength of your ideas and how well these ideas match the needs of your audience.

Question 13

Hector and his team work for an educational publisher.The team has to write a report comparing the textbooks of three competitors.Who would be the best person to analyze the books' methods of teaching?
A) Hector,who has two years of experience in market research
B) George,who has five years of experience as an editor
C) Kerry,who has three years of experience as a book designer
D) Lin,who has four years of experience as an educator
E) Lisa,who has five years of experience as a production coordinator

Accepted Answer

Early in the group writing process,your group should clearly discuss the roles and expectations you have for one another.Make sure part of this conversation involves splitting up contributions and time commitments equally.As the group plans together,it should identify subject-matter experts and delegate roles for researching and writing.In this example,Lin would be assigned to analyze the competition's methods of teaching because of his experience as an educator.

Question 14

A learner mind-set implies that
A) you have nothing to learn from the other people involved in the conversation.
B) you intend to find contradictions in what other people have said or done.
C) you avoid difficult conversations in order not to hurt the feelings of other people.
D) you are committed to understanding other peoples' versions of interpersonal interactions.
E) you intend to agree and comply with everything that the speaker says.

Accepted Answer

A message-delivery stance implies that you have nothing to learn from the other person involved in the conversation.In sensitive situations,others will resist your attempts to impose solutions if you use this stance.A learning stance involves a commitment to understanding others' stories-their retrospective versions of interpersonal interactions or their explanations of business successes and failures.

Question 15

What impact does meeting in person have on long-term virtual teams?
A) They are more likely to start having conflicts.
B) They find it easier to build rapport.
C) They take longer to trust each other.
D) They often split into separate factions.
E) They waste more time on social chat.

Accepted Answer

The most effective,long-term virtual teams meet in person at the beginning of projects to help the team members build rapport.These kickoffs for virtual teams help members do the tricky work of forming and norming.

Question 16

You are working with your team on a group writing project.Which of the following can help you define your contributions and time commitments?
A) version control technology
B) a team charter
C) virtual communication technologies
D) a virtual watercooler
E) a self-disclosure exercise

Accepted Answer

Early in the group writing process,your group should clearly discuss the roles and expectations you have for one another.Make sure part of this conversation involves splitting up contributions and time commitments equally.You might consider placing this in a team charter.

Question 17

Difficult conversations can be handled successfully by
A) hearing everybody's story.
B) agreeing with everything you hear.
C) using the either/or approach.
D) invalidating the perspective of other people.
E) adopting a message-delivery stance.

Accepted Answer

In emotionally charged,high-stakes conversations,approaching the conversation with a learner mind-set will often lead to productive outcomes.The learning stance involves a commitment to understanding others' stories-their retrospective versions of interpersonal interactions or their explanations of business successes and failures.

Question 18

What should the leader do just before closing a meeting?
A) summarize what was accomplished
B) allow the attendees to ask questions
C) elaborate on the main issues
D) ask each attendee to share
E) evaluate his or her performance

Accepted Answer

Before ending the meeting,the leader should summarize what was accomplished.In just a few minutes,the leader can recap action items the team has agreed on and make sure the roles and assignments are clear for each action item.

Question 19

What is a virtual watercooler?
A) a virtual place to record team goals,assignments,and projects
B) a social media space where virtual team members can interact spontaneously
C) a database of all the agendas and minutes from a virtual team's meetings
D) a social collaboration tool that allows virtual team members to work together easily
E) a virtual collaboration tool that adjusts for time zone and language differences

Accepted Answer

A virtual watercooler is a space,usually established with social media tools,where virtual teammates can regularly and spontaneously interact.

Question 20

Team leader Val always follows through after meetings by asking all participants for an update on their assigned action items.What effect is this likely to have on her team members?
A) They will feel that the meeting was a waste of time.
B) They will perceive the team meetings as important.
C) They will feel that Val views them as children.
D) They will be less likely to attend the next meeting.
E) They will procrastinate because they resent being nagged.

Accepted Answer

If you are the team leader,make sure your team members follow through on action items.Follow up as soon as possible on those issues you were not able to resolve during the meeting.If each participant knows you will follow up,they will perceive the meeting as important.If you do not follow up,team members are more likely to view the meetings as a waste of time.

Quiz 3: Team Communication and Difficult Conversations

Which of the following practices helps to increase buy-in from virtual meeting participants?

Which action is most likely to help build trust in a virtual team?

What do professionals identify as one of the most important characteristics of virtual teammates?

David has just been appointed leader of a new virtual team.He senses that the team members have doubts about each other's competence.What can he do to alleviate this situation?

Which stage of team development do virtual teams sometimes skip?

Jamila is concerned that her virtual teammates are misinterpreting each other's statements because they cannot see facial expressions and gestures.Which of the following possible solutions should Jamila suggest to her team leader?

Mia's team has been given a group writing assignment.The deadline is three months away.When should the group start working on the project?

Ann's team completed the first draft of a group document and asked her to edit it carefully for grammar,punctuation,and spelling.The next day,the group decided to delete part of the document.Ann felt like her efforts were wasted.What did the team do wrong?

Which of the following is a reason that organizations use virtual teams?

Your team is facing an aggressive deadline for a group writing project.Which of the following will be most helpful in ensuring that the project stays on track?

When editing a group document,what should be the first thing the team works on?

Hector and his team work for an educational publisher.The team has to write a report comparing the textbooks of three competitors.Who would be the best person to analyze the books' methods of teaching?

A learner mind-set implies that

What impact does meeting in person have on long-term virtual teams?

You are working with your team on a group writing project.Which of the following can help you define your contributions and time commitments?

Difficult conversations can be handled successfully by

What should the leader do just before closing a meeting?

What is a virtual watercooler?

Team leader Val always follows through after meetings by asking all participants for an update on their assigned action items.What effect is this likely to have on her team members?