Question 1 

An effective team needs people not only with the technical skills necessary to perform the work, but also problem-solving skills, interpersonal skills, and:

  

ability to control a group of people.

 

a reduced send of self-efficacy.

 

psychological flow.

 

decision-making skills.

Question 2 

Goal contagion is a form of norm setting in which people adopt a goal held by others. Goal contagion is more likely in what circumstance?

  

A person feels threatened by other   members of the team to adopt a certain goal.

 

Adopted when a team member wishes to   differentiate themselves from the group

 

When the team desires or admires a   goal held by a competing team

 

Between people in the same work group   or team

Question 3 

Execution is the ability of teams to communicate effectively and combine their efforts. All of the following can enhance team execution EXCEPT:

  

setting clear performance standards.

 

practice and rehearsal.

 

training team members together.

 

increasing the size of the team.

Question 4 

A number of factors must be in place for a team to perform well. All of the following are considered essential for team effectiveness EXCEPT the:

  

ability to coordinate effort and   communicate well with others.

 

motivation to accomplish the goals of   the team.

 

knowledge and skill regarding the   team task.

 

ability to identify the different   personality styles of team members.

Question 5 

In a team, a person’s efforts are less identifiable than when that person works independently. Because the person’s efforts are less identifiable, in extreme circumstances this can lead to:

  

choking under pressure – a person’s   performance declines despite incentives for optimal performance.

 

relational loss – or when an employee   perceives that support is less available as team size increases.

 

deindividuation – a psychological   state in which a person does not feel individual responsibility.

 

a positive illusion bias – or   unwarranted beliefs in one’s own superiority.

Question 6 

When the least capable member of a team feels particularly indispensable for group success, the entire group works harder to achieve their goals. This effect is best termed:

  

positive illusion bias.

 

team identifiability.

 

relational loss.

 

social striving effect.

Question 7 

Regarding team performance, leaders can more easily control ________ than ________.

  

team Integration; team separation

 

the demands of a task; the process of   accomplishing a task

 

team cohesion; resources

 

performance threats; synergies

Question 8 

A team norm is best described as:

  

the personality of the team.

 

a generally agreed upon set of rules   that guides the behavior of team members.

 

the normal number of people to be on   a given team.

 

a goal held by the group that is   adopted by a newcomer.

Question 9 

In regards to expertise, critical skills for team members include all of the following EXCEPT:

  

a strong ability to communicate   effectively.

 

a large network of influential   company contacts.

 

conflict resolution.

 

collaborative problem solving.

Question 10 

The organizational context, team design, and team culture are three important aspects that affect the ultimate performance of a team. Which of these three aspects does a leader have the most control over?

  

The organizational context

 

Team design

 

Team culture

 

All three about equally

Question 11 

When in the psychologic state of “Flow,” which of the following is the most TRUE?

  

A person is extremely relaxed, and   very comfortable with the task at hand.

 

A person is intimidated by the task.

 

A person is keenly aware of the time   they are spending on the task at hand.

 

For the individual, the process of   engaging in the task is its own reinforcement.

Question 12 

The belief that a group has in themselves, or their group potency, is a significant predictor of actual performance. This “thinking we can” contributes to group performance more than the:

  

diversity of team members.

 

individual, positive illusion biases.

 

pure cognitive abilities of the team.

 

team norms.

Question 13 

The positive illusion bias refers to:

  

people who work harder for the team   hoping to improve the overall team’s reputation within the larger   organizational context.

 

a team member who has positive news   to share about the group’s task in hopes that it will spur morale and   increase productivity.

 

managers who convey a positive   attitude in order to positively influence their team’s group mood.

 

people who believe themselves to be   superior and more talented than others on their team.

Question 14 

Which of the following situations demonstrates the best example of social facilitation?

  

Sonya is an up and coming dancer, and   her teacher puts quite a bit of pressure on her to perform perfectly. In her   dance recital, despite weeks of rehearsals, Sonya’s mind goes blank, and she   can’t remember her routine.

 

Mary, who is a new member of the   ballet class, is asked to demonstrate a step sequence for the senior members   of the company. Mary is concerned that her technique will not be up to par   with the rest of the team.

 

Julia is a strong dancer, and when   asked to demonstrate her solo to a room full of classmates, her performance   is more energetic, and her leaps are higher.

 

John is an excellent lead dancer, and   when learning a new routine, loses track of time because he is so engaged in   his task.

Question 15 

As team size gets larger and larger, team members perceive that there is less support available, and freeriding increases. This experience can lead to:

  

diminished motivation.

 

lower performance.

 

greater cohesion between team   members.

 

both diminished motivation and lower   performance.

Question 16 

The team performance equation attempts to predict the actual productivity of a team. It states that the AP (actual productivity) of a team equals:

  

the potential productivity of a team,   plus team synergies, minus team threats.

 

the potential productivity of a team,   plus task design, plus team culture.

 

the potential productivity of a team,   plus team culture, minus free-riding.

 

cohesion, plus learning, plus   integration.

Question 17 

Which of the following performance criteria is the most important one to use when evaluating the success of a team?

  

Productivity

 

Rewards

 

Diversity

 

Financial profit

Question 18 

Several factors can threaten the ability of teams to accurately share and use knowledge. One of these problems, the uneven communication problem, is best illustrated in which of the following situational examples?

  

In a brainstorming meeting with 6   team members, 3 of the team members did 70% of the talking, while the other   team members barely had a chance to voice their opinions and concerns.

 

Julia is helping Kari bake a cake for   a client, so she prepares the kitchen by getting out Kari’s preferred tools   and rescheduling a vendor appointment because Julia knows Kari hates to be   interrupted when she is working.

 

Fern and Sybil have the same manager,   but Fern sits next to her manager and so has many opportunities to discuss   project progress, but Sybil sits in an office on a different floor and only   gets to see her manager during staff meetings.

 

Pete keeps records on customer   orders, and Ross keeps records on product recalls, but neither are aware of   this.

Question 19 

Regarding information dependence issues, which of the following examples best illustrates the concept of a hidden profile?

  

Carl, David, and Jean are considering   six pieces of information regarding the decision about the location of their   company retreat. Even though each piece of decision criteria seems to be of   equal importance, Dan and Carl have been overemphasizing the importance of   access to nature trails. Mary feels pressured to overweigh this individual   decision point at the expense of other criteria.

 

Ted, Paul, and Laurel together have   done their research about the choices for the location of the company   retreat. Each person knows the same information, both good and bad, as the   other group members.

 

Kelly, Bob and Dan have separately   researched options for next year’s company retreat. Each team member has   unique information regarding the choices for the event location. No one   location seems to be the best choice for the retreat.

 

Mary, Talia, and Sue have researched   where the company retreat should be held this year, and they seem to agree on   the location. However, Talia has found out some information that she hasn’t   yet shared with the group; a motorcycle convention at the same time and   location as their retreat, which, if shared, will probably contradict the   team’s common choice.

Question 20 

________ coordination is the synchronization of members’ actions based on assumptions about what others on the team are likely to do and members’ attempts to coordinate work in this way begins prior to actual team interaction.

  

Tacit

 

Gatekeeping

 

Orienting

 

Strategic

Question 21 

A study at an R&D organization, where teams worked together for more than five years, revealed what?

  

The performance of the groups   remained steady over time, but declined sharply after five years of working   together.

 

The performance of the groups increased   over time, but only up to a point; after five years of working together,   performance declined steeply.

 

The performance of the groups   increased over time in a steady, consistent fashion.

 

The performance of the groups   decreased steadily over time.

Question 22 

In a longitudinal study of teams that worked together for over 5 years, a series of behavioral changes took place in these aging groups. Each of the following occurred EXCEPT:

  

behavioral stability.

 

selective exposure.

 

role assimilation.

 

group homogeneity.

Question 23 

What is one of the best ways for improving the quality of pooled information collected during a collaborative problem-solving session?

  

The group shares ideas in the moment   they occur to them.

 

Have teams pair off, and create   collaborative observations to be shared later with the group as a whole.

 

Allow individual group members the   time to internally recall and record details or observations to be shared   later with the group.

 

Allow the group to have an   unstructured method for gathering and sharing information.

Question 24 

Each of the following are effective interventions to defeat the common information effect, EXCEPT:

  

build trust and familiarity among   team members.

 

approach the task as a problem to be   solved, rather than a judgment to be made.

 

prediscussion polling.

 

leaders asking questions and repeat   unshared/shared information.

Question 25 

A team mental model is a common understanding, shared by members of a team, about how something works. Mental models most efficiently develop through the process of:

  

watching others outside of the group   figure out how something works.

 

team members sharing information regarding   their specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities.

 

trust exercises.

 

hiring an outside consultant to teach   the team how something works.

Question 26 

The common information effect is best described as the tendency for groups to:

  

want to delay making important   decisions, even when they have all of the relevant information necessary to   make a decision.

 

consider and implement solutions that   other groups have used rather than experiment with novel solutions.

 

spend too long attempting to reach   consensus on a problem.

 

discuss and consider information that   they all have in common more than unique information (that only one person in   the group may be aware of).

Question 27 

Transactive Memory Systems are the ways in which teams encode, store, process and retrieve critical information necessary for doing their work. Of the following, select the best situational example of a Transactive Memory System.

  

Molly keeps track of all her own work   files by an elaborate cross-referencing system.

 

Julia has considerable experience in   product engineering and Nathan has a background in product parts sourcing,   and they are able to remember more about a new client because each knows the   other’s skill set.

 

Karen keeps records on customer   satisfaction reviews, and Kari keeps records on product reliability, but   neither are aware of this.

 

Tom secretly stashes away all of the   new business leads, so that he can follow up with them himself.

Question 28 

The greater the overlap, or commonality of experience, or among team members’ mental models, the greater the likelihood that team members will:

  

create new innovation for old   problems.

 

engage in healthy conflict.

 

be able to cope with unexpected   demands.

 

be able to avoid interpersonal   conflict.

Question 29 

When a team consists of members who come from different functional areas, with different areas of expertise, different information, different priorities, and different perceptions of problems and opportunities, the ________ is exacerbated.

  

uneven communication problem

 

indirect speech acts effect

 

information dependence problem

 

saying is believing effect

Question 30 

A team that has a large representational gap has:

  

success in enticing other team   members to adopt their position.

 

a majority of members who privately   agree with the minority.

 

disagreements about how to approach a   task and who should do what.

 

inconsistent views and mental models   about the definitions of the team’s problem or task.

Question 31 

A team with a high adaptive capacity brings what capability to their organization?

  

Team’s capacity to assimilate new   knowledge

 

Knowledge capacity

 

Ability to change or shift their   strategy in the face of upheaval

 

Team’s capacity to apply new   information and knowledge

Question 32 

In regards to the common information effect, what is the main problem with an uneven distribution of information?

  

The collective intelligence between   the partners can be unbalanced.

 

Certain pieces of information get   more time, attention, and emphasis than alternative pieces of information.

 

Some team members are willing to   share information with others, but some are not.

 

Certain group members can be   uninterested in the discussion and not want to participate.

Question 33 

A situational example of a team putting knowledge to practice through knowledge adaptation is:

  

a manager discovers, by lots of   personal research, that his department has created a new type of adhesive   that is not sticky when wet but very sticky when dry. The manager challenges   himself and his employees to improvise fixes to an employee’s broken bicycle   with this product.

 

a manager challenges the use of a   newly developed fixture at her departmental status meeting. This manager   pushes the fixture design department to keep refining the design with new   parameters in mind.

 

in order to shorten his team’s   R&D phase, a manager visits the company archives and researches past   formulas that led to unsuccessful results.

 

a manager finds out that their newest   product is not doing well in the market. He pushes the team to take a new   look at their product research, and make changes to the product based on the   team expanding their knowledge of marketplace trends.

Question 34 

Functionally diverse teams are composed of people who have different information, knowledge, and expertise and must share and integrate it. ________ problem-solving is the art and science of sharing and using knowledge, and making inferences that no individual group member could have inferred.

  

Strategic

 

Collaborative

 

Tactical

 

Transactive

Question 35 

Groups perform better than individuals on a wide range of demonstrable tasks. What is a key reason why groups outperform individuals faced with the same task?

  

Groups outperform individuals due to   a process in which group members become more accurate during the group   interaction.

 

Groups are much more overconfident   than individuals, regardless of their actual accuracy.

 

Groups are more likely to neglect   case-specific information and ignore base-rate information.

 

Groups are more likely to exacerbate   some of the shortcomings displayed by individuals.

Question 36 

In terms of creating conditions that encourage ethical decision making in organizations, all of the following are valid EXCEPT:

  

rewarding people based upon their   bottom line profitability.

 

having ethical leaders

 

eliminating conflicts of interest.

 

making people accountable for their   behavior

Question 37 

The confirmation bias is best described as the tendency for people to:

  

put unwarranted confidence in their   decisions.

 

want others to agree with them   because of their need to be liked.

 

not want to act as a devil’s advocate   in a group, even though it would help the group.

 

seek and consider evidence that   supports their preferred hypothesis, and discount or ignore information that   refutes their beliefs.

Question 38 

There are four key processes involved in the escalation of commitment cycle. Which of the following is NOT one of those processes?

  

Psychological determinants

 

Risk determinants

 

Project-related determinants

 

Structural determinants

Question 39 

All of the following are true about conformity EXCEPT:

  

conformity is greater when people   value and admire their team.

 

conformity is greater when the rest   of the group is unanimous.

 

conformity is greater when people   have high social status in their team.

 

conformity is greater when people   make difficult judgments.

Question 40 

There is a tendency for a person to look to the group to seek information on the reality of a situation. The more team members who hold a particular opinion, the more right an answer seems. This bias is best termed:

  

the need to be liked.

 

plurality.

 

group-to-individual transfer.

 

the need to be right.

Question 41 

The framing bias makes specific predictions about how people will behave when faced with a sure course of action versus a gamble. Which of the following best describes the effects of the framing bias?

  

People tend to be risk-averse when   choosing among gains, but risk-seeking when choosing among losses.

 

People are risk-averse (i.e.,   preferring a sure thing) for both gains and losses.

 

People tend to be risk-seeking when   choosing among gains, but risk-averse when choosing among losses.

 

People are risk-seeking (i.e.,   preferring a gamble) when choosing among gains and losses.

Question 42 

Because individuals who deviate from their team’s opinion are more harshly evaluated than those who conform to it, which of the following is a reason why team members are more likely to conform to the majority viewpoint? 

  

The team member can express their   opinion in a non-public forum.

 

The team member’s individual reward   is independent from the group’s reward.

 

Team members anticipate future   interactions with other group members.

 

The team member is confident in his   or her own opinion.

Question 43 

Groupthink occurs when team members place the goal of ________ above all other decision priorities.

  

good judgment

 

consensus

 

ethical decisions

 

efficiency

Question 44 

Marilyn, Bob, and Carl all believe a certain defendant is probably guilty and should be sentenced. Individually their recommendations for a sentence are 3, 5, and 7 years. When they meet as a group however, they recommend 10 years. This change and collective shift is called:

  

an escalation of commitment.

 

groupthink.

 

group polarization.

 

the Abilene paradox.

Question 45 

Key symptoms of groupthink take root and blossom in groups that succumb to the pressures of reaching unanimity. Which of the following is one of those symptoms?

  

There is a diversity of opinions   within the group.

 

The group’s process of creating ideas   and reaching decisions is balanced, and out-group member opinions are   respected.

 

Members of the group regard   themselves as invulnerable, morally correct, and exempt from organizational   standards.

 

Group members constantly discuss   their reservations about the group’s controversial viewpoint.

Question 46 

Group polarization is best described as the tendency for:

  

group discussion to intensify group   opinion; producing more extreme judgment than might be obtained by pooling   individuals’ views separately.

 

groups to ostracize members who do   not agree with them.

 

group discussion to mitigate group   opinion; producing less extreme judgment than might be obtained by pooling   individuals’ views separately.

 

people in groups to follow the crowd,   and, in some cases, engage in mob behavior.

Question 47 

An example of the overconfidence bias is:

  

a judge in a criminal court hears   over 80 cases a day. The defendants whose cases are heard late in the day   were given harsher sentences.

 

Joe makes a stock price prediction   and believes that there is only a 5% chance that his estimate is wrong;   overlooking recent articles about the bad financial health of the business.

 

Bill’s tendency to consider evidence   that supports his position on illegal immigration, but disregards evidence   that refutes his beliefs.

 

Carol and her team have been working   on a new product for several years and one expensive prototype has become   their main focus. When evaluating the choices for launch, the group judges   the top prototype as the best one for launch over less expensive options.

Question 48 

All of the following can help minimize the escalation of commitment EXCEPT:

  

seeking external review.

 

setting limits.

 

recognizing and accepting sunk costs.

 

continuing to invest based upon how   many resources have already been invested.

Question 49 

Research has found that instigating and upholding task-oriented conflicts in the decision-making process can be a strategy to counteract biased information seeking. One conflict-stimulating procedure involves assigning a counterargument role to a group member. When consensus on a particular decision solution has emerged, the contrary employee tries to identify all weaknesses inherent in it. The group must then react to this criticism, and see if the arguments put forth can be invalidated. This procedure is an example of what type of dissent?

  

Escalation of commitment

 

Devil’s advocate procedure

 

Abilene paradox

 

Confirmation bias

Question 50 

Leader behavior that is associated with too much concern for political ramifications, or the analysis of alternatives in terms of their political repercussions, are key determinants of:

  

the overconfidence bias.

 

majority rule.

 

the framing bias.

 

groupthink.