Message recipients often hear what they want to hear when receiving messages, and interpret the neutral facts about a topic in a way that is favorable toward their own opinions or position. This communication bias is known as:
a. message distortion
b. indirect speech acts.
c. biased interpretation.
d. saying is believing.
The illusion of transparency refers to what belief?
The faulty belief that our thoughts and attitudes are more visible (transparent) than is actually the case.
The faulty belief that we are more ethical and honest than we really are.
The faulty belief that we can read others’ minds.
d. The faulty belief that our behaviors are in greater alignment with our attitudes than is actually the case.
3. The uneven communication problem is the fact that:
a. our verbal communication skills are not as consistent as we think they are.
b. in most groups, a minority of people do a majority of the talking.
c. different people emerge as the dominant people in teams across time.
d. people are less direct in their communication, but direct speech acts would increase accuracy.
4. The common information effect is best described as the tendency for groups to:
a. spend too long attempting to reach consensus on a problem.
b. consider and implement solutions that other groups have used rather than experiment with novel solutions.
c. want to delay making important decisions, even when they have all of the relevant information necessary to make a decision.
d. 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).
5. A team with a high adaptive capacity brings what capability to their organization?
knowledge capacity
ability to change or shift their strategy in the face of change
team’s capacity to assimilate new knowledge
team’s capacity to apply new information and knowledge
6. An effective way to remedy the common information effect is to
a. consider the decision alternatives one at a time.
b. increase the time needed for discussion.
c. increase the size of the team.
d. engage in pre-discussion polling.
7. A team mental model is a common understanding that members of a team share about how something works. For example, a team might have a common understanding of how to assemble a computer. All of the following are TRUE about team mental models EXCEPT:
a. they may be assessed in terms of how accurate they are.
b. they may be assessed in terms of how much correspondence (agreement) there is among team members’ mental models.
c. they are developed instantly, naturally, and are immediately compatible.
d. teams may have mental models about physical systems as well as social systems (such as how their group works).
8. 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.
a. saying is believing effect
b. information dependence problem
c. uneven communication problem
d. indirect speech acts effect
9. 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:
a. trust exercises.
b. team members sharing information regarding their specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities.
c. hiring an outside consultant to teach team how something works.
d. watching others outside of the group figure out how something works.
10. Transactive Memory Systems are the ways in which teams encode, store, and retrieve critical information necessary for doing their work. Of the following, select the best situational example of a Transactive Memory System:
a. Melissa keeps track of all her own work files by an elaborate cross-referencing system.
b. Thomas secretly stashes away all of the new business leads, so that he can follow up with them himself.
c. Kaitlyn keeps records on customer satisfaction reviews, and Kevin keeps records on product reliability, but neither are aware of this.
d. Jessica 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.
1. Which of the following is NOT a behavioral consequence of decision fatigue:
a. spending more money.
b. making more accurate decisions.
c. making harsh decisions.
d. avoiding decision-making altogether.
2. The confirmation bias is best described as the tendency for people to:
a. seek and consider evidence that supports their preferred hypothesis, and discount or ignore information that refutes their beliefs.
b. want others to agree with them because of their need to be liked.
c. not want to act as a devil’s advocate in a group, even though it would help the group
d. put unwarranted confidence in their decisions.
3. 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?
a. Members of the group regard themselves as invulnerable, morally correct, and exempt from organizational standards.
b. The group’s process of creating ideas and reaching decisions is balanced, and out-group member opinions are respected.
c. There is a diversity of opinions within the group.
d. Group members constantly discuss their reservations about the group’s controversial viewpoint.
4. Regarding ways to avoid groupthink, what is the goal of using the risk technique?
a. It allows groups to adopt different perspectives in order to create a mechanism that will instigate thinking more carefully about problems.
b. It creates an atmosphere in which team members can express doubts and raise criticisms without fear of rejection or team hostility.
c. It allows team members to assume the perspective of other constituencies with a stake in the decision.
d. It gives teams an opportunity to identify a second solution as an alternative to their first choice.
5. 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
Abilene paradox
Devil’s advocate procedure
Confirmation bias
6. Which situation best illustrates the escalation of commitment?
a. A marketing manager fails to state the disadvantages of a product, and only states the positive benefits of that product.
b. A marketing manager does not give credit to a team member whose idea was instrumental for the product development.
c. A marketing manager makes decisions using a majority voting technique, and does not listen to the minority viewpoint.
d. A marketing manager continues to promote a specific brand, despite clear evidence that the brand is losing market share to competitors.
7. Individually, Hailey, Rob, and Dennis all believe a certain defendant is probably guilty and should be sentenced to prison. When they meet as a group and discuss their decisions, their beliefs to voting guilty get even stronger and become more committed to sending the defendant to prison. This is referred to as:
a. groupthink
b. group polarization.
c. the Abilene paradox.
d. an escalation of commitment
8. The two psychological explanations for group polarization are: informational influence and normative influence. Informational influence is best described as the need __________; normative influence is best described as the need __________.
a. to have power (influence) over others; to fit in with the group
b. for cognition; for emotion
c. to be right (accurate); to be liked (accepted)
d. to be liked (accepted); to be right (accurate)
9. In terms of creating conditions that encourage ethical decision making in organizations, all of the following are valid EXCEPT:
a. rewarding people based upon their bottom line profitability.
b. making people accountable for their behavior.
c. having appropriate organizational role models.
d. eliminating conflicts of interest.
A situational example of the false consensus effect is:
. Mitch has a tendency to overestimate the degree to which others share his views on ethical matters.
b. Rachael has seen so many of her coworkers behave rudely to customers that she is no longer shocked by it.
c. Carlos is more likely to express his prejudiced attitudes in his office, even though his coworkers’ past behavior has established a non-prejudiced workplace.
. Jess feels that it is acceptable to participate in slightly unethical behavior if it could help her be more successful in her career.
Greater amounts of relationship conflict in a team are associated with lower levels of __________, and negatively associated with __________.
a. social loafing; team power
b. performance; team effectiveness
c. education; cognitive functioning
d. compliance; financial stability
A team that has a large representational gap has:
inconsistent views and mental models about the definitions of the team’s problem or task.
b. success in enticing other team members to adopt their position.
c. a majority of members who privately agree with the minority.
d. disagreements about how to approach a task and who should do what.
3. When people change their attitudes as a result of direct influence or pressure, this is referred to as:
a. the sleeper effect.
b. team power.
c. conversion.
d. compliance.
Which of the following statements is TRUE about minorities in teams?
a. When minorities in a group express a differing opinion, the minority’s opinion distracts the group in a negative way.
b. Groups who have been exposed to the minority dissenting opinion search for less information on an issue.
c. People exposed to minority opinions experience a decrease in their level of integrative thought.
d. When minorities in a group express a differing opinion, the general level of cognitive activity in the group increases, and group members engage in more message scrutiny
5. Using the managerial grid model, low concern for the self, coupled with high concern for the other party, would lead to:
a. collaboration.
b. competition.
c. accommodation.
d. avoidance.
An example of a rights-based argument is __________; an example of a power-based approach is __________.
a. arguing about the terms of a contract; making a threat
b. making a threat; arguing the terms of a contract
c. focusing on interests; making a threat
d. arguing about the terms of a contract; arguing about precedent
In regard to the different methods that teams can take to approach conflict, what would be a good example of a collaborative, interest-based response?
a. “Noah, I’ve sensed that this is of great concern. While I’m not sure anything can change, we welcome your own views on this proposal. I think it is important that we all have a chance to understand your point of view.”
b. “Look, Noah, you agreed to cover that part of the project when we first took on the challenge four years ago. As a matter of fact, I believe that I have an e-mail from you indicating you would agree to do that part of the work.”
c. “I think you are completely out of line, Noah. I don’t think that discussing unrealistic and selfish goals is a good use of our team time. I am ready to hear your solutions, but only on the condition that you start working with us as a team.”
d. “Noah, due to issues this conflict has caused, we’re going to have to let you go.”
All of the following are examples of a task-content conflict EXCEPT:
a. Laura and Thomas spend 20 minutes arguing over who will ship boxes to an event location.
b. Darren and Victor have a difficult time agreeing on how to allocate the scope of work to their different team members.
c. Heather and Keith disagree about what the ultimate goal of their task-force should be
d. Amanda calls Tammy lazy and unmotivated for not completing a task on time.
Wageman and Donnenfeld’s model of conflict resolution focuses on: team (re)Design, task process coaching, conflict process coaching, and membership change. All of the following are true with regard to Wageman and Donnenfeld’s conflict intervention model EXCEPT:
a. Of all four factors, team (re)Design has the biggest impact on conflict resolution.
b. The team goal or shared vision should only be developed after the leader has coached about conflict.
c. After the team has been well designed, the team leader should coach the team.
d. Changing members of the team will have its greatest impact only after the team design and team processes are addressed.
10. John’s team has contributed less work to the company project than Leah’s team, who has done the majority share of the work. When it is time to allocate budgets for the next phase of the project, what form of resource allocation would John’s team prefer and Leah’s team prefer?
a. Need; Equality
b. Equality; Equity
c. Equity; Need
d. Equity; Equality
One quadrant in Finke’s Four Factor model of creativity is __________, and represents ideas that are highly traditional and highly connected to current knowledge and practices.
a. creative idealism
b. creative realism
c. conservative realism
d. conservative idealism
In regard to the three indices that measure the creativity of an idea, which is the most important according to Guilford?
a. Fluency
b. Flexibility
c. Originality
d. Apprehension
What type of conflict stimulates divergent thinking in teams?
a. relationship
b. process
c. task
d. perceptual
4. James March distinguished two types of processes that companies use to develop product ideas: exploration and exploitation. Exploration usually involves getting out of one’s usual domain and exploring new areas for ideas. In contrast, exploitation refers to finding a use for those new ideas. What type of activity is associated with the exploitation of an idea?
a. Experimentation
b. Play
c. Implementation
d. Innovation
All of the following are part of the original rules of brainstorming first proposed by Osborn EXCEPT:
a. expressiveness
b. evaluation
c. quantity
d. building
6. The empirical research on brainstorming has conducted decades of research comparing the performance of brainstorming teams with nominal groups. The major conclusion is that:
nominal groups excel over brainstorming teams in terms of quantity and quality.
b. brainstorming teams excel over nominal groups in terms of quantity and quality
c. nominal groups excel in terms of quantity; brainstorming teams excel in terms of quality.
d. nominal groups excel in terms of quality; brainstorming teams excel in terms of quantity.
7. People on a team may be somewhat apprehensive about expressing their ideas because they are concerned about others judging and evaluating them. The desire to be liked and have opinions that fit in with the group is best termed:
a. social loafing
b. production blocking
c. group entitativity.
d. conformity
8. Production blocking refers to the fact that:
a. high performers tend to lower their performance to match that of the lowest performers.
b. the lowest performers tend to increase their performance to match that of the highest performers.
c. people cannot fully do one task well when focused on another task.
d. groups cannot agree on which creative idea is the best.
9. Brainwriting is:
a. a first-step of the brain-storming process.
b. the simultaneous generation of written ideas.
c. a technique in which members rotate in and out of different groups.
d. acting out ideas in a group setting using props and so on.
10. A key advantage of electronic brainstorming is it:
a. allows several people to suggest ideas at the same time.
b. removes anonymity of ideas.
c. allows groups to socially interact with one another.
d. can only be used with small, intact teams.
