Exam 10: Understanding Work Teams

You work for an international company that has offices around the world. You have been asked to pull together a global virtual team to handle a specific project. The project is expected to take 3 to 5 years to complete. You are free to include individuals from any of the company's offices, which are located in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Britain, Australia, and Japan. -Provided that all of the team members are equally qualified, which of the following teams is likely to be the least challenging to manage?

You need to hire an analyst for an important project team. It is essential that the new employee work well on the already established team in order to meet the project's challenging deadlines. The most talented candidate doesn't have any team experience and when asked in the interview about his team experience he replied, "I prefer to work alone. I'm much more efficient alone." What should you do?

________ results in a level of performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs.

Which of the following types of teams would most likely empower its team members to make work-related decisions?

Which type of team meets to discuss ways to improve quality, efficiency, and the work environment?

The early stages of development of a cross-functional team are time-consuming because ________.

As a result of self-managed teams, supervisory positions may be eliminated.

Sharon has an assertive personality and naturally tends to be the one to resolve conflicts with other teams or departments about the team direction. She is a strong defender and is fiercely loyal to the other members on her team. Sharon is most likely suited for which of the following team roles?

Which of the following is not a difference between work groups and work teams? Work groups ________, and work teams ________.

Competitive reward structures reinforce the importance of collaboration in work teams.

Work groups typically generate more positive synergy than do work teams.

What are some of the cautions to be aware of when using teams? What tests should be applied to see if a team fits the situation?

Upon adjournment of the team meeting, Lawrence immediately went to his work space and wrote an e-mail summarizing the new ideas and goals that the team has developed. He sent the e-mail to each team member, as well as to other teams that will eventually work on the material, and all related supervisors. At lunch in the cafeteria Lawrence chatted with his friends about the meeting and responded to some of their concerns about the new ideas. Which team role best characterizes Lawrence?

Which of the following strategies would managers find least helpful for turning individuals into team players?

Which of the following best describes a work team?

Imagine that you have the role of controller in a cross-functional team working on the design of a new cleaning product. Describe the cross-functional team. Explain what your role as controller involves and what difficulties might arise in the early stages of being controller of a cross-functional team.

You are the vice-president of a division of a large, multi-national company that makes electronic equipment for consumers and the military. You have several managers that have created some teams. Also, there are several projects underway and you need to decide what types of teams to use for each situation. -Joan, your director of accounting, has created a team of seven employees from the accounts payable department who meet for three hours a week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency and the work environment. This is an example of a ________ team.

Why have teams become so popular? Compare and contrast the rise of teams and virtual teams, mentioning their strengths and weaknesses.

Alberto's team is evaluating and developing the data base for the water pollution data of three cities. He wants his team to have total efficacy. Which of the following actions can Alberto take to increase team efficacy before the project starts?

Which of the following is most likely to increase team efficacy?