Q&A Hero

Q: In groupthink, certain members take it upon themselves to protect the leader from dissenting opinions. This symptom is called ______. a. illusion of unanimity b. self-censorship c. self-appointed mindguards d. collective rationalization

Q: In groupthink, which is a sign of group pressure? a. the illusion of unanimity b. belief in the inherent morality of the group c. stereotypes of outside groups d. the illusion of invulnerability

Q: Gretchen is leading a team who is working on a marketing project. The group members get along well, but they only seem to agree on ideas that the most vocal member of the group, Ronald, comes up with. No one else shares any ideas but Ronald, and everyone agrees that Ronalds ideas are the best. This is an example of which ethical danger sign? a. groupthink b. polythink c. decision paralysis d. confusion

Q: Which of the following encourages cooperation? a. individual rewards b. threats c. pursuing a joint product d. none of these

Q: Julius, a manager of a team working on an advertising campaign, is struggling with his team because they have not been able to come up with a slogan the client likes. The team morale is down, and the members are blaming one another for the problem. Of the following one appropriate response Julius might have to the team is ______. a. probe to determine what the underlying cause of the problem might be b. blame the team member who came up with the slogan for the failure c. tell the team members that only some of them are working to expectations d. penalize the team by making them stay late after hours to work harder on the project

Q: In a small group, ______ messages signal that the speaker has all the answers while ______ messages signal that speaker is willing to experiment and change. a. superiority; equality b. neutrality; empathetic c. control; problem orientation d. certainty; provisionalism

Q: Who is MOST likely to engage in social loafing? a. women b. men c. those of Eastern background d. conscientious people

Q: Which factor is MOST likely to encourage group members to publicly go along with decisions they disagree with in private? a. action anxiety b. negative fantasies c. fear of separation d. fear of risk

Q: Marja is a member of a team working to develop a new product idea. Even though they have been working on the project for two weeks, the team missed its first deadline. Other members of the team blame Marja because she had to stay home with her sick child, missing one of the meetings. The team blaming Marja for the failure is an example of ______. a. escalating commitment b. polythink c. groupthink d. team defense mechanism

Q: ______ is an important outcome of open, supportive communication in a group. a. Instrumentality b. Future orientation c. Psychological safety d. none of these

Q: Which of the following is a superiority statement? a. When do you think the project will be done? b. I have more experience than you with this type of problem. c. Thats a really bad idea. d. I think we should meet again next week, what do you think?

Q: Which of the following is a descriptive statement? a. I am sorry that you feel that way. b. Lets work on this together. c. We are behind schedule. d. You are being nave.

Q: Which of the following is a potential outcome of team defense mechanisms? a. The group can ignore whats happening within the group. b. The group can find the real person to blame. c. The group can effectively solve the problem. d. The team leader will be successful.

Q: Ryan is taking his Introduction to Business course pass/fail. As a result, he puts only minimal effort into his class teams project. He reflects a(n) ______ orientation. a. cooperative b. individualistic c. competitive d. distracted

Q: While of the following is a good question to ask when trying to overcome team defense mechanisms? a. Who caused this problem? b. Who can I hold responsible for this issue? c. What is the underlying cause of the failure? d. Who seems to be shirking their responsibility?

Q: Which is a sign of polythink? a. inability to reach a decision b. failure to revisit earlier proposals c. more leaks of information to outsiders d. all of these

Q: Treating insiders better than outsiders is a characteristic of ______. a. groupthink b. mismanaged agreement c. excessive control d. moral exclusion

Q: The Abilene Paradox is most identified with ______. a. groupthink b. mismanaged agreement c. excessive control d. moral exclusion

Q: Which can be a TRUE statement? a. Standing alone on an issue will win the admiration of your team members. b. Teams with like-minded perspectives have an advantage over diverse groups. c. Standing alone on an issue within a group can cause beneficial friction. d. Standing alone on an issue never persuades anyone to your side of the argument.

Q: Joe liked his group members but he lacked confidence in his team to finish the project. This is an example of ______. a. low valence b. low instrumentality c. low expectancy d. all of these

Q: Social loafing is ______. a. the tendency of an individual to ease their efforts when the rest of the group is working b. a persons work pace in the work environment c. the concept of everyone holding his/her own piece of the pie d. an individuals high need to accomplish more than is realistically possible

Q: Identify which of the following would be a good way to overcoming team defense mechanisms. a. encourage the group to identify the culprit b. avoid asking questions c. encourage learning instead of blame d. only celebrate success

Q: Provide an example and description where a teams minority perspective of influence was beneficial or harmful in a group decision-making process.

Q: Describe an example of moral exclusion in an organizational setting. How can the group become more inclusive?

Q: Compare and contrast groupthink and polythink.

Q: What strategies might you use to overcome team defense mechanisms?

Q: What suggestions would you make to a group or team to help it avoid escalation of commitment?

Q: Use the symptoms of groupthink to determine if a group is in danger of putting unanimous agreement ahead of reasoned problem-solving.

Q: Which group danger sign poses the most danger? Groupthink or mismanaged agreement? Defend your choice.

Q: Explain how groupthink undermines ethical problem-solving.

Q: Develop a strategy for reducing social loafing in a work group or class project team.

Q: You have been assigned to lead a new project team at work. What steps can you take to foster a cooperative climate in this group?

Q: How does minority opinion benefit a small group?

Q: One way to overcome team defense mechanisms is to ask questions about ______.

Q: One way to overcome team defense mechanisms is by encouraging ______ instead of blaming.

Q: What is your greatest fear of standing alone?

Q: How do you know if a group is caught in the Abilene Paradox?

Q: Identify and explain the five psychological factors that contribute to mismanaged agreement (the Abilene Paradox).

Q: Why is it hard to get organizational subgroups to cooperate?

Q: ______ leaders have frequent contact with members of more than one team.

Q: ______ group members achieve their objectives at the expense of others in the group.

Q: Genocide, human rights violations, and other atrocities are often the product of ______.

Q: A common defensive routine is ______.

Q: Continuing in a failed course of action is called ______.

Q: Mismanaged agreement is also referred to as ______.

Q: In project teams, effective leaders require that members ______ their work through memos and reports.

Q: In ______, members publicly support decisions they oppose in private.

Q: In ______, group members take more chances than they would on their own.

Q: ______ refers to an individuals willingness to talk about problems while ______ describes the desire to help others succeed.

Q: ______ refers to the expectation that my individual effort will lead to high group performance.

Q: Individuals who reduce their efforts when working in a group are engaged in ______.

Q: Polythink is marked by excessive conformity, while Groupthink is marked by extreme disunity.

Q: Cooperative orientation is important for team dynamics, however outside of healthy boundaries, the team can suffer from Groupthink dynamics.

Q: To solicit better openness and supportiveness, supervisors often find that when spontaneity is truly spontaneous, it can reduce defensiveness.

Q: Openness and supportiveness are two important characteristics that need to work together for any effective ethical team member.

Q: Researchers have found that large groups are better for efficiency and for generating the best ideas.

Q: Groups can abandon projects too soon as well as too late.

Q: The best groups strike a balance between unity and disunity.

Q: Bringing in outsiders is one way to stop the escalation of commitment.

Q: Defensive routines help groups reach their true potential.

Q: In groupthink, putting pressure on dissenters is a sign of closed-mindedness.

Q: As a leader, state your position on an issue early in the groups discussion.

Q: Groups have the tendency to take more risks than individuals.

Q: Team defense mechanisms can be compared to the bodys immune system.

Q: Minority opinion improves group decision-making effectiveness only if the group changes its collective mind.

Q: Valence refers to the desirability of group outcomes for individual members.

Q: Brett storms into Marios office and leans over Marios desk. He demands Mario turn over the file for a potential client because Brett believes he is better able to secure the client. Brett is exhibiting which of the following? a. strategic communication b. empathy c. control d. spontaneity

Q: An example of escalation of commitment is when ______. a. two coworkers cannot agree nor proceed with civil dialogue b. a project goes over budget, but members continue to pour too many resources into it and yet the project still fails c. the group is ahead of target and decides to expedite the final details in order to achieve the goal before the deadline d. a team decides they need to improve upon their commitment to one another otherwise failure is inevitable

Q: Rachel led her group project, however no one was thrilled with the final project because they all wished they had completed their project on the subject of tax reform rather than on health care reform. This is an example of ______. a. the Abilene Paradox b. the Pygmalion Effect c. polythink d. groupthink

Q: The Abilene Paradox refers to when a(n) ______. a. group embarks on a trip b. organization takes action contrary to what they want to do and defeats their original purpose c. organization takes small steps to achieve a civil dialogue and collective agreement d. organization achieves its best potential to make the best decision possible

Q: Which management professor developed the concept of mismanaged agreement? a. Irving Janus b. Alex Mintz c. Jerry Harvey d. Carly Wayne

Q: When many fragmented groups bring many different viewpoints, goals, and perspectives to the decision-making process, this is called ______. a. polythink b. groupthink c. excessive control d. mismanaged agreement

Q: Which is NOT a sign of group pressure? a. pressure on dissenters b. self-censorship c. the illusion of unanimity d. pre-appointed third party mind guards

Q: The tragic explosions of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles are important lessons where people placed unanimous agreement ahead of reasoned problem-solving. Which theory does this demonstrate? a. polythink b. groupthink c. excessive control d. mismanaged agreement

Q: What is it called when individuals feel they can speak up without fear of being embarrassed or rejected? This is a byproduct of open, supportive communication. a. psychological safety b. psychological capital c. collective rationalization d. mismanaged agreement

Q: I can see why you were hurt by your coworkers comments is what kind of response? a. spontaneous b. provisional c. descriptive d. empathetic

Q: Dave had little patience with his team who opposed his ideas. He had a strong need to be right despite the circumstances. What kind of communicator does Dave seem to be? a. provisional b. certain c. strategic d. neutral

Q: What kind of communicators can be seen as manipulative or trying to hide their true motivations? a. neutral b. empathetic c. strategic d. control

Q: Jan always supported an opportunity for her staff members to talk and share freely about their workplace environment. What kind of characteristic is Jan promoting? a. assistance b. supportiveness c. healthy boundaries d. openness

Q: Which characteristic demonstrates a desire to help others succeed? a. supportiveness b. openness c. cooperation d. encouragement