Q&A Hero

Q: Organizational culture is learned primarily through seminars and manuals.

Q: Identifying possible resistance to a change is the first step in Lussier change model.

Q: Refreezing is the change process in which employees learn the new desirable behavior, values, and attitudes.

Q: Confronting people by persuading them that their facts, beliefs, and values are wrong is one of the major methods to overcome resistance to change.

Q: Employees who participate in developing changes are more committed to them than employees who have changes assigned to them.

Q: One of the reasons people resist change is because the prospect of learning something new itself produces anxiety.

Q: According to the change process, once people get over the initial shock and realize that change is going to be a reality, they accept the change.

Q: During the breakthrough in technology, companies often fight for design dominance to set the market standard.

Q: Discontinuous change breaks the status quo and transforms the competitive environment.

Q: Automation refers to how the organization transforms inputs into outputs.

Q: _____ is an organizational development (OD) technique that uses a questionnaire to gather data that are used as the basis for change.

Q: _____ is the process of developing the necessary skills to perform the present job.

Q: _____ is a dimension of organizational climate that refers to the degree of satisfaction with human relations.

Q: _____ is a state of mind based on employees' attitudes and satisfaction with the organization.

Q: According to Lewin's model of change, the step that involves reducing forces that maintain the status quo is known as _____.

Q: As a form of change, _____ change is a significant breakthrough in technology that leads to design competition and a new technology cycle.

Q: As a form of change, _____ change is continual improvement that takes place within an already existing technology cycle.

Q: The integration of both people and technology is known as creating a(n) _____.

Q: _____ are formal systems for collecting, processing, and disseminating the information necessary to aid managers in decision making.

Q: _____ is the simplification or reduction of human effort required to do a job.

Q: What are the steps involved in coaching? Explain.

Q: What is organizational climate? What are its dimensions?

Q: What is organizational culture? Explain the two dimensions of an organization's culture.

Q: Explain the Lussier change model.

Q: List the methods of overcoming resistance to change.

Q: What are the sources of resistance to change? List the major focuses of resistance.

Q: In _____ power-distance cultures, where more autocratic decisions are made, participation is not as acceptable.

Q: _____ occurs when the group's solution to a problem or opportunity is superior to all individuals'.

Q: The _____ polls a group through a series of anonymous questionnaires.

Q: _____ is the process of generating and evaluating alternatives through a structured voting method.

Q: A(n) _____ is a cooperative attempt to develop a solution acceptable to all employees, rather than a competitive battle in which a solution is forced on some members of the group.

Q: _____ is the process of generating novel alternatives through role-playing and fantasizing.

Q: Using the decision-making model helps us be more rational and focus our intuitive judgment, which is called _____.

Q: The _____ decision maker may be viewed as wishy-washy and indecisive.

Q: The _____ problem member doesn't want to take individual responsibility and do a fair share of the work.

Q: If any one of the components of a team is weak, performance will suffer; this is called the _____ effect.

Q: Describe the stages in the creative process.

Q: Describe the three decision-making styles.

Q: Describe six problem members and mention a way to handle each of them.

Q: Explain the parts of a meeting.

Q: Explain the areas in which meeting planning is needed.

Q: What supervisory styles can be used with groups based on their stages of development?

Q: Describe the various stages of group development.

Q: What is team dynamics? Describe its components.

Q: What is teamwork? Describe the different types of teams.

Q: Many people complain about meetings. Recall a meeting that you have attended. Do you have any complaints about it? State whether or not the meeting had each of the four parts of a written meeting plan (Exhibit 11.5) and whether the meeting included (1) reviewing objectives, (2) covering agenda items, and (3) summarizing and reviewing assignments. How could the meeting have been improved?

Q: Team development stages state that most people coming to a new group are enthusiastic, but that with time they lose some of their morale. What types of things happen in most groups to cause this decline in morale? Be sure to focus on the components of team structure and team dynamics.

Q: The younger generations have been called the "me generation" because they care only about themselves. Do you agree with this statement? How does putting oneself as number one affect group performance? Which group role is illustrated through the "me generation" statement?

Q: Select a work or sports team to which you belong/have belonged. Which team member (not the manager or coach) had the highest level of status? Identify the factors that contributed to that person's high status.

Q: It has been said that success breeds cohesiveness, which in turn leads to more success. What does this mean? How is it supposed to work? Do you agree with the statement?

Q: What is the difference between a rule and a norm? Do norms help or hurt groups? Is it ethical to make group members comply with group norms? Can groups stop having norms?

Q: It has been said that the team performance model is too simplistic; group performance is much more complex. Do you agree with this statement? How can the model be used?

Q: Many of the TV reality shows have an element of teamwork. However, they often have members of the teams doing negative things to each other to get ahead. Do you believe that these negative examples of poor teamwork influence people's behavior in real-life groups? Can you think of any TV shows that give positive examples of good teamwork?

Q: Identify group problem members at a meeting you attended. Was the leader effective in handling them? What would you have done to make them more productive members? Explain in detail.

Q: Recall a specific meeting you attended. Did the group leader plan for the meeting by stating meeting objectives, identifying participants and their assignments, making an agenda, and stating the date, time, and place of the meeting? Did the leader provide a written meeting plan to the members prior to the meeting? Explain your answers and state what you would do differently if you were the leader.

Q: What can be done to improve the group's dynamics? Explain.

Q: Identify the group's stage of development and the leader's situational supervisory style. Does the leader use the appropriate style?

Q: Using your list from Work Application 11-5, identify the major roles played by each group member, including yourself.

Q: List each team member in order by status in the team, including yourself. What are some of the characteristics that lead to high or low status on the team?

Q: Is the group cohesive? How does the level of cohesiveness affect the group's performance? Explain your answers.

Q: List at least three of the team's norms. Identify them as positive or negative. How does the team enforce these norms?

Q: How large is the group? Is the size appropriate? Explain.

Q: For Work Applications 11-1 through 11-8, recall a specific group to which you belong or have belonged. If you will be doing Skill-Building Exercise 11-1, do not use your class group for this specific group now. Does the group agree on, and are members committed to, clear objectives? Explain your answer.

Q: The leader of a labor union needs to put together a charter of demands for the upcoming union-management negotiations through a structured voting method. Which of the following techniques should he use to generate alternative solutions? A. Nominal grouping B. Delphi technique C. Consensus D. Synectics

Q: A firm needs novel ideas to make its office eco-friendly. Which of the following techniques should it use to generate alternative solutions? A. Consensus B. Delphi technique C. Nominal grouping D. Synectics

Q: A _____ decision maker likes to make quick decisions. A. reflexive B. reflective C. relative D. consistent

Q: _____ is the process of selecting an alternative course of action that will solve a problem. A. Allowance B. Problem solving C. Retribution D. Decision making

Q: _____ is the process of taking corrective action in order to meet objectives. A. Decision making B. Retribution C. Problem solving D. Allowance

Q: Rachel is the last person to contribute anything during team meetings. She tends to shy away from conversations. Which of the following types of problem members does Rachel most likely belong to? A. The social loafer B. The wanderer C. The silent member D. The bored member

Q: During a problem-solving discussion, Todd asked, "Why do we keep discussing these problems when they never go away? Don't we have a holiday on Friday?" Which of the following types of problem members does Todd belong to? A. The social loafer B. The wanderer C. The arguer D. The talker

Q: "Why are we spending so much time discussing this? It's very simple and clear," thought Tony, as he scribbled carelessly during the team meeting. Which of the following types of problem members does Tony belong to? A. The bored member B. The social loafer C. The wanderer D. The silent member

Q: Your department is one of the top producers in the company. The members work as a team even in the absence of your supervision. However, lately you have realized there is a conflict within the department, but performance has not dropped due to the conflict. Which of the following supervisory styles would be most appropriate for this stage? A. Laissez-faire B. Autocratic C. Consultative D. Participative

Q: You have taken over as the new manager of a department. The employees are interested in doing their work well and have potential. However, they do not have the competence to achieve the allotted tasks because they have not worked together before. Which of the following supervisory styles would be most appropriate in this stage of group development? A. Participative B. Autocratic C. Laissez-faire D. Consultative

Q: Which of the following stages of group development uses the laissez-faire supervisory style? A. Dissatisfaction B. Production C. Resolution D. Orientation

Q: Which of the following supervisory styles is used during the resolution stage of group development? A. Participative B. Laissez-faire C. Autocratic D. Consultative

Q: The group development stage 2, dissatisfactionmoderate development (lower commitment/some competence), uses the _____ supervisory style. A. participative B. laissez-faire C. autocratic D. consultative

Q: Which of the following supervisory styles is used during the first stage of group development? A. Participative B. Consultative C. Autocratic D. Laissez-faire

Q: "My team is doing very well. The members have excellent skills and they get along very well." Which of the following stages of team development is this team in? A. GDS1 B. GDS2 C. GDS3 D. GDS4

Q: "The members of my team seem more at ease with one another now. Some of them are dedicated to the tasks given to them, and a group structure with acceptable norms and cohesiveness is developing." From the information in the statement, we can say that the team is in the _____ stage of team development. A. GDS1 B. GDS2 C. GDS3 D. GDS4

Q: Joseph's team members are having problems getting along. They doubt the productivity of the team. Although they have some competence, they aren't too happy with the team and like to complain. From this information, we can say that the team is in the _____ stage of team development. A. GDS1 B. GDS2 C. GDS3 D. GDS4