Chapter 12 - Teams: Processes and Communication

Question 1

__________ is a term that refers to the different types of communication, activities, and interactions that occur within teams that contribute to their ultimate end goals.

Answer 1

Team process

Question 2

Getting more from the team than you would expect according to the capabilities of its individual members is called __________ .

Answer 2

process gain

Question 3

Having described process gain, we now consider its polar opposite, ___________ , or getting less from the team than you would expect based on the capabilities of its individual members.

Answer 3

process loss

Question 4

Although this extra effort focused on integrating work is a necessary aspect of the team experience, it’s called ____________ because it consumes time and energy that could otherwise be devoted to task activity.

Answer 4

coordination loss

Question 5

Such coordination losses are often driven by ____________ , which occurs when members have to wait on one another before they can do page 399their part of the team task.

Answer 5

production blocking

Question 6

The second force that fosters process loss in team contexts is ____________ , or the loss in team productivity that occurs when team members don’t work as hard as they could.

Answer 6

motivational loss

Question 7

Those feelings of reduced accountability, in turn, cause members to exert less effort when working on team tasks than they would if they worked alone on those same tasks. This phenomenon is called __________ , and it can significantly hinder a team’s effectiveness.

Answer 7

social loafing

Question 8

One relevant category of team processes is ___________ , which are the activities of team members that relate directly to the accomplishment of team tasks.

Answer 8

taskwork processes

Question 9

Perhaps the best-known activity that teams use to foster creative behavior is __________ .

Answer 9

brainstorming

Question 10

One offshoot of brainstorming that addresses some of its limitations is the _________________ . Similar to a traditional brainstorming session, this process starts off by bringing the team together and outlining the purpose of the meeting.

Answer 10

nominal group technique

Question 11

The first factor is __________ , which reflects whether members possess adequate information about their own task responsibilities.

Answer 11

decision informity

Question 12

The second factor is __________ , which refers to the degree to which members make good recommendations to the leader.

Answer 12

staff validity

Question 13

The third factor is ___________ , which reflects the degree to which the leader effectively weighs the recommendations of the members.

Answer 13

hierarchical sensitivity

Question 14

The third type of taskwork process is ___________ , which involves three types of activities with individuals and groups other than those who are considered part of the team.

Answer 14

boundary spanning

Question 15

_____________ refer to communications that are intended to protect the team, persuade others to support the team, or obtain important resources for the team.

Answer 15

Ambassador activities

Question 16

______________ involve communications that are intended to coordinate task-related issues with people or groups in other functional areas.

Answer 16

Task coordinator activities

Question 17

Finally, __________ refer to things team members do to obtain information about technology, competitors, or the broader marketplace.

Answer 17

scout activities

Question 18

____________ refer to the interpersonal activities that facilitate the accomplishment of the team’s work, but do not directly involve task accomplishment itself.

Answer 18

Teamwork processes

Question 19

____________ are teamwork activities that focus on preparation for future work.

Answer 19

Transition processes

Question 20

Whereas transition processes are important before and between periods of taskwork, ____________ are important as the taskwork is being accomplished.

Answer 20

action processes

Question 21

The third category of teamwork processes is called _____________ . The processes in this category are important before, during, or between periods of taskwork, and each relates to the manner in which team members manage their relationships.

Answer 21

interpersonal processes

Question 22

The first type of interpersonal process is _____________________ , which refers to things team members do or say that affect the degree to which members are motivated to work hard on the team’s task.

Answer 22

motivating and confidence building

Question 23

______________ involves activities that foster a sense of emotional balance and unity

Answer 23

Affect management

Question 24

Another important interpersonal process is _____________ , which involves the activities that the team uses to manage conflicts that arise in the course of its work.

Answer 24

conflict management

Question 25

____________ refers to disagreements among team members in terms of interpersonal relationships or incompatibilities with respect to personal values or preferences.

Answer 25

Relationship conflict

Question 26

___________ , in contrast, refers to disagreements among members about the team’s task.

Answer 26

Task conflict

Question 27

The communication process may also suffer if the participants lack ______________ , which refers to the skills involved in encoding, transmitting, and receiving messages.

Answer 27

communication competence

Question 28

______ interferes with the message being transmitted.

Answer 28

Noise

Question 29

A third factor that influences the communication process is ____________ , which is the amount and depth of information that gets transmitted in a message.

Answer 29

information richness

Question 30

One way to understand communication in teams composed of more than two people is to consider the concept of ____________ , which is defined as the pattern of communication that occurs regularly among each member of the team.

Answer 30

network structure

Question 31

True or False. Communication among team members in organizations has become more decentralized over the past decade or so.

Answer 31

True

Question 32

__________ refer to specific types of feelings and thoughts that coalesce in the minds of team members as a consequence of their experience working together.

Answer 32

Team states

Question 33

This emotional attachment, which is called ________ , tends to foster high levels of motivation and commitment to the team, and as a consequence, cohesiveness tends to promote higher levels of team performance.

Answer 33

cohesion

Question 34

This drive toward conformity at the expense of other team priorities is called _________ and is thought to be associated with feelings of overconfidence about the team’s capabilities.

Answer 34

groupthink

Question 35

The second team state, ________ , refers to the degree to which members believe that the team can be effective across a variety of situations and tasks.

Answer 35

potency

Question 36

__________ refer to the level of common understanding among team members with regard to important aspects of the team and its task.

Answer 36

Mental models

Question 37

___________ refers to how specialized knowledge is distributed among members in a manner that results in an effective system of memory for the team.

Answer 37

transactive memory

Question 38

Taken together, such knowledge, skills, and abilities are referred to as _____________________ .This label reflects the fact that trainees can transport what they learn about teamwork from one team context and apply it in another.

Answer 38

transportable teamwork competencies

Question 39

The idea behind this type of training, which is called ___________ , is that team members can develop shared mental models of what’s involved in each of the roles in the team and how the roles fit together to form a system.

Answer 39

cross-training

Question 40

At the shallowest level, there is _____________ . With this type of training, members simply receive information regarding the roles of the other team members.

Answer 40

personal clarification

Question 41

At the next level of cross-training, there is ___________ , which involves team members observing how other members perform their roles.

Answer 41

positional modeling

Question 42

Finally, the deepest level of cross-training involves ___________ . This type of training gives members actual experience carrying out the responsibilities of their teammates.

Answer 42

positional rotation

Question 43

_____________ occurs in the context of a team experience, and is intended to facilitate the team being able to function and perform more effectively as an intact unit.

Answer 43

Team process training

Question 44

One type of team process training is called __________ . With this type of training, a team is given a real problem that’s relevant to the organization and then held accountable for analyzing the problem, developing an action plan, and finally carrying out the action plan.

Answer 44

action learning

Question 45

The fourth general type of team process training is called ___________ . This type of training normally is conducted by a consultant and intended to facilitate the development of team processes related to goal setting, interpersonal relations, problem solving, and role clarification.

Answer 45

team building