Chapter 2- Communicating and Collaborating in Teams

Question 1

What is a team?

Answer 1

A unit of 2 or more persons working together to achieve a common goal

Question 2

What is collaboration?

Answer 2

Coming together of individuals to solve complex problems

Question 3

What are 3 advantages of working in Teams?

Answer 3

1. Increase information and knowledge (collectively)
2. Increased diversity of views- perspectives, ideas towards decision making
3. Higher performance levels- more creativity, refining of ideas etc.

Question 4

What are the disadvantages of groups?

Answer 4

1. Group think- individual ideas rejected, uses subjective decision making process
2. Hidden Agendas- people join to take over
3. Overload- too many group assignments

Question 5

What are the characteristics of an effective team?

Answer 5

1. They have a clear sense of purpose
2. Open and honest communication
3. Consensus-based decision making
4. Creativity
5. Effective Conflict resolution

Question 6

What are group dynamics?

Answer 6

These are the interactions that take place within a team

Question 7

What are the 4 factors that influence group dynamics?

Answer 7

1. Roles team members assume
2. The current phase of team development
3. The team’s success in resolving conflict
4. Team’s success in overcoming resistance

Question 8

Group Dynamics Cont’d- Describe how Roles team members assume affect group dynamics

Answer 8

Self-oriented- These persons distract from the main task at hand, conflict makers

Task-Oriented- Focused on assigning tasks, organizing tasks, disseminating info

Team Oriented - encouraging members, resolving conflicts, finding compromise

Question 9

Phase of Team Development and Group Dynamics

Answer 9

1. Orientation- New to each other
2. Conflict- experiencing differences
3. Brainstorming- coming together to solve problems
4. Emergence- presentation of the idea, agreement
5. Reinforcement- representation of idea, consensus

Question 10

The team’s success in resolving conflict and group dynamics

Answer 10

• Constructive conflict: forces important issues forward, promotes ideas
• Descriptive conflict: Diverts attention from important issues

    Affects how they resolve it- constructive easier to resolve,

Question 11

State 3 measures used to solve conflict

Answer 11

1. Openess- get feelings in the open
2. Fair Play
3. Proactive Behaviour- deal with small issues before they become serious

Question 12

Success in Overcoming Resistance and Group Dynamics

Answer 12

Strategies :

1. Actively Listen
2. Express Interest
3. Ask questions
4. Collaborate toward resolution

Question 13

Give 3 guidelines for collaborative writing

Answer 13

1. Selected Collaborators Carefully
2. Clarify individual responsibilities
3. Check how things are going- don’t assume all is well

Question 14

Give 2 technologies for collaborative writing

Answer 14

• Wiki: allows persons in group to access, edit, add info

- Social Networks

Question 15

What does Social Networks do for teams?

Answer 15

Fosters collaboration by identifying and connecting the best people to work on each problem.

Question 16

What are the important aspects of mobile collaboration software capabilities?

Answer 16

1. Voice and Video Calling
2. Voice and Video Conferencing
3. IM
4. Real-time collaboration

Question 17

How to Give and respond to constructive feedback

Answer 17

To Give: -Clearly outline how the issue can be improved

To Recieve: Keep emotions in check, view it as an opportunity to improve

Question 18

State 4 steps to having an effective meeting

Answer 18

+]\
-1. Decide on purpose ahead of time

2. Select the right participants
3. Choose venue and time
4. Set clear agenda for the meeting (what you want to accomplish)

Question 19

State 3 ways to conducting and contribute to efficient meetings

Answer 19

1. Stay on track
2. Use phones respectfully
3. encourage participation

Question 20

Struture of minutes for a meeting

Answer 20

1. All present and absent
2. Start and end time
3. All tasks assigned to each member

Question 21

What are 2 major technologies used to enhance or replace in-person meetings

Answer 21

1. Instant Messaging and Teleconferencing- forms of virtual meeting
2. Telepresence- system that make participants seem as if they are in the room with you

Question 22

What are the major modes of listening?

Answer 22

1. Content listening- Listening to understand and retain
2. Critical Listening- Listening to understand and evaluate the meaning
3. Empathetic Listening- Listening to understand the speaker’s feelings, needs and wants

Question 23

Outlining the 5 steps in the listening process

Answer 23

1. Receiving
2. Decoding
3. Remembering
4. Evaluating
5. Responding

Question 24

What are 3 barriers to effective listening?

Answer 24

Selective Listening- Taking some parts of the message as the main idea

Selective perception- listeners mold messages to fit their own ideas

Defensive Listening- listen to respond, help ego

Question 25

How to overcome barriers to effective listening?

Answer 25

1. Put aside biases and distractions, use active listening 2. Try to paraphrase the main ideas 3. Don't rely on memory

Question 26

Advice for giving feedback

Answer 26

1. Seek room for improvement 2. Be impersonal and focus on issue 3. Time feedback carefully

Question 27

What is nonverbal communication?

Answer 27

The interpersonal process of sending and receiving information, both intentionally and unintentionally, without using written or spoken language

Question 28

Why is nonverbal communication important?

Answer 28

-Strengthen verbal language, weaken it, or replace words completely

Question 29

What are the 6 major categories of Non Verbal Communication?

Answer 29

1. Facial Expression 2. Guestire and Posture 3. Vocal characteristics 4. Personal Appearance 5. Touch 6. Time and Space

Question 30

Three ways use Non-Verbal Communication Effectively

Answer 30

1. Pay attention to non-verbal cues, match non-verbal cues to message 2. You can't tell everything with nonverbal cues- sometimes intentions are good, but the tone misleads 3. Match appearance to behaviour- appearance affects how the message is received

Question 31

Three elements of business etiquette

Answer 31

1. Personal Appearance- outfit 2. Grooming- cleanliness, smell/perfume 3. Etiquette for the phone

Question 32

Business Etiquette in Business/ Social Settings-

Answer 32

1. Introduction- brief intro of role in company. Introduce lower rank to senior rank 2. Dinner Etiquette- easy to eat foods, avoid alcohol and controversial topics

Question 33

3 elements of etiquette online

Answer 33

1. Avoid personal attacks 2. Don't present opinions as facts 3. Watch language and keep emotions under control