Chapter 9

Question 1

Group

Answer 1

Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives.

Question 2

Formal Group

Answer 2

A designated work group defined by an organization’s structure

Question 3

Informal Group

Answer 3

A group that is neither formally structured nor organizationally determined; such a group appears in response to the need for social contact.

Question 4

Social Identity Theory

Answer 4

Perspective that considers when and why individuals consider themselves members of groups.

Question 5

Ingroup Favoritism

Answer 5

Perspective in which we see members of our ingroup as better than other people, and people not in our group as all the same.

Question 6

Five Stage Group Model

Answer 6

The five distinct stages groups go through: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.

Question 7

Forming Stage

Answer 7

The first stage in group development, characterized by much uncertainty.

Question 8

Storming

Answer 8

The second stage in group development, characterized by intragroup conflict.

Question 9

Norming

Answer 9

The third stage in group development, characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness.

Question 10

Performing

Answer 10

The fourth stage in group development, during which the group is fully functional.

Question 11

Adjourning

Answer 11

The final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance.

Question 12

Punctuated Equillibrium Model

Answer 12

A set of phases that temporary groups go through that involves transitions between inertia and activity.

Question 13

Role

Answer 13

A set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.

Question 14

Role Perception

Answer 14

An individual’s view of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation.

Question 15

Role Expectations

Answer 15

How others believe a person should act in a given situation.

Question 16

Psychological Contract

Answer 16

An unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from an employee and vice versa.

Question 17

Role Conflict

Answer 17

A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations.

Question 18

Norms

Answer 18

Acceptable standards of behavior within a group that are shared by the group’s members.

Question 19

Conformity

Answer 19

The adjustment of one’s behavior to align with the norms of the group.

Question 20

Deviant Workplace Behavior

Answer 20

Voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and, in so doing, threatens the well-being of the organization or its members. Also called antisocial behavior or workplace incivility.

Question 21

Status

Answer 21

A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others.

Question 22

Status Characteristics Theory

Answer 22

A theory that states that differences in status characteristics create status hierarchies within groups.

Question 23

Social Loafing

Answer 23

The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually.

Question 24

Cohesiveness

Answer 24

The degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group.

Question 25

Groupthink

Answer 25

A phenomenon in which the norm for consensus overrides the realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action.

Question 26

Group Shift

Answer 26

A change between a group’s decision and an individual decision that a member within the group would make; the shift can be toward either conservatism or greater risk but it generally is toward a more extreme version of the group’s original position.

Question 27

Interacting Groups

Answer 27

Typical groups in which members interact with each other face to face.

Question 28

Brainstorming

Answer 28

An idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and all alternatives while withholding any criticism of those alternatives.

Question 29

Nominal Group Technique

Answer 29

A group decision-making method in which individual members meet face to face to pool their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion.

Question 30

Electronic Meeting

Answer 30

A meeting in which members interact on computers, allowing for anonymity of comments and aggregation of votes.