Group Performance And Leadership

Question 1

Potential group performance (group potential)

Answer 1

The performance that would have occurred if the members of a group had worked independently of each other and not as a group; a common benchmark to evaluate actual group performance.

Question 2

Group task types

Answer 2

Group tasks are distinguished depending on whether the task is divisible between group members, whether the quality or quantity of the output is relevant, and how individual contributions are related to the group’s performance.

Question 3

Brainstorming

Answer 3

A group technique aimed at enhancing creativity in groups by means of the uninhibited generation of as many ideas as possible concerning a specific topic.

Question 4

Eureka effect

Answer 4

Describes the situation when the correct solution to a problem, once it is found, is immediately recognized as being correct by group members.

Question 5

Coordination losses

Answer 5

Describe the diminished performance of a group if it fails to coordinate the contributions of its individual members in an optimal manner.

Question 6

Ringelmann effect

Answer 6

Describes the finding that in physical tasks such as weight pulling, the average performance of individual group members decrease with increasing group size.

Question 7

Nominal group

Answer 7

A number of individuals who perform a task individually and work independently of each other; nominal groups are used to determine the potential performance of groups.

Question 8

Production blocking

Answer 8

A process loss typical is brainstorming task in face-to-face groups; since in a group only one person can speak at a time, the other group members cannot express their own ideas at the same time.

Question 9

Motivation losses and gains

Answer 9

Decreases or increases in group member’s motivation to contribute to group task performance.

Question 10

Social loafing

Answer 10

A motivational loss in groups that occurs when group members reduce their effort due to the fact that individual contributions to group performance are not identifiable.

Question 11

Dispensability effect

Answer 11

A reduction in group member’s task-related effort because their individual contributions seems to have little impact on group performance.

Question 12

Sucker effect

Answer 12

A motivational loss in groups that occurs when group members perceive or anticipate that other group members will lower their effort: to avoid being exploited, they reduce their effort themselves.

Question 13

Social competition

Answer 13

A motivation gain in groups that occurs if the group members want to outperform each other during group tasks in which the individual contributions are identifiable.

Question 14

Social compensation

Answer 14

A motivational gain in groups that occurs if stronger group members increase their effort in order to compensate for weaker member’s suboptimal performance.

Question 15

Köhler effect

Answer 15

A motivation gain in groups which involves weaker group members working harder than they would do individually in order to avoid being responsible for a weak group performance.

Question 16

Individual capability gains and losses

Answer 16

Improvements or impairments in individual group member’s ability to successfully perform a task due to social interaction within the group.

Question 17

Cognitive restriction

Answer 17

A capability loss in group tasks that involve idea generation, which occurs when an idea mentioned by another group member makes people focus on the particular category this idea belongs to, at the expense of generating ideas from other categories.

Question 18

Cognitive simulation

Answer 18

A capability gain in group tasks that involve idea generation, which occurs when an idea mentioned by another group member stimulates a cognitive category one would otherwise not have thought of.

Question 19

Group composition

Answer 19

Specifies how certain characteristics are distributed within a group.

Question 20

Group performance management

Answer 20

The sum of activities aimed at maximizing (or improving) the group-specific component of group performance.

Question 21

Hidden profile

Answer 21

A group decision situation in which information is distributed among group members such that no individual group member can detect the best solution based on his or her own information.

Question 22

Group synchronization

Answer 22

The sum of activities aimed at optimizing the collaborative generation, modification and integration of individual contributions in a group.

Question 23

Group learning

Answer 23

A generic term for several learning processes that can only occur if several people work interactively on the same task.

Question 24

Individual-to-individual transfer

Answer 24

Individual learning processes whereby a group member’s ability to perform a task on their own improves as a result of repeated individual task performance.

Question 25

Group-to-individual transfer

Answer 25

A group learning process whereby a group member’s ability to perform a task alone improves as a result of social interaction between group members during repeated collective task performance.

Question 26

Group-to-individual-in-group transfer

Answer 26

A group learning process whereby a group member’s ability to perform a task within groups improves as a result of social interaction between group members during repeated collective task performance.

Question 27

Group-to-group transfer

Answer 27

A group learning process whereby a particular group’s capability to perform a group task improves as a result of social interaction between its group members during repeated collective task performance.

Question 28

Leadership (in organizations)

Answer 28

Influencing, motivating or enabling others to contribute towards the effectiveness of work units and organizations.

Question 29

Leadership effectiveness

Answer 29

The impact of leadership on the accomplishment of group and organizational objectives, on the behaviour, perceptions, attitudes, values, motivation or well-being of followers and peers, and on the accomplishments of those who lead.

Question 30

Leadership behaviour

Answer 30

Observable acts that are meant to influence, motivate or enable others to contribute towards the effectiveness of a work unit or organization.

Question 31

Leader traits

Answer 31

Relatively stable personal characteristics (e.g., personality, intelligence, motivational dispositions) which are thought to predict leader emergence and leadership effectiveness.

Question 32

Contingency approaches

Answer 32

Emphasize situational factors in the study of leadership (e.g., task or follower characteristics) and how these moderate the relationship between leader traits or leadership behaviours and leadership effectiveness.

Question 33

Transactional leaders

Answer 33

Leaders who focus on the proper exchange of resources, who give followers something in exchange for something the leaders want.

Question 34

Transformational (charismatic) leaders

Answer 34

Leaders who focus on aligning the group or organizational goals with the followers’ needs and aspirations by developing an appealing vision (whereby organizational needs are placed above self-interest).

Question 35

Laissez-faire leaders

Answer 35

Leaders who engage in ‘non-leadership’; that is, avoid making decisions, hesitate in taking action and are often absent when needed.

Question 36

Leadership style

Answer 36

A pattern of leadership behaviour which is repeatedly shown and evident across a variety of situations.

Question 37

Group leadership

Answer 37

Influencing, motivating or enabling (oneself and) others to contribute towards the effectiveness and viability of work groups.

Question 38

Leaderless groups

Answer 38

Groups with no appointed leader but which display effective leadership behaviours which are infused by the group members themselves (shared leadership) and/or by agents external to the group.

Question 39

Shared or team leadership

Answer 39

Responsibility for leadership functions, the exercise of leadership behaviour and perceptions about leadership roles are shared among group members (sometimes including agents external to the team).

Question 40

Team awareness

Answer 40

Understanding of the ongoing activities of others which provides a context for one’s own activity.