Team - E2

Question 1

What are the four types of groups?

Answer 1

Formal
Informal
Reference
Self directed or autonomous

Question 2

What does Schein suggest a group is?

Answer 2

Any number of people who:
* Interact with one another
* Psychologically aware of one another
* Perceive themselves to be a group

Question 3

What is a formal group?

Answer 3

used to carry out tasks, communicate and solve problems

Question 4

What is a informal group?

Answer 4

Groups to meet social, security or safety needs of individuals

Question 5

What is a reference group?

Answer 5

Individual does not currently belong to but wants to join

Question 6

What is a self directed or autonomous group?

Answer 6

encouraged to manage its own work and working practices

Question 7

What is a multiskilled team?

Answer 7

bring together individuals who can perform any of the group’s tasks

Question 8

What is a multidisciplinary team?

Answer 8

bring together individuals with different specialisms so that their skills, knowledge and experience can be pooled or exchanged

Question 9

What are the benefits of groups?

Answer 9

• Increased productivity
• Synergy
• Improved focus and responsibility
• Greater creativity
• Increased satisfaction
• Increased motivation
• Improved information flows

Question 10

What are the problems with groups?

Answer 10

• Conformity – individuals can be persuaded by group pressures
• Abilene paradox – group can end up with an outcome that none of the members wanted
• ‘Risky shift’ or group polarisation – tendency for groups to take decisions which are riskier than any that the individuals would take on their own.
• Groupthink – members try to minimise conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analysing and evaluating ideas

Question 11

What are the four stages of team development?

Answer 11

1. Forming – no more than collection of individuals who are unsure of their roles and responsibilities
2. Storming – as tasks gets underway, team members may try to test the manager’s authority and team preconceptions are challenged
3. Norming – establishes norms under with the team will operate and team relationships become settled
4. Performing – team capable of operating to full potential
5. Adjourning – if team remains for a long time in performing phase there is a danger that it will be operating on automatic pilot

Question 12

What are the characteristics of a successful team?

Answer 12

• Numbers should be small
• Limited duration
• Membership should be voluntary
• Communication should be informal and unstructured
• Action-oriented

Question 13

What do team building exercises tend to be based around?

Answer 13

• Improved communication
• Building trust
• Social interactions

Question 14

How do we measure team effectiveness?

Answer 14

• Degree to which the team achieved its stated objectives and quality of its output
• Team member satisfaction
• Efficiency of the team which can be measured by the resources used to achieve team objectives

Question 15

What three ingredients do inter-group conflict require?

Answer 15

1. Group identification
2. Observable group difference
3. Frustration

Question 16

How do we manage group conflict?

Answer 16

1. Confrontation
2. Third-party consultants
3. Inter-group training
4. Member rotation
5. Superordinate goals