Which of the following is a team-building role?
- initiator-contributor
- orienter
- energizer
- procedural-technician
- compromiser
Team building roles refer to behaviors that influence the quality of the team's social climate. Examples of team building roles include compromiser, standard setter, follower, encourager, and harmonizer.
Compromise: A conflict resolution style by which conflict is resolved through give-and-take concessions.
In team functions in the past at Bonnie's Barn, a retailer that sells country-themed décor, several employees have consistently displayed certain behaviors. Allie has always motivated the teams to do better. Gary has always challenged the status quo. Thor has performed routine tasks to keep things rolling. Erin has guided the direction of team discussions. Billy has proposed new ideas. Bonnie, the company owner, has assembled a team for a project where all of the decisions have high stakes. Which of the previously mentioned employees would likely be the most valuable for her to add to this particular team?
- Allie
- Billy
- Gary
- Thor
- Erin
The role of devil's advocate challenges the status quo. The devil's advocate role may be particularly important in team contexts in which decisions are "high stakes" in nature.
Learning: A relatively permanent change in an employee’s knowledge or skill that results from experience.
Which of the following examples depicts someone acting in an individualistic role?
- Louie lays out goals the team should focus on.
- Jason motivates people to beat last year's performance.
- Terri gives a hostile look to Reva when she shares an idea.
- Faron asks Greg to calm down when Cindy disagrees with him.
- Sam asks probing questions to challenge obvious flaws in the team's plans.
Individualistic roles reflect behaviors that benefit the individual at the expense of the team. For example, the aggressor "puts down" or deflates fellow teammates.
Individualistic Roles: Behaviors that benefit the individual at the expense of the team.
At Bark Shape industries, each employee has a workspace in which to debark logs used to make rustic homes and patio furniture. The policy is that everyone on a team must remain at his or her workstation until everyone has secured the logs they were working on. At the end of the shift, everyone on team C is ready to go home, but they are waiting on Felipe, who still has not secured his logs. Exceeding the time allocated in a shift hurts the production rating of a team. Team C is witnessing a(n) ________ task.
- conjunctive
- disjunctive
- subtractive
- additive
- virtual
Tasks for which the team's performance depends on the abilities of the "weakest link" are called conjunctive tasks.
Conjunctive Tasks: Tasks for which the team’s performance depends on the abilities of the team’s weakest link.
Francisco has been given a detailed explanation of the behavior he is expected to display in various contexts as an associate at Desmond's Dock, a seafood distributor. Francisco has been given a(n)
- role.
- goal.
- value.
- belief.
- ability.
A role is defined as a pattern of behavior that a person is expected to display in a given context. In a team setting, there are a variety of roles that members can take or develop in the course of interacting with one another, depending on the specific situation.
Role: The behavior a person is generally expected to display in a given context.
Which of the following statements accurately describes leader-staff teams?
- The members have the ability to create and choose their own tasks.
- The responsibilities of the leader and the rest of the team are distinct.
- The members have no latitude with respect to the behaviors they exhibit.
- The members are bound to follow their duties and have no scope to improve their performance.
- The team makes decisions for the leader to execute and directs and controls the leader's actions.
In the case of leader-staff teams, the leader makes decisions for the team and provides direction and control over members who perform assigned tasks, so the responsibilities of the leader and the rest of the team are distinct. Typically, however, team members have some latitude with respect to the behaviors they exhibit.
Leader-Staff Teams: A type of team that consists of members who make recommendations to the leader who is ultimately responsible for team decisions.
Which of the following observations about member conscientiousness is True?
- A team member with low conscientiousness tends to be dependable and works hard to achieve team goals.
- Correcting a team member who has high conscientiousness will result in interpersonal conflicts.
- A team member with low conscientiousness will have a positive effect on other team members.
- A team member who has low conscientiousness helps other team members to accomplish work responsibilities.
- A team with high conscientiousness will be more productive than a team with even one member with low conscientiousness.
There is a strong negative effect on the team of having even one member who is particularly low in conscientiousness.
Conscientiousness: One of the “Big Five” dimensions of personality reflecting traits like being dependable, organized, reliable, ambitious, hardworking, and persevering.
Trent loves working on the new engineering team. Everyone is so friendly, and there is never any bitterness or conflict. Trent is sure they will come up with the most innovative designs ever. Is Trent right?
- Maybe, but only as long as there are a majority of narcissists participating on the team.
- Yes, but only if all the team members also demonstrate rather high levels of neuroticism.
- No. Teams must have dissenters, questioners, and confrontational individuals in order to succeed.
- Yes. The absolute best makeup for a team is to have all members demonstrate high levels of agreeableness.
- Maybe, but the team members may be so focused on creating harmony, they may endanger task accomplishment.
It may seem nice to have all members demonstrate high levels of agreeableness. However, because agreeable people tend to prefer harmony and cooperation rather than conflict and competition, they may be less apt to speak up and offer constructive criticisms that might help the team improve. They may act in ways that enhance harmony at the expense of task accomplishment.
Team: Two or more people who work interdependently over some time period to accomplish common goals related to some task-oriented purpose.
The function of the role of an orienter in a group is to
- praise the work of teammates.
- establish the direction for the team.
- resolve differences among teammates.
- offer constructive challenges to the team's status quo.
- motivate team members to work harder toward goals.
Team task roles refer to behaviors that directly facilitate the accomplishment of team tasks. An example is the orienter, who establishes the direction for the team.
Role: The behavior a person is generally expected to display in a given context.
Which of the following roles refers to behaviors that influence the quality of the team's social climate rather than work?
- team task roles
- team building roles
- inferential roles
- individualistic roles
- thematic roles
Team building roles refer to behaviors that influence the quality of the team's social climate. Examples of team building roles include harmonizer, compromiser, and encourager.
Team-Building Roles: Behaviors that directly facilitate the accomplishment of team tasks.
Layla participated in a problem-solving quiz competition among teams. Because Layla was the most familiar with the types of problems on her quiz, her team's performance depended largely on Layla's performance. What is the type of task represented by the quiz competition?
- additive
- disjunctive
- conjunctive
- surface-level
- multiplicative
In tasks with an objectively verifiable best solution, the member who possesses the highest level of the ability relevant to the task will have the most influence on the effectiveness of the team. These types of tasks are called disjunctive tasks.
Disjunctive Tasks: Tasks with an objectively verifiable best solution for which the member with the highest level of ability has the most influence on team effectiveness.
In tasks with an objectively verifiable best solution, the member who possesses the highest level of the ability relevant to the task will have the most influence on the effectiveness of the team. These types of tasks are ________ tasks.
- additive
- conjunctive
- subjunctive
- disjunctive
- indicative
In tasks with an objectively verifiable best solution, the member who possesses the highest level of the ability relevant to the task will have the most influence on the effectiveness of the team. These types of tasks are called disjunctive tasks.
Disjunctive Tasks: Tasks with an objectively verifiable best solution for which the member with the highest level of ability has the most influence on team effectiveness.
Individualistic role behaviors
- directly facilitate the accomplishment of team tasks.
- focus on activities that benefit the team as a whole rather than the separate team members.
- include the roles of harmonizer and the encourager.
- foster negative feelings among team members and hinder a team's ability to perform effectively.
- are particularly important in team contexts in which decisions are "high stakes" in nature.
Individualistic roles reflect behaviors that benefit the individual at the expense of the team.
Individualistic Roles: Behaviors that benefit the individual at the expense of the team.
When Mia performs routine tasks needed to keep progress moving in her team, she is performing the role of a(n)
- orienter.
- energizer.
- compromiser.
- initiator-contributor.
- procedural technician.
Team task roles refer to behaviors that directly facilitate the accomplishment of team tasks. A procedural technician performs routine tasks needed to keep progress moving.
Procedural Justice: The perceived fairness of decision-making processes.
Which of the following statements about team and individualistic roles is True?
- An aggressor manipulates team members for personal control.
- A standard-setter expresses goals for the team to achieve.
- A gatekeeper offers challenges to the team's status quo.
- A slacker brags and calls attention to him- or herself.
- A dominator is one who encourages participation from teammates.
A standard-setter, a team-building role, expresses goals for the team to achieve.
Individualistic Roles: Behaviors that benefit the individual at the expense of the team.
Which of the following is an example of a team task role rather than an individualistic role?
- aggressor
- recognition seeker
- devil's advocate
- dominator
- blocker
Individualistic roles reflect behaviors that benefit the individual at the expense of the team. Examples include aggressor, recognition seeker, dominator, and blocker. The devil's advocate is a team task role.
Team Task Roles: Behaviors that directly facilitate the accomplishment of team tasks.
Emilee is frequently hostile to other team members, cynical about the goals of the team and others' engagement in the project, and sometimes disagrees and stubbornly blocks progress "just because." Her behavior often leaves other team members feeling hopeless or tired. Emilee's behavior reflects a(n) ________ role.
- task-oriented
- individualistic
- power seeking
- task destructive
- team manipulation
The roles team members exhibit are categorized as team task roles, team building roles, and individualistic roles. Emilee exhibits individualistic roles, particularly the aggressor, blocker, and slacker roles.
Which of the following is a team task role?
- encourager
- blocker
- energizer
- follower
- compromiser
Team task roles refer to behaviors that directly facilitate the accomplishment of team tasks. Examples include initiator-contributor, orienter, energizer, procedural-technician, and coordinator.
Neutralizers: Situational characteristics that reduce the importance of the leader and do not improve employee performance in any way.