1. When a local hospital ran into a funding problem when it tried to build a new state-of-the-art pediatric unit, it asked a group of physicians, hospital volunteers, and administrative staff to develop and implement a plan to raise the necessary money. This group of people with complementary skills formed a(n) ____.
a. / semi-structured teamb. / autonomous unit
c. / work team
d. / functional department
e. / venture team
2. Allen-Edmonds is keeping its shoe manufacturing business in the United States by investing in new machinery and creating new processes. It's a gamble and the outcome is uncertain. The president of the company is hoping a million-dollar refitting will save 5 percent on each shoe; he could save 60 percent tomorrow if he moved his manufacturing to China. Staying here means average wages of $15 per hour plus benefits, as opposed to $100 per week if the company moved. To cut costs and improve efficiency, the company's old assembly line is being replaced by a system of employees working in groups, with each person doing several jobs, and each trained to do the others' tasks. Allen-Edmonds is using ____.
a. / semi-structured teamsb. / ad hoc committees
c. / work teams
d. / functional departments
e. / venture teams
3. Which of the following statements describe an advantage teams have over individuals in the decision-making process?
a. / Teams can identify problems more efficiently and more quickly.b. / Teams are able to view problems from multiple perspectives.
c. / Teams generate more commitment to making the decisions work.
d. / Teams generate more alternative solutions.
e. / All of these describe advantages teams have over individuals in the decision-making process.
4. In the autonomy continuum (which shows how five kinds of teams differ in terms of autonomy), the correct sequence, from low team autonomy to high team autonomy, is ____.
a. / employee involvement teams, traditional work groups, semi-autonomous work groups, self-managing teams, and self-designing teamsb. / traditional work groups, employee involvement teams, self-managing teams, semi-autonomous work groups, and self-designing teams
c. / traditional work groups, employee involvement teams, self-designing teams, and self-managing teams
d. / traditional work groups, employee involvement teams, semi-autonomous work groups, self-managing teams, and self-designing teams
e. / employer-mandated teams, traditional work groups, employee involvement teams, project teams, and self-managing teams
5. Boeing's operation in Macon, Georgia, was named one of the 10 best manufacturing plants in North America by IndustryWeek magazine. The company maintains an employee involvement team to track the plant's goals and performance metrics. This team ____.
a. / determines who belongs to the teamb. / provides advice to management concerning areas that needed change or improvements
c. / has the authority to solve problems related to marketing and manufacturing issues
d. / controls all of the major production tasks at Boeing
e. / does none of these
6. Which of the following statements about semi-autonomous work groups is true?
a. / Semi-autonomous work groups are typically not cross-trained.b. / Semi-autonomous work groups have low team autonomy.
c. / Semi-autonomous work groups can control and change the design of the team.
d. / Semi-autonomous work groups have the authority to make decisions and solve problems related to the major tasks of producing a good or service.
e. / Semi-autonomous work groups are accurately described by none of these.
7. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the construction of tunnels is one the greatest challenges encountered during road construction. The technique of tunneling has not kept pace with the development of other technical fields. The USDOT has created a national team of tunnel experts to develop road tunnel engineering principles and maintenance practices in the United States through the use of telecommunications and information technology. This group of tunnel experts will comprise a(n) ____.
a. / self-directed teamb. / normative team
c. / virtual team
d. / multifunctional team
e. / ad hoc team
8. E-Lab (the "E" stands for experience) has project teams perform field research for its clients. Project teams at E-Lab have designed a new over-the-counter cold medicine by studying the process of how people get sick; they have helped create a new station wagon for a major carmaker; and they have helped backpack maker JanSport to design a completely new way of displaying its products in sporting goods stores. You can expect E-Lab’s project teams to be ____.
a. / composed of employees from different functional areasb. / created to complete specific, one-time projects in a limited time
c. / led by a project manager
d. / flexible in their ability to move to another project
e. / all of these
9. Which of the following statements about the importance of communication is true?
a. / Many of the basic management processes cannot be performed without effective communications.b. / Oral communication is the most important skill for college graduates who are entering the work force.
c. / Poor communication skill is the single most important reason that people do not advance in their careers.
d. / Communication is especially important for top managers.
e. / All of these statements about the importance of communication are true.
10. Marathon runner Mariah Li noticed the San Diego Zoo was prohibiting people in motorized wheelchairs from viewing the zoo's baby panda and saw nothing wrong with this policy. Tully Smythe, who is wheelchair-bound, saw the notice and felt he was being discriminated against because he could not use his wheelchair to access the panda site. This is an example of ____.
a. / selective perceptionb. / kinesics
c. / faulty closure
d. / selective retention
e. / defensive biases
11. Which of the following statements about informal communication in organizations is true?
a. / Informal communication follows the same channels as formal communication does.b. / Informal communication channels cannot be managed.
c. / Information carried through informal communication channels is estimated to be only about 30 percent accurate.
d. / The best management strategy to controlling informal communication is to withhold information they wish to keep from employees.
e. / None of these statements about informal communication in organizations is true.
12. Feedback is more likely to be destructive than constructive when it is ____.
a. / immediateb. / judgmental
c. / influenced by situational contexts
d. / problem-oriented
e. / focused on specific behaviors
13. The last step of empathetic listening requires managers to ____.
a. / ask for clarificationb. / summarize what the speaker has said
c. / respond with feelings and then facts
d. / engage in problem identification
e. / paraphrase what has been said
14. An Industry Week survey of 845 line managers from diverse organizations found that only 29 percent of first-level supervisors thought that their organization encouraged employees to express opinions openly. This means that the overwhelming majority of these supervisors engage in ____.
a. / organizational silenceb. / organizational filtering
c. / negative grapevining
d. / lower level filtering
e. / arrested communication
JetBlue
JetBlue Airways, which has been in business since February 2000, has had tremendous success by offering direct flights, low fares, wider leather seats, flat screen TVs with live digital satellite channels, one-way tickets, no requirement for Saturday night stayovers, and great customer service. Modeled after Southwest Airlines, JetBlue has the lowest costs in the industry at 6.4 cents per passenger mile. But as its new planes age, its costs will rise, as will the wages it pays its pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics. With only two successful new airlines in the last 25 years, the challenge for JetBlue will be to continue its success as it ambitiously grows from 73 planes and 6,500 employees to 290 planes and 25,000 employees over the next five years. Key to meeting those goals is solid communication.
As companies like JetBlue grow, in addition to being good one-on-one communicators, managers must also learn how to communicate effectively with a larger number of people throughout an organization. This is why founder and CEO David Neeleman and President Dave Barger speak with every new “class” of employees as they come through JetBlue’s structured orientation process. On the first day of orientation, Barger teaches the new hires about JetBlue’s brand (direct flights, low fares, wider leather seats, flat screen TVs, etc.), while Neeleman shows them how JetBlue earns its money and the role each of them plays in that.
Another part of JetBlue’s strategy to communicate and reinforce its organizational culture is a program called Principles of Leadership (POL). POL is a five-day training program, completely taught by JetBlue’s managers from all levels of the company, from the very top to the very bottom. As they teach, JetBlue’s managers share real world stories that illustrate ways in which company managers and employees have practiced or violated the five principles of JetBlue’s culture. In general, these stories demonstrate when it is proper and improper to break company rules to serve customers. For example, a JetBlue pilot once bought several dozen McDonald’s Happy Meals for the kids on his plane. While this was a violation of company spending guidelines, buying those Happy Meals adhered to JetBlue’s cultural principle of “Doing the right thing,” because the plane was stuck on the ground without food, and the kids on board were hungry.
Effective leaders, however, don’t just communicate to others; they also make themselves accessible so that they can hear what others, particularly customers and employees are feeling and thinking about their organization. At JetBlue, founder and CEO David Neeleman uses frequent informal meetings and surprise visits to listen to his customers and employees. On an almost daily basis, Neeleman can be found on a JetBlue flight talking to customers. Neeleman will typically use the plane’s public address system to introduce himself and say that he wants to hear any feedback, good or bad, that they have about the airline. Passengers often offer advice on where JetBlue should offer new routes and service, but they also complain about the food, meaning the lack of it (just cookies, snacks, and biscotti). To this complaint, Neeleman says, “We found out most people would rather have a TV than a meal.” But, most importantly, Neeleman listens, writing thoughts and customer comments on airplane napkins that he stuffs in his pockets to be turned into organizational to-do’s once the flight is over.
15. Refer to JetBlue. JetBlue’s orientation for new employees would be an example of ____ communication.
a. / upwardb. / informal
c. / horizontal
d. / dyadic
e. / downward
16. Refer to JetBlue. The JetBlue pilot who bought several dozen McDonald’s Happy Meals engaged in ____.
a. / involuntary listeningb. / active hearing
c. / passive listening
d. / empathetic listening
e. / voluntary hearing
17. When Gregg Steiner became the vice president for Cleveland-based Pinxav, he knew the diaper-rash product manufacturer's sales were declining. At a trade show Steiner was pitching the product to some new mothers who had never heard of it. The mothers weren't convinced that they should part with their money for a new-to-them product. The inspired Steiner said, "If you're not happy with the product, I will not only give you your money back--I'll buy you our competitors' product. I'll buy you whatever other brand you want." Suddenly, the women were interested, and they all plunked down their money. None of the women ever took Steiner up on his offer. So Steiner decided to make it part of his business practice. This new guarantee was an example of ____.
a. / corporate synergyb. / organizational innovation
c. / assembly networking
d. / organizational networking
e. / reverse engineering
18. The development of CDs was a source of ____ to companies in the recording industry just as audiotapes and 8-track tapes had once been.
b. / creativity reengineering
c. / technological discontinuity
d. / planned shrinkage
e. / technological replacement
19. An ongoing series of technology cycles will allow an organization to ____.
a. / satisfy more customers with fewer resourcesb. / create a competitive advantage
c. / control variable costs
d. / eliminate the product-innovation process
e. / eliminate problems associated with economies of scale
20. In the typical S-curve pattern of innovation, when significant improvements in performance can ONLY be gained through radical new designs or new performance-enhancing materials, it is likely that a company is ____.
a. / at its breakeven pointb. / at the problem identification stage of the innovation cycle
c. / at the end of the innovation cycle
d. / at either the beginning or end of the innovation cycle
e. / at the end of its maturity stage
21. Kodak is a company name that is associated with photography. The company has recognized that digital photography is a threat to the future growth of the company. Therefore, the company has decided to become a market leader in digital imaging while still providing customer support for people still using film cameras. The existence of both technologies is an example of ____.
a. / design substitutionb. / modular management
c. / design competition
d. / hierarchical management
e. / a creative flow
22. The auto industry has been perfecting the internal combustion engine (ICE) for some 120 years. There is plenty of work ongoing at all of the auto companies on alternatives to ICEs. The money invested by them is measured in the billions of dollars. The Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV), the cooperative program between the Big Three and the U.S. government to replace ICEs with electric engines, has been operating since 1993. The internal combustion engine (ICE) is an example of ____.