BCOR 2202: Leadership and Teams

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering Leadership Styles & Behaviors (LMX Theory, Day-to-Day Dimensions, Transformational/Transactional Leadership) and Teams & Teamwork (Stages of Development, Norms, Composition Dimensions, and Processes) from BCOR 2202.

How is leadership defined in organizational behavior?

The use of power and influence to direct the activities of followers toward goal achievement.

What is the core premise of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory?

Leaders develop different, unique dyadic (two-way) exchange relationships with each individual follower, meaning that not all leader-employee relationships within a unit are the same.

In the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory diagram shown, what characterizes the high-quality exchange experienced by the leader's 'ingroup'?

Leader ingroups experience greater mutual trust, greater respect, and higher felt obligation, leading to more support, autonomy, and influence compared to the outgroup.

What organizational outcomes are associated with high-quality Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) relationships?

Increased job performance, higher organizational commitment, greater organizational citizenship behaviors (such as altruism, sportsmanship, and civic virtue), reduced turnover intentions, and enhanced trust in leadership.

What key factors influence the quality of a Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) relationship?

Leader characteristics (agreeableness and fairness), member characteristics (competence and personality), and interaction frequency (the time and quality of communication).

What risk arises when leaders fail to manage Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) relationships equitably?

Perceived favoritism can cause resentment among out-group members, damage team dynamics, and hurt overall team morale.

What has over a century of research concluded regarding the trait-based perspective of leadership effectiveness?

There is no generalizable profile of an effective leader from a trait perspective; effectiveness depends far less on who leaders are and much more on what leaders do.

According to the continuum shown, how are the four leadership decision-making styles ordered from high follower control to high leader control?

Delegative Style (highest follower control), Facilitative Style, Consultative Style, and Autocratic Style (highest leader control).

What is an Autocratic leadership style, and when is it most effectively used?

The leader makes the decision alone without input from others. It is best used when time is limited, the decision is routine, or the leader possesses specialized expertise.

What defines a Consultative leadership style, and when is it best applied?

The leader asks for input from employees but ultimately makes the decision alone. It is best when employees have relevant knowledge, but ultimate decision accountability stays with the leader.

What characterizes a Facilitative leadership style, and under what conditions is it ideal?

The leader presents the problem and acts as an equal member of the group to make a collaborative decision. It is best when the group has relevant expertise and commitment, and solution quality depends on buy-in.

What defines a Delegative leadership style, and what is its primary risk?

The leader gives the group full responsibility for decision-making. It works best when the group is competent, motivated, and trusted, but poses a major risk if the group lacks competence or alignment.

What are the seven situational factors evaluated in the Time-Driven Model of Leadership?

Decision Significance, Leader Expertise, Employee Expertise, Teamwork Skills, Shared Objectives, Likelihood of Commitment, and Importance of Commitment.

How do the day-to-day leadership dimensions of Initiating Structure and Consideration differ?

Initiating Structure is task-oriented (defining roles, setting deadlines, and monitoring tasks), whereas Consideration is relationship-oriented (creating mutual trust, respect, and concern for employee well-being).

How do Transactional and Transformational leadership styles differ in focus, motivation, and time orientation?

Transactional leadership focuses on tasks, compliance, rewards, punishments, and short-term goals. Transformational leadership focuses on vision, change, inspiration, personal growth, and long-term development.

What are the 'Four I's' that comprise Transformational Leadership?

Idealized Influence (acting as a trusted role model), Inspirational Motivation (communicating an appealing vision), Intellectual Stimulation (encouraging critical thinking and innovation), and Individualized Consideration (coaching and attending to individual growth needs).

What statistical impact does Transformational Leadership have on job performance and organizational commitment?

It has a moderate positive effect on job performance and a strong positive effect on organizational commitment.

What notable age gap exists regarding management roles and management training?

While $169 billion per year is spent on employee learning and development, the average age of becoming a manager is 31, but the average age of receiving management training is 42.

What is the organizational behavior definition of a team, and what are its four key characteristics?

A team is a collection of individuals who are interdependent in tasks, share responsibility for outcomes, see themselves as an intact social entity, and are embedded in larger organizational systems. Its key characteristics are interdependence, shared responsibility, social identity, and organizational embedding.

Why is a team considered a special type of group?

All teams are groups, but not all groups are teams. Teams require deeper mutual dependence among members, interaction directed toward a specific task-related purpose, and the pooling of complementary knowledge and skills.

Under what conditions should organizations use teams rather than individuals?

When tasks are complex, difficult, and dynamic; when there are serious consequences for errors; when redundancy is needed; when context is ill-defined; and when processing vast information from diverse modalities is required.

What are the five sequential stages of team development shown in the diagram, and what occurs during the 'Storming' stage?

Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. During Storming, the team decides on roles, goals, and expectations, and conflict typically occurs.

What two primary norms must all work teams establish to promote effectiveness?

1) Taking an active rather than reactive stance by continuously scanning the environment and adjusting strategies; 2) Demarcating clear behavioral boundaries identifying a handful of things members must always do and never do.

What communication patterns make up the 'communication signature' of successful teams?

Equal speaking and listening with short contributions (engagement), facing each other with energetic speech and gestures (energy), connecting directly with peers rather than only the leader, conducting internal side discussions, and exploring outside information to bring back (exploration).

What are the three basic types of member roles found within team composition?

Task roles, team-building roles, and individualistic roles.

How do Disjunctive, Conjunctive, and Additive tasks differ in how member ability determines performance?

In Disjunctive tasks, performance depends on the member with the highest ability (e.g., brainstorming). In Conjunctive tasks, performance depends on the member with the lowest ability (e.g., assembly line). In Additive tasks, contributions of all members are summed together (e.g., sales teams).

How do Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion impact team dynamics, including their caveats?

Agreeableness smooths interaction, but members may hesitate to provide needed critical feedback. High conscientiousness across all members is critical, as even one or two low-conscientious members hurt the team. Extraversion boosts social climate, but too many extraverts can compete for dominance.

What is the difference between surface-level diversity and deep-level diversity in teams?

Surface-level diversity refers to observable attributes such as race, gender, ethnicity, and age. Deep-level diversity refers to attributes that are difficult to observe initially but inferred through experience, such as values and personality.

What does this graph illustrate regarding the performance distribution of diverse teams compared to homogeneous teams?

Diverse teams when managed well have the potential to achieve the highest performance levels, but poorly managed diverse teams perform worse than homogeneous teams, making low performance frequent if diversity is unmanaged.

What is process loss, and what causes it to increase as team size grows?

Process loss is the difference between what a team could potentially achieve and what it actually accomplishes due to operational inefficiencies such as coordination problems, reduced accountability, and limited social support.

What is the typical optimal team size, and how does size strategy vary between management/project teams and production teams?

The typical optimal size is 5 to 9 members. Management and project teams benefit from larger sizes to handle complex, knowledge-intensive work, whereas production teams should be limited to the minimum size required to do the job.

How are Social Loafing and Groupthink defined, and how should each be prevented?

Social Loafing is members reducing effort in group settings (prevented by individual accountability and tracking contributions). Groupthink occurs when pressure for conformity reduces critical thinking (prevented by encouraging dissent and welcoming alternative viewpoints).

What are the organizational risks of both low cohesion and excessive cohesion in teams?

Low cohesion leads to poor cooperation, low commitment, and high turnover. Excessive cohesion leads to insularity, resistance to outside change, and a high risk of groupthink.

What situational rules govern whether a team should use consensus, majority rule, or expert opinion for decision-making?

Use consensus for critical decisions requiring complete buy-in, majority rule for routine operational decisions, and expert opinion for technical issues.