Decision Making 2

This exit is closed; please continue down the hall and use the next exit.” If you continued down the hall to the next exit, would you be conforming?

No. Conformity requires that you base your behavior on what other people are doing, not on being told to do so.

Which role category is aimed at accomplishing a group’s goal?

task roles

Steve is the “clown” of his small group. At first, group members found him funny; later, they began to resent his rambling stories and constant lack of seriousness. Steve’s role might best be described as

joker.

Orson is consistently late for meetings. He has not accepted

the group norms.

Usually during group discussions, Dominique tries to clarify and note relationships among the ideas and suggestions that have been made by other members of her group. Her group task role may best be described as that of

coordinator.

When people in his group get into heated disagreements, Giovanni helps those in conflict work out their differences to find an acceptable solution for all concerned. His major role in the group is best described as a(n)

compromiser.

Prudence encourages less talkative members to participate in the group discussion. She may best be described as a(n)

gatekeeper.

Which statement about status is TRUE?

High-status members are less likely than low-status members to complain about their responsibilities.

If you have power in a particular group because you were appointed to a position of leadership, your power base is most likely _________ power.

legitimate

Which of the bases of power identified by John French and Bertram Raven is conceptually the negative side of reward power?

coercive power.

Which term represents one of Jack Gibb’s “defensive communication” behaviors?

Control

Veronica has been in a campus organization for three years and feels that her experience there gives her the right to oversee all decisions. Which of the defensive communication behavior problems is Veronica exhibiting?

Superiority

You have just expressed to the group your concern over the impending deadline facing the group. Which response would be classified as irrelevant using categories of confirming and disconfirming responses?

“Are there any other items of new business?”

Alphonse is concerned that his committee is not doing a proper job concerning publicity for the organization to which he belongs and shares these concerns with the group. Which statement is an example of a reply that is a clarifying response?

“Alphonse, I'm hearing you say that you think your committee needs to improve its method of getting more publicity to the public.”

An impersonal response occurs when a speaker

conducts a monolog.

Compared to the others, which is the most accurate statement regarding group cohesiveness and group conflict?

Cohesive groups have strong enough social bonds to tolerate conflict.

Cathy announces to her group that statistics show more students are dropping out of high school than a year ago. Keith agrees that his analysis shows the same pattern. Keith’s response may be categorized as

Supportive response.

Which term is associated with Jack Gibb’s musings regarding a supportive climate?

Spontaneity

Compared to face-to-face teams, virtual teams often show

lower levels of initial trust, cohesiveness, and satisfaction.

In some groups, members address most comments to one central person, perhaps the designated leader or chairperson, making this type of network ________, which in turn __________.

unwieldy; causes people to leave the group

It is important to study how nonverbal communication variables affect small group discussion because

people in groups spend more time communicating nonverbally than they do verbally.

Jerzy, Marco, Joey, Damon, and Dee Dee are meeting to decide upon the theme for the next year’s charity bazaar. Jerzy suggests something that Marco does not like. Marco indicates his disapproval by giving Jerzy a “thumbs-down” signal and saying, “No way.” Marco’s nonverbal cue would best be labeled as an

illustrator.

Which is one of the basic emotions amply and repeatedly documented by Paul Ekman and wally Friesen?

Anger

Whom would we allow in our personal zone, according to Ed Hall?

Family

Helios is the group leader. Where would he sit at a rectangular table?

At the end seat at one of the longer sides of the table.

A guide to active listening includes which step?

Asking appropriate questions

Riccheta states, “I am not really qualified for this job.” If you replied in a paraphrasing manner, what would you say?

“So, you think you lack the necessary skills.”

Which communication barrier takes place when a statement is an untrue generalization?

Allness statement

Eye contact that reveals cues about thought processes represents the _________ function of that nonverbal behavior.

cognitive

During the first weeks of his small seminar class, Artie purposefully chose his preferred classroom seat: three rows from the front, far left, near the wall. When the third week started, Artie entered the classroom to find that a new student, who had just added the course, was sitting in his seat. What is Artie likely to say, do, or feel?

Artie will likely feel miffed and may somehow indicate to the new student that she’s in “my seat.”

Which statement is an example of a misconception about conflict?

Conflict should be avoided at all costs.

The type of conflict that occurs when individuals actually agree but think they disagree because of inaccurate communication is called _________ conflict.

pseudo

Differences in attitudes, opinions, values, information, and other factors that take time to become evident in groups are referred to as

deep-level diversity.

Groupthink is likely to occur when

critical thinking is not rewarded.

Which observation indicates a sign of groupthink?

Group members believe that their group can do no wrong.

Mauro does not want to deal with conflict and often ignores problems and disagreements that arise. Mauro’s conflict style can best be described as

avoidant.

Lucien encourages the whole group to help deal with an issue of disagreement. What conflict management style does Lucien employ?

Collaborative

What type of conflict is evident when D’Shanté says, “Just because you are the chair of the group doesn’t give you the right to railroad this decision!” and Valdo snaps, “You are just jealous because you want to be the chair!”

Ego conflict

LeRoi is high on both concern for self and concern for others, indicating that he is likely to use _________ as a conflict management style.

collaboration

What is one of Roger Fisher and William Ury’s conflict management principles?

Separate the people from the problem

Which style of leadership is evident when a leader says to a group, “Let’s get some ideas from you; how do you think we should solve this problem?”

Democratic

A laissez-faire leader

tries to be a regular group member.

Which task leadership behavior is demonstrated by someone who shows relationships and connections between ideas that are contributed by different group members?

Coordinating

Twenty first-year college students arrive for the first day of an introductory-level communications course. The instructor spends the class time emphasizing the projects to be completed and stressing the importance of following the rules outlined in the syllabus at all times. Which leadership behavior would Sarah Trenholm say is present, based on Paul Hersey’s model?

Telling

A transformational leader is someone who

has an unusual amount of influence on followers and can change their attitudes and beliefs.

Sophie-Michelle asked to be the leader of a task group. The task she was asked to complete was a clear and urgent one. Which leadership behavior would be best for her to use?

Authoritarian

After his group met a pressing and urgent goal, Roscoe and his team felt much less stress and worked collaboratively to meet less structured goals. Which leadership behavior would be best for Roscoe to use in these circumstances?

Democratic

Task-oriented group discussions need to generate ideas. Which leadership role helps a group move toward that goal?

Initiating

___________ is an important leadership function because it ensures more input along the task dimension and higher member satisfaction along the process dimension.

Gatekeeper

In Paul Hersey’s situational model of leadership, which leadership style is driven primarily by concern for relationships and a need for all group members to share in decision-making?

Participating style