Application of Stages of Team Development

question 85

Multiple Choice

Application of Stages of Team Development
Shannon had never been a member of a team before. Her organization had always highly valued individual effort. Consequently, the switch to teams had been difficult. Furthermore, there had been no training in team development, and right now, Shannon was not certain they were ever going to get past this current stage of continuous intragroup conflict. There was a lot of conflict over who was going to lead the team. Once everyone had thought of themselves as part of the team, not just a group of individuals, Shannon had thought things would start to get better. That first stage had been very difficult, but now the second stage seemed no better. Shannon wondered if they would ever reach a stage of cohesiveness where close relationships would start to develop. Furthermore, at this point she was not sure they would ever get to the point of actually performing the task they had been set up for, which was to work across functions to develop a new piece of surgical equipment. Since the team was to be disbanded in two years, Shannon was afraid they were going to spend their whole two years becoming a team and would never actually develop the new equipment.
-Suppose Shannon's group interacted primarily to share information and to make decisions that would help each group member perform within his or her area of responsibility. They would have no need or opportunity to engage in collective work that requires joint effort; consequently, their performance is merely the summation of all the group members' individual contributions. Which of the following best describes this?

• A)quality circle
• B)problem- solving team
• C)work group
• D)work team

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Definitions:

Line Authority

The power given to managers to make decisions and issue commands within their scope of responsibility, and to expect those commands to be followed by subordinate employees.

Financial Controller

A senior executive responsible for overseeing an organization's day-to-day financial operations, reporting, and compliance.

Self-Managed Teams

Groups of workers who are given the responsibility and autonomy to manage themselves and make decisions about their work.

Goal Congruence

A situation in which company goals align with the personal goals of its employees, leading to enhanced organizational performance.