Business Communication Developing Leaders for a Networked World 2nd Edition Test Bank by Peter Cardon Solutions Manuals, Instructor's Resource Manual, Answers key all chapters download: Chapter 03 Team Communication and Difficult Conversations True / False Questions The basic principles of team communication all depend on a strong speaking-centered approach True False Effective teams spend about half their time bonding by talking about social activities True False 3-1 When team members experience conflict because they are trying to make sense of competing ideas about how the team should work, they are in the storming stage of team development True False In best-case scenarios, work teams usually take six to seven weeks to achieve maximum performance True False High-performing teams go through repeated cycles of disassociation and association True False Sally attends a meeting that focuses on brainstorming how to solve a particular problem The agenda is fluid, and the team adjusts the time it spends on various tasks as needed This is an example of a coordination meeting True False When developing an agenda to address high-priority items, items of least importance must be placed near the beginning of the agenda True False Melva perceives that Jonathan, the meeting facilitator, seems to favor one position over others As a result, Melva may be reluctant to share her opinions True False Research has shown that teams that have less dissent during meetings reach higher-quality decisions True False 3-2 10 For brevity, the minutes of a meeting should include only the main decisions that were reached True False 11 One of the unique challenges of working in virtual teams is the inability to gain information by reading nonverbal cues True False 12 In the current business environment, virtual teams rely primarily on phone calls, teleconferences, and email to communicate with one another True False 13 One significant advantage of virtual meetings is that team members can multitask during them True False 14 Because virtual teams have a more difficult time building relationships than traditional teams, experts recommend starting each virtual meeting with social chat True False 15 The most important stage of group writing is the drafting stage True False 16 When producing group writing, it is important to ensure that the writing reflects the views of the group at every stage—gathering information, drafting initial findings, and editing the final document True False 17 During group writing projects, it is important not to waste time discussing roles and contributions True False 3-3 18 An absence of conflict during conversations might imply that employees are not voicing their true perspectives True False 19 In emotionally charged, high-stakes conversations, forcefully stating your message at the beginning will often lead to productive outcomes True False 20 High self-awareness is crucial for handling difficult conversations successfully True False Multiple Choice Questions 21 Which of the following describes a team in the forming stage of team development? A All four members of the team discuss what the team roles and goals should be B Nick and Julie present alternate ways of assigning work, and the team debates the issue C Nick, Julie, Raul, and Ming take turns sharing their background with the others D The four group members work at their assigned tasks efficiently and work together as needed E Nick and Ming draft a work plan, while Raul and Julie write guidelines for the group to consider 3-4 22 Nick, Julie, and Raul each share different ideas about how the team should approach work, and the team spends some time debating which ideas to adopt What stage is the team at? A norming B forming C performing D storming E reforming 23 Which of the following is characteristic of the norming stage of team development? A Team members get to know each other and try to gain acceptance B Team members share competing ideas about the task and roles, and conflict occurs C Team members easily manage to reach consensus even when there is conflict D Team members are still uncertain about what is required of them E Team members agree upon mutual goals and individual responsibilities 24 Which of the following best describes the performing stage of team development? A All four members of the team discuss what the team roles and goals should be B Nick and Julie present alternate ways of assigning work, and the team debates the issue C Nick, Julie, Raul, and Ming each share their background at the company D The four group members work at their assigned tasks efficiently and work together as needed E Nick and Ming draft a work plan, while Raul and Julie write guidelines for the group to consider 3-5 25 Teams rapidly develop shared perceptions and commitment during the _ stage of team development A norming B forming C performing D storming E reforming 26 Erik is a manager who organizes his department into teams at the beginning of September By December, he worries because the teams are still having conflict and not seem very productive What would be the best advice to give Erik? A Conclude that his workers are not team-oriented people Abandon the experiment before work falls further behind B Be patient because the teams are in the storming stage Give them time to reach the norming and performing stages C Conclude that he made a mistake in the makeup of the teams Reassign people to new teams and start over D Be patient because the teams are in the norming stage Give them time to reach the more productive performing stage E Conclude that the teams are spending too little time on work Start to sit in meetings and direct activities 27 Which of the following is characteristic of members from high-performing teams? A They view conflict as unhealthy and counterproductive B They approach work with a judgmental mind-set C They openly discuss the set of values, norms, and goals they share D They make fewer work-related and supportive statements than other groups E They meet infrequently, preferring to work as individual units 3-6 28 Whenever he has to present a proposal to his managers, LeRoy is able to distance himself from his ideas and accept criticism without becoming defensive What process enables LeRoy to this? A consolidation B association C disassociation D formation E reflection 29 _ is the psychological bonding that occurs between people and their ideas A Consolidation B Association C Disassociation D Formation E Reflection 30 Which of the following is true of high-performing teams? A They remain professional and avoid social bonding or personal connection B They see differences of opinion as signs of dysfunction in the team C They spend most of their time discussing work-related issues D They not meet frequently to discuss their purposes because it wastes time E They have a homogenous rather than a diverse membership 3-7 31 Which of the following is a trait that contributes to the inherent diversity of a team? A members with customer service experience B members with retail experience C members with engineering experience D members with managerial experience E members with a variety of ethnic backgrounds 32 What impact does 2-D diversity have on a company? A The company is more likely to increase its market share B The company is more likely to experience damaging conflict C The company is less likely to have a "speak-up culture." D The company is less likely to have access to a variety of perspectives E The company is more likely to suffer significant financial losses 33 Which of the following is the role of a facilitator? A keeping the meeting's minutes B ensuring fair discussion of each agenda item in a meeting C discouraging debate and dissent D steering conversations toward predetermined conclusions E presenting counter arguments to ideas or suggestions 34 Abdul is frustrated because his team members come unprepared for meetings What is the first thing he should to try to improve the situation? A distribute minutes after the previous meeting to remind people of what was covered B distribute an agenda ahead of the meeting so people know what to expect C distribute homework assignments several days before each meeting D criticize people during the meeting if they are not contributing enough E criticize people after the meeting to make his point without embarrassing them 3-8 35 Moira has a standard way of running meetings that she has used for a long time Her meetings tend to be efficient but dry, and people have difficulty feeling engaged Which of the following techniques should Moira use to solve that problem? A distribute an agenda ahead of time B have someone take minutes and distribute them afterward C make sure to start and end the meeting on time D encourage each person to share his or her opinion E remain neutral while facilitating the discussion 36 Which of the following would be the most productive time to schedule a meeting? A 2:00 p.m Thursday B 4:00 p.m Wednesday C 10:00 a.m Tuesday D Noon Monday E 10:00 a.m Friday 37 What is a recommended method of planning thoroughly for meetings? A reviewing the minutes of the last meeting to see what was left unfinished B calling everyone together and working out an agenda as a group C using the agenda of the last meeting as a model for running the next meeting D taking ten minutes before the meeting starts to prepare a few action items E asking yourself essential questions about purpose, strategy, scheduling, and coordination 3-9 38 In which of the following situations is a company most likely to need a series of problem-solving meetings that have no preset agenda? A planning the annual picnic B deciding the work assignments for a project C developing a new product proposal D discussing the transition to new ownership E reviewing a market research report 39 A catering company has a weekly meeting Every week, the meeting starts with a story about how the caterer's food helped make an occasion special for the people who were there What is the most likely reason for this tradition? A to help the employees open up to each other B to help the employees bond since they work on scattered jobs C to deal with the most important agenda items first D to illustrate an important aspect of teamwork E to remind the employees of the company's customer focus 40 Oscar starts his meetings by describing the procedures he wants people to follow while taking part in the discussion and explaining what topics must be kept confidential By doing this, Oscar is providing A agenda items B minutes C consensus D ground rules E action items 3-10 57 When editing a group document, what should be the first thing the team works on? A whether the paper is organized logically B the transitions between sections C whether the main ideas are strong and clear D whether the word choices are appropriate E the correctness of the grammar and mechanics Make sure your group is clear about the purposes of each round of revision Generally, you should first revise with a focus on the strength of your ideas and how well these ideas match the needs of your audience AACSB: Teamwork Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Blooms: Remember Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: 03-04 Describe strategies for effective group writing Topic: Group Writing 3-66 58 After Karla's team completed the first draft of its group document, the team asked her to edit it carefully for grammar, punctuation, and spelling At the next meeting, the group decided one section of the document was not relevant and deleted it Karla was upset about her wasted work What did the team wrong? A It did not establish a system for version control B It did not agree on rules for overwriting one another's work C It did not set up guidelines for using comments and track changes D It did not choose a single person to the final edit E It did not choose an appropriate purpose for each round of revision Make sure your group is clear about the purposes of each round of revision Generally, you should first revise with a focus on the strength of your ideas and how well these ideas match the needs of your audience Then you should focus on how smoothly the various sections of your paper flow together Next, you should consider issues such as formatting, ease of reading, and language mechanics Karla's team was not clear about the appropriate order of revision and asked her to work on language mechanics too early in the process, which resulted in wasted work AACSB: Teamwork Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Blooms: Analyze Difficulty: Hard Learning Objective: 03-04 Describe strategies for effective group writing Topic: Group Writing 3-67 59 A learning stance implies that A you have nothing to learn from the other people involved in the conversation B you intend to find contradictions in what other people have said or done C you avoid difficult conversations in order not to hurt the feelings of other people D you are committed to understanding other peoples' versions of interpersonal interactions E you intend to agree and comply with everything that the speaker says A message-delivery stance implies that you have nothing to learn from the other person involved in the conversation In sensitive situations, others will resist your attempts to impose solutions if you use this stance A learning stance involves a commitment to understanding others' stories—their retrospective versions of interpersonal interactions or their explanations of business successes and failures AACSB: Communication Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Blooms: Understand Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-05 Explain basic principles for handling difficult conversations Topic: Managing Difficult Conversations 3-68 60 Difficult conversations can be handled successfully by A hearing everybody's story B agreeing with everything you hear C using the either/or approach D invalidating the perspective of other people E adopting a judgmental stance In emotionally charged, high-stakes conversations, approaching the conversation with a learner mind-set will often lead to productive outcomes The learning stance involves a commitment to understanding others' stories—their retrospective versions of interpersonal interactions or their explanations of business successes and failures AACSB: Communication Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Blooms: Understand Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-05 Explain basic principles for handling difficult conversations Topic: Managing Difficult Conversations 3-69 61 What does validating someone entail? A recognizing their feelings as legitimate B refusing to have difficult conversations with them C agreeing unconditionally with their perspectives and views D leading them around to your way of thinking E deciding to comply with their requests in advance By disagreeing well, you lessen the resistance that others have to you and your views Typically, you can disagree diplomatically by validating the views and feelings of others and using I-statements Validating others means that you recognize their perspectives and feelings as credible or legitimate It does not necessarily mean that you agree AACSB: Communication Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Blooms: Understand Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-05 Explain basic principles for handling difficult conversations Topic: Managing Difficult Conversations 3-70 62 Which of the following makes comments sound more conciliatory and less accusing? A I-statements B You-statements C He-or-she-statements D It-statements E They-statements I-statements begin with phrases such as I think, I feel, or I believe During disagreements or difficult conversations, I-statements soften comments to sound more conciliatory and flexible and less blaming and accusatory AACSB: Communication Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Blooms: Remember Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: 03-05 Explain basic principles for handling difficult conversations Topic: Managing Difficult Conversations 3-71 63 Which of the following statements is an example of disagreeing diplomatically? A You always interrupt me when I try to explain my reasons B Your methods never work, but you refuse to give mine a chance C I know I'm right about this, and I can prove it to you D This is an issue of policy, not personal interpretation E I feel that I was not given a chance to explain my actions During disagreements or difficult conversations, I-statements soften comments to sound more conciliatory and flexible and less blaming and accusatory I-statements begin with phrases such as I think, I feel, or I believe Two ways of oversimplifying your approach to difficult conversations is by exaggerating and by applying either/or approaches If you find yourself using superlatives such as always, never, most, or worst, you might be exaggerating Applying an either/or approach to most business communications is ineffective For difficult conversations, it usually translates into a right-versus-wrong approach AACSB: Analytical Thinking Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Blooms: Analyze Difficulty: Hard Learning Objective: 03-05 Explain basic principles for handling difficult conversations Topic: Managing Difficult Conversations 3-72 64 Which of the following is the best opening for a difficult conversation? A We need to discuss the way you let your team members down on the last project B I really want to understand what went wrong and find a solution we both can accept C Your work has suffered lately, and I want to make some suggestions for improvement D What were you thinking when you made that proposal in the group meeting? E You have been demonstrating a bad attitude lately, and I would like to know why Initiating a difficult conversation is stressful Starting well is crucial The opening moments of a difficult conversation offer a great opportunity to frame or orient the conversation for problem solving In the opening moments, consider declaring your intent—your sincere desire to understand and find a solution that works for each of you AACSB: Analytical Thinking Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Blooms: Analyze Difficulty: Hard Learning Objective: 03-05 Explain basic principles for handling difficult conversations Topic: Managing Difficult Conversations 3-73 65 During emotionally charged conversations, the participants should try to A oversimplify their approach B find common ground C exaggerate their points D cast situations in either-or terms E evaluate the other person's motives Finding common ground seems like obvious advice, but it is not easy to during emotionally charged moments when you feel attacked Finding common ground will lessen the perceived distance between you and other, and it may even lead to bonding It helps you analyze the issues at hand in a way that will likely lead to mutually acceptable solutions AACSB: Communication Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation Blooms: Remember Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: 03-05 Explain basic principles for handling difficult conversations Topic: Managing Difficult Conversations Essay Questions 3-74 66 Briefly explain the four stages of team formation Teams go through four natural stages to reach high performance Typically, leaders become less directive and more consultative as the team progresses through the stages: Forming (months and 2) In the forming stage, team members focus on gaining acceptance and avoiding conflict Storming (months and 3) In the storming stage, team members open up with their competing ideas about how the team should approach work Norming (months and 5) In the norming stage, the team arrives at a work plan, including team roles, goals, and accountabilities Performing (months and 7) In the performing stage, teams operate efficiently toward accomplishing their goals AACSB: Teamwork Blooms: Understand Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-01 Explain the principles of team communication in high-performing teams Topic: Principles of Effective Team Communications 67 List the traits of effective teams Effective teams build a work culture around values, norms, and goals They discuss values, norms, and goals frequently They spend most of their time discussing work issues They meet often They embrace differing viewpoints and conflict They feel a common sense of purpose AACSB: Teamwork Blooms: Remember Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: 03-01 Explain the principles of team communication in high-performing teams Topic: Principles of Effective Team Communications 3-75 68 What is the purpose of an agenda, and how does it relate to effective meetings? Agendas provide structure for meetings For most meetings, preparing and distributing an agenda ahead of time allows each meeting participant to form expectations and prepare Most agendas should include items to be covered, time frames, goals and/or expected outcomes, roles, and materials needed You can foster more effective meetings by getting others involved in the agenda-creation process AACSB: Communication Blooms: Understand Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-02 Describe and demonstrate approaches to planning; running; and following up on meetings Topic: Managing Meetings 69 How should a leader who wants a high-performing team view dissent in meetings? Explain As a meeting leader, encourage debate but defuse any comments that are perceived as noncollegial The art of encouraging discussion but avoiding arguments takes time In meetings, it requires that you initially foster disassociation but end with association Research has shown that teams that have more dissent during meetings reach higher-quality decisions By opening discussion to all available information and options, teams tend to adopt the best options more often and become more committed to the decisions AACSB: Communication Blooms: Understand Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-02 Describe and demonstrate approaches to planning; running; and following up on meetings Topic: Managing Meetings 3-76 70 What are at least three ways to build team rapport on virtual teams? One way to build rapport on a virtual team is to meet in person at the beginning of projects to the tricky work of forming and norming A second way is for teammates to schedule time to get to know one another A third way is to set up a virtual watercooler where teammates can regularly and spontaneously interact A fourth way is to start each meeting with five minutes of social chat AACSB: Teamwork Blooms: Apply Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-03 Explain the principles of effective virtual team communication Topic: Working in Virtual Teams 71 What are actions that will help foster trust during the norming stage of a virtual team project? Demonstrating strong performance in early deliverables Preparing well for initial meetings Sharing information, offering to help teammates, and staying accessible to teammates Responding promptly to requests of teammates Living up to commitments in the team charter AACSB: Teamwork Blooms: Understand Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-03 Explain the principles of effective virtual team communication Topic: Working in Virtual Teams 3-77 72 What are some of the roles that team members might be assigned in a group writing project? Possible roles that might be assigned in a group writing project include group facilitator, subject-matter expert, researcher, writer, and editor AACSB: Communication Blooms: Apply Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-04 Describe strategies for effective group writing Topic: Group Writing 73 During a group writing project, what should teams to ensure that all team members buy into the final product? Identify actions to take during all stages of the project Teams should put extra effort into the planning stage Teams should develop clear and specific purposes and goals, clarify and define the basic problems and issues, prioritize tasks, and assign roles Teams should split up the contributions and time commitments equally It is also important for teams to remain open to change during the course of a writing project They should meet in real time consistently and ensure the writing reflects the views of the group They should also consider having the whole group together during the process of polishing the final version, even if one person takes charge of it That will ensure that each group member can offer input and confirmation AACSB: Communication Blooms: Apply Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-04 Describe strategies for effective group writing Topic: Group Writing 3-78 74 What are the advantages of adopting a learning stance? The learning stance involves a commitment to understanding others' stories—their retrospective versions of interpersonal interactions or their explanations of business successes and failures In difficult conversations, invite others to describe their views and feelings of disputed events When people have the opportunity to share their stories, they are often less resistant to change and more accommodating of the views of others Sharing stories with one another can lead to shared interpretations of events, empathy, and new ways of viewing workplace relationships and business possibilities One major benefit of allowing all people involved in a difficult conversation to share their views is buy-in Research has shown that when everyone involved shares their ideas, they tend to be more committed to the ultimate decision of the group, even when their ideas are not adopted When they remain silent, they tend not to commit to the decision of the group AACSB: Communication Blooms: Understand Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-05 Explain basic principles for handling difficult conversations Topic: Managing Difficult Conversations 3-79 75 Why is disagreeing diplomatically an important component of managing difficult conversations? Difficult conversations involve different perspectives To create a learning conversation rather than a defensive and judgmental one, find ways to disagree diplomatically By disagreeing well, you lessen the resistance that others have to you and your views Typically, you can disagree diplomatically by validating the views and feelings of others and using I-statements Validating others means that you recognize their perspectives and feelings as credible or legitimate It does not necessarily mean that you agree I-statements begin with phrases such as I think, I feel, or I believe During disagreements or difficult conversations, I-statements soften comments to sound more conciliatory and flexible and less blaming and accusatory AACSB: Communication Blooms: Understand Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 03-05 Explain basic principles for handling difficult conversations Topic: Managing Difficult Conversations More download links: business communication developing leaders for a networked world test bank business communication developing leaders for a networked world solutions business communication developing leaders for a networked world quizlet business communication developing leaders for a networked world connect business communication developing leaders for a networked world free pdf business communication developing leaders for a networked world 2nd edition pdf 3-80