1. A manager has recently emailed two individuals in his team, asking for them to submit reports
to him. One worker did so, while the other failed to. The second worker, when asked, stated that
she thought that the wording of the email meant that it did not apply to her. Which characteristic
of individual behaviour is the manager having difficulties with?
A Motivation B Perception
C Attitude D Personality
2. Rita works as the finance director for a small company. She has recently been asked by the
Human Resource department to take charge of hiring a new member of staff for her team. She
wishes to hire the best candidate that she has interviewed, but knows that this will cost more than
she has been allowed in her departmental budget by the Board of Directors. What is Rita
experiencing?
A Role ambiguity B Role incompatibility C Role conflict
D Role behaviour
3. Would a number of people waiting for a bus be described as:
A A formal group B An informal group C Neither of the above
4. Would an orchestra be considered a team? A Yes B No
5. Robert is in charge of a group of 12 people involved in complex work. This is of an ongoing
nature. The group has been working together amicably and successfully for a considerable time.
Its members value Robert’s leadership and the back-up given by Sophia. She elaborates on
Robert’s instructions and deals on his behalf with group members queries, especially when he is
absent on the group’s business. Much of the success of the group has been due to Peter, who is
creative at problem solving, and Lara who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of sources of supply
and information. Leo is an expert on charting and records, and Ava is invaluable at sorting out
disagreements and keeping everyone cheerful. The remaining members of the group also have
roles, which are acceptable to themselves and to the others.
Required: Which of Belbin’s role classifications do the following group members most closely
comply with? Robert
Sophia Peter Lara Leo Ava
6. Consider the following types of group behaviour: (i) Avoidance of conflict (ii) Small number
of members (iii) Lack of communication (iv) Strong pressure for group members to conform
(v) Clear objectives (vi) Dominant individual members. Which of these would not be
characteristics of an ineffective group?
A (i), (ii), (iv) and (v) B (ii) and (v) C (i), (ii), (v) and (vi) D (i) and (iv)
7. Which of the following would be expected to be characteristics of an effective team? (i) High
labour turnover (ii) Low absenteeism (iii) High productivity
A (i) only B (i) and (ii) only C (ii) and (iii) only D (iii) only
8. Ella has recently started a new job in a store. She has been asked to wear a uniform that
identifies her as a junior member of staff and which is quite different from those worn by store
managers. According to role theory, what is Ella’s uniform an example of?
A Role behaviour B Role set C Role conflict
D Role signs
9. Assertive behaviour violates another individual’s rights and often leads to conflict. Is this
statement: A True B False
10. Consider the following statements regarding group effectiveness: (i) Group decision making
may be slower than individual decision making. (ii) Competition may exist in groups, which is
always destructive. (iii) Groups tend to produce decisions that are compromises and may be less
effective than those made by individuals. (iv) Individuals decisions are subject to more controls
than those made by groups. Which of these statements is/are correct?
A (i) and (ii) only B (i), (ii) and (iv) only C (i) and (iii) only D (i), (iii) and (iv) only
11. Which of the following types of behaviour is more likely to defuse conflict when dealing
with other people? A Assertive
B Aggressive C Passive
12a. There are a number of models that look at the formation and development of teams,
including Belbin and Tuckman’s models. Required:
(a) Consider the following individuals within a team. For each one, identify which of Belbin’s
team roles are being described.
A Develops new ideas to help the team achieve their objectives.
B Constantly checks up on team progress and tries to ensure that all tasks are completed on
schedule.
C An extrovert individual who is strongly action-oriented.
D Identifies the flaws and inaccuracies in other team members’ work.
(i) Shaper. Select ONE from A, B, C or D (ii) Monitor-evaluator. Select ONE from A, B, C or D
(iii) Plant. Select ONE from A, B, C or D (iv) Finisher. Select ONE from A, B, C or D
12b. A team has been brought together within company G in order to design a new product. The
Product Development manager has visited the team on two separate occasions to check on their
progress. He is aware that team development passes through several stages, including:
A Storming B Performing C Norming D Dorming
The following sentences contain gaps which specify the appropriate stage of team development
that the group has reached. On his first visit, the Product Development manager noted that the
team had little or no conflict and was busy trying to decide how the group should organise its
workload. The manager therefore concluded that the team was at the 1 stage.
Required: (i) Select the correct stage of team development which appropriately fills gap 1 above;
i.e. select A, B, C or D.
On his second visit, the Product Development manager felt that the team had reached the 2 stage,
as they felt they had accomplished all major tasks they had been set and the team was meeting
for largely social reasons.
Required: (ii) Select the correct stage of team development which appropriately fills gap 2
above; i.e. select A, B, C or D.